Page 32 of City of the Lost
“The old water mill is a death trap.”
My mouth fell open. “Fuck, Barnaby. Have you developed a mind reading potion?”
He chuckled, and the twinkle was back. “No. But I do tune into FFS, and I’m aware of the strange bouts of activity around the city. I know the Lost have escaped, and I know you’ve been trying to fix it while the fuckers that caused the mess enjoy total oblivion.”
“Well, looks like someone’s been tapping the pulse of the city. What else do you know?”
He smirked. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with right now, Wila. Just keep your wits about you tonight and steer clear of the second floor of the mill. The floor’s rotten.”
“Thanks for the tip, and you know me—careful is my middle ... heck, who am I kidding.”
He had the serious face on again. “And remember, if you get me a sample of that metal ...”
“Yeah, yeah.” I slipped through the arch back into the shop and then out into the midday sun. The air was cool and crisp. Fall was round the corner and so was the lunar eclipse. Less than two weeks to go and we’d be facing Elora empty-handed. My stomach curdled.
Fuck this shit. Once we bagged this pack of Lost, we’d use the map and we’d find the rebel Shedim. There was no way we were facing the dragon liege with nothing to show for our efforts.
* * *
The clock inchedits way toward six p.m., our pre-agreed meetup time. Azren was sitting at the table, seat pushed back, legs spread, and chin tucked in as he studied the map Barnaby had given me. He was kitted out in black again today: black biker boots, black jeans, and a long-sleeved black polo shirt that strained across his shoulders and biceps, emphasizing his large frame. The guy was a monster and the chair looked like a plaything. How had it not collapsed under his weight yet?
“Once we deal with this pack of Lost, we need to organize to clear the Underground,” Taylem said. He hoisted his metal club up and braced it on his shoulder.
Okay, time to reassess monster status. When it came to stature, Tay topped Azren by a couple of inches for sure, and he was definitely bulkier. In fact, the kitchen was way too small for us all.
“We have other business to take care of first,” Azren said, raising his head and carefully rolling up the map before handing it back to me. I tucked it into the letter holder by the bread bin.
“We can help with that too,” Tay said.
“I don’t know,” Mack said. “The Collective left them alive for a reason. Should we be messing with that?”
It took me a moment to realize that Mack was addressing Taylem’s earlier statement about the Lost.
Tay shot him a disgusted look. “Hell yes, we should. The Lost are dangerous. There isnobenefit to keeping them alive.”
“Unless The Collective hoped to cure them?” Azren pointed out.
“I can do some digging,” Gilbert said from his position by the back door we never used. “Maybe if I look far enough, I can find some clues on why the Lost weren’t exterminated as claimed.”
“Thank you, Gil.” I smiled at the spot I sensed him to be in. “I’ll mention it to Noir too. See what he can find out from the inside.”
So far, we’d kept a low profile on the whole Lost thing, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves because of my involvement, Azren’s presence here, and the contract I’d signed. The risk of them finding out I’d given Elora a way into our territory was too high, and not knowing exactly what the contract said didn’t help. They’d kill me to eliminate that threat. It was why Noir, up until now, hadn’t done any digging into the Lost. But too many people had died because we’d held off. It wasn’t right. My life wasn’t worth more than anyone else’s. We needed to fix this however we could. And if that ultimately meant going directly to The Collective, then so be it. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, though.
My phone buzzed with a text from Noir. I scanned it then pocketed the phone. “Noir couldn’t get out of his prior engagement. It looks like we’ll be doing this the old-fashioned way, sans Arcana.”
Taylem’s lips parted in a sadistic grin. “The best way.”
As we got our shit together and streamed toward the exit, I caught Azren’s eye and inclined my head, because he had a valid point. Getting rid of the problem topside was one thing—we were saving lives. But holding off on attacking the population in the Underground should wait until Noir and Gilbert had a chance to do some digging.
Hound poked his head out of the lounge as we piled into the foyer.
“You coming?” I indicated the front door. “We’re headed to the old water mill and we’re taking the bikes. If you’re up to it, you can meet us there.”
Okay, I was talking to him as if he understood, but there was way too much intelligence in those amber eyes to indicate anything else. He’d somehow been able to find me each time I’d been in mortal danger, and even though the guys were tagging along this time, having Hound was the icing on the cake.
He backed up into the lounge and then shot through the French windows into the night.
“I guess he’s meeting us there,” Mack said, amused.
