As soon as Pei Jing cleared the membrane, the shaft pulled him down hard. Veins of lodestone and fallen star iron ran through the rock. Their pull on his cleaver made it hard to keep his feet under him.
The shaft narrowed to twelve paces across. Black algae covered the wet walls. He drew the forty-pound Cloud-Splitter with both hands, turned the edge toward himself, and jammed the back of the blade against the wall.
Sparks lit up the shaft. The pull twisted the spine against a seam of star iron. Three hairline cracks opened near the front of the edge. He felt the blade give and kept the weight on its back. The jolt ran through his wrists and shoulders. Years of Bone Cleansing and Marrow Washing let him take it without losing his grip. He slid downward, cutting a hot groove in the wall and breathing through the dust. The cleaver dragged hard enough to slow his fall. He could smell sulfur coming off the rock.
Three people came through the opening above him. The first wore Azure Cloud silk. Pei Jing heard the young man draw his sword and saw the silver blade slide under his feet. The sword lit up as he put his qi into it.
