Fay, Oswin, Jackson, and Jenkii dropped as the ruin gave way beneath them.
"Everyone, grab on," Oswin roared as he threw out the rope.
All three caught it at once.
Then Oswin used the one advantage his Infinite Metamorphosis Engine Constitution allowed.
Somewhere within his steel frame, an array switched on, and fire burst from his back and feet in sharp jets. The sudden thrust slowed their fall and hauled the four of them upward just enough to keep them from plunging straight into the dark below.
Even so, it was only a trump card.
The thrusters ran on external materials, and he had no more than a minute before the whole thing failed.
Oswin's mind raced. There was no ledge. No platform. No wall close enough to brace against. Nowhere to set them down.
Then he saw it and went momentarily dumb.
Floating beside him was a large bloated frog more than three meters wide, swollen like a bladder and bobbing in the air.
