Chapter 8 · Voidbound - Chapter 8: The Room Under the Pit

"Keep moving." Mira's hand locked around my wrist, dragging me through a service corridor I didn't know existed. The walls were bare concrete, narrow enough my shoulders scraped both sides.

"Where the hell are we going?"

"Somewhere they won't check first." She didn't slow down. Her grip was tight enough to leave marks. "You want to argue or you want to live?"

I didn't answer. Boots hammered the floor above us. A lot of boots.

Mira stopped at a maintenance hatch set flush in the floor, barely visible under years of grime. She crouched, pried it open with her bare hands. The metal groaned.

"Down."

"You first."

"Kael."

"I'm not turning my back on a Guild inspector."

Her jaw tightened. For a second I thought she'd shove me. Instead she dropped through the hatch, landing with a soft thud somewhere below. I heard her move away from the opening.

"Now."

I went down. The drop was maybe eight feet. I hit hard, knees jarring, and Mira caught my arm before I could fall. The space was pitch black except for the weak light spilling through the hatch above.

"Close it," she said.

I reached up, dragged the hatch shut.