Charlie sniffed at the air. “It’s them. I know their scents.”

  The bulk of their first day together had been a trek across the harsh surface of Ice at a meandering pace. Now, at the end of that day, a new threat had appeared.

  “Move away,” she instructed Charlie.

  “Why?” he growled. “They fear me. They don’t fear you yet. They will attack if I leave.”

  “Because I need to test what I am now,” Mia explained. “And that means trying to use the same abilities I had when I attacked you.”

  Charlie nodded slowly. “Catch up with me when you’re done.”

  Mia nodded. She knelt and watched him trudge off into the distance, concentrating on the furtive whispers and crunching snow carried on the wind.

  She had no idea if she could call on all the same abilities. Everything the doctor had said suggested she could. When she’d attacked Charlie, the overwhelming sensory overload had retreated to something more manageable, but she was still processing her environment unlike she ever had before.

  Mia rose when she sensed her tails close and turned to find a pack of scavengers. They all carried shivs and were spreading out. One set down a bag.

  “What’s in there?” Mia gestured to the bag. “A head of a fallen enemy?”

  “No.” The scavenger blinked, taken aback by the question. “Food.”

  Mia looked between the scavengers. Her experiences in the tunnel and during arrival left her believing most scavengers were failed, half-insane creatures. On some level, she had known that couldn’t be true. They couldn’t have survived if they were all like that.

  “I’ll take that, then,” Mia proclaimed. “I need food.”

  The scavenger stared at her. “We didn’t understand what we were seeing. You were walking with the monster, and he wasn’t attacking. You have the magic to control him. I’ve heard rumors of this.”

  “All the more reason to give me the bag.” Mia pulled out her shiv. “Because if you try and attack me, you’ll die.”

  She wasn’t sure whether she would just jump them or not, but she wanted to give them a chance to surrender. Whatever else she’d done and become, she didn’t want to kill men who were just trying to survive, not trying to murder her.

  “Your pet monster’s not here now, little girl.” The scavenger licked his lips. “You got clothes and your fancy prison coat. You got blades. What else you got in there?”

  “Nothing for you.”

  “You’re gonna give us that, and then you’re gonna be our pet. If you talk back, we’ll cut out your tongue. And that’s the nicest thing we’ll do. You understand?”

  “No.” Mia glared at him. “You attack me, you die. You have no chance of defeating me with those weapons. I guarantee that. Consider this your final warning.”

  He motioned with his knife. “Okay, we’re cutting your tongue out right away. Maybe some fingers too. You don’t need those to walk.”

  Mia concentrated on recalling the sensations following the injection. The scavengers’ heartbeats pounded in her ears. Their stench filled her nostrils. They took a slow step forward.

  No. They were running. It was just her brain accelerating.

  She burst toward them, lifting her knife. Her blade became a blur and blood sprayed everywhere. Her kick shattered a man’s face before she caved his skull in with her knee.

  Sunlight glinted off her shiv as she sliced through her enemies. Time sped up again, leaving her with the scavenger who’d threatened her bleeding out with her knee on his throat.

  “I warned you,” Mia growled. “I told you not to attack me. I would have let you go even if you didn’t give me the food. But you couldn’t control yourself.”

  “What…are…you?”

  Mia leaned close, her eyes wide. “Something worse than CK.”

  The man groaned. His head lolled to the side.

  “Good.” Mia hopped up and grabbed his bag. “This wasn’t all totally worthless. Don’t worry, Doctor Icaryus. I’ll use these abilities to find you someday and kill you.”

  Mia opened her eyes. After the initial scavenger encounter, the time surviving with Charlie passed quickly and flowed together. They survived off the food she’d taken from hostile scavengers along the way, allowing the more cautious to flee. Charlie, in deference to her sensibilities, didn’t partake in his normal diet. She appreciated it.

  Mia was less interested in food than what she’d learned about her new abilities. After returning to the mountains near Black Ice, they’d holed up in one of Charlie’s many caves, and she felt the darkness coming again for the third time since her new abilities had manifested.

