Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 481
He ran. Panic clamored at him, but he knew if he gave in
to it now both he and Tamsin would die. The sky was opening,
with a light like the coming of dawn. The morphs would keep
coming, and he knew they would not be tricked by the burning
ground again.
"Ka! Call the desal! We need shelter! Please!"
Tamsin was half-way up the slope of the desal. She
seemed intent on getting as high as she could, or maybe she
was just running. He followed, trying not to listen to the wet
sounds of the morphs coming after him.
When the slope got too steep, Tamsin stopped and fell
back, swaying. He reached her side and panted, "There! See
that door?" About five meters away, lower on the slope, faint
lines formed a square. "We have to get the desal to open it.
Ka!"
"I shall ask."
They ran down to the square, and now he could see the
morph he had stranded in burning ground earlier had found its
way out, and was coming round from the other side. Behind
the two new ones had learned to walk, in a manner of speaking,
and were closing in as well.
"Ka! Ask now!"
"I am doing so."
"Stand on it." He stepped onto the square. They were at
quite a height here, and the slope was nearly forty-five degrees.
He had to crouch to keep his footing. Tamsin edged down next
to him.
"What are we doing?" she said, her voice rising in panic.
"Nothing, I guess," he said as the first morph stepped
onto the square with them.
Then he was falling, and for a second he glimpsed towers
of fire standing among the stars, before blackness enfolded