1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 59
“It falls down. And your crash bracelets don’t work
either.”
“Oh.” Tally stepped from her board and held it under
one arm. All her muscles were sore from the wild ride here.
It was good to be on solid ground. The rocks felt reassuringly
the-opposite-of-hovery under her shakey legs.
After a few minutes’ walking, though, the board started
to grow heavy. By the time the noise of the river had faded
to a dull roar behind them, it felt like a plank of oak under
her arm.
“I didn’t know these things weighed so much.”
“Yeah, this is what a board weighs when it’s not hovering.
Out here, you find out that the city fools you about
how things really work.”
The sky was getting cloudier, and in the darkness the
cold seemed more intense. Tally hoisted the board up to get
a better grip, wondering if it was going to rain. She was
already wet enough from the rapids. “I kind of like being
fooled about some things.”
After a long scramble through the rocks, Shay broke the
silence. “This way. There’s a natural vein of iron underground.
You can feel it in your crash bracelets.”
Tally held out one hand and frowned, unconvinced.
But after another minute she felt a faint tugging in her
bracelet, like a ghost pulling her forward. Her board started
to lighten, and soon she and Shay had hopped on again,