Chapter One
When I wake up, I text Gulshan, asking if we should still go to the warehouse this morning. Her response arrives a few seconds later.
Why wouldn’t we?
Apparently neither bombs nor death warrants a sick day from the sewer sector.
Heaving a resigned sigh, I leave my warm hotel bed and start getting ready. Hot water pounds down on me, and I try to lose myself in the sensation, avoiding the memory of Garrett’s white, still face and the dullness in Drew’s eyes when he realized there would be no bringing him back.
I can hardly blame the citizens of New Ve for fighting against Alexander Travesty’s tyranny, but the sooner Noah and I find the one responsible for the weeper attacks, the better. As I braid my wet hair, I glance at the clock on the nightstand… and then utter a low curse. I’m late.
Fortunately, the hotel is closer to the warehouse than Ada’s, and I get there just as everyone else seems to be arriving.
I’m retying the laces on my worn black combat boots when Drew and Nina walk into the weapons room. They carry a somber tension with them, and Nina still has bruises scattered across her face and arms. She doesn’t spare me a glance as she fetches her sword.
Drew does the same, but he pauses in the doorway and glances back. “Charlie,” he says in greeting, his voice level. No goofy grin or quirky laugh.
“Hey,” I murmur, glancing toward Nina, who has stopped beside him. “How are you? Both of you?”
She opens her mouth as if she’s going to snap at me. It’s what I’m expecting, actually. Nina seems to think better of it, though, and makes a visible effort at civility. “Better,” she says finally, pulling her jumpsuit on over her street clothes.
“Report to the main floor now!” Bill snaps over the sound system. The speakers crackle like a candy wrapper. “Citywide curfew has been activated, so get your jobs done quickly.”
The announcement comes as no surprise to me—I’d picked up the tail-end of a broadcast in the lobby of Alexander’s on my way out. All New Ve citizens are now mandated to be inside their homes by 3:00 a.m. for their own protection. Yet another reason Noah and I need to make progress on this investigation into the weeper attacks, as I can’t see the people of New Ve being thrilled about a crown-ordered curfew.
Drew, Nina, and I head out to the warehouse, and for a brief moment, it almost feels like how it was before. Before Nina started hating me and Drew… well, before things got complicated.
After we’re given our assignments, everyone heads down to the sewer in a wave of dark-colored jumpsuits. “Where’s Leo?” I ask as the elevator descends.
Gushlan shrugs her slender shoulders. “He hasn’t been around in a few weeks.”
“Boy is going to get put on the wall if he keeps cutting work,” a curly-haired man mutters.
“What makes you think he’s coming back?” an unfamiliar voice asks, and we all turn our heads toward the girl walking a bit separately from the crowd. No one says anything. Her expression becomes defensive. “What? Like you haven’t all thought about taking off. This job isn’t exactly what dreams are made of.”
Gushlan shakes her head and steps onto the elevator. I hurry to follow. “None of us are stupid enough to think we’d get away alive. People like us… we’d be punished for running. The crown would see it as an act of defiance.”
And it would be. Gushlan is right; I’ve heard stories of the Vampire King’s punishments. Seen them firsthand, as well. He’s done much worse to people who’ve done a lot less than trying to ditch a work assignment.
My mood darkens at the thought, remembering that if I don’t find the vampire putting venom onto the streets, these dank tunnels are my future.
The elevator rattles to a stop before anyone has a chance to add anything to the conversation. Trickling out like water, all the workers break into pairs. Gushlan and I take the south tunnel today, clearing rat traps and filling cracks in the cement floor as we keep our eyes peeled for weepers.
We work in silence for almost an hour before Gushlan clears her throat. “I know something,” she whispers.
I arch a brow at her. “I don’t think you need to whisper. We’re the only ones around.”
Despite my assurance, she glances behind us and her lavender eyes search for anyone that might overhear. “They could be listening.”
I blink. “They?”
Gushlan nods, but she doesn’t elaborate on who she’s talking about. “I saw a weeper down here last week, but she didn’t act like the ones we’ve killed. She was… different.”
My heart sounds like bombs falling from the sky. “Where did you see her?”
“I don’t remember exactly.” She presses her lips together. Her face keeps passing into light and shadow as we make our way down the tunnel. “I was working on my own that day, and I took off pretty much as soon as I saw her… but she didn’t follow. Didn’t try to attack me. It was so weird.”
“Have you told anyone? Bill?” I demand. She shakes her head. “Why are you telling me?”
Gushlan drops her gaze to the damp concrete below our feet. “I’m not sure. Maybe I thought I would get in trouble for running? I was embarrassed I didn’t kill the weeper like anyone else would’ve. She just looked so human. And… I could’ve sworn she was talking.”
“Do you remember what she was saying?”
The girl’s dark brows knit. “No. Wait, why don’t you sound more surprised? We’re talking about a talking weeper.”
I bite my lip. My first instinct is to tell her the truth, confide in her that I’ve met the same one… but I’ve been betrayed too many times. I’ve learned too much, too quickly cradled within the cruel walls of this city. “I’ve been thinking about it, I guess,” is all I say, in the end. “Maybe some weepers are able to hang on to threads of their humanity before the virus destroys it.”
Gushlan blinks at me. In the brightness of her lavender eyes, I see a shadow of horror. “I can’t believe that. Not if we need to be down here killing them every week.”
I hesitate. For a few seconds, the only sound in the tunnel is a water pipe, rumbling and trickling. I could let the conversation die, avoid angering yet another person who’s beginning to feel like a friend, but something about our words feels important. Slowly I say, “There’s obviously a part of you that does, though, because you didn’t kill that weeper.”
The human’s mouth snaps shut, then she scowls. “We can’t tell anyone about this—I’m serious, Charlie. Knowing things in this place gets you killed.”
Once again, the hum of running water fills the silence between us. “We need to find her,” I say after a long pause.
“Say what now?”
“Don’t you want to know the truth?” I toss over my shoulder. Gulshan hesitates while I charge on, hurrying deeper into the tunnel, trying to figure out a way to lure the weeper out without alerting anyone else.
“This is a really dumb idea, Charlie,” she says at last, her voice coming from a few paces behind me.
“Don’t worry,” I say with a false bravado, wrapping my fingers around the pistol at my hip. “I’ll shoot if necessary.”