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  “Do you think there would be anyone watching it?”

  “One of the gangs, potentially. We don’t want to cause a stir. And if we’re unlucky, there might even be… something else.”

  “Something else?”

  Logan nodded. “Yea. I’ve been thinking about what we know of the repository. The torrial were put there because they were too dangerous to be left accessible to anybody who wanted them. I’m sure the decision to put them away was not taken lightly. I’m sure, in fact, that there was disagreement between the deciding parties. It would have been foolish for whoever stowed them away not to put any defenses up.”

  “Defenses?” Laura asked. “Like that?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that we have to be careful. Expect the unexpected. We don’t know what any of the torrial can do. If the repository really is in that tower, who’s to say that there aren’t some sort of torrial set up that activate only when a Vassiz is near, and not a human?”

  “You’re right,” Laura said. “We’ll have to be very careful.”

  Chapter Five

  ~Watchers~

  Once Alexander had caught up to them, Logan explained the plan, as well as the potential danger. Alexander took it all in stride, and even made the suggestion that he should be first to go since he was not being directly looked for by the elders. Laura dismissed the idea. Logan was the one who would go first, since he had already been there, and would see if he could find a way in. Then he would return, letting both Laura and Alexander know whether or not he’d been successful. If he had, they would all go on different routes, staggering their times so they would arrive at the tower one after the other. And if not, well, then they would have to reassess their plans.

  When Logan left, Alexander and Laura both agreed to stake out the surroundings for any danger. If they were careful, Laura thought they could avoid running into trouble, and perhaps prevent it in the future. Laura set off on a small path to the right, while Alexander went left.

  The street Laura was on curved widely, and then straightened into a narrow bend. Small alleyways and back passages stood behind nearly every building on either side. Most of them were tight and littered with discarded trash, but Laura thought that in a pinch she could be able to get through. She kept her eye constantly on the tower, making sure that she circled around it without getting much closer or further away.

  She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, exactly – just that anything suspicious needed to be regarded with the right amount of caution. She kept to the sides of the street, using her speed to zip past any people who may have given her unwanted attention.

  As she was looking around, she noticed one peculiarity about the area. The buildings everywhere were marked with graffiti, though there was no consistency to any of it. Except for one thing. Every three of four buildings, she saw the same marking, repeated over and over again. Compared to the rest of the tags, it was fresh, and painted with a superior hand. It was a stylized marking of a fist, clutching two ends of a spear. Although when looked at from a different perspective, it could have easily been two fangs ensnared by a serpent. For some reason, that second interpretation made Laura uneasy.

  She returned to her starting point to find Alexander already waiting for her.

  “Where’s Logan?” she asked.

  “Not here yet,” Alexander replied.

  “Oh. Well, did you see anything?”

  “A few things,” he answered. “First, I’m now sure Logan was right about this being gang territory.”

  “How come?”

  “There was a marking,” he said. “Over and over. A snake, wrapped around two fangs.”

  “I saw it too,” Laura said. “What do you think it means?”

  “Probably just the signage of a gang,” Alexander replied thoughtfully, “although something about it raised my hackles.”

  “You felt it too?” Laura asked. “I thought it was just my imagination getting the better of me.”

  Alexander shook his head. “Too much of a coincidence to be imagined. If Logan’s right, and the repository really is in the tower, I’m sure the gang that rules here knows something about it.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “Try to attract as little attention to ourselves as possible.”

  “Do you think… the fangs… have something to with the Vassiz?”

  Alexander exhaled. “It could very well be. Remember, there are Vassiz everywhere. Many of them integrate themselves into normal human society. Perhaps there are Vassiz in this very gang. Maybe the gang is a pack. Who knows? But we best be wary.”

  A noise behind her made Laura whip around. She relaxed when she saw it was just Logan. But then tensed again when she noticed the strain around his eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked, running up to him. “Are you alright?”

  “Fine,” he said, but betrayed himself by looking over his shoulder. “Come, we need to get away from here.”

  “What? Why? Did you find an entrance into the tower?”

  “I did,” he nodded. Then he hissed, “Not now. We need to move, quick.”

  “Wha—?” Laura began, but was cut off when Logan grabbed her wrist harshly and pulled her forward. After stumbling the first step, she caught her feet and went after him.

  “Come, Alexander,” Logan said as he passed him. “Quickly!”

  He released his grip on Laura’s arm and start to jog in the direction opposite the tower. The jog turned into a run, and soon after he was using his full Vassiz speed to move away. Laura didn’t understand what was going on, but she followed after him, as did Alexander.

  They ran full speed through the streets, until they came upon an unremarkable intersection. Once they crossed it, Logan just stopped.

  “What was that?” Laura demanded. “Logan, what’s going on?”

  “That was unprecedented,” Alexander agreed angrily. “Running like that could have given us away to Vassiz nearby. If they didn’t know we were here before, they do now. And it doesn’t matter if they know who we are or not – three Vassiz from a different pack are bound to raise questions.”

  “Laura,” Logan said quickly, “do you trust me?”

