Chapter 7 - The Connection

Taylor did in fact walk toward the banquet table. Then she didn’t.

She found herself hesitantly creeping through the crowd. It was strange because outside of school she didn’t encounter that many people, and there weren’t normally this many in the school hallways. They were all wearing suits and ties and robes and capes and top hats from many different islands.

Taylor wasn’t really worried about any of that though. She felt bad for leaving Rick. She didn’t plan on being gone long, but since entering the museum she’d felt something.

She felt herself being drawn toward the exhibit hall. The first door she’d tried was still locked, they were probably waiting for the big reveal of artifacts and history exhibits within, but Taylor needed to see. She needed to know if those dreams had really meant anything or if they were just that. Dreams.

The second door she tried was unlocked.

With a quick look around, Taylor dipped inside. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, the roar of the crowd was muffled to the point that it was almost silent. It relaxed her a little, but only just so. She really didn’t want to ruin Rick’s date that he’d so carefully planned over what might be some stupid dreams. She would make it fast, pretend she went to the bathroom or something, and everything could go back to normal.

The exhibit hall was filled with glass cases, a large row down the middle, and a couple dozen cases on either side along the wall. The way the room was organized was intended to lead the museum goer along a path. Taylor started that path, and what she saw were artifacts that showed what Alkania was like to live in. Plaques that spoke about how rich and prominent the city was. How it was so different than all the other cities in its time because they used magical accumulators to develop magical technology in a brand new way.

They had a powerful group of wizards that worked in the city. Acting both as it’s protectors and it’s inventors.

Something about being there, surrounded by artifacts all alone was surreal for Taylor. Each exhibit cased in its glass felt like it was frozen in time. There was a suit of armor in one. The metal was dented, rusted and torn across the front, right across the Alkanian symbol.

In another was a sword, broken in a dozen pieces, lined up on a cloth. The leather of the handle had long since worn off, the jewel embedded in the pommel had long lost its gleam, but the blade itself still had an edge.

When Taylor blinked, all of a sudden she wasn’t in the museum. She was standing on that cobblestone street. A broken sword lay next to a broken man in broken armor, his life leaking down the cracks toward her.

It was so fast and so sudden that she stumbled back, bumping into the glass of another collection, and this time it was a skeleton, but not a human one. It looked like the skull of a dragon, only much smaller. The teeth were inches long, and the claws on its boney hand were like kitchen knives.

It was a bakiri skeleton.

Sweat beaded on Taylors face. Her heart was pounding. Her nostrils filled with the thick scent of smoke and iron. Her eyes stung as she felt it in her eyes. The locket on her chest began to vibrate. Began to burn.

She tore it off of her neck.

She held it away from her, the crystal within was glowing, small beams of light emanating through the seam. The locket shook and clicked open, revealing the small crystal inside. The crystal that she had touched, the crystal that had begun the nightmares.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Taylor heard the voice, she was so sure that she was alone, she whirled around in surprise. At first she didn’t see him.

It looked like one of the exhibits had come to life. He was a young man, maybe his early twenties but there was a weariness around his eyes that made him feel much older. The way he walked caused him to slip in and out of her vision as he seemingly wandered throughout the cases and artifacts.

“You know I had a vase like this once,” he tapped the glass with a finger. His armor rustled with the upraised movement. She noticed the armor that he wore, almost an exact copy as the rusted set behind her. Only his was polished and clean the Alkanian symbol engraved on his breastplate. The pommel of the sword strapped to his waist was the same as the broken one, but the gem gleamed a soft yellow in the light.

The man finally came around to face her, and he took a slow deep breath.

“My god…” his voice was a whisper. “Your eyes haven’t changed at all.”

Taylor blinked.

She was standing on a burning street. The knight in front of her. He was perfectly in place. Firelight shone on his armor, as he stepped towards her, a gauntleted hand reaching out.

“What are you talking about?” She was back in the museum. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but she didn’t know why. As the man drew closer, she saw even more clips of her dreams. Monsters. Fire. Bodies. Bodies of knights in the very same armor she saw standing before her.

“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” He said, his voice no more than a whisper. “Now… everything changes.”

***

“Taylor,” Rick hissed, only to get a couple more strange looks from the people around him. He gave them an awkward smile, and as soon as he was away, he called out again. “Where could she have gone?” He was talking out loud to himself, and Vivian always said that was a bad thing. Speaking of Vivien… Rick did a quick check of his phone only to see that she’d sent him a couple of messages.

