Chapter 12 · Lockdown

"Don't you fucking stop — MOVE!"

Bram's hand slams into my chest and shoves me sideways into the pipe.

My back hits rust and slime. The sigil on my forearm flares white-hot and I bite down so I don't scream.

"Bram —" I choke out. "What are you —"

"They're right on top of us!" He doesn't look at me. He's listening up. Bootfalls thundering through the grate above us. Guild lockdown clamps slamming shut. The whole underbelly is sealing.

The air down here stinks like hot metal and old water. The emergency lights are flashing red. Red, red, red. And the engine in my arm is buzzing like a pissed-off wasp.

"We gotta go together," I say. I grab his sleeve. His coat is soaked. "That hatch is still —"

"That hatch is dead," he snaps. "They locked it. You feel that? That's the pressure seal. We're in the pipes now, kid. Only one way out."

He's breathing hard. Too hard. Soot in his lungs, same as my sister. Same as everyone who works the low shops too long.

"Then we both run," I say. "Come on."

"No." He finally looks at me. His eyes are hard. "You run.