The Man Who Walked in Darkness (Miles Franco #2) (Miles Franco Urban Fantasy) by Chris Strange Page B

there,” I said.
    “As for Limbus, the place is likely remarkable, but we have decided to abandon attempts to exploit the world for resources. Our people are important to us, and we will not have them torn apart by those creatures.”
    “That’s an attitude I like in a boss.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Is everything a joke with you, Mr. Franco?”
    Claudia’s face flashed in front of me. “No. Not everything.”
    He pursed his lips and walked around to inspect the Tunnel. The scientists were working hard at looking like they were working hard. All of them kept one ear pointed to us, though.
    “Our Tunneler is missing,” Kowalski said after a moment.
    I nodded. “Zhi told me. Did he design this Tunnel?”
    “Yes,” he said.
    “Then you’re better off without him. This is a piece of crap.”
    He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth. I glanced at Zhi, but she was inspecting the back wall for defects.
    “You believe you can do better, Mr. Franco?” Kowalski said.
    I studied the Tunnel. “I can’t do worse. You offering me a job?”
    “Perhaps. If you really can do what you claim.”
    “You know I’m on a suspended Tunneling license, right? You could get in trouble hiring me.”
    He strolled away and stared at the faulty Tunneling circle, as if he could fix it with just his eyes. “I’m well aware. But we’re getting desperate. We cannot delay. I’m willing to risk any legal trouble if we are able to establish a stable Tunnel.”
    “Headstrong. A man after my own heart. Where do you want to go?”
    He turned to me, and his lenses flashed. “The world of temptation.”
    “Sounds like a strip club.”
    “We call it Tartarus.”
    “Sounds like a dipping sauce.”
    Kowalski glared, and I smiled. Was it him? Did this little guy cause Claudia’s death? My hands formed fists in my pocket. I grinned wider to keep my face turning into a scowl.
    “Give me some Kemia,” I said. I wasn’t going to empty my private stash to impress him.
    He studied me, licking his lips. Then he nodded. Zhi hurried away to a refrigerated cabinet and came back carrying a bottle the size of a gallon milk jug. Inside, the silvery fluid sloshed unnaturally. I took the bottle in both hands, unscrewed the cap, and upended it.
    The liquid moved to fill the circle the instant it touched it, never going outside the line. The scientists weren’t even pretending to be working now. Everyone watched.
    It took half the bottle to fill the circle. The song that no one else in the room could hear got louder, the discord stronger. I gave it a splash extra for good luck and shoved the bottle back into Zhi’s hands.
    I let the discord wash around my mind. I was operating by instinct here; if this Tunnel was going somewhere no one outside AISOR had been before, there sure as hell wasn’t any formal training. The sound grew louder in my head. I realized I was humming back in response. But something else was happening that I’d never felt before. It was like someone had put a hole in my big toe, hooked up a vacuum cleaner, and turned it on. All the pain of my bruises, all my thoughts, all my higher emotions fled from me. And I wasn’t sure I liked what remained.
    I understood Zhi’s comment about the facility being underground for shielding purposes now. If this was on the surface, every Tunneler within the city limits would be able to sense it. A few of them might be able to recreate it. And there would go Mr. Kowalski’s competitive advantage.
    There was no pulsing, no reluctance as the floor dropped away in the center of the Tunnel. It just opened like a whore’s legs while something primal throbbed in my chest. I wasn’t me anymore. I just wanted. Exactly what I wanted, I had no idea.
    Physically, the circle resembled a Tunnel to Heaven. The same blackness, the same unnatural sheen. No, not quite the same. The edges were indistinct, and the surface shivered. Every second I kept the Tunnel open, it sucked more energy from me. I