Good luck!

Hope it’s going well!

“No Viv,” Rick grumbled to himself, “It is absolutely not going well.” He passed by the double doors that would eventually reveal the Alkania exhibit, and he stopped, then backed up. Had she gone inside? He looked around and checked the handles. Locked.

He looked around, and saw another door, this one was smaller and closer to the door. He went over and checked it. This time it was unlocked.

“Ah, Rick,” David said breathing heavy.

“What are you doing?” Rick jolted as the adventurer clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Please don’t scare me like that, also…” He had to gather up the courage to say what he needed to say. “I don’t like you very much right now.”

“Well…” David’s eyebrows knit together. Rick wasn’t totally sure if he looked offended or hurt or somewhere in between. “Get in line, I guess.”

“David, I swear,” Rick not quite liking that response. “This is gonna end up just like last time, isn’t it?”

“Probably,” David admitted. “Now where is Teresa?”

“Taylor,” Rick corrected. “And I was just looking for her, what are you doing?”

“I was looking for you, looking for her.” David said, as if it was supposed to make total sense. “Look, I know you’re mad right now, but I promise, I’m trying to do a thing, okay?”

“Oh sure,” Rick opened the door. “That explains everything doesn’t it? Speaking of explaining things, now would be a really great time to…”

He took a step into the exhibit hall, and his words trailed away as he saw Taylor standing there. In front of her was a knight, but the armor he wore didn’t belong to any remnant kingdom he knew of. That was when he noticed the suit of armor in the glass case. The similarities it bore to the armor the man wore.

Then he saw Taylor. The locket clenched in her hand. He saw the fear in her eyes. The face he was so used to seeing emotionless, now contorted with it.

The knight turned and looked at Rick. No, he looked past Rick. His messy honey hair was loosely brushed to one side. His face was gaunt, a short 5 O’clock shadow emerging, his eyes tired and shadowed purple.

“Well, well, well…” he spoke, a weary smile cutting across his face. “If it isn’t the famous adventurer, David Echoe.”

“Told you I was famous,” David muttered under his breath, as he stepped past Rick, and stood in front of him. “I thought you were gone, Stephen. I mean, I thought you were gone, gone.”

“I was gone.” Stephen took a step forward, his focus no longer on Taylor. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowing. “I was lost for a long, long time.” He lifted a gloved hand and pointed. “But you don’t look a day older than when I last saw you.”

“It’s been a few weeks,” David acknowledged.

“Weeks?” Stephen’s eyebrows raised, his expression incredulous. “It’s been weeks for you, has it? Years… David, it’s been years for me.” His voice grew louder, less controlled. Pain creeped in. “Years… I’ve been looking for a way back home. I’ve searched everywhere.”

“That was you, wasn’t it?” David asked, “you carved those words into the dragon’s lair, didn’t you?”

“Used to be a ballroom,” Stephen spoke longingly. “It was beautiful, and people from all over the world came to sing and dance and make merry.” The knight put a hand on his sword, and he began to walk in a slow circle. “You know at first I still harbored doubts, I carved those words because I somehow felt responsible for what happened.”

“You know that’s not true,” David said, his voice almost pleading.

“I know it now,” Stephen nodded, his fingers sliding over the glass of an exhibit. “I know that it was your fault, David. That you are the reason Alkania is gone, and you are the reason the world is broken.”

“Holy fayr.” Rayne said. Her voice came out of nowhere. Her silhouetted figure emerged behind Stephen, her silver eyes practically on fire with fury. “You’re the remnant knight…” she said, recalling the information that Jim Bones had given her. “And you…” she glanced at David. “Are a fayring idiot. Is it true? Is what he says true?”

“Sort of…” David winced, “but I do happen to think that we’re missing just a teensy bit of context. You know what I’m saying?”

“No,” Rayne snapped. “I don’t. You stole the Oasis Spark, and then you break into the Explorer’s Guild, using the database to search for someone. To search for her.” Rayne looked to Taylor who had backed up next to Rick. “You didn’t run into Rick by accident, did you?”

“Oh, look at that,” Stephen chuckled softly, “you treat everyone the same, don’t you? We’re all just little pawns for you to play with. We’re all just side characters in your story, aren’t we?” He paused, and smiled at Taylor, Rick, and Rayne.

