Page 93 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
It’s empty. Silent. The door that leads to the stairs is partway open, inviting us down, but for a moment, we both stand by the altar, staring up at the stained glass.
“What do you think they’ll do when the train arrives?”
“Everyone here?” I ask.
“Hm.”
“Send it back. Destroy it. Whatever they’ve done before.”
“The Citadel will keep sending people up here.”
“I know.”
She sighs, and when I look at her again, her eyes are closed. I turn away and stare at the glass. It blurs, one burst of rainbowcolour before my eyes, and then I close them, and when I open them again, my mind is made up.
It’s not just about staying here. I know I won’t be able to keep away from Mason if I do. He won’t keep away from me, either.
I need to know the truth about what he did. Why he did it.
And then… Who do I have to answer to but myself? My parents are long dead. I don’t have any other relatives. Friends.
“Come on, let’s go down,” I murmur. Rae swipes away a tear before she nods.
She helps me down the stairs, and I lead her to Nia’s office. We see no one along the way, and no one is waiting for us outside the door. Rae knocks.
“Come in.”
Nia is sitting behind her desk when we step inside. Truthfully, part of me is confused to find that Mason isn’t waiting with her. Where is he?
“Please sit.”
We take seats opposite her desk. I groan when I sit gingerly in the chair and Rae looks at me with no little concern.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” Nia says, “but we’ll deal with that. How much do you both know?”
“Didn’t Mason tell you?”
She sighs and sits back in her chair. “No. He was not particularly forthcoming. Not when it came to you.”
“We know Mason is the necromancer. He raised the dead. The Citadel are trying to capture him, to control his power so they can keep the Citadel itself under control.” I shrug, regretting the movement the moment my shoulder hurts. “That’s the broad strokes of it, I think.”
“Sounds about right,” Nia says.
“Oh, and you’ve all been killing the teams that came up here,” I add. I’m not sure why. I want her to prove she won’t hurt us, Isuppose. I’ve still got my bat, but I’ve really no intention of using it. “Blake and I found out about that.”
Nia goes for a smile, but it’s more of a grimace. “Ah. I was wondering where you got that gun.”
“Glad I did.”
“So am I.”
Rae shifts in the chair next to mine. “What now?”
“It all depends on what you want to do. Obviously, we’d rather you didn’t go back to the Citadel. I think you can understand why it might not be the best choice for you, either. But if you don’t want to stay here, we know of a few places with survivors that will likely last a while longer and will take you in. We’ve done that before, too.”
I jerk in surprise, ribs screaming at me when I do. “You have?”
