Chapter 23 · The Hunter's Name

"Luke. Stop."

He's twenty feet ahead, already bleeding. The cut on his forearm is too clean to be an accident. He dragged his own knife across it while he ran.

Amy grabs my sleeve. "What's he doing?"

I don't answer. Luke slams his boot into a support post and shouts in English. His voice bounces through three passages.

Noise. Blood. Bait.

"Stay here," I tell Amy.

"You said that last time."

"This time I mean it."

I move before she can argue. Luke has already vanished around the next corner, heading deeper into the unfinished rail tunnels. Wet stone, rust, and fresh blood fill the air. The smell cuts through me so hard my teeth ache.

I find him in a wide chamber littered with picks, shovels, and a broken lantern leaking oil. He spins as I enter, knife raised, blood dripping from his arm.

"Took you long enough," he says.

His voice is steady. His hand isn't.

"What are you doing?"

"Drawing her out."

He wipes the blade on his pants, then cuts his arm again. Deeper this time. Blood runs over his wrist.

"By killing yourself?"

"By giving her what she wants.