“I’m so sorry,” he said with a courteous bow. “Let me introduce myself. I am Stephen of Alkania, a knight to King Faust, sworn to protect the royal family and even…” His eyes looked to Taylor. “The royal princess herself. Mayveline Faust.”

“That’s impossible,” Rayne breathed.

“You call me impossible,” Stephen said with a tut. “But look around you, because all I see is impossible. It’s the Broken World, there are islands floating in the sky, there buildings made of glass that reach for the sky, just look at the technology, and so much of it is exceptional and without the use of magic even. A dozen different worlds have been united together by magical disaster and somehow, somehow, I’m the impossible part in all of this.” He sighed and shook his head. “I guess impossible isn’t so impressive when you see it every day.”

“It just…” Rick stuttered. “It doesn’t make any sense, how…?”

“I’ll tell you what doesn’t make sense,” Stephen turned on his heel and faced Rick, he took a step forward, his face contorting and his voice lowering. “Have you ever seen the sky crack like glass? Watched everything you’ve ever known and loved disappear?”

As he approached Rick, Taylor stepped between them, her fists clenched at her sides. She didn’t say anything, but Stephen faltered. He stopped.

“What happened after that?” David asked, “what happened after we got separated?”

“I told you, David,” Stephen had a little more control in his tone this time. “I was lost. After you left me behind, I was trapped in that realm. A place beyond time, beyond space, the same place that Alkania still is now. I found a way out though, it took me a few tries, but I did, and I realized that if I can escape then so can my city.”

“Alkania…” Rayne spoke. “So, it is still out there? It’s still out there somewhere?”

“It is,” Stephen continued. “Everything got rearranged, islands from different realms, different times. When the Oasis was destroyed, all of that magic, unharnessed and wild, was let loose. Imagine if you could connect to that magic, and everything that it touched. The magic that took Alkania away, is also the magic that can bring it back.”

“There’s only one problem,” David said, “You’ll need one heck of a connection.”

“That is correct,” the knight nodded. “It seems you and I came to the same conclusion. Find the princess, find the spark, and look at that, you have a pretty powerful connection.”

“That’s…” Rick started to say.

“No, no,” Stephen shook his head. “Don’t say impossible. After all, am I not proof of the impossible? By the way, how did you make it back?” He asked David. “Using unhinged magic to time travel is rather tricky, apparently.”

“I had a little help.”

“Valen…” Stephen snarled, “you’re still working with him, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” David shook his head, “and I swear, I never was. Not really.”

“So, what happens now?” Rayne narrowed her eyes. “You have the princess, and she has the crystal, what now?”

“Touch it,” Stephen said turning back to Taylor. He didn’t look at her the same way he looked at everyone else. It was as if when he looked at her, he still felt her royalty, and it gave him pause. “Please. Touch the crystal.”

Taylor raised the locket, she glanced at it, then at David, but then finally at Rick. He gave her a hesitant nod, and she pressed her thumb to the glowing accumulator.

Her eyes widened and they seemed to glow the same color as the crystal. The artifacts in the room began to tremble in their cases, the armor shook, the sword fragments rattled, and the bones of an ancient enemy almost seemed to growl.

Light filled the room; it was bright and blue and looked like beams of light beneath the sea. Then it stopped and began to dim.

Taylor noticed that Rick was holding her hand. He’d moved her thumb away from the crystal, a terrified look in his eyes.

“It’s not enough,” Stephen said. “She needs to be there.”

“The valley of Wyte.” Rayne supplied.

“She’s…” Rick swallowed nervously, struggling to get the words out. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“I appreciate what little bravery you offer,” Stephen’s tone was almost apologetic. “But do you really think that David, and I are the only ones reaching for Alkania? What about the bakiri? Don’t you think that they want their army back?”

“When you bring back Alkania,” Rayne thought carefully, “it’ll come back like the day it disappeared.”

“You are smart,” Stephen acknowledged. “Mystroe will like you.”

“Son of a gun!” David exclaimed suddenly. “You’re telling me that Mystroe made it out too?” He paced for a second before jabbing a pointed finger at Stephen. “No, no, he’s the one who sent you isn’t he? You’re working with him.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Stephen roared, “the bakiri want the same thing that I do, because they lost their people too. If working with my enemy gets me my home back… if it can help me fix this world then I’ll do it. I’ll do anything...”

