Her hand shoved into her pocket—
Empty.
She went still for exactly one second.
The Tidecaller Shell. She could see it perfectly in her mind—sitting on the nightstand exactly where she'd left it this morning. She'd seen it there, had thought I'll grab it before walking out, but her head had been too full of star displays and impossible deities and she had walked out the door without it.
It was in her room.
She was on a hill in the middle of a building lightning storm with no way to call for anyone.
"Shit."
Lightning split the sky. Not one bolt—dozens. A barrage. The first struck twenty meters left. The second, fifteen meters right. The third slammed into the ground exactly where she'd been lying.
She scrambled to her feet and ran.
Her auto-combat kicked in—senses sharpening, legs moving with a precision she didn't have to think about.
"System—Elevation Touch, activate—"
