did I put this on him? What did I make him do?
A thump sounded above me. I jumped, covering my mouth to stop the cry waiting to escape.
Sprig crawled out, leaping on the cupboard.
“Oh, thank god.” My words rushed out, allowing me to take the first real breath.
Sprig climbed down. “First, there are rats up there. Big ones.” He crinkled his nose. “I think they thought I was fast-food delivery... or they were trying to mate with me.”
Knowing Sprig was safe and no one had broken down the door to take either one of us away, I let myself laugh.
“I tell you, Bhean . It’s always sex or food.” He sat back on his hind legs by his cage. “Hey, you and rats have something in common. Speaking of—”
“Sprig,” I interrupted. “What did you see?”
“The vents are clear if you stay on this level. When I tried to climb up, like we did last time, I saw sensory triggers and everything has now been bolted down with goblin metal.”
Rapava was not lying. He did block the exits to leave, but moving around internally was feasible.
“How far did you go?”
“All the way to the end of this floor. They don’t seem to care if we crawl around the vents like rats in a maze. But the maze is of their making. We can’t get anywhere good... oh, unless there’s a cafeteria on this floor?”
“Let’s try finding Sera first, before we venture out.”
“Eye-Matty.” He saluted me.
I fell back on my bed with an amused groan.
Now all we had to do was wait till lights out.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Metal rubbed against the fabric of my pants, sending electric shocks into my knees and shins as I slid slowly through the vent. The space was smaller and thinner than the one I escaped through last time, and my weight created an unnerving pinging sound through the flue. It was a succession of moving through a series of mazes and climbing over ceiling beams like a gymnast.
Sprig was not wrong about the rats. Several of them scurried over my hands as I blindly made my way through. Rats didn’t bother me normally, but the feel of their fur and claws scraping over my skin created chills down my arms, causing me to shake them off in disgust. I had to rely on my memory to get to where I thought Sera’s room was located. Sprig’s sharp night vision helped steer me. After a while, my sight adjusted and my senses heightened. But my stomach was still tense with fear.
I was putting us in an insane amount of danger. But I would not be a victim. If fighting meant playing their game while secretly obtaining information to take them down, that’s what I’d do.
Sprig yelped. A rat squeaked.
“Stop, fooling around up there. Leave the rats alone,” I whispered.
“Le-leave the rats alone?” he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. “Tell them to leave me alone. Beady-eyed bastards.”
“If you stopped flirting with them,” I whispered as we came to another vent exit.
“Flirting?” He scoffed. “They want to eat me, Bhean ... and yes, in that way too.”
“Okay, didn’t need that visual.” I unhooked the vent door, crawling down to check if this was Sera’s room. The last four rooms had been empty.
My fingernails dug into the plaster around the vent, and I lifted the panel. The soft beeps of a heart monitor and the rhythmic pumping of air wafted up. My heart jumped into my throat. I think I found her . I leaned over, poking my head down the hole. One dim light was turned on Sera’s motionless body in the deep shadows. From this distance I couldn’t see her breathing, but the machines reassured me she was still alive. If only barely.
“Is it her?” Sprig climbed on my back, trying to peer with me.
“Yeah.” I pushed myself back up. This was harder than I thought, being alone with her. What would I say? Sorry you’re dying? Or, there is a chance I could cure you, but I don’t want Rapava to know the truth about how I got Ryker’s powers…my bad .
“Hello? You go on holiday?” A tiny finger tapped
A thump sounded above me. I jumped, covering my mouth to stop the cry waiting to escape.
Sprig crawled out, leaping on the cupboard.
“Oh, thank god.” My words rushed out, allowing me to take the first real breath.
Sprig climbed down. “First, there are rats up there. Big ones.” He crinkled his nose. “I think they thought I was fast-food delivery... or they were trying to mate with me.”
Knowing Sprig was safe and no one had broken down the door to take either one of us away, I let myself laugh.
“I tell you, Bhean . It’s always sex or food.” He sat back on his hind legs by his cage. “Hey, you and rats have something in common. Speaking of—”
“Sprig,” I interrupted. “What did you see?”
“The vents are clear if you stay on this level. When I tried to climb up, like we did last time, I saw sensory triggers and everything has now been bolted down with goblin metal.”
Rapava was not lying. He did block the exits to leave, but moving around internally was feasible.
“How far did you go?”
“All the way to the end of this floor. They don’t seem to care if we crawl around the vents like rats in a maze. But the maze is of their making. We can’t get anywhere good... oh, unless there’s a cafeteria on this floor?”
“Let’s try finding Sera first, before we venture out.”
“Eye-Matty.” He saluted me.
I fell back on my bed with an amused groan.
Now all we had to do was wait till lights out.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Metal rubbed against the fabric of my pants, sending electric shocks into my knees and shins as I slid slowly through the vent. The space was smaller and thinner than the one I escaped through last time, and my weight created an unnerving pinging sound through the flue. It was a succession of moving through a series of mazes and climbing over ceiling beams like a gymnast.
Sprig was not wrong about the rats. Several of them scurried over my hands as I blindly made my way through. Rats didn’t bother me normally, but the feel of their fur and claws scraping over my skin created chills down my arms, causing me to shake them off in disgust. I had to rely on my memory to get to where I thought Sera’s room was located. Sprig’s sharp night vision helped steer me. After a while, my sight adjusted and my senses heightened. But my stomach was still tense with fear.
I was putting us in an insane amount of danger. But I would not be a victim. If fighting meant playing their game while secretly obtaining information to take them down, that’s what I’d do.
Sprig yelped. A rat squeaked.
“Stop, fooling around up there. Leave the rats alone,” I whispered.
“Le-leave the rats alone?” he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper. “Tell them to leave me alone. Beady-eyed bastards.”
“If you stopped flirting with them,” I whispered as we came to another vent exit.
“Flirting?” He scoffed. “They want to eat me, Bhean ... and yes, in that way too.”
“Okay, didn’t need that visual.” I unhooked the vent door, crawling down to check if this was Sera’s room. The last four rooms had been empty.
My fingernails dug into the plaster around the vent, and I lifted the panel. The soft beeps of a heart monitor and the rhythmic pumping of air wafted up. My heart jumped into my throat. I think I found her . I leaned over, poking my head down the hole. One dim light was turned on Sera’s motionless body in the deep shadows. From this distance I couldn’t see her breathing, but the machines reassured me she was still alive. If only barely.
“Is it her?” Sprig climbed on my back, trying to peer with me.
“Yeah.” I pushed myself back up. This was harder than I thought, being alone with her. What would I say? Sorry you’re dying? Or, there is a chance I could cure you, but I don’t want Rapava to know the truth about how I got Ryker’s powers…my bad .
“Hello? You go on holiday?” A tiny finger tapped
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