Chapter 23 · Eating Memories

"Don't let go!" Kane's hand locked around my wrist as the bridge split under us.

Stone tore loose beneath my boots. I dropped hard, my shoulder slamming into the broken edge. Kane caught me with one arm and hit the wall with his back. His breath punched out against my cheek.

"You said the bridge would hold."

"I said it might hold."

"That is not the same thing!"

"Jessa, stop talking and climb."

The crack raced through the bridge behind us. Pieces of black stone spun into the pit. I looked down once and saw nothing. Not darkness. Nothing. The red signal we had triggered pulsed far below, fading in and out like a dying eye.

Then the scream came again.

My scream.

"Help me! Please! Kane!"

The voice rose from the pit. It had my panic, my breath, even the tiny break at the end of my name. It sounded exactly like me before I learned how to hide fear behind anger.

Kane's grip tightened.

"Don't answer it," he said.

"It knows my name."

"The Maw knows your name."

"That wasn't the Maw."

"You don't know that."

Another chunk of bridge dropped away.