***

“Rayne, do you have a copy? Repeat, Rayne, respond.”

It was Marcus’s voice, speaking in her ear. They could hear the conversation no doubt, but Rayne hadn’t really noticed. All of her focus had been on the knight. Now she realized that she was in a crucial position.

“Rayne, listen to me, we cannot let this escalate. We cannot. I repeat, CAN NOT let him take the girl or the crystal to the valley. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” she breathed, keeping her lips as still as possible, her voice just barely audible, so as not to draw attention to herself. She saw shadows cross the far wall, it was Marcus and Alex getting into position around the skylight, ready to move in case something happened.

“Hold on kiddo, headed your way.” This time it was M’natherine’s voice. “Oh, another champagne? Don’t mind if I do.”

“Focus,” Rayne hissed, a little louder than she meant to, but Stephen didn’t notice. The knight had eyes only for Taylor, but she had her jaw clenched as she glared back at him.

“I’m not a princess,” she finally spoke. “I’m a mechanic.”

“Maybe you weren’t raised in the royal courts,” Stephen spoke, again with a level of reverence. “But you have Alkanian blood in your veins, and that accumulator proves it.” He shrugged, armor shuffling. “If nothing else, you’re the spitting image of your mother. You look just like her,” he shook his head softly. “That’s where the similarities stop, I think.”

“That’s enough,” Rayne said, moving around to stand next to Taylor and Rick. “You can’t have her, and neither can you.” She glanced at David.

“Oh, come now,” Stephen shook his head. “Do you really think me a fool? You think I would just come in here, unprepared?” He paused, a small smile on his lips. He knew something no one else did. “They’ve been itching for a fight. I told them to wait, told them to at least let me try a diplomatic solution. They’ve been hiding for too long, waiting on this moment.”

“Rayne,” Marcus said over comms. His voice was calm. Too calm. “We just spotted something moving outside, something big.”

“Rick.” Rayne said, eyes narrowing. “You and Taylor, get out of here, now.”

Stephen raised a pair of fingers to his lips and let out a loud, shrill whistle. For a heartbeat nothing happened. Then there was a massive crash as something tore through a wall. Rock and debris went flying, crashing into the glass exhibits and causing a huge commotion.

Dust whirled up in a cloud and Rayne saw three shadows. They emerged from the plume of dust, like creatures from a nightmare. She’d read about the bakiri before, but it didn’t compare. Not even a little.

They were seven to eight feet tall with scales of varying brown and green. They had a maw like a dragon and bony spikes running down their backs and tails. Muscles bulged and rippled as they moved. Their teeth were sharp and jagged sticking out of their long mouths. Their eyes were slitted and green and they locked right on to Rayne.

It roared, and its roar was so loud and deafening it made her ears ring. It smelled like salt, and murky mud at the bottom of the sea, mixed with dead fish. The bakiri’s nostril’s flared as reared back, ready to attack.

“Duck!” David yelled from behind, and Rayne dropped to one knee, just as he leaped over her head, bashing the bakiri with a fire extinguisher. It snorted in pain, and backed off, but only for a heartbeat.

Rayne looked around. She had to find something to fight with. As she did, the creature attacked again, and this time David shoved the fire extinguisher into its mouth. The creature bit down, teeth puncturing metal like it was no more than a soda can.

All at once there was a boom as the pressurized canister exploded into a cloud of white dust.

Rayne coughed and sputtered, wiping at her eyes beneath her glasses. For a moment she couldn’t see much of anything. She tried to scramble away but not before she heard David yelp, and then the crash of glass, no doubt from one of the exhibits. That same glass landed atop Rayne, and she had to cover her head to keep from getting lacerated.

Before she could recover, there was a large, clawed hand that caught her leg, pulling her back. With nothing left, Rayne managed to catch a shard of glass.

The creature lifted her upside down and began to lower her into its mouth like she was a tasty morsel.

“I prefer the females…” the creature spoke with that putrid breath. It’s words sounded like it was gargling gravel, rough and barking and almost incomprehensible. “The meat is far more tender and beautiful…”

Rayne’s eyes widened, and she gripped the glass in her hand, plunging it into the creatures eye. Then she drug it across its face, the glass biting into her hand, but she didn’t let go.

The creature howled and flung her through the air. She popped out of the cloud of smoke just long enough to realize how high she was. The only thing that broke her fall was a wooden table that broke in a pile of splinters when she landed on it.

