The Corvids shifted forms, and the men jumped back, each reaching for a hidden weapon within their clothing.
“It’s okay,” said Benny, holding his hands up and jumping between the men and the Corvids, calming the situation. “They’re friends and want to help.”
The men all looked at each other.
“How do we know we can trust them?” asked the Rozzer.
“We can trust Cahir, and he trusts them.” Benny stepped forward and beckoned Cahir into the circle. “Please meet Askold.” He pointed to the uniformed Rozzer and shook his hand. “As you can see, this is how we get inside information. And this is Ruel.” He pointed to a tall man in his mid-thirties with broad shoulders. “Ruel is one of three Traversers in The Rising. He knows a lot about what it is like outside the dome. The other two are out there now.” Ruel nodded toward Cahir and the three Corvids. “And lastly, this massive fucker is Ojore. Ojore is a butcher and a longtime friend of my father’s.”
Ojore towered over Cahir in his human form, was built like a house, and had rich, chocolate-colored skin. He reached out to shake Cahir’s hand and grasped it firmly instead, pulling him close and looking into his eyes. “You better not fuck this up,Cahir. We don’t just trustanyone.”
“Ahem.” Roya cleared her throat and walked around the men. “Since you’re all introducing yourselves sopolitely, I’m Roya, and this is my murder.” She pointed to her siblings before continuing, “My sister Ferona and my brother Feich. Our only goal here is to find and protect Seda. We have the gift of the sky, so whatever you need us to do to help with this, let us know.”
The men nodded, and Ojore released Cahir’s hand, leaving a cramp behind. Cahir flexed his fingers.
This fucker…
“Leaving Joro is going to be even harder than it was before,” said Askold as he sat back down near the fire. “They have increased the guard at the exits.”
“There was a crack in the wall,” Cahir said.
“Not anymore, at least it’s not unprotected anymore. There was a fight of some sort there recently, and the Rozzers have it blocked. It’s now fully guarded.”
Cahir and Roya exchanged a glance. Their fight to save Jason might have blocked their only escape. “We need to get out of here. Seda could be hurt right now,” Cahir said as anxiety coursed through his body again.
“There is a way out, but no one is going to like it,” Ruel suggested as he looked at everyone. “The Murkway. The pipes lead out under the city. No one watches it.”
Askold groaned loudly and said, “No one watches it because no one is stupid enough to go through there. You can’t be serious.”
“What’s the schedule like down there? And can we get a layout?” Benny asked Askold, ignoring his complaints.
He groaned again before replying, “I’ll find out.”
Ojore was sitting across from Cahir and watching him intently, “Why do you look so familiar?”
Cahir’s eyes remained locked onto Ojore’s. He did not break it once as hereplied, “No idea.”
“Does anyone know how she and the others just disappeared yesterday?” Askold asked. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Magic, you idiot,” Ojore answered, breaking the staring competition with Cahir. “Someone has some fucking magic. This place is so fucked. The oracle was right. We need to get moving and find what we need. But first, let’s get Jason and Seda out of that fucking place.”
“I say we just go down to the Murkway now and try to get out,” Ruel said.
Cahir agreed. He liked Ruel already.
“With no plan?” Benny interjected. “No. We cannot risk getting caught, or no one will be able to save them. We need a plan in place, a map, and a schedule to navigate ourselves out so we can safely reach them. Instead of Thursday, let’s meet back here tomorrow night. Roya, can you guys get a message to our other two outside the dome?”
Roya stood, her siblings following. “Tell us their names and their appearance. We will be on it. We will meet you south of the Murkway pipes tomorrow night.”
Benny nodded and shared the information with them. Roya, Ferona, and Feich took off through the dark sky, through the glittering dome, and began their search.
“Roya isstunning,” Benny said as he sat back down and ran his hands over his neck.
Called it.
“She is dangerous and wild,” he warned.
The men discussed their next steps into the late hours of the night, until the next shift of Rozzers were due to swap, and then they put out the fire and carefully made their way back home.
