Chapter 23 – The Clockwork Cavern
Ilin woke with her head still on my shoulder, the jungle's green light filtering down through the leaves. The whispers were gone now, replaced by the normal sounds of birds and insects. She looked better — her cheeks had color, and the blue shimmer in her eyes was just a faint glint.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Like I could walk a mile without collapsing," she said. "That's an improvement."
Ael was already at the portal platform. "The next Anchor is in the Clockwork Cavern. It is a place of gears and precision."
Mara sighed. "So more metal things that want to crush us. Wonderful."
"It is a city built inside a mountain," Ael said. "The Guardians are the Gear Sentinels."
Garrick tightened the bandage on his arm. "I'm starting to lose count."
I helped Ilin up. She leaned on me for a second, then stood on her own.
We stepped onto the platform. Ael placed his hand on the stone; the symbols lit blue, and the oval doorway opened, revealing a tunnel of brass and steel, gears turning in the walls, the air warm with oil and metal.
Ilin took my hand. "Ready?"
I nodded. "Ready."
We stepped through.
The cavern was huge — a network of catwalks, gears the size of houses turning slowly, pistons pumping, steam hissing from pipes. The sound was a constant rhythmic clanking, like the world had a heartbeat.
Ilin's staff pulsed in sync with the machinery. "The Memory Core says the Anchor is in the Central Gear Chamber, three levels down."
Ael nodded. "The Sentinels are precise. They will attack in pattern."
We descended a stairway of iron, the clanking growing louder. After two levels we reached a wide chamber where the first Guardians were waiting.
They were humanoid, but their bodies were made of interlocking brass plates, gears turning at their joints, eyes glowing amber.
Three of them.
Garrick raised his crowbar. "Here we go."
The first Gear Sentinel swung a gear-shaped fist at Garrick. He blocked with his crowbar; the metal screamed and the crowbar bent.
The second swung at Mara. She ducked, swung her rebar, and the rebar bent further against the Sentinel's arm.
The third came at me.
I dodged its swing, rolled, and drove my blade into the gap between its plates.
The blade sank in, and the Sentinel seized up, gears grinding to a stop.
It grabbed my shoulder — the same shoulder Ilin had healed nine times.
Pain flared.
I twisted, drove my blade deeper into its chest.
The Sentinel locked up and collapsed in a clatter of gears.
I turned to the first Sentinel. Garrick was back on his feet, crowbar bent almost useless.
Mara was getting up, her arm bleeding.
Finn was circling the second Sentinel, pistol empty.
I ran at the first Sentinel, jumped, and drove my blade into the joint of its neck.
It locked up and collapsed.
I turned to the second Sentinel. It raised its arm to strike Finn.
Ilin stepped forward, staff raised.
"Ilin, no!" I shouted.
"I have to," she said.
She directed the blue light at the Sentinel.
The gears slowed, the amber light in its eyes dimming.
I ran and drove my blade into its chest.
It seized and collapsed.
Ilin dropped to her knees.
I was at her side in two steps, catching her.
"You used healing," I said.
"Only a little," she said, voice weak.
"You said you wouldn't," I said.
"I couldn't let it hit Finn," she said.
I lifted her and carried her to a ledge away from the moving gears.
"You're done," I said.
"I know," she said.
Garrick sat beside us, holding his arm. Mara was wrapping her arm with a strip of cloth. Finn was checking his jammed pistol.
Ael stood, looking toward a massive circular door of brass in the lower level. "The Anchor is beyond that door."
I carried Ilin the rest of the way.
The door was engraved with interlocking gears. Ael placed his hand on it; the gears shifted and the door slid open, revealing a circular chamber.
In the center was a massive gear, taller than a man, pulsing with violet light — the Anchor.
Around it stood four Gear Sentinels, larger than the first three, their movements perfectly synchronized.
Ael's voice was quiet. "The Core Sentinels."
I set Ilin down on a raised platform.
"We do what we've been doing," I said. "Hold them off while I reach the Anchor."
Garrick nodded, wincing. "Just don't die."
Mara spat blood. "No promises."
Finn nodded, gripping his broken pistol.
The four Sentinels moved at once, their movements precise and coordinated.
Garrick met the first, crowbar striking its arm. The gear cracked, the Sentinel backhanded Garrick, sending him to the ground.
Mara swung her rebar at the second. The rebar bent, and the Sentinel knocked her aside.
Finn went for the third with his pistol, smashing it across the face. The Sentinel grabbed his arm and lifted him off the ground.
The fourth came at me.
I dodged its swing, rolled, and drove my blade into its leg.
The blade scraped the gear.
The Sentinel grabbed my shoulder — the same shoulder Ilin had healed ten times.
Pain flared.
I drove my blade into its neck.
The Sentinel locked up and collapsed.
I turned to the first Sentinel. Garrick was back on his feet, crowbar in hand, blood running down his arm.
Mara was getting up, her arm bleeding.
Finn was still in the Sentinel's grip.
The first Sentinel charged Garrick.
Garrick swung, the crowbar cracked the Sentinel's arm, the creature hit him again.
I ran and jumped onto the Sentinel's back, driving my blade into the base of its neck.
It locked up and collapsed.
I turned to the second Sentinel. Mara was on her feet.
The Sentinel swung. Mara ducked, swung her rebar, and cracked the Sentinel's leg.
I ran and drove my blade into its chest.
It locked up and collapsed.
The third Sentinel was still holding Finn.
I ran and drove my blade into its back.
It locked up and collapsed, releasing Finn.
I looked at the Anchor.
Ilin was on her feet, staff in hand, the crystal glowing faint blue.
"I can weaken it," she said.
"Ilin, no," I said.
"I have to," she said.
She raised the staff and directed the light at the Anchor.
The Anchor pulsed, the violet light flickering as the blue light hit it.
I raised my blade and brought it down on the crack.
The blade sank in.
The Anchor pulsed, the violet light flickering, then dimming.
A low sound resonated through the cavern, like a giant gear slowing to a stop.
I hit it again.
The crystal shattered.
The violet light went out.
The gears around us slowed, then stopped, the clanking silence feeling like a relief.
Ael placed a hand on my shoulder. "The Anchor is destroyed. The rift in the Clockwork Cavern is closed."
I looked at Ilin. She was swaying.
I caught her before she fell.
"You did it," I said.
She opened her eyes, smiled faintly. "We did it."
I carried her to the ledge and sat with her, her head on my shoulder.
Garrick was sitting nearby, holding his arm. Mara was wrapping her arm. Finn was catching his breath.
Ael stood, watching the silent gears.
Ilin squeezed my hand. "We did it."
"We did," I said.
She smiled, tired but genuine.
I leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"You rest," I said. "I'll be right here."
"I know," she said.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
I stayed, watching her, listening to the quiet of the stopped machinery.
The rift in the Clockwork Cavern was closed.
Ael had said there were many worlds.
I looked at Ilin's peaceful face.
We would rest here, and then we would find the next passage.
Whatever came next, we would face it together.