Chapter 11

Night Eye was running as fast as he could. The wind and snow whipped at him as he ran. His boots kicked up clouds of white, as he passed people huddled inside their coats.

Two more blocks… he thought as he raced pass corner stores and bars. He shot past a night club, nearly bowling over a couple that had just emerged. They yelled after him as he shot past.

Almost there…The apartment complex came into view. Already people were gathering on the streets. He ducked into an alley, it was best not to be seen. Coming up around the back, he saw the rear door was open, and had been smashed.

He stepped over the ruined door and darted up the stairs. Whoever had been here had already left. He drew out his Klaive just in case as he reached her floor. The scene was gory. Bullet holes riddled the walls. People who had walked out of their rooms had been shot down where they stood. Blood was everywhere, the walls, ceiling, and floor was covered. Night Eye could already hear the sirens.

He stepped over a splattered body, barely recognizable as human. His boots made a soft squishing sound on the blood soaked carpet, as he made his way. Her door had been smashed, like most of the others. The inside was a wreck. Lamps where smashed, the coffee table broken and splintered, and the chairs and couch had been ripped apart.

Setting his jaw, he stepped into the kitchen.

She was there laying in a pool of blood. The kettle on the stove was whistling. Ragged slashes covered her body. She had been cut down before she had ever gotten a chance to fight back. He face was frozen in a silent scream, a mask of unspeakable agony. Strange looking scars and burns traversed her clothes and skin.

Night Eye bent over and gently closed her eyes. Someone was going to pay for this. He stood up, the sirens had reached the complex. Best not be caught in the middle of this. He looked into his Klaive, catching the light. Staring into it he felt the pull, and reached out to it. It drew him in, and he stepped through the Gauntlet.

The little radio was still playing that soft jazz that Mother had loved so much.

***

The Penumbra was silent. The building was even more decrepit here. He walked out to the street. It wasn't snowing. He looked around at the gray Umbrascape. Weaver Webs clung to the buildings, cobwebs in this massive concrete scab. A few Pattern Spiders skittered about, few signs of any kind of spiritual life in this part of the city.

Night Eye could feel the call of the caern over in Central Park. He decided against a visit and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small white stone. He held it up before him, the paw print on the one side turned up. Closing his eyes he communed with the Lune that was bound inside. The pathstone began to glow, and a moon bridge opened before him. The faintly glowing bridge stretched out over the city, disappearing into the distance, shrouded by the gray fogginess that resided even here.

Night Eye knew how fickle Lunes could be, and he hoped the bridge was going where he wanted it to. He placed his feet onto it, and the city disappeared behind him. Walking on a moon bridge was still an unsettling experience. No matter how steep the path got, it always felt as if you were traveling on level ground. Your feet would sink up to the knees in the luminescence of the bridge before ever touching anything solid.

He shifted to Lupus before setting off, glad to finally be out of that damned city. I don't see how the Walkers and Gnawers can stand it.

In Lupus he made good time across the vast distances traversed by the bridge. The bridge itself further cut the time of the journey. Night Eye wasn't sure exactly how this happened, and he really didn't care. As long as he got where he was going.

After a few hours he saw the end, a faintly glowing portal. Before he stepped off, he thanked the Lune. Stepping through the portal, he found he was exactly where he wanted to be. Or close enough, at least.