“Calli!”
A blinding blue flash bursts into life and reveals the crawlspace. In the temporary flare of brilliance, I recognize a tangle of cords and cables spun between the wall and a series of shield panels. Everything goes black again, save the blue blobs burned into my retinas.
Jerked from my dream state by the sensation of falling, I spring into action. Based on memory alone, I grasp for the nearest cable. I overstretch.
It strikes me in the wrist and slips past. A second EM pulse pushes back the darkness. This time the pulse slows my descent but doesn’t stop it.
A metal cable strikes me full mast across the back. It knocks the breath out of me and pops every vertebrae in my spine. After spinning off of it, I mange to grasp the cable with both hands.
Numb, I stare upward, past my still-glowing hands to where I see Olin floating down to meet me. His blue hue steadily lights the crawl space. I lower my gaze and realize both Neca and Yetic had stabilized my fall. “Thank you.”
They both nod.
“I’m sorry I missed.” Hovering above me, Olin clutches my wrists. A jolt pulses between us, causing my eyes to flutter and my neck to jerk. “What was that?” Olin retreats, leaving me hanging.
“I don’t know. My hands,” I point with my chin.
Olin floats down level with me. Tentatively, he wraps his arm around my waist. This time there’s no jolt. “The skin on your hands—it’s like Citlali,” he whispers.
I nod as he detaches me from the cable. He waits for me to indicate up or down. “Up.” I exchange a quick glance with Yetic. I can’t read the expression on his face. Anger? Concern? “We’re still doing this. We have to.”
Olin flies slowly upward, picking a large enough path through the cables for the two of us.
I whisper in Olin’s ear. “The queen and I are connected somehow, because of my braid—because of what she did for me. But I think there’s someone else. I think Citlali has a brother, and he’s the mystery voice.”
“So he can connect with your thoughts because of his connection with Citlali? Do you think the two of them were once like us?” Olin’s pale glow finally reveals Zorrah, who must have continued climbing a few meters before realizing the rest of us had stopped.
I put Olin’s question on the back burner. “Zorrah, sorry about the delay. How are you holding in there?”
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
“Long story.”
“The mission’s still a go, right?” she asks.
I nod and smile. “Lead the way. Apparently I’m not a good enough climber to keep up without a little help from my bro.”
Zorrah resumes the climb, faster than before. “My parents used to claim I was a monkey right from the beginning. Couldn’t keep me from climbing out my window and down the exterior of our building during nap time.”
“And what trouble could you possibly need to get into during nap time?”
“Oh, well me and a neighbor boy used to—” she stops suddenly. “Well you know, kid stuff, I guess.”
“I know exactly what stuff you’re talking about. I think we must have shared the same two-timing neighbor boy.” I laugh while watching my brother closely. Under the scrutiny his cheeks begin to flush.
“Eh-hem,” Zorrah clears her throat. “We’re here.”
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