“Sir.”
As I’m about to enter the metal box, something flits in the corner of my vision. Something that my dragon insists I pay attention to.
“Shall I call the elevator for you, sir?”
“One moment. I want to inspect the surface area first. Go back to your duties.” The guards exchange nervous glances and hustle back to the inner perimeter.
Now.
What did I see?
I step casually away from the shipping container, my pulse hammering a frantic rhythm and I don’t know why.
Find.
I don’t question my dragon, just move toward a stack of rusted I-beams near the north perimeter, my eyes scanning the shadows.
There.
A vent, tucked low against a concrete retaining wall. Its cover is hanging by a single screw. The small outlet is designed for airflow, not people. But as I get closer, I see a tiny, muddy handprint on the metal casing.
A child-sized print.
Seek.
Following my instincts, I crouch. "Hello?" I whisper. “If you’re in there, I’m a safe person.”
First time I’ve said that in my life and meant it.
“I’m not with the bad guys. I’m here to help.”
My dragon is trying to tell me something.
The minotaur.
Right. “Maybe my friend helped you,” I say into the darkness. “He’s a big man with long white hair. I bet he helped you out, and now he’d want you to come away with me to safety.”
A wait.
After a long beat, when I’m beginning to doubt my instincts, the top of a head appears. It’s followed by a pair of wide, terrified eyes.
"I'm Cosmo," I say, trying to keep my voice gentle. It’s not a tone I have much practice using, still, I’m doing my best. I reach out a hand, palm up. “Shall I get you out of here? Get you to safety?”
There is no movement from my new tiny friend.
“I’ll find a way to get you home,” I say.
The wordhomeacts like a key.
The shadow shifts, and a girl crawls through the small vent space. She’s tiny, covered in gray dust and insulation fibers, looking like a ghost that’s been dragged through a coal mine. She crouches low, eyes darting all around, then landing back on me.
The look in her eyes is far too old for her face.
“Keep down,” I tell her. “I’m going to take a second to make a plan.”
—Hey, Theodora. I need a distraction. I’ve got to get a kid out of here without anyone seeing—
—Can’t hear you properly…did you say a kid?—
