Chapter Thirty-Six

The Dragon

I barreled past the throng of people, their shouts of confusion and panic filling the air while firemen unrolled their hoses and coordinated teams to go after the giant explosion above. What had caused it? A bomb? Nitroglycerin? A gas main?

No, a madman.

I was just about to charge back through the doors when a hand gripped my arm. Twisting around, I found myself staring into a familiar face. It was a woman with raven hair and high, sharp cheekbones. The image of her in a maid’s uniform came back to me, and I knew then that she’d been the one who’d found us in Boston. She had to work for Brocker.

Instinctually, my hand went to her throat, slamming her against the side of the building. “You,” I rasped, smoke pouring from my mouth as I fought to keep my anger in check.

She tried to pry my hands away. “E-Eris,” she squeaked.

Instantly, I let go and she leaned her head back, coughing, rubbing her throat.

“Did Brocker take her?” I asked, but already knowing the answer.

“Yes, you have to stop him. What he’s created…it’s an abomination. Not even Eris knows—”

“Where is she?”

The woman ripped off her headband and a cyclops eye stared up at me. It glowed blue in the darkness of the chaotic street. “The roof.”

I tore through the entrance and into the stairwell. My leg muscles pumped as I propelled myself up the steps, taking them two—sometimes three—at a time. Thoughts like I never should have left without her and if she’s dead I’ll never feel alive again spiraled through my head.

My breath was shallow and the only thing I could hear besides my endless footsteps as I climbed higher and higher.

The sixth floor…the twenty-first floor…the forty-fourth floor. Hold on, Eris. Hold on.