“Calli Bluehair.”
I spin on the balls of my feet. Instinctively, I lower my stance and prepare for a fight. The unidentified voice dissipates so quickly, I can’t be sure I heard it at all. I step back while scanning the dim corridor from floor to ceiling. The nearest eye seems to ripple with a nearly imperceptible blue luminescence.
I shake my head and focus again. It’s gone. No one’s watching. I’ve become paranoid.
“Calli.”
I jump and nearly land a jab to Olin’s face.
He dodges it. “Whoa there, punchy. You see something?”
I scan the length of the hallway again and shake my head. “I thought I heard something. Wait, you didn’t hail me, did you? I mean, with your mind.”
He narrows his eyes and leans close. “You hearing voices?”
I scoff. “No. I just thought. No. Why would you—well, maybe. I don’t know.” I finish with a huff.
“Look, it’s creepy out here by ourselves, I’ll admit. But you gotta get a grip.” He grabs my shoulders and nods toward the others. “Are you ready for this?”
Neca has already removed a ceiling panel. The others stand at attention, ready for anything that might come our way.
I smile and wink at Olin. “No going back now. Let’s climb.” I warm to the moment. This is my element. These are my people and we’ve got a mission. I stride into the middle of the six from Serpent 6. “Zorrah and I will take lead. Yetic, you bring up the rear. We’re already off the grid, but we’re heading further still, so stay alert. If anyone sees anything threatening give either a flash or chirp, as the situation dictates.”
Neca jumps down and lands on the pads of his feet without a sound. “All clear, commander.” He winks, barely perceivable in the dim lighting.
I chew the inside of my cheek then choose to ignore him. “You first, Zorrah. I’ll be right behind.”
Zorrah places her bare foot on the wall and begins scaling it.
As soon as she reaches the ceiling, I follow. In the dim blue light, the dimples in the wall are invisible to the eye. Aiming for them blindly takes a few repetitions to get used to. By the time I poke my head through the opening in the ceiling, I’ve gotten the hang of it. I gaze upward. It appears the rest of the climb will be in pitch black.
The six of us proceed without a word for a few minutes. The holds aren’t quite as deep as I would like, but the plasteel of the wall provides excellent grip. As long as I keep my body tight against the wall, it’s easy going. “How far is it?” I call up to Zorrah.
“To the top of the combat chamber. I don’t remember exactly, at least forty meters.”
“A little climb, huh?”
“Hey, it’s even further when you’re short.”
“Point taken.” The brief conversation dies, and I focus on my breathing. In the quiet, I grow increasingly aware of the space around us. In the complete absence of light, I shut my eyes and focus my other senses.
The space is cramped and yet expansive. Judging by the gentle echoes of our movements, the crawl space extends up and down as well as side to side for the length of the combat chamber. However the academy manages to shield and isolate the chamber from the rest of the complex, the secret must lie somewhere in the space surrounding me.
My hand slips a tiny bit on one of the holds. I pause to wipe my sweaty fingers on my uniform. I breathe deeply and realize the temperature has risen. I suppose we have climbed closer to the surface. Perhaps the crawl space isn’t air-conditioned. I’ll just have to be more careful.
I turn my head to the side. “Mind your sweat. It’s getting warmer up here.”
“Really?” Zorrah responds from above me. “I thought it felt cooler.”
A driblet of sweat reaches my eye. I wipe my forehead with my shoulder. “I’m sweating like crazy.”
“Not me.” I hear Olin directly below, concern in his voice. “Anyone else?”
A chorus of muffled whispers and low grunts reaches my ears before Olin calls up. “It’s just you, Sis.” He lowers his voice so that no one else will hear. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Even as I hiss the words, the hair on my arms prickles.
They think I don’t know about my sister.
“Huh?” I shoot open my eyes and desperately scan the pitch black for the source of the mystery voice. My hands begin to shake, and I’m forced to stop climbing.
That I wouldn’t find her in the Shadows—that I wouldn’t dare to look.
White-knuckled, I clutch at the holds. My trembling makes it difficult to maintain a solid grip. “Did you hear that?”
Olin’s hand bumps into the bottom of my foot. “Hear what?”
“I—” I struggle to steady my breathing. “I heard it again. It’s the voice from the interview closet.”
“What voice?” Olin asks.
The old man was wrong, and so now I know about you, Calli Bluehair.
I don’t respond to Olin or to the voice. My mind teeters on the edge of seizure.
“Calli, come on, we can’t sit here all night. You’ve gotta keep climbing,” Olin prods me.
“He’s here. Or at least he’s here.” I thump my forehead against the wall. “He knows what we’re doing.”
“Do you want to go back?”
Now my legs are quivering. “No.” I try to wipe the sweat from my hands, but I can’t maintain my grip with only one. “I don’t think he intends to stop us.”
“Either way, we have to move.” Olin’s hand pushes up on my heel. “I’ll steady you. Just climb.”
Go ahead, Calli Bluehair. I’m curious to see where this leads. Indeed, I know about you. But I never know what you’ll do next.
A yellow flicker threaded with blue flames blossoms across the back of my hands. The source of light pulses rhythmically below the surface of my skin. It draws my eyes out of focus. Alive and mesmerizing, it starts to grow. I lean back in an effort to keep it from burning my eyes—from reaching inside me.
My center of gravity shifts. My grip fails, and my rippling hands follow me as I tumble backwards into the darkness.
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