Chapter 15 · Blood Pact

"Get back! Now!"

Jace’s voice didn't sound like a man's. It was a wet, grinding roar that vibrated in the narrow corridor, but the words were clear. He shoved Vera hard, his massive, clawed hand slamming into her shoulder and pinning her against the cold metal wall just as a hiss of acid sprayed the spot where she’d been standing.

"What the hell was that?" Vera gasped, her chest heaving. She tried to scramble up, but Jace didn't move. He stayed leaned in, his hulking frame blocking her from the hallway, his hot, sulfur-smelling breath ghosting over her cheek.

"Ceiling," Jace grunted. He pointed a jagged finger upward.

Small, precise holes were weeping neon-green liquid. It ate through the floor tiles with a hungry sizzle. This wasn't a leak; it was a purge.

"You can talk," Vera whispered, her eyes wide, darting from the acid to the monster looming over her. "You actually just said..."

"Shut up," Jace snapped. He shifted his weight, his muscles rippling under stitched skin. "Listen. Do you hear that?"

Vera froze. She strained her ears. Above them, in the ventilation shafts, something was scraping. A rhythmic, metallic clicking—like a thousand insect legs drumming on tin.