City of Light (Outcast 1)

“As much as I can be. Tell them I mean no disrespect.”

“You just did.”

“Oh.” His voice was farther away. I waited, tension gnawing at my belly, wondering what was going on, why he couldn’t see the darkness, and why it wasn’t reacting to him.

“Okay,” he said a few minutes later. “I’ve reached the bottom. There’s nothing here but the dead. There’s certainly nothing that resembles a false rift.”

“I’m coming down.” I hesitated, glancing at my ghosts. Wait here.

Concern whipped around me, but when I stepped toward the inky soup, they didn’t follow. In three strides I was within it. It folded around me, thick and heavy, a weight so fierce every step was a battle. Only determination kept me moving forward.

“Tiger?” Jonas said. His voice seemed to be coming from a long way away. “You still there?”

I stopped and tried not to breathe too deeply or too fast. The last thing I wanted was to draw in any more of the thick air than necessary. “Yes. Why?”

“You took three steps into the crater and disappeared. There’s something very strange happening here.”

“Obviously. I’ll meet you back at the rim.”

I retreated. Leaving was a hell of a lot easier. Cat and Bear zipped around me, happy to have me back so soon, then settled near my shoulder, their energy caressing me as I sat on my haunches and waited for Jonas to return.

He appeared out of the gloom like a ghost becoming solid. His gaze ran past me, his green eyes narrowing as he studied some point to the left. “The rift is but a few minutes away. It has slowed but not yet stopped.”

“Why is it you can sense the real rift and not the false one?”

His gaze came back to mine, his expression thoughtful. “I do not know. But we need to decide what we’re going to do soon if we do not want to be caught in the true rift’s mesh.”

“There’s only one thing we can do.” I waved a hand at the inky blanket. “You can’t see what I see, and I’d wager that means you won’t be able to use it, either.”

“Why don’t we test that theory out?” He held out a hand.

I hesitated, then placed my hand in his. His warm fingers enclosed mine as he turned and tugged me forward. Only this time, there was no darkness, no weight, nothing but the eroded walls of the old crater and the bleached, white remnants of the dead at its base.

“There is definitely magic of some kind at work here,” I muttered, “because when I’m holding your hand, I can’t see anything but what is physically here.”

“One more test, then.” He released my hand. Instantly, the darkness descended and the light disappeared. I swore softly, but a heartbeat later, Jonas caught my fingers and once again the shadows fled.

“Whatever magic it is,” he said, expression grim as he tugged me back toward the rim, “it appears you can both see it and react to it, but I cannot—even when we touch.”

“Unfortunately, as I said earlier, that also means you’re unlikely to be able to use the false rift that undoubtedly lies at the base of this place.”

“Yes.” Frustration fairly sizzled through that one short word. His gaze met mine. “What do you intend to do?”

“Go down there, of course. We need to find where the other children are, and this might just take us—or me—to them.”

His smile was grim. “I do not think it’ll be that easy.”

Neither did I, but that didn’t stop me hoping. “It might be worth getting Nuri down here. She may be able to unravel the threads of magic within this crater, or at least tell us where it might have originated from—here, or from the other side of the rifts.”

He nodded and cast another glance over his shoulder. “We’re out of time. The rift will be here in two minutes. I cannot stay. I will wait for you by the grate tomorrow morning.” He paused, his expression hinting at anger again. “It would be advisable to let me in if you do not wish me to create a ruckus and draw unwanted attention to your retreat.”

“Don’t be early,” I warned. “I’m meeting a friend tonight, remember.”

“I remember.” He took a step away, then paused again, meeting my gaze as he added, “Be wary.”

“I will.”

He walked away. I watched him for several seconds, admiring his lean outline and purposeful strides, then said softly, “Bear, Cat, follow him. Let me know everything he does, but make sure you get home by dusk.” The other little ones would worry, otherwise, especially after last night’s attack.