Chapter 12 · The Heart Opens

"Don't let go."

"I'm trying not to." Samuel's hand locked around the back of Nora's coat. Blood soaked through the bandage at his side. "Tarin, move!"

"I'm moving!"

"You're standing there."

"I'm thinking while standing."

"Try thinking faster."

The shelf snapped.

Tarin swore and threw himself toward the edge. Samuel hauled him up with one arm. Nora grabbed the ledger from his hand.

The black cover burned against her palm.

A line of red light crawled across the page.

LIVING KEY CONFIRMED.

Below it, new words appeared.

ENGINE DISTRICT: CRITICAL FAILURE. DEPTH LOCK: OPEN. CITY DESCENT: TWO FEET.

"Two feet?" Nora stared at the numbers.

The vault lurched. Dust poured from the ceiling. Somewhere far below, a horn began to blare. One long note. Then another.

Tarin's face had gone gray. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Funny," Nora said. "Neither was my childhood."

Samuel pulled her away from the widening crack. "We need to get out."

"No."

"Nora—"

"The engine district." She shoved the ledger against her coat. "That's what it's opening toward."

Tarin looked down into the broken floor. Far beneath them, a red glow pulsed through layers of stone and old machinery.