Chapter 11 · Stay close

She turned and started down the tunnel.

I followed, because the pact pulled my body toward hers with every step. When I lagged, the mark at my neck tugged. When she moved too far ahead, her shoulders went rigid and she slowed without looking back.

The city above us shook with the Foundry alarms.

We climbed through a maintenance hatch into a narrow alley behind a row of gear shops. Sloane came out first, rifle tucked beneath her coat. I followed and nearly collided with her back.

"Stay close," she said.

"You worried about me?"

"I'm worried about the bounty on your head. It pays enough to make idiots brave."

"That's almost sweet."

"Don't ruin it."

We moved through the service lanes while patrol bells rang in the distance. Every few steps, Sloane's shoulder brushed mine. Every time it happened, the pact gave a quiet pulse.

She noticed every one.

She pretended not to.

At the end of the lane, a shop door opened a crack.

An old man with a brass eye peered out. "You two. Inside. Quickly."

Sloane raised the rifle. "Name."

"If I wanted you dead, Inquisitor, I'd have opened the door for the hounds.