  “What? Of course I do, but—”

  “And you, Alexander?”

  After a bit of a pause, Alexander nodded. “Yes, I do. We’re all in this together.”

  “Then don’t call me crazy,” Logan said. “But back there, when I got right to the tower, I felt… someone watching me.”

  “Watching you?” Laura asked. “What do you mean?”

  Logan shrugged uneasily. “I… do not know. I first noticed them on the roofs, out of the corner of my eye. They were looking down at me. But every time I looked back, no matter how quickly, they were gone.”

  “But what could be faster than your reflexes?” Laura wondered out loud.

  “Exactly,” Logan said. “Which is why it sounds crazy. Even to me. But I know what I felt. It was the most uncanny sensation. Somebody was looking at me, and I felt like... they knew why I was there.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Alexander said, but not unkindly. “There’s nobody here who knows who we are, much less what we’re after.”

  “I know,” Logan said. “That’s what I thought, too. But, what I felt…”

  “Logan, you didn’t actually see anyone, did you?” Laura asked. “You just thought someone was there?”

  “Yes,” Logan nodded. “I only noticed them out of the corner of my eye. But my senses don’t play tricks on me. Even if they were gone when I looked, I’m sure I was being watched.”

  “And that’s why we just ran?”

  “Yes,” Logan confirmed. “The feeling stayed with me until we crossed a threshold four blocks back. I wanted to get farther away before stopping, to be sure it was gone.”

  “So you’re positive somebody was there?” Alexander asked.

  Logan nodded. “Somebody was watching me.”

  “And they weren’t here last
time you came?” Laura asked.

  “No,” Logan shook his head. “It’s crazy, I know. But you have to believe me.”

  “Of course I do,” Laura said, taking his hands in his. “This isn’t something you would lie about.” She looked at Alexander. “What do we do now? We have to go back if the repository is in the building.”

  “It’s up to you, Laura,” Alexander said. “Personally, I think we have a few options. One, we go back right now. We risk getting caught, or at least noticed, by Logan’s watchers. I don’t think any of us are eager to find out who they are. Two, we stay until nightfall and try again. Logan’s first time here was at night, and he didn’t notice the watchers then. Three, we go back, and look for the repository elsewhere. There’s a chance it’s not even in the building. But I fear that isn’t much of an option for us.”

  “No,” Laura agreed. “We can’t go back empty-handed. Logan, you said you found a way into the tower? Where?”

  “There’s a window on the third storey that I noticed wasn’t secured as tightly as the others,” Logan answered. “If we could scale the building without being seen, I think that could be our ticket in.”

  “But we can’t do it in broad daylight, can we?” Laura asked.

  “No,” Logan answered. “We have to get up there, but in the day somebody is bound to notice. Even if there are no watchers.”

  “Wait a minute,” Laura said, suddenly coming up with an idea. “You said the watchers were on the roofs, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, what if we go on the roofs, too? We’ll be on the same playing field as them, and I have to think that three Vassiz would have an advantage. Moreover, nobody would notice us from the ground. And Logan, the window – does it face one of the buildings on a different block?”

  “It does,” Logan said, starting to understand what Laura wanted to do. “You mean to try jumping to the window, don’t you?”

  “That’s right,” Laura replied. “We don’t have to worry about how we’re going to scale the side of the building, and we’ll be safe from prying eyes on the ground. And the watchers – whoever or whatever they are – won’t be able to hide there any longer.”

  “A brilliant idea,” Alexander said enthusiastically. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it!”

  “There’s just one problem,” Logan said. “And that has to do with the noise. If we do this at night, the sound of us crashing through the boarded window will alert everybody within fifty miles to our presence.”

  “I don’t mean to do it at night,” Laura said. “I mean to do it right now, during the day. It’ll make it easy for us to spot the watchers, too, if they’re really there.”

  Logan grimaced. “I’m telling you, there was something… unnatural… about what I felt.”

  “Realistically, what’s the worse it can be?” Laura asked. “Another Vassiz or two? We’ll be careful.”

  “What about the noise?” Logan asked. “That’s still a very real problem. Even if we manage to avoid anybody who might be up there, the sound of us crashing through the window will echo through the whole neighborhood.”

  “Firecrackers,” Laura answered.

  “Firecrackers?”

  “You said this is gang territory, right? I say we light a bunch of firecrackers just before we jump. To distract anybody paying attention. If we get enough, it might even sound like gunfire. Amid the confusion, nobody should see us.”

  “I have to admit, that does make sense,” Alexander said. “But where are we going to get firecrackers on such short notice?”

  Laura smiled. “You leave that to me.”

  Chapter Six

  ~The Repository~

  Laura stood on the roof of an old three-storey building. She could see the city spread all around her. It stretched out far into the distance, and the tower before her was the only structure standing out amongst the uniformity.

