The Rising (Darkness Rising 3)

We walked into the hall, Kenjii trailing.

"Are Sam and Hayley giving you a hard time?" I asked as he led me the other way down the hall.

"Sam, always. Hayley's not exactly chatty. I can't blame her. I was a real jerk to her, leading her on. I was trying to make inroads with Nicole and that seemed to be going better, until . . ."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"No way you could have. I'm just . . . shocked. Disgusted. I keep telling myself she must be mentally ill or something, but that doesn't make it better, you know? I don't see how anyone could do that, crazy or not." He looked over. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. Finding out. It must have been hell." He paused. "At least you had Daniel."

"He doesn't know."

We'd reached the door at the hall's end. He stopped and looked over, frowning.

"How can I tell him?" I said. "She killed Serena over him."

And, worse, he'd been about to break it off, and if he'd only done that a little faster . . .

"Then she went after you," he murmured.

I nodded. "I don't get that. There's never been anything between Daniel and me. I guess it's only proof she's crazy."

He hit the buzzer for someone to open the door. It clicked open. On the other side were stairs heading up to another door.

He waved me forward. "You're right about Daniel. That's a shitty thing to pile on anyone. He doesn't deserve it. He's a good guy."

"He is." I glanced back. "And thank you for saying that. I know he hasn't always been a 'good guy' to you."

"Hey, like I said, the way to your heart is through your friends--furred and otherwise. He's had reason to be wary of me. I'm hoping I'll get the chance to change his mind."

"You will."

We climbed the steps, Kenjii following. At the top, I opened the door and we found ourselves walking onto a roof.

If I'd hoped for a huge flat roof with plenty of room to roam, I was disappointed. I suppose, being the daughter of an architect, I should have known better. Putting a flat roof on a house is not only problematic, but would give it an odd, industrial look. So we only had one flat section, maybe five meters by seven. And with high walls on all sides, the patch of late-day sun was barely enough to bask in.

"Looks like a prison exercise yard, doesn't it?" He waved at the basketball net and weight deck. "Even got the cameras. There and there." He pointed them out. "Not quite what you were hoping for, I'm sure," he said. "But these are cool." He walked to a set of balance beams and swung up.

I took a running leap and landed in a crouch. Then I sat straddling the beam.

"Show-off."

I grinned. "If I was showing off, I'd have landed standing up."

"If you could, I'm sure you would have."

"Is that a challenge?"

I swung my leg over to jump off, but he caught a handful of my shirt.

"Not yet. Up first."

He let go of my shirt and rose, one foot in front of the other, standing as easily as if he was on solid ground. I joined him and when I did, I let out a gasp.

I could see over the wall. Not much, but enough to catch a glimpse of our surroundings. We were on a mountainside, high enough that I could see distant treetops and roofs of other houses. The surge of happiness didn't last long, though. While it was wonderful seeing trees, it only reminded me that I was stuck in a walled compound, unable to get to them, touch them, climb them. I could barely even smell them through the overwhelming stink of new construction.

"Yeah, it's not much," Rafe said. "Just enough of a peek to make us feel like we're doing something we shouldn't. Can't get a real sense of the place."

Of our surroundings, he meant. Where we were and how we could escape it.