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Sighing, he allowed his eyes to brighten back to gold as he met my gaze. “This exact spot is the last I see of her. She’s gone, then pops back and casually walks back the same way. Time is difficult for me to estimate but I’d guess she was only gone a few minutes based on other activity around the city.”

“Any other people?”

“Only regular maintenance workers and a few unhoused humans. They pass back and forth on this path, but they never disappear. Oh, and rats. Hundreds of rats have passed through here.”

“Ah. That gives me an idea.” I focused on Penelope and found her not far away at all, which was encouraging. :Can you join me? Bring your friends if you’d like. I have a mystery to solve, and your kin may be the answer I seek.:

My other Blood tested the surrounding concrete, searching for hidden doors or passageways. Boobytraps. Nothing.

I glanced over at Leonie. :Are you picking up anything from the spirits of the dead?:

:No. Not here.: Her eyes tightened slightly. :It’s like all the spirits are gone from this area. For a city this large and old, that’s surprising. Every square inch of New York City has seen someone die. But no one will step forward here.:

Maybe rats had some kind of radar or silent communication I didn’t know about because they immediately began to show up from everywhere. Swimming up in the water. Dropping down from overhead drains and pipes. Climbing out of cracks and holes in the walls. Very politely lining up in a ring around us, more and more, waiting until Penelope arrived.

I knew it was her simply from the resonance of my blood returning to me, but she was also bigger than the others, pumped up even from a drop or two of my blood. Plus she had a white spot on the center of her forehead, as if the goddess had kissed her little forehead. I bent down and offered her my palm. She hopped on and I lifted her up to eye level. Focusing on her bond, I played out the image from Sekh’s gift. Angela disappearing. Gone for a few moments. Then back, as if nothing had happened.

:Do you know how she disappeared?:

She squeaked, her tail swishing back and forth. :Talk. Kin.:

I set her back down gently on the concrete and she scampered over to the others. Their squeaks echoed eerily through the tunnels. Several of them dashed off, but I wasn’t sure what was going on.

With nothing else to distract me while we waited, I caught part of the Blood banter flowing in the background.

:Fucking rats,: Mehen said. :Taste like shit. Smell like shit. Don’t know shit. If our queen’s success depends on a rat horde, then we should all just give up our beasts and join the rat convention.:

Lips quirked, I shook my head, silently laughing.

After a few minutes, two rats came back down the pathway from the opposite direction, taking turns rolling something along the ground. As they came closer, I squatted so I could see what they had. Whiskers twitching, Penelope sent me images. Another person, a man, disappearing. Returning. The same way as Angela. Like the man who’d come into the tower to speak to Janelle, he appeared to be an average human. He reached into his pocket, and then frantically scanned the area, looking for something. He even pulled out his phone and used it like a flashlight. Muttering, he walked away.

Down low, eyes flashed from the shadows, and a little rat rolled something off into its lair.

I watched as the two rats carefully unwrapped layers of newspaper from their treasure to reveal a small metallic shape.

:That’s exactly what we found on Angela,: Daire said. :All those sides. The same color. Not silver but not black either. Sort of matte gray with a slight oily sheen.:

:It must be some kind of key,: Sekh said. :I See that man disappearing in and out like Angela, though over a mile away.:

:Does he ever meet up with her?:

He scanned a few moments to be sure. :No, not that I can See, at least. But I can See his face in other locations. Going to work, walking, sleeping. By all accounts, a normal human life, unlike the man who came into the tower to see Janelle.:

:Can you See when he picked up the object? Or how it came to be in his possession?:

Sekh’s frustration leaked through the bond. :No. Nothing. I wouldn’t even know the thing existed if the rats hadn’t rolled it up and showed it to you.:

:Carys, what probability do you see that the object is some kind of bomb?:

She stared at the metallic shape lying on the crumbled newspaper and blew out a sigh. :The numbers jump around too much to say.:

Then she reached down and snatched it up.

Mouth open, I stared at her. Then shut my lips firmly. :What if it was a booby trap to blow up queens?:

:Exactly,: she replied tartly. :Which is why someone less important than you should pick it up and see.:

:Wait.: Sekh closed his eyes, though I could still see time flipping through his bond. The rats rolling up with the newspaper wrapped object. Carys picking it up. :She’s gone. So is Daire. I can’t See them.: