Chapter Four: The Wing Beneath the Ice

A fracture raced away from the borehole. Alarms sounded as the ice opened like an enormous pupil. Chen ordered an evacuation, but all four officers turned their weapons on Lin. Two faces were already smoothing into blank skin. "Returners!" Su tackled Lin as a bullet grazed her oxygen tank. Lin moved each rifle's down toward the other. They flew sideways and collided hard enough to bend their barrels. He checked the red line after the single use. When a third officer aimed, Chen crossed the snow and pressed his feathered palm to the man's chest. The gold eye opened. No wound appeared, but the man's shadow tore free and became a black, sharp-beaked bird. Chen closed his fist. The shadow burned, screaming. "Is that what a Gatekeeper is?" Lin asked.