“Fayr…” Rayne swore, gasping for breath and quickly scrambling to her feet. The bakiri howled and thrashed, it’s tail smashing glass and sending shrapnel and ancient artifacts flying. Blood dripped down her fingers and splashed on the floor.

Rayne tried to look around, to see where the others were, she had to get Rick and Taylor out of there, but she couldn’t see them. All she could see was the bakiri roaring and racing towards her with an impossible speed.

All of a sudden there was the whirling sound of a helicopter blade. Only it wasn’t a helicopter. It was a massive Errington steel sword flying through the air, and right through the bakiri. The blade embedded itself into the marble floor like it was butter.

Rayne had to roll out of the way as the front half of the bakiri hit the ground with a thud and slid forward, it’s eyes already dull and lifeless.

M’natherine stepped out of the smoke, her crystal gloves glowing with power, her face as nonchalant as ever.

“Ew,” she said, stepping over the puddles of green blood that began to form large puddles, yanking her sword out of the stone. “That’s gross.”

Marcus followed her out of the smoke, and dust, and behind him was Alex, gun raised as he searched around.

“We have back up ships in twenty minutes,” Marcus said stepping forward. He didn’t show it, but he took Rayne’s face in one massive hand and tilted her chin up and to the side. He was checking to make sure she was alright. In his own way. “You alright?” He asked, and Rayne nodded. She clenched the hand that had been cut by the glass and noticed a dozen other little cuts and scrapes along her arm.

“Yeah,” Rayne answered, sniffing. “I’m fine.”

“M’natherine,” Marcus ordered. “Take Alex, check the perimeter, make sure there aren’t any more bakiri around. Rayne, come with me, we’re taking the ship and we’re searching for David and the knight.”

***

“Taylor!” Rick was looking around frantically. He coughed through the smoke and found himself back in the main room. He was pushed to one side, then another, by panicking people all trying to escape the museum. People screamed, monsters roared, and the knights barked orders as they rushed people away from danger.

He stood in the midst of the rush of people, lost. She’d been right there, and he’d lost her, and… He felt the panic in his chest. People rushed by, and his breaths became shallow, frantic.

“I’m here,” Taylor said breaking through the crowd and grabbing him by the arm. Her face was impassive despite the chaos. Despite what the knight had said about her. “Rick,” she said, “we need to go.”

Rick nodded, using the palm of his hand to wipe at the tears that threatened to roll down his cheeks. She was okay. He was jerked forward as Taylor took him by the wrist and pulled him along.

Taylor was scared. She had to be, and yet, here she was, taking charge and pulling him along while he just wanted to be an emotional wreck. Rick had hoped that maybe, just maybe his adventures with David had made him braver or something. That what Vivien had said was true, that he wasn’t so scared anymore.

But he hadn’t changed at all.

There was the roar of a bakiri as it flipped one of the banquet tables, sending it flipping across the room. It crashed into the marble floor just beside Rick. Way too close for comfort.

“This way,” Taylor changed direction, and pushed through a door that led into a long side hallway, and hopefully a nearby exit. As they started down the hallway, Stephen emerged. Sword drawn.

He stood there. A knight in shining armor. His face, young and bright. Then the image flickered, and he was covered in blood. His armor was dented, and he was covered in ashes that stuck to the drying red. He sat in the dark corner of an empty home.

Taylor blinked and the vision was gone. It was just like her dream, but this time she wasn’t asleep.

“You don’t have to run away from who you really are,” Stephen spoke as he made his way towards them. “All you have to do is come with me, all I want to do is bring back my home. Your home.”

“It’s not my home,” Taylor said taking a step back. “And I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“I’m tired of trying to make this your choice,” Stephen bared his teeth in a snarl. “I’m going to kill him, and I’m going to take you to the valley of Wyte.” He took a step forward, raising his sword, just as David tackled him from behind.

The ensuing scuffle was like two alley cats kicking and yanking and clawing for all it was worth. “Go!” David yelled, “I’ll catch up!”

Nodding, Taylor yanked Rick along and they rushed down the dark hallway. They took a left turn, and then a right, not knowing where they were going but hoping it was away from the fighting. They reached a back door and burst through it into the night.

