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Chapter Thirteen

Aly sat in the now lukewarm water, contemplating what she was going to do. When she first stepped into the tub, she had accepted Ryziel's need to take her back to the surface, understood fully that it was absolutely necessary, so the others would know she was okay. That she wasn't dead or lost in the caves and that she could continue on working as if nothing had happened.

She accepted this fully and understood it needed to happen.

But then she started thinking about the ship, which she could see the top of just over the edge of a metal sheet of wall. As she soaped herself up and rinsed her hair, she continued to glance over at it, and her mind kept on turning and turning.

Because while she had been waiting for Ryziel to return to the lair, Aly had turned to studying everything around her, from the ship to the map on the console. She observed the large tanks sitting by the one wall, with a large machine attached to a laser head next to them, and the tools on a table nearby, and it didn't take long to put two and two together.

They were fixing the ship. They were harvesting minerals and using the tanks and the laser machine to create the materials needed to rebuild the ship. They were trying to escape Lethe Maws.

And as much as Aly knew it would be hard to convince them, she also knew she couldn't leave without trying to persuade Ryziel to let her and her crew on the ship.

Unless the goblin was telling the truth and did have a memory pill, Aly wasn't going to forget what she saw, and if she left without saying a word, she knew she would regret it.

This was their chance.

So, once she made up her mind that she was going to say something, she then thought about how, exactly, she was going to convince them.

The first thought that popped into her head was blackmail. She knew they had a ship and were trying to fix it, and if they didn't let her and her team on, she could go to the enforcers and tell them about it.

But she quickly threw that idea out the window. One, because Ryziel could probably find a way to warp her memory if he liked. Two, if he couldn't, he could just tie her up and leave her in the underground until they were done. And three, he could have thought of these very same ideas (and he probably did), yet he still was adamant about taking her back to the surface. He either somehow trusted her (which was unlikely) or he had some other reason. Regardless, how could she blackmail the very person who had just saved her life? She wasn't heartless. Desperate maybe, but not heartless.

So, here she was trying to think of other ideas. The water was turning cold, and she knew she was running out of time. As she rinsed one last time, Aly stepped out of the tub and padded over to the curtain where her slipsuit lay just outside, mended somewhat with sealing tape. She pulled it in through a slip in the curtain then quickly began to dress, putting her techband on last. Once secure to her wrist, she glanced down at it and frowned.

If she couldn't convince Ryziel to let her on the ship, perhaps she could persuade him to at least teach her how to turn the tracking off. He seemed very adamant about not teaching her, but Aly thought maybe she could move him without begging.

Once she had her belt in place, Aly stepped from the washroom and silently made her way around the ship. As she heard voices, she slowed, until she saw Ryziel and his companion beside the console with their backs turned, looking at the map.

"I'm telling you, Ryz, it isn't a good idea," said the goblin, looking over the map from a high chair. "Unless you want every nasty beast in a ten-mile radius to hear."

"We could set traps, here and here." Ryziel pointed to places on the screen Aly couldn't see. "And if I can acquire a few drillbots, we could set up a distraction point some distance away."

"That will only work for so long. And some creatures are smart enough to go looking elsewhere and avoid traps."

"Me and Xilya should be able to get at least a container full before anything too bad shows up."

"And if something 'too bad' does show up?" the goblin said, looking up at his companion.

"Me and Xilya can handle it."

The goblin didn't reply to that. Instead, he said, "Where is Xilya, anyway? I thought she was supposed to be down here by now."

"I had her wait when I noticed the enforcers lurking around."

"Ah."

"She will be down again soon enough, once..."

"Once your little human is back where she belongs. Got it."

Ryziel crossed his arms. "Xilya and I can start on this end of the cave system and work around. There is a blockade here and only two entrances. One we can watch while the other can be trapped. There's no other way in unless something can fit into the smaller openings. But anything that size won't be looking for a fight."

The goblin snorted. "Says you. You've never gotten into it with a pack of nighthorns." The goblin crossed his arms as well. "And speaking of fitting into small spaces, we still don't have any way into those tighter areas because, I'm sorry Ryz, placing explosives is just asking for trouble, We had a load of it when we blew our way into this very cavern, remember?"

"We might not have a choice," said Ryziel. "Unless you can get one of your own to—"

"And, again, I'm telling you it isn't going to happen!" The goblin threw up his arms. "I really don't see why you don't just go up above and recruit some lone miner. Any of them would probably do what you say, and you could threaten to keep their mouth shut through the whole process."