  She awakened to Charlie watching her from the corner of the cave with a look of concern.

  “It only took an hour this time,” he reported.

  “This proves it,” Mia surmised. “My new abilities come with a cost. It seems like every three days I’m going to lose a few hours if I use them normally, or an hour or so, if I cycle in and out of my hyper-state.” Mia nodded. “Recovery stasis. It’s not so bad with you at my back, but once I leave this place, I’m going to have to learn to control it better. It’s a pretty significant weakness. I’ll be a sitting duck. I’ll experiment with it more when I’m in a controlled setting.”

  Charlie shook his head. “I wish I could help you, but it’s not like that for me. My enhanced senses don’t work like yours. Time stays the same for me, as does my strength.”

  “I don’t know all the details,” Mia admitted. “Some of it is enhanced neural processing speed, different parts of the brain working together. That’s what I guess. I don’t think I’m stronger so much as maximizing the efficiency of my motor neurons in my muscles to deliver the most force possible. Like getting ninety-nine percent out of my muscles when I could only get eighty percent before. They’re all useful abilities.”

  For a moment, Mia wondered if her future was over. She didn’t know how much the KCAP directly supported the doctor’s work. She might be recalled from Top Gun so they could perform experiments on her.

  She needed to be ready when that time came. She would train herself and master her new abilities. Getting off the planet came first, though. Ice wasn’t a place she could survive long unless she wanted to follow Charlie’s path.

  “The shuttle’s coming tomorrow,” Mia stated. “I’ll need to reenter the main prison tonight.”

  “And you’re sure?” Charlie asked.

  “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. I can’t be sure of anything anymore other than there are many people out there I need to have talks with, and they aren’t going to like what I have to say.”

  “I’ll see you back to Black Ice, but not off,” Charlie promised.

  “You’ve helped my mission and saved my life. I can’t ask for anything more.”

  Mia approached the exit to the tunnel leading to the smelter level. She’d only stepped briefly outside when performing her Rat Catcher duties, but it was enough that she recognized the area and Charlie could lead her there using his superior knowledge of the local terrain.

  “I guess this is goodbye,” Mia announced from the edge of the tunnel.

  “Be careful,” Charlie urged her. “Once you’re in there, I can’t help you.” He patted his chest. “I’ll have to be more careful about getting shot.”

  Mia nodded. She had one bit of unfinished business. She could only stir up so much trouble that day and get out of the prison. That meant she needed to use a proxy.

  “Just let me ask you one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Do you remember scents well?” she asked. “Like individual scents?”

  Charlie nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good. And do you remember the scents of the men who started the avalanche?”

  “Yes,” Charlie growled. “I’ll never forget them. I wasn’t close enough to tell if they deserved to be saved, but I didn’t care. The anger moved me.”

  “So you can find them, just not sure if they’re good people?”

  Charlie nodded again.

  “That works,” Mia replied. “Keep them in mind. I’m sure when you get closer next time, you’ll find they don’t deserve any mercy.” She patted his arm. “And thanks. I’ll survive. I always do. It’s what my dad trained me to do, and now I know it’s what I was born to do.” She peered into the tunnel. “Time for my last gambit in the hellhole.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Surprised gasps and murmurs swept the gathered prisoners as Mia strolled into the gen pop living area. Two prisoners backed away and sprinted when it looked like she might cross their path. Others pointed and whispered. One man fell to his knees and clasped his hands together.

  She spotted Raph and shot him a wicked grin. Fighting him with her new abilities would be a waste, though she yearned to beat him down again.

  The Bravo turned pale like he’d seen a ghost. He ran away, shaking his head.

  Mia was surprised. She’d beaten him down before, but she didn’t think she’d broken his will that thoroughly.

  A hefty prisoner she didn’t recognize strolled up to her. He looked her up and down, whistling in appreciation.

  “I don’t know you,” Mia noted. “Should I?”

