Page 59 of Echoes of the Tide

She had nothing to go on. No hope. If this entire place had been stripped for parts, someone else had the key.

But then Tera attached itself to the wall, zipped up it, and then was right against what looked like a security box. Her droid fiddled with something and then...

Holograms. More holograms.

She watched as people broke the door down, muttering things she couldn’t quite make out through the tinny recording. She sank down onto her haunches, watching as they destroyed the entire room. They were decorated in strange costumes, it seemed. Like they lived only during Halloween. Masks, feathered hats, and colored patterned clothing.

“The toy tower?” she muttered. “Why would they be here?”

A few of them carried bats that they used to break everything in sight. A few others had knives that they used to attack the couch and chair like it was a person they were gutting. But her eyes were on one of the men who was not partaking. He was a little older than the others, gray-haired, and his eyes were too aware of everything around him.

He was looking for something. While all the others were pure chaos in holographic form around her, he was the one who was the eye of the storm. She watched him move slowly, chatting with the others, pretending to be part of the fanfare. But then he slipped into the bedroom. He fiddled underneath a space where the bed might have once been and then slipped something into his pocket.

Without even looking like anything had happened, he joined the others, grabbed a bat, and started destroying things as well. Like he hadn’t just taken something very important from this room.

“Who is he?” she muttered, narrowing her eyes on the hologram. “Because he has what we need.”

She had no way of knowing other than going to the toy tower on her own. Which... wasn’t entirely something she wanted to do.

But it wasn’t like she had a choice. Ace had to get that key, and this was the next step in her plan.

Blowing out a breath, she held out her hand for Tera to hop into it. “All right. Looks like we’re going into the mouth of hell itself.”

She just had to convince Maketes to take her there.

CHAPTER 24

The depth of fear he felt when she wasn’t in front of him was nearly paralyzing. If she were any other female, he wouldn’t have been so terrified. The women of his kind were stronger than the males. He would be able to leave without fearing that someone else would kill her. He would be able to head out into the sea, hunting for her food, knowing that she would be safe.

But now, all he could think when he left her side was that someone else could kill her and he wouldn’t even know until he came back and tasted her blood in the water. How did Arges and Daios do this? They were larger than him by far, significantly more capable of protecting their women.

It didn’t matter that he’d already killed for her. None of those memories gave him the slightest amount of peace when he knew, without a fraction of a doubt, that time away from her was time when someone else could finish the job.

He’d just gotten enough fish to feed her before turning back to the city. There was a pit in his stomach. The fish weren’t enough. They were small, not impressive, and she would see what a meager offering it was. He should have fought a gianttuna or swordfish for her. Bringing back a fish the size of his hands would only whet her appetite.

But then again, she was very small. Perhaps she wouldn’t notice the difference.

He went back to the place where they were supposed to meet, finding her already waiting for him there. He could see her even before he broke the surface of the water. Her pretty brown hair puffed around her head, a little tangled now that she’d been in the sea for so long. But he liked that about her. There was a certain level of wildness in knowing that he had a part in tangling that hair.

Ace leaned against the side of the opening, staring down into the water like she’d been waiting for him for a while. He lifted his head into the air, a frown already on his face as he held the fish out to her. “I brought you food.”

“We need to go to the most dangerous building in Gamma.”

Well, his little kefi had never been very good at preparing him for the insane things she was about to say. He swallowed hard, trying to roll the words over in his mind.

“What?” he blurted out, setting the fish on the floor beside her. “Why would we go there?”

“They stole the key.”

“I thought the key was supposed to be here.”

“It was supposed to be here, but the security system picked up that another gang has it. I don’t think they know what it is, or maybe they do. If they do, then that’s a bigger problem neither of us is going to fix easily.” She made grabbing motions with her hands. “Let’s go.”

He used his hip fins to nudge him out of her grabbing reach. “You need to eat.”

“I need to save my sister.”

“Yes, you do need to do that. But you can’t save her if you work yourself to death. We will go to this...” He took a deepbreath, reminding himself that whatever he said to her was a promise. He couldn’t tell her they would do something and then go back on it. “Dangerous place. We will go there. But first, you need water, food, and to rest.”

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