Chapter 40 The Gift Shop Is Closed

Ko hit the hanging breastplate with his shield.

The blow drove it sideways. Its thread hauled at the spool Jin was already wrenching away from the shell.

The scorched seam split.

Jin fell backward with the housing in his hands.

A pale cord of tissue stretched beneath it. He hooked one heel against a ridge and pulled again.

It tore.

The breastplate dropped. So did the greave blocking Rhee's exit.

“Out!” Jin shouted.

Rhee had Jun through the gap. He went after him, dragging the wounded man's boots clear of the fallen metal.

“Both through!”

The loomjaw twisted toward the sound.

Jin threw the broken housing into its remaining front spool.

Teeth meshed. Jammed.

The creature tried to retract a dangling helmet. The jammed spool held it short; a kicking leg struck the metal.

It screamed and drove the hooked tip through the metal to tear it free.

Yu-ra stepped under its raised body.

“Jin. Off.”

He looked down.

The loomjaw had reached the mouth of the narrow exit. His first mark lay beneath its left side, just beyond the last hooked leg.

He let go of the shell.

The drop jarred his knees. A spur scraped down his pack.

He landed at the mark, staggered and triggered Braced Waypoint before the leg could come back.

Three strides carried him across the stone.

At the arrival, his planted foot held while he caught Seo's outstretched arm. She pulled him into the wider crossing.

Behind them, Yu-ra turned her blade toward the opening he'd torn.

The light along its edge disappeared.

For one heartbeat, Jin thought she'd lost it.

Then a white line opened inside the creature.

Its raised shell split from beneath.

The cut passed through the broken spool, the exposed tissue and the thick ridge behind the ruined jaws. Yu-ra walked forward with it, both hands steady on the hilt.

The loomjaw's legs struck at her.

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Ko met the nearest with his shield. Seo put a frost-bright bolt through the next joint.

Yu-ra finished the stroke.

White fire burst upward through the shell.

Jin flung one arm over his eyes. Heat slapped his face. Something heavy struck the floor hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling.

When he lowered his arm, two halves of the loomjaw lay steaming on either side of the rails.

The last thread unwound from a motionless spool.

Nothing dissolved.

Yu-ra stood between the halves, her blade lowered. A streak of soot crossed her cheek.

Jin stared at the ruined shell.

Then at her.

She blew a loose strand of hair away from her mouth.

“What?”

“I was very brave about the spicy noodles.”

Ko sat down so suddenly that his shield rang against the floor.

Seo laughed once, too loudly, then covered her face with her free hand.

Yu-ra crossed the gap between them and caught Jin by the back of his jacket.

He expected an inspection.

She pulled him against her instead.

For a second he could feel how fast her heart was going.

“Don't make me do that again,” she said into his shoulder.

“Which part?”

“The watching.”

His hand settled between her shoulder blades.

“Okay.”

He held her until her breathing steadied. Her fingers stayed in his jacket.

Ko cleared his throat.

“If you two are visiting the gift shop, I'd like a new shield.”

“The gift shop is closed,” Jin said.

“Terrible tour.”

They found Rhee and Jun sitting together beyond the narrow exit. Jun was drinking from Seo's spare bottle. Rhee held it for him without seeming to notice.

Jun looked at Jin.

“Did you really tell that thing about its own legs?”

“I was under pressure.”

“Sounded confident.”

“That's much cheaper than knowing anything.”

Rhee started laughing. He stopped halfway through and covered his mouth. Jun caught his wrist and held it until he could breathe again.

They brought the other two men out afterward.

Jin helped Ko carry one. No one tried to give that part a better name.

At the entrance, waiting medics took Jun from Rhee. Seo stayed with them to explain where they'd found him.

Jin washed the grit from his shoulder and let a medic close the shallow cut with two strips. His knees complained when he stood; they still worked.

Yu-ra came back with his pack.

Two unused hooks clinked inside. The others were still in the tunnel, one on the bracket and two buried in the broken shell. He wasn't going back for them.

His phone chimed with the job payment.

Jin checked the number.

Then he checked it again.

Yu-ra watched his face.

“Paid,” she said.

“I remember you saying that. I was trying to concentrate on the other reason.”

She tucked the loose strap of his pack over his shoulder.

He sent Mira a picture of the transfer.

Is that real?

Yes.

Are you still in one piece?

Mostly handsome ones.

Come home, idiot. Theo's eaten your dumplings.

Jin put the phone away and started walking faster.

Later, Seo sent the team her chest-camera recording. Jin watched himself on the shell, shouting about children and railings while his legs flailed in entirely different directions.

Ko had added a message.

Can I send the tour to Bae?

Only if he pays admission, Jin replied.

Yu-ra's message appeared while he was still laughing.

Saturday's still on. One change. My mother's cooking.

Then:

She asked what you are to me. Can I tell her you're my boyfriend?