28
BROKEN BONES
The blast left Pasha’s ears ringing, and all else muffled to silence, even crouched with his face against the wall and hands pressed to his ears. Shouts welled from the hole above from a vast distance. Through watering eyes, he saw most of the other prisoners, unprepared for the explosion, lying about the cistern, writhing in shock or unmoving.
Ves, the other Ristroans, and Mann all recovered faster than Pasha, and Ves grabbed him by the arm and shoved him towards the smoking hole in the center of the room. Anything the pirate or anyone else might have said was lost to the pounding that echoed through Pasha’s head.
True to his word, Ves heaved himself down first, his mouth implying that he was screaming curses.
Pasha looked down the hole, wiping at the tears streaming