  “Nah.” He shook his head. “I know you though, and they said you were dead. They said you fell off a mountain fighting CK and got buried by the avalanche they made to take him out.”

  Mia nodded. “That’s all true except the dead part.”

  “Did you come back to life? There were people betting you’d come back to life.”

  “Not technically, no,” Mia replied.

  The man rubbed his chin. “You dead, then? What’s that called?”

  Mia stared at him, unsure if he was mocking her. The serious look on his face suggested he believed every word leaving his mouth.

  “I’m not dead, and I didn’t come back to life. Because I didn’t die in the fight or in the avalanche.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Damn. Then I lose out in the pool. I said you would come back but be dead and still moving, you know. If CK can take bullets, why not someone who can fight ’em?” He pumped his fist. “But that means I can win the other pool.”

  “What is this? A food pool on my fate?”

  He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Not nobody really but Gideon and his crew think you wouldn’t come back. You’d been gone long enough that they almost won. Just two more days.” He whistled. “Damn, but you’re here, and you survived out there that long. That means he’s dead. CK. That was the other pool.”

  “No such luck.” Mia turned and raised her voice so everyone could hear. “The Cannibal King lives.”

  Groans ripped through the crowd. Prisoners threw up their hands in dismay.

  “He’s…hard to kill,” Mia noted, turning back to her conversation partner. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”

  The prisoner bowed his head. “I ain’t one to piss off a woman who can survive fighting the Cannibal King and an avalanche, even if you ain’t come back from the dead.”

  “That’s smart of you. Now tell me where Gideon is. I want to ruin his day over something far worse than the bet.”

  Mia marched up to Gideon and his buddies playing dice. His eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet, pulling a knife.

  “No way,” he shouted. “No damned way. We saw you get taken out.”

  “Did you?” Mia pointed to her eyes. “The senses can be fooled. It’s all about the processing in the end.” She tapped the side of her head. “You never saw my body, now, did you? It was stupid of you to assume that you’d defeated me. Always confirm kills before claiming credit. That will avoid surprise assaults in the future.”

  Gideon shook his head. “How could you have survived? No one but CK could survive something like that, and… Oh, no.”

  She nodded. “Yes. He’s alive.”

  “You get nothing from us,” Gideon snapped. “You failed, Rat Catcher. You failed.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Mia retorted. “At least not in the way you’re thinking.” She marched toward him, showing no fear of his knife. “But there needs to be a reckoning.”

  Prisoners were shouting in excitement and motioning to the Grinders and Mia. Soon, a huge crowd surrounded them, waiting for entertainment in the form of violence.

  “Don’t threaten me, bitch.” Gideon sneered. “You’re not so special. You’re just a lucky bitch. But your luck is bound to run out.” He waved his knife. “Starting right now.”

  She scoffed. “Do you honestly think you have any chance against me? I didn’t come here to fight you, but I’m not going to stand here and let you stick me either. I wouldn’t recommend it. My abilities vastly exceed yours. My patience is thin, and to be honest, I would enjoy paying you back for your betrayal.”

  “I didn’t betray you,” Gideon insisted. “We had to take out CK.”

  More prisoners filtered in, murmuring and watching.

  “No.” Mia shook her head. “I heard the truth from Flip. You never intended for me to survive.”

  “I’ll give you two meals to one that Gideon and his boys win,” one prisoner told another.

  “Against Monster Slayer?” another man asked. He scoffed. “Make it three.”

  “That Tended bitch survived too?” Gideon stammered.

  “No, he didn’t.” Mia glared at Gideon. “I could forgive you for trying to kill me, but because of you, Flip died. That’s why there needs to be a reckoning.”

  Gideon shrugged. “He volunteered. It was your idea. He should have run when he had the chance. It’s his own damned fault. You can’t pin that on me.”

  “He died trying to warn me about you betraying me,” Mia growled. “If you had a gun and were firing at me and hit him in the crossfire, it would be your fault, asshole. Now, go ahead and attack me if you want. I will kill you. And I won’t feel guilty. But you need to ask yourself, do you think you have any chance of winning against me? I might have failed to kill CK, but he also failed to kill me. Doesn’t that make me his equal?”