  The tops of nearly all the buildings around her were flat. Here and there, a few balconies had been built, but it looked like they had not been used for generations. Laura wondered absently how many people still lived in this region. It could be a lot, or it could be very little, and she couldn’t tell the difference. People gathered on the large streets during the day, some selling wares and others idling, but she knew the majority of the population stayed inside. It was a dangerous neighborhood.

  Somewhere close by, the cries of a baby broke out. After a few moments, she heard a man yell in a language she did not understand, and the baby went quiet. This was definitely a rough part of town.

  In her left hand, she held a bundle of Chinese firecrackers. She had spotted a vendor on one of her earlier expeditions, in fact, she had quizzed him about what he knew of the repository back then, and he was happy to see the “girl with hair like the sun” return for another visit. He was even happier when she offered to buy his loudest, most expensive firecrackers, and offered to pay with American dollars. She had gotten those thanks to Alexander.

  So, supplies in hand, Laura stood on the roof, waiting for Logan and Alexander to return.

  She could see them in the distance, jumping from building to building, checking the surroundings to make sure everything was safe. They were circling around the tower, checking every single rooftop for a threat. The watchers were gone, or at least, weren’t visible. Laura wasn’t even sure if they ever existed, but judging by how relieved Logan had been to find them missing, he shared none of her doubt.

  “Ready?” Logan said behind her, and Laura jumped. She had been so entrenched in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him approach. She looked back, and right beside him was Alexander.

  “Ready,” Laura confirmed.

  “Let’s do it then,” Alexander said.

  Laura nodded, and in a second had a lighter in her hand. She lit the fuse to the firecrackers, and threw them high into the air. They flew over a row of buildings and fell onto a nearby street.

  “GO!” Logan screamed behind her.

  Laura ran. A blast sounded from where the firecrackers had fallen, and then they started going off in turn, like dozens of gunshots being fired at once. Laura was impressed at how loud they were. The sound would be heard from hundreds of yards away. Perfect.

  She gathered speed, racing toward the tower. They only had a few seconds in which to jump. She was the first, as she had insisted. Logan had showed her which window it was, and it actually lined up perfectly to the buildings surrounding it. With enough speed, it would be easy to clear the distance to get inside.

  As she got closer, Laura realized that the outer wall of the tower may have been white mortar once, but had accumulated so much dirt over the years that it had become an unpleasant grey. That was the last thought that ran through her mind before she leapt off the side of the building, and flew toward the tower.

  The window was nailed shut, but it was by a flimsy board. Laura went feet-first into it. The panel shattered, and she was through.

  The landing was trickier. She had been expecting a solid floor, but instead was greeted by a stone staircase. She tried to right herself in time, to land accordingly, but it was too late. Before she knew it, she was crashing down the stairs. Instinctively, she made her body go limp so she wouldn’t break anything.

  She landed with a heavy thud at the bottom of the stairs. It felt like she had been beaten with a hundred clubs. Groggily, she picked herself up. The pain itself was not unexpected; rather, it was the severity of it that surprised her. She remembered being thrown into stone walls and picking herself up without any pain. Perhaps the effects of her feeding were finally wearing off.

  She looked up, and saw a shape against the light now streaming through the window. It was Alexander. Unlike her, he managed to catch himself before falling down the stairs. He stepped aside quickly to leave room for Logan. The light was shielded again, and Logan came through. Alexander caught him by the shoulders before he had a chance to repeat Laura’s mistake.

  “Laura,” Alexand
er called down, “are you alright?”

  “I think so,” she answered, starting up the stairs. “I didn’t expect these stairs to be here, though.”

  “You have to be careful,” Logan said gravely when she arrived. “We don’t know what might be in here.”

  “I know,” Laura said. Light streamed in from behind them. “We should cover the window. I don’t want anybody outside noticing that the board is broken.”

  “Good idea,” Alexander replied. “But with what?”

  Laura looked around her. The window they came through opened to a hallway, with the stairs leading down to a lower level. A thick coat of dust covered the floor, and Laura could see the impression she made in it when she fell down the stairs. But otherwise, the entire space was barren of anything useful. “We’ll need to look for something suitable.”

  Logan went a few paces down the hall. He turned to a doorway, and Laura heard a piercing groan as he ripped the door from its frame.

  “That’ll do,” Laura said sardonically as Logan came back carrying the door. He placed it over the window, blocking most of the light that came from outside. Some still streamed in on the sides.

  “It won’t fool an attentive eye from the ground,” Logan said, “but I doubt there’s going to be anybody looking up here anyway.”

  “And besides,” Laura added, “you said all the entrances are barricaded off. Even if somebody did notice, it’s not like they could do anything.”

  “Unless they had the keys,” Logan said. “But we should be safe for now.”

  Laura noticed Alexander shifting his weight on his feet. He looked… uncomfortable.

  “Is everything alright?” she asked him.

  Alexander looked at her. “Something about this place is off.”

  “Off? What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. But I can’t shake the feeling that our entrance has been… noted.” He glanced at Logan. “Let’s hope it doesn’t have anything to do with your watchers.” He barked an uneasy laugh. “Maybe it’s just my imagination getting the better of me.”