Chapter 23 · he asked

He hooked one hand around the hatch wheel and turned.

The metal resisted. His shoulder burned. The wheel moved one notch, then another. Pressure hissed through the seal.

Lyra drew her blade.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No."

"Good enough."

He ripped the hatch open.

A chamber waited beyond it, wide and circular. The floor was covered in black water. Thin chains hung from the ceiling, each one attached to a cracked stone platform. At the far end, a tall window showed the city from above.

Every pale creature in the street had stopped.

They were staring up at the tower.

At Lyra.

Cane struck the flare against the hatch frame.

Red fire exploded in his hand.

The chamber filled with hard crimson light.

The swarm below recoiled.

For the first time, Cane heard them.

Not screams. Not voices.

A thousand claws dragging across the inside of his skull.

Lyra folded over, hands clamped to her ears.

"Cane!"

He grabbed her and pulled her into the chamber. "Move!"

The hatch slammed behind them.

The sound came back all at once. Water slapped the floor. Chains rattled overhead. Something struck the other side of the hatch with enough force to bend the metal.