Chapter 19 · Hollow City

"Don't touch her!" Mara shoved Calder's arm away as the crowd closed around the woman in the red coat.

Three hundred people stood in the middle of the avenue, all facing the same direction. Nobody blinked. Nobody spoke. Their mouths hung slightly open, and their hands rested at their sides like they were waiting for orders.

Nia was somewhere in that crowd.

Mara grabbed Calder's coat. "You said she was behind us."

"She was."

"Then find her."

Calder's gray eyes cut across the motionless bodies. His hand closed around Mara's wrist before she could push deeper into the crowd. His grip was warm, hard, and annoyingly steady.

"You don't get to give me orders," he said.

"You're the one who dragged me into this mess."

"I dragged you out of a collapsing district. You walked back in."

"Because Nia is in there."

"And if you go in, you join them."

Mara tried to yank free. Calder pulled her against his chest instead, turning her so her back hit the brick wall beside the shuttered apothecary. His body blocked the street. His breath brushed her temple when he leaned closer.

"Listen to me," he said. "Those people aren't asleep. They're empty."