The sled's shoe pinned the release pin below her. The gate bar struck its channel; Elithira caught the platform lip before the jolt pitched her back.
Through the vent, Elithira saw the prisoner at the grille and the sled shoe pinning the floor. Beyond the lower gate and cut, a separate upper rail split at a brass catch: raised, it sent frames past the clearing crew; lowered, it diverted them to the upper lock.
Elithira reached for the release handle. The shoe had wedged the pin hard against its slot. Her sword guard pressed into her palm, the red wire inside it pulling toward the far branch. With her thumb she pushed it back into the groove and kept the clasp closed.
Elithira set one knee on the grate and tested the handle. It flexed without lifting; its rod met the inner bar Halen's wheel was holding, and each roll drove the shoe harder against the pin. A hard pull would bind it tighter. She needed the passenger to lift from inside.
