Shadowkill

11

In the middle of the night a ministinger crashed into the side of the House, blew out a large chunk of wall and floor, just missing Shadith’s bed. The bed tilted, creaked and fell through the gap before Shadith woke enough to understand what was happening.

It landed on the roof of the women’s quarters, slid down the pantiles and shattered on the paving stones.

Shadith was jolted by the sudden stop, bruised and more than a little terrified, but nothing was broken. She crawled out of the mess and knelt on the still-warm paving stones, gaping up at the hole in the wall. “Tsoukbaraim!”

More of the wall fell away and her boots came flying down, hit the tiles, and slid off to land close by the bed. She got shakily to her feet, stood looking at the boots and laughing.

“Kiz, you all right?”

She looked up. Tinoopa was leaning out her window, her dark braid dangling past her shoulders. “Bruised but intact,” Shadith yelled back. “Better than the bed.”

“Hang on, I’ll be down and let you in.”

“Th-thanks.” She was suddenly shaking all over her body, shaking so hard her knees gave under her and she dropped to the mattress; she grabbed the boots, hugged them to her breasts, and started crying. She was alive. But it’d been so close. So CLOSE.

She was still shaking, still crying, still clutching the boots, when Tinoopa came down and led her inside.