For Khall though, it was a miracle, because it meant that there should be roof access from the landing.
He searched the ceiling, but it was a gaudy mess of ornate woodwork and a strangely modern-looking mural of winged mermaids performing a play.
He studied the mermaids in the pattern above and realized that the stage they were dancing on wasn’t just painted with a border, that border was an actual wooden frame.
He pressed his hand to the frame and felt it give.
He pushed harder and it popped open, releasing a set of silvery wires, which he used to climb into the crawl space.
It was dark and musty, but as he hoped, there was light filtering in through the dusty air.
He pulled himself toward it, scraping his shoulders against the ceiling.
Please let it be large enough for me to hoist myself out.
But it had to be. Surely, the real roof repairmen weren’t all unusually tiny. At last, he reached the light and saw that indeed it was large enough for him to drag himself out.
He kicked out the glass, not wanting to waste time figuring out the complicated lock system in the dark when every second might be his last chance to help his family.
Frigid air swept in from outside.
He slid through the opening, so blinded by the late afternoon sunset that he had to trust there would be something to catch him.
His feet hit something hard, and he blinked until he got his bearings, finding himself standing on a thin metal ladder that led to the roof.
He moved up it as quickly as he dared and dashed across the rooftop to try and get a view of his own home.
But what he saw didn’t make any sense.
The doors to his own balcony were wide open, and the massive, unmarked airship hung in the air just below.
On the deck of the airship, a cruel-looking bald man had his hand wrapped around April’s arm, and a laser knife at her rib cage.
Both of his daughters crouched on the deck, cowering away from the man.
A sigh like a planet shifting signaled that the ship was casting off.
He searched all around for the sirens and flashing lights of the local emergency brigade.
But the skies and streets were clear.
If anyone was going to save his family, it was going to be Khall Rivvor.
He measured the distances in his mind and tried to factor in the wind.
His chances of survival were slim, but the airship was only getting farther away.
And really, what was the value of his life if his family was taken away?
This must have been how you felt, Xteniya,he thought as he launched himself into the air.