Suited by Jo Anderton Page B

the debris they release goes directly to help the Keeper. And he needs all the help we can give him, before he leads us down any more dark–” I nearly bit my tongue.
    “Leads you where?”
    “Sewers, like last time.”
    Kichlan regarded me with a long, level gaze. I didn’t think he believed me.
    “We should do this, for Lad,” I said. “Because until we help the Keeper, he will not leave Lad alone. How much can Lad take, before he snaps again? If this actually works, then the doors will close and he won’t need Lad any more.”
    But even as I said it, I doubted. Would that really quieten the Keeper? Now that he had found me, now that I had seen him, would he ever really leave me alone? And Lad was his key to me. How long had he existed, with no one to talk to except the poor Halves who could never truly understand what was going on?
    “For Lad?”
    I nodded. “We don’t have to trust them to join them. We don’t even have to agree with them – but we can, at least, monitor them.”
    Kichlan’s shoulders slumped. “If you say so, Tanyana.”
    “Are you sure–”
    “We are doing this for Lad. So yes, I am sure.”
    We pushed our way back through the rubble.
    “Done?” Fedor, arms crossed tightly, did not seem to appreciate being walked out on. I couldn’t imagine why.
    “We will help you,” Kichlan answered. “If that is what you want from us.”
    “I am glad you understand.” Lev nodded. He appeared pleased. “More collectors can cover more ground.” He glanced back at Fedor. “And I think we already have an assignment for you.”
     
    I didn’t think the Unbound would let Kichlan and I leave without a commitment signed in blood and sworn before the Keeper himself. But in the end they seemed happy with our word. Or, perhaps, Eugeny’s reassurances. Still, we were glad to finally leave, so much we almost ran back to the surface. Valya and Yicor remained there, with their Unbound revolutionaries, in their trapped-in-time world.
    Somehow, while we were underground, it had grown to late afternoon.
    We passed a group of children, hurried along by governesses in rich dresses. I wondered what they could be doing this far from the Keeper’s Tear River. An excursion to learn how poor, less-skilled binders live? Kichlan and I were forced closer to each other in order to walk around them. He slipped an arm through mine in the process, and even when the children were long gone, he did not let me go.
    Kichlan headed for Eugeny’s house. Arms locked as they were, it seemed I was going with him. I wasn’t about to untangle us.
    Only when Eugeny’s squat building came into view, did Kichlan slow down. “Another few days?” he whispered. “Let me think up an excuse to give Lad first. I do not want him involved in this.”
    “I agree.”
    Fedor had given us a scouting mission. Something nice and easy to start us off. Simple. He didn’t know where and when yet, but would tell us soon, so we should be ready.
    I hoped our role remained that way: simple.
    “Let’s hope Fedor does not expect us to follow his commands blindly.” Kichlan placed a hand on the door’s handle, and hesitated. “I’m willing to go along with this, but not if it puts my brother in danger.” A pause. “And not if it puts you in danger either.”
    My heart did a strange little flip. “I know.”
    But even as Kichlan turned the handle the door flew open. He staggered and almost fell against Eugeny’s chest. The old man looked wild, the edges of his face lit by the oil lamps behind him, eyes shining and fearful. Great purple bruises darkened his eyes, his chin, and his cheek was deeply grazed and oozing blood.
    “What–?” Kichlan grasped the doorframe to keep his balance.
    “Lad is gone,” Eugeny said. “He’s gone.”

4.
     
    “I don’t know what happened.” Eugeny sat at his kitchen table, in front of a popping fire, cradling a badly bruised arm. “After you left, he seemed happy, his usual self. He helped me