Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 237
that he knew led to the stone trough at the side of the road.
He unwound the gauze. "Hey!" he shouted, waving his
arms over his head. "Over here!"
The questing arms rose into the air, and silently swung in
his direction.
He covered up and stepped into the shelter of the trees.
"It’s moving away," Axel observed. He and Calandria
stood with some others watching the departure of the arms that
had harried the manor. In the sudden silence he could hear the
shouts and screams of trapped and injured people. Blocks of
stone still fell from the sky at intervals, so everyone’s attention
was directed upwards; few people were moving to help the
injured.
It did seem like the aerostat was moving away, and the
strong winds were probably the reason. Along with the smoke
Axel smelled ozone. Electrostatic propulsion? Probably.
"Think the Voice scared it?"
Calandria shook her head. "I doubt it. Anyway, we’ve
seen no sign, except that one faint flash. Maybe it decapitated
the aerostat, though; we might not know until it hit the ground.
As soon as it’s far enough away I’ll call the Voice and check."
Axel nodded. He returned his attention to ground level.
A shame. A real shame. "Our first priority is to help these
people," he said. "There’s still some trapped in the rubble."
"I’ll dig," she said. "You’d better sit down."
He looked down at himself. He was covered in blood,
with open cuts up and down his torso. He hurt all over, too.
"Yes," he said as he lowered himself onto a stone. "I
think I’d better."
Jordan made it to the highway. He was out of breath and