Page 49 of Bound

“Vrex.” He shakes his head. “Of all the things done to us, the memory implants are the worst.” He slams the heel of his hand into the side of his head.

“Sylas broke them. Maybe we can?”

“Sylas had enhancements which meant breaking them didn’t break him. I have no such ability, do you?”

“What does he mean?” Chrissie asks.

“Sylas could heal fast, faster than any of us. He had memory implants, but he was able to break them. Chances are, unless ours are removed the same way they went in, we’d cause permanent damage if we attempted to break them ourselves.”

“I can live with being who I am,” Klynn growls, “but I still want to get the vrexers who did this to us.”

“That’s going to have to wait,” Maxym snarls at him. “Rych and his mate have to leave, now.” He hands me a small map cube. “Go here. I’ve been in touch with the resistance. You’ll be safe there.”

“I’m not hiding,” I reply. “I want to deal with the Loxzian once and for all.”

“And we’re behind you all the way, but your mate…”

I turn to my Chrissie and take her hands. “What do you want to do, myeregri?”

“I don’t want to hide, but I don’t want to be a bargaining chip either,” she responds.

“Then we’ll go to this place together, and I’ll return to the dome to end all of this,” I tell her before pulling her against me and kissing her until Maxym coughs and I notice Klynn’s very interested gaze, which earns them both a snarl.

Klynn shoves his hand behind his head and pulls out yet another sword. Vrex only knows how many he keeps in his feathers. Whether he is going to be a liability or an ally is yet to be decided.

CHRISSIE

Flanked by three huge gladiators, I make my way across Tatatunga using a network of overground passages and courtyards. We see no one on our travels, which is presumably why we’ve taken this particular route. Having Rych close to me is a reassurance after the news the assassin is after me and with the additional shock of finding out Fenek might be involved.

Why would my boss want me dead after all the fuss he made about my status as his singing pet?

We reach a courtyard which is so full of vegetation I can’t image we can even enter it. Maxym pushes on a single stone slab on the wall, and there is a soft grinding under our feet as the blue-green bushes flop to one side and a large opening is dragged through the ground, revealing a set of steps.

“In here?” Rych asks.

Klynn stalks ahead of us with a swagger born of knowing how fucking dangerous he is and descends into the dark. Maxym shrugs and follows. Rych curls his hand around mine and gives it a squeeze before ushering me forward, and I too, walk into the dark.

I can feel the heat of Rych behind me as the slab closes over us and for a second or two the place is pitch dark. I trynot to panic, knowing the place is stuffed with gladiators and I probably couldn’t be more protected, but having been let down by my boss and duped by Red, trust, other than in Rych, is in short supply.

Fortunately a light winks on and I find we’re in a passage. Two gladiators in front of me and one behind. They fill the passage.

“Ahead and to the left,” Rych says.

We troop forward, following his instruction, and as Klynn and Maxym push open a heavy door ahead, I find we’re in a huge vaulted room, not what I was expecting at all.

Further, the walls are lined with what looks to be bookshelves. Bookshelves filled with books.

I stare about me, drinking in the place which seems incongruously familiar.

“What is this place?” Rych growls. “It doesn’t look like a safe house.”

“I think it’s the lost library of Tatatunga,” I say in awe. All three gladiators stare at me. “As a sick human I had a lot of time on my hands, I watched a lot of vids.” I offer.

There are three levels, each one linked by spiral staircases, all lined with shelving and books. We’re stood in the center, where freestanding shelves radiate outwards to the walls. The floor is soft underfoot with a myriad of colored rugs, and there are several large polished tables surrounded by chairs.

“What’s a library?” Klynn asks, his feathers vibrating and two swords at the ready.

Maxym and Rych have wide eyes as they look around, and I make my way over to the shelving, trailing my fingers over the spines.

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