Iron Seas 03 - Riveted

town. They were headed east now; every step might be taking them in the opposite direction they wanted to go.
    She slowed to catch her breath, turned the troll to face the water.
    “Can you see Heimaey?”
    David scanned the horizon. “Yes.” He pointed southwest. “There.”
    So they were going the right direction, but how far away were they? Closing her eyes, she forced every other thought out of her mind. Phatéon had flown this way several times, and when she’d been younger, Annika had ridden along this route as a driver’s apprentice. Had she seen the cove?
    She had . During the summer. Ducks had been nesting along the banks of the cove, and had flown up when the troll disturbed them. They’d taken one for supper, but hadn’t eaten it until they’d stopped for the evening, after they’d turned north, heading for the pass between two glaciers.
    She opened her eyes. “We’re thirty miles west of Vik.”
    Even on foot, not an impossible distance. A full day’s journey in the summer, and only three hours of walking by troll—but she had to assume the airship was behind them. Annika turned the troll east again, slowly gaining speed.
    “Can we make it to Vik tonight?”
    “Yes. But we need to stop and hide. We’re too easy to spot.” And they should stay hidden during the day, too. “We can start again tomorrow night, when they likely aren’t looking for us.”
    “You know of a place to hide this ?”
    “I know one.” Ten miles away. Given the time it would take for the ferry cruiser to start after them, she could stay ahead of any pursuers if she moved at a quick trot.
    Forty-five minutes at a fast clip. She’d done this before; she could do this again.
    Forty-five minutes of endless pushing, pulling. Beyond a burn in her thighs, her arms. Tortured breaths squeezed her lungs, but after ten minutes, it was all the same pain.
    Relief took the edge off when she finally saw a small river that fed into the ocean. She turned north. The troll followed the winding bank, forced to go slower now, Annika carefully picking her way across the moonlit snow. Her arms and legs trembled. Finally, cliffs rose ahead, with a wide bowl carved out of their face. A tall waterfall cascaded down, thundering as they drew closer. Mist drifted through the eye louvers, welcome on her heated, sweaty face.
    Annika drove the troll into the shadows on the inward curve of the bowl. During the day, the depth of the cliffs and the mist would prevent anyone spotting them from above. She backed as far as she could against the rocks and settled the troll down, wincing as she unclenched her hands from the pulley grips. Blisters had already formed and broke.
    So soft and weak. She was ashamed of it. She’d never let herself become like this at home.
    David sucked in a breath. “Annika.”
    He reached for her hand. She shook her head, pulled it away. Her arms didn’t feel like her own. “Will you stop the engine?”
    When the huffing slowed, she realized he’d done it. Legs shaking, she pushed out of the seat, and David was there again, holding her waist as she trembled her way down the ladder. Humiliating. She should have been able to just jump down.
    Her face was hot, throat parched. The engine puffed its last,surrounding them with sudden quiet—only the hissing of the boiler, the muffled roar of water. David’s hands steadied her. In the soft glow of the lamp, the angles of his face seemed sharper, the shadows deeper.
    She wet her lips. “Is there a cup in the pack?”
    “Yes. Stay put.” He dug through the canvas, moved to the hatch.
    “Take the furnace poker,” she said, and added when he glanced back at her, “for the dogs.”
    He smiled slightly, lifted his steel hand. “They’re welcome to take a bite of this.”
    She had to smile, too. He returned a few seconds later, mist clinging to his clothes like diamond chips. Her fingers trembled violently, sloshing the water. He folded his hand over hers, watched as she drank. “Sit. Rest.”
    “I can’t.” She stretched her arms over her head. “I need to get out and walk.”
    She wouldn’t go anywhere fast, but she couldn’t sit yet. She’d ache worse afterward if she did.
    He reached for their coats. She groaned, pushing her arms into the sleeves.
    Face dark, he slung the rifle over his shoulder. “You’ll show me how to drive this tomorrow.”
    “No.” She appreciated the offer, but it was impossible. “If she tips over on a wrong step, we won’t get