Chapter 14 · You said the shield could be bait

He pointed at the shield.

The black symbol opened.

A map unfolded over the white floor.

I stepped toward it. Julian grabbed my sleeve.

"Wait."

"You said the shield could be bait."

"It can."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

"Because the map is changing."

Blue lines spread across the floor. Streets. Underground transit routes. Power conduits. One section pulsed red beneath the western district.

A label appeared.

NORTHLINE MEDICAL ANNEX.

Below it, smaller words formed one by one.

SUBLEVEL FOUR.

AUTHORIZED EXTRACTION SITE.

My throat went tight.

"That's not a clinic," I said.

"No."

"It's under the Northline tunnels. The League closed that annex after the containment breach."

"They told the public it was empty."

"They lied."

"Obviously."

The map zoomed in.

A room appeared beneath the annex. Four metal tables. Restraint rings. Storage cabinets. A bank of silver tanks connected by tubes to something glowing blue.

I took one step back.

The shield showed another image.

Silas stood beside the tanks, smiling at someone outside the frame. My shield rested on a table behind him.

The black mark on its back glowed.

"There," I said. "That symbol."

"I see it."

"No. Look at the tanks.