Maldynado, Basilard, and Mahliki followed on their heels. Tikaya had supposedly manipulated the cubes so they wouldn’t appear to trouble them on their run to the lifeboat, but Amaranthe kept her finger on the trigger. The Behemoth was already airborne, hovering over farmlands on the other side of the lake. Tikaya had arranged for an hour delay before the craft “self-immolated.” That should be plenty of time, but Amaranthe didn’t want to risk being anywhere nearby when it happened. If they could escape in the next five minutes, that would be excellent. “Left,” Tikaya said, her breath winded from the jog, but she was keeping up admirably, especially with all the gear bouncing about on her back. “Two more turns and we’ll be there.” Amaranthe surged ahead a couple of paces to round the corner first, in case danger awaited. She stuttered to a halt. It wasn’t danger in the form of cubes, as she’d been ready for, but two men dragging a bulging burlap bag down the corridor.
