ripped into him badly. Harli’s tight panicked voice broke off, and he started again. “I tried to wait for you but —”
“You know better,” Julian said. “An hour before dawn, you go for cover.”
“I wanted to know you were okay.” Harli ducked his head. He was acting the way he always did when Marek lashed out at him. “Do you have your phone?”
“I turned it off,” Julian said. “What does Marek want?”
“He’s been asking where you were. You missed your day check-in. He’s—” Julian saw Harli’s glance cut to Sky. “He’s waiting for you.”
That brought Julian up short. “Marek’s here?” he asked.
“He flew,” Harli said.
And he didn’t mean on a plane, Julian knew. Marek flying to New York under his own power meant only one thing. He was heading off a crisis.
“Is the council in session?” Julian didn’t think it was possible.
“They’re all here,” Harli said.
“Something wrong?” Sky asked.
Julian cut the raw edge that had roughened his voice. “No,” he said to Sky, then spoke to Harli. “Tell him Sky’s with me. And I—”
“He said for me to call him when your feet touched dirt.” Harli looked down, the color fading from his cheeks in shame. “I have to, Julian.”
The burns on Julian’s face were eating into him, and Sky was anxious beside him, but he couldn’t leave Harli like this. He rested a calming hand on the back of Harli’s thick neck and said, “You do what Marek tells you.” He waited for Harli to look up at him. “No trouble between you and me over what he orders you to do. Understand?”
A quick smile came and went on Harli’s young face. “I’ll wait awhile till I call. Signal can be bad down here.”
Julian squeezed his neck before he let go, took Sky’s hand, and guided her into the sun hotel. Over his shoulder he said, “Harli?”
“Yeah, Julian?”
“Get that stud out of your ear before Marek comes after me about it.”
* * * *
Not going to lose it , Sky promised herself. Going to stay calm.
She couldn’t escape the feeling she was in a giant, heavy-lidded coffin. The low-burning torches they passed were as powerless against the gloom as a four-watt flashlight in a blackout. Julian navigated the inky islands of black between torches as if he were walking down a city street in broad daylight.
“You have to check in?” Sky asked, mostly to push back the eerie silence.
“My brother worries a lot,” Julian said.
He was slipping into his habit of ducking questions. Part of Sky wanted to press for answers. But she remembered the look on Julian’s face when he’d said, “No more lies.” In that moment, if Sky had demanded all the answers, Julian would have given her chapter and verse, down to the letter, even if he’d been on fire like a torch by the last word. She could wait.
As if he’d remembered his promise, Julian said, “At sunrise, someone in the Creed has to report to my brother where I am.”
Before Sky could ask about the Creed, Julian stopped moving. Something heavy scraped along the ground in front of them, stone on stone. Candles sprang to life, revealing a room that could have been in any ten-thousand-dollar-a-night hotel except for one thing. There were no windows.
Julian beckoned Sky in, then nodded at the wall behind her. A section of it closed, making the scraping sound Sky had heard, sealing them in.
“You can move things without touching them?”
“If I’m close enough.”
Her eyes on the candles that were still coming to life, Sky said, “And make fire?”
“Not exactly,” Julian said, slipping out of his leather duster and throwing it over a chair to the low sound of clattering steel. “I make the wicks hot. They burn.”
He touched his face and winced. Sky went to Julian and saw marks across his cheek, as if an animal had clawed at him. No. Not an animal. She remembered the tiny rays of sunlight on the way down. “Why didn’t you fly us down faster?” She ran her
“You know better,” Julian said. “An hour before dawn, you go for cover.”
“I wanted to know you were okay.” Harli ducked his head. He was acting the way he always did when Marek lashed out at him. “Do you have your phone?”
“I turned it off,” Julian said. “What does Marek want?”
“He’s been asking where you were. You missed your day check-in. He’s—” Julian saw Harli’s glance cut to Sky. “He’s waiting for you.”
That brought Julian up short. “Marek’s here?” he asked.
“He flew,” Harli said.
And he didn’t mean on a plane, Julian knew. Marek flying to New York under his own power meant only one thing. He was heading off a crisis.
“Is the council in session?” Julian didn’t think it was possible.
“They’re all here,” Harli said.
“Something wrong?” Sky asked.
Julian cut the raw edge that had roughened his voice. “No,” he said to Sky, then spoke to Harli. “Tell him Sky’s with me. And I—”
“He said for me to call him when your feet touched dirt.” Harli looked down, the color fading from his cheeks in shame. “I have to, Julian.”
The burns on Julian’s face were eating into him, and Sky was anxious beside him, but he couldn’t leave Harli like this. He rested a calming hand on the back of Harli’s thick neck and said, “You do what Marek tells you.” He waited for Harli to look up at him. “No trouble between you and me over what he orders you to do. Understand?”
A quick smile came and went on Harli’s young face. “I’ll wait awhile till I call. Signal can be bad down here.”
Julian squeezed his neck before he let go, took Sky’s hand, and guided her into the sun hotel. Over his shoulder he said, “Harli?”
“Yeah, Julian?”
“Get that stud out of your ear before Marek comes after me about it.”
* * * *
Not going to lose it , Sky promised herself. Going to stay calm.
She couldn’t escape the feeling she was in a giant, heavy-lidded coffin. The low-burning torches they passed were as powerless against the gloom as a four-watt flashlight in a blackout. Julian navigated the inky islands of black between torches as if he were walking down a city street in broad daylight.
“You have to check in?” Sky asked, mostly to push back the eerie silence.
“My brother worries a lot,” Julian said.
He was slipping into his habit of ducking questions. Part of Sky wanted to press for answers. But she remembered the look on Julian’s face when he’d said, “No more lies.” In that moment, if Sky had demanded all the answers, Julian would have given her chapter and verse, down to the letter, even if he’d been on fire like a torch by the last word. She could wait.
As if he’d remembered his promise, Julian said, “At sunrise, someone in the Creed has to report to my brother where I am.”
Before Sky could ask about the Creed, Julian stopped moving. Something heavy scraped along the ground in front of them, stone on stone. Candles sprang to life, revealing a room that could have been in any ten-thousand-dollar-a-night hotel except for one thing. There were no windows.
Julian beckoned Sky in, then nodded at the wall behind her. A section of it closed, making the scraping sound Sky had heard, sealing them in.
“You can move things without touching them?”
“If I’m close enough.”
Her eyes on the candles that were still coming to life, Sky said, “And make fire?”
“Not exactly,” Julian said, slipping out of his leather duster and throwing it over a chair to the low sound of clattering steel. “I make the wicks hot. They burn.”
He touched his face and winced. Sky went to Julian and saw marks across his cheek, as if an animal had clawed at him. No. Not an animal. She remembered the tiny rays of sunlight on the way down. “Why didn’t you fly us down faster?” She ran her
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