Gunshots rang out from the roof. Cop sirens wailed and the lights lit up between buildings as they rushed towards the scene. A helicopter hovered above, it’s spotlight illuminating the front of the building.

“Where do we go?” Rick asked, gasping for breath. No sooner had he asked though, than David burst through the door behind them.

“This way,” he said running towards the front of the building.

“What about Stephen?” Rick asked as he chased after him.

“I hit him in the head with a very expensive vase,” David said. They ran across the grass, now wet with the evening dew. Behind them, a hideous howl cut through the night. Rick chanced a look back and saw a Bakiri standing atop the museum, illuminated by the spotlight. “Now, follow me!” He started racing across the museum grounds, hopping bushes, dodging statues.

Just ahead, Rick could see a taxi, but in the driver’s seat he didn’t see anyone. Wait, no, he did see something. He saw a pair of bunny ears.

“Hey!” David yelled as they got closer. “Start the car! We gotta go! Like… now!”

There was no response. Rick and Taylor reached the taxi, the two of them gasping for breath. Dustbunny was in the driver’s seat, his eyes closed, and he had earbuds in his ears. He was dancing to the song he was listening to.

“Dust,” David said glancing back at the chaos emanating from the museum, then back to his friend. He started tapping on the window. “Dustbunny, open up, and open up now!”

In his rhythm, Dust just so happened to turn just enough that he caught a glimpse of David. He reached over with a disconnected hand and rolled the window down.

“Oh, hey man, did you get—” He stopped midsentence as he lifted himself up high enough to look out the window and see the sirens and lights. One of the bakiri was on the roof, it pointed in their direction and roared, signaling that it had spotted them. “Oh. We gotta go.”

“Yes, yes we do.” David reached through the window and unlocked the doors then ran around to hop in the passenger seat.

Rick opened the door, and Taylor shoved him inside, then jumped in behind him. Tires squealed, and the smell of burning rubber touched Rick’s nose before he was slung to one side, landing in Taylor’s lap as they sped away.

“Sorry,” Rick stammered sitting upright, putting a hand to his chest. His heart was beating like crazy. Taylor ignored him and looked out the back window. There were three of them. Three bakiri chasing them down. They ran on all fours, as fast as a cheetah, but wicked as dragons.

Rick yelped as he and Taylor were slung around in the back seat as the whole taxi went bouncing across the sidewalk and into the city streets.

“Oh, look at that, a curb,” Dust said casually turning the wheel. Cars honked as they cut across traffic, taking another sharp turn. “I also have some uh, trail mix, the good stuff, the one with the little chocolate candies.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” David said, pouring some into his hand.

“I’ll take some too,” Taylor said breathlessly. David raised his eyebrows, impressed, and passed the bag back.

“You’re all insane.” Rick grumbled, as Taylor tilted her head back, and poured trail mix in her mouth.

“Hey Dust,” David said mid chew, “I’ma need you to step on it, those guys are really fast.” Rick dared a glance back and sure enough, even in a car, the Bakiri were right on their tail. The creatures were unstoppable. They leaped across cars with ease, their claws leaving gashes in the metal.

Rick squealed as he was slammed back into Taylor, trail mix spilling everywhere as the taxi swerved onto another road.

“Sorry, sorry,” Dustbunny waved, “I don’t drive very often, and when I do, it’s usually during these extraneous circumstances.”

“You’re doing great,” Rick said, “considering how we haven’t died yet.”

There was a slam on top of the car, the whole vehicle shaking as one of the bakiri caught up to them, leaping on to the top of the taxi. It’s claws shredded through the roof like it was a tin can and began cutting and tearing.

“Whoa!” Rick screamed, leaning down as far as he could. Taylor grabbed him and pulled him out of the way just as the bakiri reached a clawed hand in, swiping around. Not catching anything, it tore the hole in the roof bigger, its drool dripping onto the seat as it leaned in.

It snarled at them, nostrils flaring and eyes narrowing as it saw Taylor.

“Found you…” It croaked.

“Hey Dust!” David yelled, looking back. “I’m gonna need you to do a repeat of the Alexandria Parking Job.”

“Uh oh,” Dust said, but his eyes narrowed in determination. “Hold on!”

His little foot hit the break hard, and he spun the wheel so fast that the taxi whipped around, tipping over on to one side, the momentum and weight of the heavy creature on top only swinging them faster as the taxi crashed and rolled, once, twice, three times before slamming to a stop upside down.