Chapter 12 · Untitled Chapter

"Qin Sheng."

The preacher said my real name. Not the one I'd given the wagon train. The one my mother used when she was angry.

Then he turned and disappeared into the dark behind the grain store.

I followed.

Luke had tested me with his blood an hour ago. I'd barely kept my teeth out of his throat. But the preacher claimed someone else had survived the tunnel—someone who knew what I was.

I needed that answer more than I needed to stay safe.

The grain store backed onto an abandoned mining office. The door stood open a crack.

I pushed it wide.

The preacher knelt in the middle of the room, wrists tied behind him and a gag stuffed between his teeth. His eyes bulged when he saw me. He shook his head hard.

Too late.

The door slammed behind me.

I spun, nails sliding from my fingers.

Edith Crowe stood there.

Black coat. Hair pinned tight. A lantern in one hand and a knife in the other. The blade was clean—for now.

"Qin Sheng," she said. Her East Coast accent made every word sound expensive. "You've been busy."

I kept my back to the door. "You left.