Chapter 27 · Undercity Broker - Chapter 27: Pay With Years

The key was hot in Lin's hand. Like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for an hour. Su Jin was on the ground three meters away, blood spreading under her shoulder, and the girl in the glass coffin had her eyes open now. Just slits. But open.

Footsteps were coming from every direction. Bureau boots on metal. Scavenger crew yelling coordinates. Lei's voice somewhere behind the containers, sharp and pissed.

Lin looked down at his left arm. The black tattoo was peeling at the edges like old paint. Curling up. But it wasn't gone yet.

"Still here?" he said under his breath.

The marks didn't answer. They usually did. That was bad.

The girl's fingers twitched inside the coffin. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. Around the platform every other person with a curse mark on their skin stopped mid-step and turned toward her. It looked like someone had hit pause on half the room. Their heads all swiveled the same direction. Eyes empty.

Lin stuffed the key in his jacket pocket and moved toward the coffin. It was propped at an angle against the far wall, glass cracked in two places but still holding.