Page 40 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

“Holy shit,” she whispered. “You've been waiting for one of us to come down here.”

Technology didn't want to make monsters any more than magic wanted to make . . . oh, fuck. The Aethari may not be monsters, but they were mutations. They went against the natural order of the universe. Neither race was harmonious. Neither in balance. And so both would suffer in their own ways.

It made Liria want to weep, but reasoning kept her mind focused. Mutation or not, she loved Thax, and she was going to get him out of there.

“All right, come to me.” Liria saw it in her mind—the armor that would make her look like one of them. A disguise.

Metal unfolded from the wall, gears rolled down the plates, and tubing slid forward. All summoned by technology. Pieces clicked together, reforming, covering her right arm and part of her face. She took a deep breath to calm herself as the warm metal molded to her cheek and covered one eye.

Oh, fuck. All right. It's just temporary.

Oh, fuck. Liria closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and opened them.

Magic flowed through her. The eye that was covered peered through a lens that functioned similarly to a cache screen, except that it was clear.

The path she had sensed before spread out in thin lines of pale blue laid upon the glass lens.

The route moved as she moved, calibrating the way from her location.

“Holy shit!” Liria looked down at herself.

Her chief uniform was covered by metal parts, making the Nethren weapon in her hand look natural.

She was one of them! Except that instead of the tech being fueled by her life energy, it was fueled by magic.

“Keep it together, Drask,” she told herself as she stepped onto the platform. “You can do this. For him.”

Her metal-encased hand reached out with a will of its own and pushed a button on a raised panel.

The platform lowered, taking her down to the bottom of the cavern—the city's ground level.

She left the platform for a stone sidewalk embedded with machinery.

With sure steps and a lifted chin, she joined the Nethren crowd.

No one even glanced at Liria. They didn't look at each other either.

On a Medean street, people at least nodded at each other.

Friends might stop for a short conversation.

A “good morning” might be exchanged between strangers.

There was none of that here. Shifting her stare only, Liria saw the same apathetic expression on every Nethren she passed.

Even without their armor, they were frightening.

Those were the faces of ruthless killers, and being that close to them made her heart race.

She kept her head forward and followed the path laid out in her tech lens.

Liria heard the shouting first. It grew louder as she came to the end of her path.

Up ahead, there was an open space—a plaza of sorts.

Within it was a gathering of Nethren who cried out, shaking their fists at the sky.

Emotionless they may be, but the sight of an Aethari warrior dampened their cold reasoning.

Or maybe it was only the softer emotions that they avoided.

They certainly had no problem with fury.

Liria moved into the crowd. Slipped through them.

Shook her metal-encased arm as they did. Growled. Became one with the mob.

And then Liria reached the front.

There, atop a dais and tied to a metal rack, was Thaxvarien Rennux.

He hung in metal manacles that bound his wrists and ankles, head lolling on his chest and wings drooping around him.

Liria had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out, her emotions threatening to break her converged calm.

But then she breathed. In. Out. She had made it there, to the heart of their steel city.

To her destru. Whether by magic, technology, or convergence, she had been guided.

And that meant the greatest powers on Para wanted her to bring Thax home. All of them.

As those thoughts strengthened Liria, the amulet on Thax's chest flashed. The protection convergence was doing its job. Or trying to. Faced with that much tech, it was probably about to combust.

Liria knew she had moments to act. So, she let go of her thoughts and opened herself to inspiration. A plan unfolded in her mind.

With a roar, Liria launched herself onto the stage.

The Nethren went quiet.

“Fucking Aethari bastard!” Liria shouted and ran for Thax.

Thaxvarien stirred. Lifted his head. Met her stare. Then his eyes widened.

“You took everything from me!” Liria lifted her Nethren weapon.

The Nethren on the dais grinned as it became apparent that Liria was only there for her pound of Aethari flesh. They stepped back and bowed, extending machine arms as if to say, “After you.” What gentlemen.

Liria fired her weapon. A projectile pinged off metal.

A steel manacle cracked open. Then another.

And another. Her aim never faltered. Never missed.

Technology guided her hand. Magic guided the projectiles.

The little bits of metal hit Thax's manacles at their weakest points, opening all of them.

He fell forward, and Liria cast aside the weapon to catch him.

“Thax! You need to fly! Get us in the air!” Liria shouted.

The Nethren scowled. They had mere moments before they figured out that Liria wasn't one of them.

“Liri?” Thax whispered.

“Yes, it's me. Your Liri. Fly, Thax. They're gonna kill us. You have to protect me! Protect your destra!” Liria knew the entreaty would get to him faster than anything else.

“Destra!” Thax clutched her to his chest and burst upward.

His wings spread, caught the air, and took them above the crowd.

Nethren shouted and scrambled. But most of the crowd were civilians.

The only armed Nethren were on that stage.

They pulled their weapons, but as they did, Liria called upon technology and transformed the armor coating her.

Metal moved down her arm. A handle formed.

She grasped it as a shield spread below them. Projectiles pinged off it.

But the Nethren weren't their only problem. As Thax flew higher, he growled, grunted, and then whimpered. Feathers fell. Liria looked from the fluttering dark rain to his wings. They were disintegrating. But he didn't stop flying.

“There!” Liria pointed at an opening in the wall. “There, Thax. Take us to that tunnel!”

Thaxvarien roared in pain but put on a burst of speed. His body glowed, his eyes lit up, and feathers fell even faster. Every beat of his wings cast handfuls over the mechanical city below.

Just as they reached the ledge, the light within his skin went out. With a final cry, Thax shoved her onto the ledge. And fell.

“No!” Liria grabbed his hand and braced her feet.

The metal shield she'd been holding transformed.

It shot out behind her, thinning into a spike, and hooked into the wall.

Simultaneously, the other end of the shield speared out as well and wrapped around Thax's wrist. His eyes went wide as the magic within the machinery whirred and transformed the brace into a winch and chain that pulled him onto the ledge.

Thax collapsed and stared up at her. “Liri?”

“Yeah, it's me, baby. Just relax.” Liria glanced at his wings and tried not to focus on the last few feathers clinging to those pathetic bones.

The remnants of his wings folded in, even the skin on them starting to disintegrate.

With a cracking sound, the amulet on Thax's chest went black, and he passed out.

Unconsciousness was both a blessing and a curse.

It was better for Thax not to feel his wings die, but how would Liria get him back to the surface if he couldn't walk?

A trav—that's what she needed. But a small one that could navigate the tunnels.

Liria grabbed the chain still attached to Thax's wrist. Technology drew metal out of the very walls to add to the foundation she had.

Gears. Wheels. An object formed beneath Thax.

Lifted him. Took further shape. Magic flowed in next.

Liria converged the two, and energy pulsed over the shape, making it a little sleeker while bringing it to life.

Sides came up from the foundation as shouts came from below.

Liria ignored the Nethren, willing the convergence into place.

When she was done, a vehicle similar to a trav but much smaller held Thax within its back compartment.

Liria climbed into the front and gripped the wheel.

The trav shot forward silently, magic softening the aggression of technology.

Liria's focus sharpened. No matter how fast they went, she navigated the tunnels with ease, keeping the vehicle within the center and taking every turn smoothly.

Soon, they were beyond the reach of those below, but not quite to the surface.

Liria wasn't worried. She had faith. It's all you have sometimes.