Along the bridge, couples lingered. That would’ve been sweet except I knew most of them were prostitutes with their customers. Some of them didn’t even bother trying to shield what they were doing. I wondered if anyone had ever fallen into the river that way.
You’d think the smell would be a mood killer, but what did I know? I’d never even kissed a boy.
The Raging Bull was the fifth building down the long strip of businesses along the riverfront. All the windows were painted red. A large sign announced “Half off during Week of Sun.”
I ignored the drunken calls of men on the boardwalk and opened the door. Reev stood near the entrance in his usual spot, arms crossed and doing his best “Don’t mess with me” impression. He made it look natural. More than six feet and built like a stone slab, Reev could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be. That was how he’d gotten this job. Not my top choice for him, but admittedly, there weren’t many.
When he saw me, he frowned. I waved and held up the bag from Drivas’s.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop coming here? It’s not safe,” he said, pulling me into the lobby. His hand warmed my elbow.
I scanned the lobby. Two women chatted behind the front desk, the only people besides us in the small area.
I shoved the bag against his chest. “You never eat unless I bring you something, so quit complaining.”
One of the women waved. I waved back halfheartedly. Angee liked to introduce herself as Reev’s girlfriend, and I had never heard Reev confirm or deny it. She was nice enough, but I wished she’d stop trying to befriend me. The woman next to her had tight brown curls, heavy makeup, and nothing to cover her smooth, dark skin but a transparent slip. She nodded at something Angee said, while her eyes stayed on Reev.
I didn’t like the way she—and the other prostitutes, men and women—looked at him. The way their gazes lingered, the way their half-naked bodies pivoted toward him whenever he entered the room. I wanted to step between them and Reev, and tell those people that he wasn’t like the clients who paid for them.
But I suspected they knew that. And it was why they wanted him.
“Is this your sister?” the woman next to Angee asked. She looked at us and pursed her lips into a pretty pout. “She doesn’t look a thing like you.”
I scowled. Reev had wavy, dark-brown hair and gray eyes. His nose had a slight hook, and he had thin lips and an angular jaw. I, on the other hand, had straight black hair and almond-shaped eyes that weren’t quite blue—more like a watered-down version. Reev once said they were like the icicles that formed on the tree branches in winter. My lips were fuller, and I used to press my fingertip against my pointy chin as if I could imprint a cleft there like Reev’s. The rest of me was skinny enough to look malnourished, and the top of my head reached just shy of Reev’s shoulder.
We didn’t share a single physical trait, because Reev wasn’t actually my brother.
He’d found me when I was eight. He’d been younger than I was now—sixteen and barely able to feed himself—but he rescued me off the riverbank and raised me as his sister.
“How much did it cost?” Reev asked, taking the grocery bag from me. “Should I transfer some credits?”
I shook my head. “Avan gave us fresh bread. As fresh as it can be, I mean. I’m pretty sure that’s fresher than usual.”
He frowned again. He didn’t approve of Avan because of his reputation, but the free food required his grudging acceptance of our friendship. “You should get home now. There’s an energy drive down the street, and they’ll be here for the next couple days.”
I understood what that meant. The Alley had several energy clinics, but the drives held near the river were geared toward the people in the Labyrinth—and those afraid to wander too far from the safety of its narrow walls. Energy drives meant free credits to anyone who didn’t mind needles, and it brought out even the most desperate of folks. Reev didn’t want me running into any of them.
“Where’d you hear that?” I hadn’t seen it on my route this morning.
“One of the girls told me. She was just there.”
I ignored the way my stomach knotted whenever he talked about the girls who worked with him. “If you even think about volunteering, I’ll kick you. When you’re asleep.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Of course not. Same to you. Minus the kicking.”
Donating blood for the energy stones always tempted me. Depending on how much I gave, I could cover the cost of the runners’ tax, and Reev would never be the wiser. The problem was that the energy clinics were rarely clean, and a bunch of people died every year from infection. The energy drives, however, were sponsored by medics from the White Court, so they were probably safe.
But it was best not to test it. I wasn’t keen on dying, and my abilities to manipulate time didn’t include rewinding it—with the exception of that first experience, which had been a fluke.
I’d just have to work some extra hours and eat what Avan was willing to give me for a few days.
“Come for a job?” asked a voice like gravel.
I turned, backing up into Reev. Reev’s hand came down on my shoulder. It felt like a shield.
The owner of the Raging Bull, Reev’s boss, was a middle-aged man named Joss. He was thin, with orange hair that made his loose, pale skin look sallow. He smelled like cloves and something earthy and damp. I kept hoping he’d fall into the river and drown.
He snapped his yellow-stained fingers at the nearly naked woman, who then darted down the hall, but his eyes remained on me. When I refused to look away, his mouth twisted, and he gave my body a lazy inspection.
I leaned back against Reev, letting his warmth chase away the chill in Joss’s eyes.
“She just brought me dinner,” Reev said. “Go on, Kai. Get home.” He nudged me toward the door.
“Let me know when you change your mind,” Joss said, winking at me. He had fleshy lips that drooped at the corners and flapped when he talked. “I could get you double Reev’s salary for your first time.” He cocked his head and took another look at me. “Oh, yeah. Definitely a virgin.”
“Joss,” Reev said. I was probably the only person who could hear the anger in his voice.
“Come on, Reev, everyone’s hurting for credits. Use what you got. Or rather, what she’s got.”
To be honest, I’d thought about it. There weren’t a lot of other places I could get that many credits. It would be enough to get us out of the Labyrinth like Reev wanted.
But it would hurt Reev, and his approval meant more to me than anything. Not to mention the fact that Joss creeped me out.
I took half the bread for my own dinner and munched on it as I left the docks. In front of the bridge, a woman pulled her bawling kid along the dirt path. Out of habit, I studied her face, even though I knew I wouldn’t see anything familiar. Nine years in Ninurta, and I’d yet to find anyone who looked enough like me to make me wonder.
“Quit that,” the woman said with a sharp tug on her son’s arm. “Get on home or I’ll let the gargoyles eat you.”
I snorted. Reev had never given me the gargoyles story, but I had heard it whispered at school. Parents told their kids that if they misbehaved, the gargoyles that lived in the Outlands would climb Ninurta’s wall and slip into their rooms in search of easy prey. The more superstitious people believed the gargoyles were demons who’d sprung from the bowels of the earth, cracked open after the events of Rebirth.
Sounded silly to me, but considering what I was capable of, I couldn’t completely scoff at the idea.