SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

16 - sleeping in a sewer

ACCORDING TO THE plaque, it was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to Briar that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway, but a girl can dream. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of their mysterious enemy Dirt Woman. Nothing about this place was right.

Chicago was a weird city. Briar was glad she'd never gone here.

What? She rubbed her temples. Fuck me, she thought. Every time she had a gut feeling — boom! Headaches. Come on, Hera.

They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.

Jason went first. Briar and Leo climbed down after him. It was sad how the boys had to help her down.

As she climbed, she braced herself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn't that bad. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.

"Are all sewers this nice?" Briar wondered.

"No," Leo said. "Trust me."

Jason frowned. "How do you know—"

"Jas, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?"

Jason tilted his head, then pointed south. "That way."

"How can you be sure?" Leo asked.

"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."

It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.

Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Briar stumbled. Jason had to catch her.

"Stupid ankle," she cursed.

"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"

Briar and Jason sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack.

She was glad to rest. She was tired and dizzy, and hungry, too. Added with the pain from her ankle, she was grade-A suffering. But mostly, she wasn't eager to face whatever lay ahead. She fiddled with her ring. Reyna's ring.

Reyna. Just her name sent fireworks soaring in Briar's stomach. And the thought of her . . . gods, Briar missed her.

She let out a sigh, and looked over at Jason, trying to forget about moonlit nights near a garden and mornings in bed with the sun beaming on her. She could read him easily, even if he was trying to hide his emotions.

"It wasn't your fault," Briar said.

He looked at her blankly. "What?"

"Getting jumped by the Cyclopes," she said. "It wasn't your fault."

He looked down at the coin in his palm. "I was stupid. I left you alone and walked into a trap. I should've known . . ."

He didn't finish, but Briar understood. She should've known who she was, how to fight monsters, how Cyclopes lured their victims by mimicking voices and hiding in shadows and a hundred other tricks. All that information was supposed to be in her head. She could feel the places it should be — like empty pockets. If Hera wanted her to succeed, why had she stolen the memories that could help her?