Replaced by His First Love
Leo was using his new connection to the city's geothermic core—the connection that had turned his legs to stone—as a deep-subsurface antenna.
He was reaching through the ground, past the perimeter, toward the GBCA crawlers idling on the ridge. He was hunting for the source of Halloway’s confidence. He was looking for the ledger.
"Found it," Leo whispered.
The word was a metallic chime that rattled the marrow in my teeth. Leo didn't look at Halloway. He didn't defend himself against the accusations of the mob. He stared at the floorboards, his gold flecks flaring with a lethal, ancient clarity.