Chapter 108: Separation

The old man started walking before anyone formally dismissed him. Mara remained beside the feline long enough to watch the surviving Reapers gather around the Manager, who was already dividing them into groups. Those still capable of fighting would clear a path through the Hollow Road, while the injured were moved beneath the Beacon and prepared for transport. Weapons were recovered from the rubble, supplies were stripped from damaged rooms, and every remaining thunder charge was collected for the return journey.

The Forty-Second was under attack, and many of its strongest Reapers had been caught inside the wrong Bastion.

Frederick stood near the Manager with one of his tonfas resting against his shoulder. Dust and drying blood covered his coat, though he looked ready to fight his way through another army if necessary. The Manager pointed toward one of the passages leading from the courtyard.

"Your party takes the forward position. Clear enough room for the wounded to move behind you, and keep your people close. If the stampede turns back, you collapse the narrower sections and force it around us. Do not waste lives trying to hold the entire road."

"We'll get them through," Frederick said. His attention shifted toward Mara as he noticed the old man approaching the far side of the courtyard. "What about her?"

"She made an agreement, and right now it may be the only reason Rook survives." The Manager followed his gaze before looking directly at Mara. "Watch the old man. Watch the creature more carefully. If either of them gives you a reason to run, do not wait for proof."

Mara glanced at the pale chain extending from her wrist and disappearing beneath the feline's dark fur. "I'm not leaving Rook inside it."

"I assumed as much." The Manager's expression softened for only a moment. "Then make certain you come back with him."

Mara nodded and hurried after the old man. The feline followed as soon as she moved, its enormous paws crossing the shattered floor without disturbing the smaller pieces of rubble.

"Were you expecting me to follow you without saying anything?" Mara called.

The old man continued toward a damaged corridor. "That was the agreement."

"You could have told me we were leaving."

"I walked away slowly enough for you to notice. I considered that sufficient warning."

"That is not how warnings work."

"You followed me, so it appears to have worked perfectly."

Mara caught up beside him and glanced back one final time. Frederick had already turned toward his party, and the Manager was issuing another set of orders. Within moments, both disappeared behind the feline as it entered the corridor after her.

Rook's chain remained visible between them, stretching from Mara's wrist into the creature's chest. Its light had weakened since the courtyard, though the links remained intact. That thin connection was the only reason Mara could tolerate the knowledge that Rook was somewhere inside the Abomination carrying him.

The old man led them deeper into the damaged remains of the Seventy-Second. The battle between the two Seventh Ranks had opened sections of the Bastion that must have remained sealed for centuries. Entire walls had been torn from their foundations, corridors ended beneath collapsed ceilings, and broken chambers lay exposed behind slabs of stone. Old weapons protruded from the rubble beside the pale remains of Abominations that had nested there before the Beacon returned.

Despite relying upon his cane, the old man never hesitated. Whenever a passage became blocked, he turned into another without slowing. When a collapsed staircase prevented them from climbing, he slipped through a narrow doorway and followed a sloping corridor hidden behind it. He seemed to know the ruins better than the Reapers who had spent days searching them.

Mara stepped across a claw mark deep enough to split the floor. "Where exactly are you taking us?"

"Outside."

"The breach leading outside was behind us."

"The breach leads into the Hollow Road. I would prefer to avoid walking through several hundred hungry Abominations while carrying an injured man."

Mara looked around the narrow corridor. "So there was another exit from the Bastion this entire time?"

"There were originally seventeen. Eleven have collapsed, three now open into occupied nests, and one descends into a section of the cavern that no longer possesses a floor."

"That leaves two usable exits."

"Usable is a generous description, but yes."

"And you never thought to mention them while everyone was preparing to fight through the Hollow Road?"

"The Manager needed a route back to the Forty-Second. Most of these passages lead elsewhere, and you never asked me how many exits the Bastion possessed."

Mara stared at the back of his round hat. "You and the ferryman would get along. He also answers questions in the least useful way possible."

"I doubt we would enjoy one another."

"That is exactly what he would say about you."

A quiet sound escaped the old man. Mara could not tell whether it was amusement or irritation, though either possibility felt like a small victory.

They continued upward as the corridor narrowed around them. Cold moisture clung to the walls and gathered between the stones before trickling beneath Mara's boots. The Beacon's light faded behind them until the pale glow of Rook's chain became the only illumination near her feet.

The darkness did nothing to hinder the feline. Its shoulders nearly brushed both walls, forcing it to lower its head beneath the uneven ceiling. Muscles shifted beneath its fur with every step, powerful enough to break through the stone if the passage became too narrow. Mara tried not to imagine how little effort the creature would need to crush the injured man hidden inside its body.

The chain twitched against her wrist.

Mara stopped so abruptly that the feline nearly walked into her. "Wait. Something moved."

The old man glanced back. "The chain?"

"Yes. Does that mean Rook is awake?"

"His body moved. Awareness is another matter."

"How can he move if he's unconscious?"

"His flesh is attempting to rebuild itself from damaged memories. Muscles contract, nerves search for paths that no longer exist, and the body reacts without waiting for the mind to understand what is happening."

Mara approached the feline and pressed her palm against its chest. Coarse fur shifted beneath her fingers, followed by the slow impact of a heartbeat powerful enough to push against her hand.

Something weaker stirred farther inside.

The faint response lasted only a moment before disappearing beneath the Abomination's pulse, but Mara had felt it clearly enough. Rook was still there.

"Can he feel any of this?" she asked.

"Fragments, perhaps. Pain has a habit of reaching people before anything else."

"That isn't comforting."

"I was answering your question."

Mara kept her hand against the feline. "How much time does he have?"

"Less than he had when we started this conversation. His condition will continue to deteriorate until I can separate the damage done to his body from the damage done to his memories."

"You promised you could save him."

"I promised that I could return what he has lost. Keeping him alive long enough to do so requires us to keep moving."

The feline turned one golden eye toward Mara. She withdrew her hand, though the weak pulse she had felt remained with her as she followed the old man deeper into the passage.

They eventually reached a wall covered in hanging roots. The old man pushed through them with his cane, revealing a narrow opening cut into the cavern wall. Cold air rushed across Mara's face as they emerged onto a ledge overlooking the lands surrounding the Seventy-Second.

The Bastion had not risen into open country as Mara had assumed. It occupied part of an enormous cavern whose upper reaches had broken through to the surface. Far above them, a long fracture divided the stone ceiling. Dead trees leaned over its edges, their exposed roots descending through the crack and spreading across the walls. A steep, uneven path climbed toward the opening.

The Hollow Road lay some distance below, hidden behind ridges of dark stone. Mara could not see the Abominations moving through it, but their passage filled the cavern with sound. Hundreds of limbs struck the ground in broken rhythms while heavier bodies dragged themselves through the tunnels, scraping flesh and bone against rock. Whenever something larger passed near the ledge, the stone trembled beneath her boots.

The old man unfastened a small lantern from beneath his coat. It was no larger than his palm, with a dull metal frame surrounding a muted white flame. Unlike the blue lanterns used upon the Red Tide, its light cast an ordinary shadow behind him.

He raised it toward the path and looked back at Mara. "Climb onto her back. The ledge above will take too long on foot."

Mara followed the direction of his cane. The feline had lowered itself onto its stomach and folded its front legs beneath its chest.

"You expect me to ride a Seventh Rank?"