Colour Kid's Arc

Chapter 6 of 11

They climbed out of the tunnel into morning light. Ink Gray was waiting by the cracked stones, arms folded. "Follow," she said. "There is a place that holds both sides. You need to see it." Colour Kid wiped paint from his hands and followed. The cathedral cafe sat behind tall iron gates. Stained glass threw blue and gold across the floor. Witches sat on one side, hooded and quiet. Techno-mancers sat on the other, wires humming under their coats. Nobody spoke across the aisle. The air felt held, like a breath waiting to break. Granny Mossroot waved them to a small painted booth. Bottles of salve and shimmering tonic lined its shelves. On the counter she set two things: a small rat with a torn side, breathing fast, and a black piece of circuit, edges still glowing orange where the ley-line had burned it. "Heal both," she said. "At once. If you can." Colour Kid knelt. He looked at the rat. He looked at the shard. He felt warm yellow rise in his chest and let it out through his eyes. Paint bloomed across both at the same time. The rat's fur turned bright. The shard's burnt lines lit up clean and humming. Both sides of the room stood up at once. A witch and a techno-mancer met eyes across the aisle. Neither looked away. From a shadowed corner, Belladonna Blight spoke without moving. "The count begins now. They will all come for him." Granny Mossroot nodded slowly. "You proved it, child. That means every faction in the city felt that pulse." Colour Kid looked down at the healed rat curling against the shining shard. He had done what he wanted to do. He had also lit a beacon. Ink Gray was already at the door, logging the exits. "We leave now," she said. The cafe's quiet was over.