The momentum of Kai's strike shattered the base of the pillar, but the recoil sent him sliding back into the grey sludge. He didn't see the collapse.
His world was narrowed down to the agonizing rhythm of his own lungs seizing from the lavender gas.
Above, in the Ash pit's basement, Elara didn't wait for a signal. When she heard the boom from the sewers, she saw the void sleeve on the table.
Then she realized Kaelen had lied; the sleeve wasn't a gift, it was a tracker for the barman to keep tabs on Kai's death.
"Miri, stay behind the lead lining," Elara commanded.
She didn't look like a merchant anymore. She pulled a short-barreled spark pistol from her thigh holster, a weapon that cost more than her entire caravan.
"If I am not back in ten minutes, take the gold in the wagon and run for the wicket gate."
"You are going down there?" Miri asked, her voice steady despite her trembling hands.
"Kai said it was his work."
"Kai thinks he is the only one who can bleed for this group," Elara said, checking the chamber of her pistol. Her eyes were hard, reflecting the life of a warrior who survived battle.
"He is a fool. If he dies, we all will die. I am just protecting my investment."
As she walks, she mutters to herself. "And I will show him, he is not the only one who bleeds for the group."
In the sewer chamber, the Queen's upper torso fell from the ceiling as the pillar crumbled. But she didn't die. She crawled through the sludge toward the gasping Kai, her obsidian quills clicking.
Kai reached for The Scourge, but his arm wouldn't obey. The void chill had reached his elbow; the skin was a translucent, ice blue.
Crack-hiss.
A bolt of yellow kinetic energy slammed into the queen's remaining eye.
Elara stood at the tunnel entrance, her pistol smoking. She was holding a vinegar-soaked rag over her nose with one hand and aiming with the other.
"Get up, you idiot!" Elara screamed through the rag. She fired again, the spark bolt shearing off one of the Queen's limbs.
"The ventilation is failing! The gas is going to hit the upper tavern! If we don't move, the church will seal the vents with us inside."
Miri appeared behind Elara. She wasn't supposed to be there, but she came carrying a heavy bucket of raw salt.
She didn't wait for Elara to give instructions. She ran past Elara and threw the salt directly into the lavender gas cloud.
The reaction was violet; a hissing wall of steam that neutralized the toxic vapor. It gave Kai a pocket of clear air.
He used his remaining strength to lunge, his right hand gripping the Nodachi as he drove the blade through the Queen's skull, pinning her to the stone floor. The creature finally dissolved into black substance.
The three of them stood in the setting dust. Kai looked at Elara, then at the child. He was the pistol in Elara's hand; a weapon of spark. He saw the salt burns on Mirir's small arms.
For the first time, he realized, he doesn't need to bear everything himself; they can also help in his difficult times. This was the first time for him, as most of the people either helped after a fight or became a burden to him in the fight.
This realization gave him a new feeling.
The trio scrambled back up the rusted ladder, their boots slick with black substance and grey sludge.
Kai reached the top first, hauling Elara up by the collar of her leather tunic. His arm felt like a dead branch; cold, heavy, and stained a deep, bruised indigo up to the shoulder.
"The guards are already at the front door," Kaelen whispered, his face ghastly in the dim light of the basement. He was shoving bottles of cheap rotgut into a bag.
"The boom from the sewer vent was too loud. Vane's boys aren't being polite anymore; they are coming in with force."
Kai looked at the heavy iron door at the top of the cellar stairs. The sound of wood splintering and metal clashing drifted down.
"The girl," Kai rasped, his voice hurt from the gas. "Where's the way out?"
Kaelen pointed to a narrow gap behind a stack of empty barrels. There wasn't a door; it was a crack in the foundation of the city wall itself.
"The old drainage veins. They lead to the mid levels, near the scholar's quarters. If you're lucky, the Apostate will still be sober enough to help you."
"What about you?" Elara asked, tucking her handgun back into its holster. She was wiping the black sludge from her face, her breath still hitched from the climb.
"I have lived in the sump for twenty years," Kaelen said, a tired smile touching his lips. He picked up a heavy iron bar. "I know how to play dead. Now move. If they find a Scourge bearer in my basement, they will burn the whole block just to be sure to kill you."
Kai shoved the barrels aside. The gap was tight, smelling of wet stone and dust. He went in first, the massive blade on his back scraping against the masonry. He had to crawl on his stomach, his good hand pulling his deadened left arm along like a piece of luggage.
Miri followed close behind, her small hand gripping the back of Kai's clock. She didn't show any discomfort about the situation. She had learned that in the city of light, silence was the only thing that kept you alive.
The tunnel opened into a small, forgotten cellar filled with scrolls and broken glass. Sitting at a slanted wooden desk was a man who looked like he had been carved out of charcoal.
His hair was white, his skin was bleached to a translucent grey, and his eyes were covered by a heavy leather blindfold.
The man didn't turn around. He continued writing on a piece of parchment with a quill that had no ink.
"You are late, Kai," the man said. His voice was like a man who had seen enough in the world, carrying a hint of boredom.
"And you brought company."