Chapter 8 · The Original Blackout

"Hands on the rail!" Nia shouted.

The floor dropped six inches. Tavi slammed into the wall. Elias caught the doorframe with one hand, and his injured shoulder screamed.

"Move!"

"I'm trying!" Tavi yelled. "The building's sideways, remember?"

A metal groan rolled through the Rook district. The corridor tilted toward the Crownstack's center, dragging furniture, glass, and bodies across the marble.

Nia hit the emergency hatch before the next jolt could throw her down the hall.

The panel flashed red.

"Locked," Tavi said, skidding to her side. "Every door. Every lift. Every stairwell. I told you."

"You also told me the archive was three levels below us."

"It is."

"Then open it."

Tavi gave her a sharp look. "I just had a collar burned off my neck. Give me ten seconds to enjoy having a nervous system."

Elias shoved the core key into the panel.

The red light went black.

For half a second, nothing happened.

Then the hatch split down the middle.

Freezing air slapped Nia in the face. Old paper. Hot wires. The sharp chemical stink of memory sealant.

Below the hatch, a narrow service shaft dropped into darkness.

Tavi leaned over it. "That's not the archive.