Muse 9 (ONC 2020)

Chapter 22

Together, Luktor and I descended the stairs and headed out into the streets of Kycene. It was pouring now and we could barely see as we raced for the alleyway leading back down into the Grid. But we made pretty good time, despite being drenched to the bone.

Luktor climbed down the pipe first and I replaced the cover after I slid in after him. "Where to now?" he asked, looking around with a strange look on his face. It was almost...contentedness, like he was home again.

"My place," I said. "It's closer. We'll decide our next steps from there."

In silence, we headed through the dark tunnels, the Muse 9 in my hands, my dagger in Luktor's. The few people we passed gave us a wide berth, and no one tried to bother us.

After unlocking my shop, I ran a quick sweep before declaring the place empty. Luktor locked the door while I placed my rifle and my tool kit on my desk in the back.

"What now?" Luktor asked. "They know us, our names, locations, trades. We can't stay here."

"I know," I told him, pulling his scalpel from my belt and slapping it into his hand. "You lost this."

His eyes lit up as he saw his beloved blade. "My scalpel." Running the tip of his finger caressingly over the flat side of the blade, he looked up at me. "I thought my scalpel was gone. Where did you get this?"

"They showed it to me, as proof that they had actually captured you," I said. "I made them give it to me as part of our deal." I shoved some dried fish strips before him. "You probably want food."

"Yeah," he said, tearing into the dried meat.

"How'd you get captured?" I asked curiously.

"Surprised me when I was coming back to my shop," he said, swallowing. "Jumped me, bound and gagged me, and then dragged me up to the surface. I guess I'd gotten confident, not as careful as before. When they told me you had agreed to get the rifle, I...I didn't know whether I should believe them." His lips twisted into a sad grin. "I haven't been the best brother, Sable."

"Nor I the best sister," I told him. "Know what I realized? We're more similar than not." I placed my stylus down on the desk, its length still covered in dried blood. "Different tasks, same endgame."

Luktor placed his scalpel next to my stylus and examined the two tools. "You're right," he said. "Both can create and kill." He looked over at me. "So, what now?"

I was silent for a moment. "I had to go into the Drain to find what I needed for the rifle," I said. "I used Eurykhan's book."

Luktor looked over at me. "You broke into my shop and took it?"

I nodded. "You know, your place is designed very similar to mine."

Luktor snorted, taking another bite of the fish strip. "Of course it is."

"When I was down there," I continued. "I found a letter, from Mom."

Luktor's eyes widened. "From Mom? Where?"

"In a place called the Library." Quickly, I explained about the Shadows, the Library and the Librarians, and the Muse 9 texts. "She read them, too, and left me a letter there. I don't know how she knew I would look for them, or how she knew she was going to die before seeing us again. But she told me about a safe house that she and Dad had built. They were taking us there, that day in the Drain."

Luktor leaned against the wall, absorbing all of this. "That explains why they brought us down into the Drain," he said. "Though not why we never made it there."

"Eurykhan wouldn't take us there, after they died," I said softly. "He said we had to earn it."

My brother raised an eyebrow. "I think we've earned it now." He smirked at me, but there was no meanness in his smirk. "Mnemosyne."