The worker ran when the second armored shoulder came into view.
He did not choose the easiest footing. He chose the opening nearest him, struck the side of it with his good shoulder and vanished around the narrow bend. The rolled sheet caught against the stone. Its fastening snapped, and the sheet fell open on the wet edge of the receiving floor.
An Aegis hunter started after him.
Eli stepped across the pursuit line before the hunter reached the opening. He kept his hands open. Behind him, Sera moved the local scout away from the mouth of the side passage so nobody would be caught between a pursuer and a frightened man’s return.
“Let him go,” Eli said.
“He knows where people are.”
“He is injured, and we frightened him.”
“He may be taking a warning to something waiting for us.”
