heat curling in her belly. The air smelled coppery, and when she licked her lips, she tasted a tang to the water that reminded her of metal.
Where did all this water go? A sudden image of rampant flooding made her grit her teeth. Letting her imagination run away wouldn’t help her now. It had rained regularly for fifty years, the water had to go somewhere.
The thought was cold comfort as she walked beside Silas. She peered at every crumbling wall, every empty, skeletal frame as they navigated the twisted maze of roads.
As she followed the magic.
Jessie pointed down what had once been a side street, at least before the whole underground had become just that. “I think it’s this one.”
Wordlessly Silas reached into his coat and withdrew a small penlight. The high-powered beam cut through the artificial night like a knife. “Stay close.”
He led the way this time, cutting her off before she could do more than raise her foot for the first step. She glared at his back. “Expecting trouble?”
“Always.”
The single, flat word took some of the wind out of her irked sails. Always? How . . . sad.
How familiar .
Jessie aimed her flashlight at the treacherous street at her feet and followed, blinking water from her eyes. She didn’t say anything at all as he picked his way across rippled, broken pavement. He stepped over a mound of twisted earth and asphalt, said, “Careful,” as he continued past it.
Jessie blinked at it. Frowned. Without warning, it coalesced into a full picture in her mind. “Oh,” she breathed, crouching down to touch the massive hump. Something soft and green ticked her palm around the angled edges of old cement.
The earth was reclaiming this forgotten city. Jessie didn’t need to see to know there were roots jammed through the mound. Roots and moss and broken stone. “Wow,” she whispered, because she didn’t have the words to explain the joy, the sheer amazement that slipped underneath her wariness, her anger, and bloomed.
There was hope, primal and alive.
“What did you find?” Silas called from the shadows ahead. His voice bounced from wet stone to rotting siding, eerily surreal.
Jessie raised her head, blinked quickly. Yanked her brain firmly into focus. “Nothing!” she lied. He wouldn’t understand, anyway. She gently patted the mound of life and ruined city, stepped over it, and hurried to catch up.
This time, the magic seized her by the throat. Her awareness fragmented outward like shrapnel, too many images assailing her at once to see any of it. Then her power flared, wrapped around her consciousness, and forced it all together into that single thread, faded even further and harder to pick out from the real world that battered at her from all sides.
Rain, metal, silence.
There .
She shook her head, hard, and touched the door beside her. “Caleb,” she whispered. Without waiting, without daring to breathe, she pushed against the half-rotted door.
Splinters came off in her hands. Water poured into the hole left behind. Jessie slanted her shoulder against the ruined frame and, gritting her teeth, pushed harder.
Chapter Seven
T he rotted door slammed open, tumbled Jessie into a tiny, cramped space. Dust and decay clouded the air, coalesced like a fine mist around her, and she coughed as she stumbled through the forgotten room. The smell was awful, sealed rot and mold.
She breathed through her mouth, sneezed anyway, and clapped both hands over her nose. Her eyes watered.
Outside, Silas called her name, his voice muted behind the uneven rhythm of the rain. She ignored it, knew she’d get hell for it later. It didn’t matter. Not if Caleb was here. She bypassed old wooden crates piled with things, junk, some long since disintegrated in the damp air, and stepped over heaps of garbage and forgotten treasures. Old tools, their wood rotted away. Plastic toys, filthy beyond recognition. A metal wheelbarrow rusted into the ground.
Jessie wound a careful path
Where did all this water go? A sudden image of rampant flooding made her grit her teeth. Letting her imagination run away wouldn’t help her now. It had rained regularly for fifty years, the water had to go somewhere.
The thought was cold comfort as she walked beside Silas. She peered at every crumbling wall, every empty, skeletal frame as they navigated the twisted maze of roads.
As she followed the magic.
Jessie pointed down what had once been a side street, at least before the whole underground had become just that. “I think it’s this one.”
Wordlessly Silas reached into his coat and withdrew a small penlight. The high-powered beam cut through the artificial night like a knife. “Stay close.”
He led the way this time, cutting her off before she could do more than raise her foot for the first step. She glared at his back. “Expecting trouble?”
“Always.”
The single, flat word took some of the wind out of her irked sails. Always? How . . . sad.
How familiar .
Jessie aimed her flashlight at the treacherous street at her feet and followed, blinking water from her eyes. She didn’t say anything at all as he picked his way across rippled, broken pavement. He stepped over a mound of twisted earth and asphalt, said, “Careful,” as he continued past it.
Jessie blinked at it. Frowned. Without warning, it coalesced into a full picture in her mind. “Oh,” she breathed, crouching down to touch the massive hump. Something soft and green ticked her palm around the angled edges of old cement.
The earth was reclaiming this forgotten city. Jessie didn’t need to see to know there were roots jammed through the mound. Roots and moss and broken stone. “Wow,” she whispered, because she didn’t have the words to explain the joy, the sheer amazement that slipped underneath her wariness, her anger, and bloomed.
There was hope, primal and alive.
“What did you find?” Silas called from the shadows ahead. His voice bounced from wet stone to rotting siding, eerily surreal.
Jessie raised her head, blinked quickly. Yanked her brain firmly into focus. “Nothing!” she lied. He wouldn’t understand, anyway. She gently patted the mound of life and ruined city, stepped over it, and hurried to catch up.
This time, the magic seized her by the throat. Her awareness fragmented outward like shrapnel, too many images assailing her at once to see any of it. Then her power flared, wrapped around her consciousness, and forced it all together into that single thread, faded even further and harder to pick out from the real world that battered at her from all sides.
Rain, metal, silence.
There .
She shook her head, hard, and touched the door beside her. “Caleb,” she whispered. Without waiting, without daring to breathe, she pushed against the half-rotted door.
Splinters came off in her hands. Water poured into the hole left behind. Jessie slanted her shoulder against the ruined frame and, gritting her teeth, pushed harder.
Chapter Seven
T he rotted door slammed open, tumbled Jessie into a tiny, cramped space. Dust and decay clouded the air, coalesced like a fine mist around her, and she coughed as she stumbled through the forgotten room. The smell was awful, sealed rot and mold.
She breathed through her mouth, sneezed anyway, and clapped both hands over her nose. Her eyes watered.
Outside, Silas called her name, his voice muted behind the uneven rhythm of the rain. She ignored it, knew she’d get hell for it later. It didn’t matter. Not if Caleb was here. She bypassed old wooden crates piled with things, junk, some long since disintegrated in the damp air, and stepped over heaps of garbage and forgotten treasures. Old tools, their wood rotted away. Plastic toys, filthy beyond recognition. A metal wheelbarrow rusted into the ground.
Jessie wound a careful path
Similar Books