  Shouts of approval burst from the crowd. They began chanting, “Monster Slayer.” Mia didn’t tear her eyes away from Gideon.

  His hand shook. He stared back for a long moment before kneeling and setting his knife on the ground. He lifted his palms. “Look, we had to do what we had to do, but you’re here, so let’s come to an agreement.” He motioned to a guards’ nest. “They let us out there again, and we’re hitting quota. No CK rampages, no scavengers. We can give you food for a while to pay you for your efforts.”

  “I don’t need your food. And I’m not the one who’s going to deliver your punishment.”

  Gideon’s face scrunched up in confusion. “CK killed that kid’s guard.”

  “I know. I’m here to give you the true warning.”

  “Don’t be like that, Rat…Monster Slayer.” Trembling, Gideon forced a toothy grin. “This place works better when everyone’s helping each other out. We can help each other out.”

  Mia shrugged. “I’m not who you have to worry about. Charlie is. He can smell when you’re a piece of shit. And I know you’re a piece of shit.”

  “Who the fuck is Charlie?” Gideon looked around. “Anyone know a Charlie? He a new guard?”

  “That Tended guy who likes to sing is coming for us?” asked another Grinder.

  “No, not him. I don’t even know who that is.” Mia shook her head. “I didn’t die in the avalanche, just like he didn’t.”

  “Wait, you mean CK is Charlie?” Gideon swallowed. “I wasn’t sure if he was dead, but he hasn’t come back since then. He’s scared now. He knows we can hurt him.”

  Mia nodded. “Yes, he hasn’t come back because he was busy with me killing scavengers and…other people who deserved it.”

  Gideon shook his head. “You’re lying. There’s no way you were around that monster without him taking you down. You’re just trying to fuck with me now.”

  “You’d be surprised what accommodations you can make when you don’t betray someone even when given an easy opportunity.” Mia pointed to her nose. “And I’m not lying. He can smell bad people. And he’s taken a liking to me, and I’ve asked him to do me a favor, so you better make peace with being dinner or plan to stay hidden in the caves with the Tended.” She pointed to a guards’ nest. “There’s got to be a guard with a taste for ugly bastards. Better start searching.” She turned with a wave. “Enjoy the short rest of your life.”

  “You’re lying!” Gideon screamed. “He’s not alive, is he? CK is dead. He’d have come back. He’d have attacked us. He’s dead and buried in the snow and rock.”

  “Keep telling yourself that. I’m sure it’ll be comforting when he kills you. Because that’s the thing. He’s not coming back to kill whatever random assholes are out there. He’s coming back for the men who tried to bury him.”

  “Then…then call him off,” Gideon sputtered. “It was your plan.”

  “He knows that,” Mia replied. “But why should I call him off?”

  “It won’t be pay,” Gideon suggested. “We’ll get you food and clothes. It’ll be like a tithe. A way of paying our respect to you and CK. So call him off.”

  Mia stopped and glanced his way. “You don’t get it. I can’t call him off, because I’m not going to be here long. You’ll have to take that up with Charlie, and he’s nowhere as nice as I am.”

  Prisoners near the edge of the crowd shouted in alarm. They began to part as a large squad of guards with pain batons advanced in tight formation toward Mia and Gideon. The lackadaisical guards manning the nests had rifles out pointing toward the prisoners on the ground.

  Mia looked around. She’d been expecting this, just not so soon.

  A guard stopped in front of Mia. “Prisoner Verick, you are to report to Warden Hadis immediately.” He held the baton right next to her cheek. “Just give us an excuse.”

  Mia didn’t move. “I’m more than happy to report to the warden. I wanted to talk to her anyway.”

  After restraining her hands, the guards escorted Mia to the staff area, following a long path to the warden’s huge office at the end of a dusty hallway. A pair of guards waited outside while two others shoved her inside.