Copper Veins(76)

Once we were certain that those guards were definitely not going to be spilling our secrets, Micah straightened and fixed Juliana in his gaze. “Which way to the cells?” he demanded.

“This way,” Juliana replied, leading us past the guards’ bodies and toward the interior of the building. Mom followed directly behind Juliana, and then Max sidled up to Micah, the two of them scanning the corridor for threats. Having no other options, Sadie and I took up the rear and picked our way past the bodies.

The corridors were eerily silent, and we didn’t find a single guard…which made sense, since this obviously wasn’t a top priority location. Still, I could have done with taking out a few more creeps.

Eventually, we turned a corner and were faced with a flat concrete wall. “Did you get lost?” I asked Juliana.

Juliana ignored me and started feeling around the wall. “The access panel is camouflaged,” she explained. “They’re usually…ah.” She made a twisting motion with her hands, and something that resembled a comlink panel under a glass dome appeared. She fiddled with the edge for a moment, then she swore. “This one doesn’t have a passcode, it uses a physical key. We’re going to have to search the guards for it.”

Who needs keys? Max’s hand shone copper, then he stepped forward. “Cover your eyes,” he said as he pulled Juliana aside, then he turned his head away and smashed the dome. My awareness filled with metallic sensations, sensations I hadn’t had a few moments ago.

“That was not glass,” Micah said, having come to the same conclusion.

“It’s specially treated glass,” Juliana explained as she stepped up to the keypad. “It masks metal’s presence from Elementals. It was developed after Ferra removed the metal surrounding the Institute.”

“Why?” I asked. “I mean, if there wasn’t any metal there, why would you need to hide it?”

“Ferra didn’t just take the metal from the surrounding environment, she sucked it out of the communications and computer systems too.” Juliana peeked over her shoulder and smiled. “You should have seen Mike’s face. His whole head was red like a tomato.”

“Figures,” I muttered. “The betrayer never expects to be betrayed.”

Juliana’s shoulders tensed, and she turned back to the keypad. In my mind I replayed what I’d said and wanted to smack myself. She thought I had called her the betrayer, but I hadn’t. Now that I knew what she’d really been doing these past two years, I understood that she was my family’s staunchest ally. Well, maybe. I still needed a bit more clarification on a few things.

I moved closer so I could talk to her, but before I could, she finished her typing and the wall slid away. Ahead of us was a long, dark corridor with small rooms on either side. Mom plunged into the darkness, the rest of us trailing behind.

“The cells don’t have doors?” Sadie wondered aloud.

“They have other ways of keeping us inside,” Max muttered. I saw Juliana drop her gaze, and my heart went out to her. I grabbed her elbow, slowing our pace until we were the last of the group.

“Hey,” I murmured. “Max is just saying shit. He doesn’t mean any of it toward you.” Juliana nodded, but she wouldn’t look at me. Since I had nothing else to say, at least not in a dark prison corridor, I let go of her elbow and followed Mom.

I examined the many cells that lined the corridor. They were all empty, row after row of vacancies, reminding me of these last years with half my family missing. I was starting to wonder if this was a good plan—I mean, would we really find Dad, or just someone else who looked like him? Maybe Micah was wrong, and it would only be a picture of Dad. Or a body.

Gods. Please don’t let it be a body.

Since we hadn’t seen another living soul, I was about to suggest we try another wing. Then we saw a faint glow at the end of the corridor. The last cell had a lone fey stone burning within, sitting on the floor next to a bowl of water and a hunk of moldy bread. Next to the bread was a man.

There were plastic chains around his ankle, chains that looked like they’d been in place for weeks or months. His back was against the far wall—his knees were drawn up, and his head drooped forward. His hair and beard were long and unkempt, the skin I could see on his arms and legs was filthy, and he appeared to be wearing an old sack.

Even after all this time, I knew that man for who he was—my father.

“Is it him?” Sadie breathed. Without hesitation, Mom stepped into the cell. We all moved to follow, but Micah barred our way.

“This is not our reunion  ,” he murmured. We moved as one to the side of the entrance and waited.