Colour Kid's Arc

Chapter 11 of 11

Inside the shop, Colour Kid felt Mara's signal stutter in his ears. Her voice broke into static. Across the alley, her scanner was glitching where his color had spilled too close. He needed her back online before the gathering could begin. He pulled a thin loop of copper from his pocket. He breathed warm orange into the coils until they spiraled and glowed. He pressed it to the door swirl and whispered her name. The bracelet slid through the air like a thrown ribbon and clasped itself around her wrist in the alley. "Signal clean," Mara said. Her voice came back sharp and dry. "Charge holding. Don't ask me how." The copper warmed against her pulse. Her scanner stopped ticking. The null gaps filled in. She did not say thank you. She said, "Room is yours." Elder Bright stood at the back of the shop, watching. He did not move to help. He only nodded once. "You steadied her," he said. "Good. The city is still listening." His voice was flat. "They will come. You know that." Colour Kid nodded back. He knew. On the host's table sat a small round watch, its face pulsing soft blue and pink. Colour Kid placed his palm on it. Lines of color crawled out from under his hand, threading into every wrist in the room. The network was rebuilt. Twelve pulses answered, then twenty, then more from streets he could not see. "Begin," Elder Bright said. Colour Kid lifted his hand. The gathering opened around him like a held breath let go. Outside, somewhere far, a siren started. The room was his. The city was coming.