She spent a moment examining me, then Donut.
I was startled by a sudden notification.
The Scavenger’s Daughter blinks, for she does not know what she sees.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
And then she was there. Lucia had moved from the parked moped to right in front of me in a blink. She was so close, I could have kissed her.
She had no scent at all, which was somehow even more disconcerting. Her black ratty hair dangled, mixing with mine as she leaned in, as if she were sniffing me.
Donut let out a deep growl and jumped to my shoulder, tense.
“Easy, easy,” Florin said, coming up. “We’re all friends. Ain’t that right, Lucia?”
“Chalchiuhtlicue is here,” Lucia said, whispering in my ear. “She’s new to this place, but she is here. She doesn’t need Cici or Gus like the Residual and the Primal did. She keeps telling us that she is kind and that she will protect us. But she says the kindest thing may be letting us die. She says we are vessels in the river, just as you are, Carl. We are drowning together, you and me and all the others. But more are coming. The veins are open, she says. All the trapped are coming, Carl. All seek the prize on the twelfth floor. Not just her kind. The real, the imagined, and the enslaved. All gather, focused on the Ascendency. It’s not a game like they told me. But it’s not a game like they told you, either. Not anymore.”
Lucia blinked and took a step back, and her demeanor instantly changed.
This form shrank back, shoulders hunched, afraid.
The presence is gone. The Scavenger’s Daughter shudders in fear.
“Do... do you know my dad?” this new version of Lucia asked. She stepped forward hesitantly, and then she grabbed me by the shirt. “That lady. The shining lady, she said you know my father. She said he gave you a spell.”
“Wha . . . what?” I asked, utterly confused.
“My name is Azra. Yaz is here, too. She’s crying. That goddess. She’s talking to her now, telling her that you used a spell that our father gave you to win your races.”
“Wait,” I said, remembering the note fromCarl’sBook of Boomthat I’d eaten to get theBumperspell. I reached up and put my hand against hers. It was warm and trembling. “Does your dad own a bowling alley?”
Lucia gasped. “Yes! Yes! That’s him! Is he here? Can I talk to him?” She turned, searching.“Baba! Baba!”
“Hang on,” Florin said, jumping forward. “Give me all the names of those around you. I’m making a list!”
“Where is he?” the girl named Azra asked again, ignoring Florin, her voice going up in pitch.
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “But he’s safe. He wanted me to tell you that he loves you and that he’ll see you soon.”
She started to quietly cry. “I’m so scared,” she said. “The angel lady says it might be better if we all die. She keeps talking about people coming and taking our bodies. It’s so cold.”
“Who?” Florin asked, interjecting. “Whois coming?”
The girl turned to Florin, eyes going wide, as if she were finally noticing him. The girl let out a little shriek, turned, and ran.
Florin sighed. He reached up and slung his gun over his back. “I better chase her. Lucia comes back pretty quick after they get spooked. Gotta keep her from killing our gremlin.”
“Carl,” Donut said a moment later as we watched Florin run after the girl, who’d raced toward the line of garages. Our garage was open with Hedy and Jamal standing in the doorway. Jamal gave an excited hop as Lucia passed, and the girl shrieked again and continued to run. “What the heck is happening with her?”
I was starting to form a theory, but I didn’t want to say it out loud. I was pretty sure Florin had already figured this out, as had Orren, which terrified me.
“I don’t know for sure,” I finally said. “But we really need her to take a deal. Let’s get to the garage.”
The moment I settled into the wet, gore-soaked driver’s seat, Dr. Metcalf beeped.
Limited details on the next race are now available.
Total Distance: Approximately 20 kilometers.