I swipe my hand across the fogged glass, staring at the massive leviathan that lies below. Its bright yellow skin marks it as my target. I glance down the carver's station, the two thousand-foot glass roof extending out into the harbor, and the floor of the station itself located four hundred feet below the pier. The only reason there is a glass roof, to begin with, is so that sailors can see the building from the harbor so as not to run into it. Dozens of lights can be seen floating through the pitch-black ocean—night fishermen. If it \wasn't for the vibrant nightlife of the ocean, they would fish during the day. Thankfully, the sixteen hundred-foot creature below remains still, its species only active during the day. The giant blue eye stares at me, and its two-hundred-foot dorsal fin scrapes the glass roof. I've given the carvers two weeks to find the core. But I still haven't heard anything from my contacts. If I'm going to act, it needs to be now. I need to get my hands on it before the military does. It's my only ticket out of this godforsaken city.

I tap the hilt of the sword on my side as I judge the distance needed to jump to grab the dorsal fin. It should be doable from above. Too bad I need to cross over six hundred feet of the glass roof. It would have been much easier if I still had the keys to the service entrance. My last two heists went well, thanks to that. But at least there are no guards. No one is stupid enough to try and break into the station. Not without the proper gear. The fumes released from the dead Bustal Levithtian are no joke. With a sigh, I turn around and lean on the railing. In front of me, the legendary Spine lights the entire city, the peaks of the all-glass skyscrapers stretching more than three miles into the sky. The great wall of glass buildings extends down the coast and out of sight. Above, metal boxes glide through the sky, a few even shaped like sailboats. They are eerily silent as the airships gracefully move about the airspace.

Calypso. The city of glass and dreams. Ironic it's called that. If the Spine was taken away, this city would be nothing more than brick and stone. However, Atlas is in even worse straits. These wooden buildings look raggedy and useless compared to those that dwell in Calypso proper. This little sub-city is filled with nothing but fishermen and craftsmen posing as beggars. I can't help but shake my head. If Calypso is the city of dreams, then Atlas is where those dreams go to die. I watch the darkness of the pier that extends for miles on each side of the carver station, the stone structure filled to the brim with all kinds of wooden sailboats, big and small. There are even a few metal monsters among them. The shadows cast by the Spine grow as the night wears on.

Time to go. I turn to face the glass roof, griping the railing when heavy steps cause me to hesitate. Emerging from the shadows is a large black women. She is at least six-eight, with bulging muscles and an impeccable afro. Her face is scarred and wrinkled from the sun, but her dark eyes shine with life. I swallow hard. Sal. She's the last person I wanted to see.

She stops a few feet from me, her gaze flicking to the permanent red streak that adorns my bangs. Seems she noticed it having gotten bigger. "How's the poison?" Her voice is raspy, like she's had one too many smokes, but still carries heavy weight behind it.

"Manageable," I reply. I flit my gaze around the surroundings. It's odd that she would be out here at this time of night, "Don't you have a Bustal hunt tomorrow?" She walks toward me, and I tense, but she just leans against the railing, staring down at the dead monster below.

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"Aye. But sleep can wait until I'm dead. Here to steal another core?"

I flinch. Shit. Of course she'd know about that. Nothing gets past her when it comes to the harbor. Silently, I judge whether I can knock her out without causing a ruckus. Doubtful. She's way too strong. I doubt I could take her in a fair fight. And she never fights fair. "I have my reasons."

Sal sighs heavily and turns to me, worry creasing her face, "I was 'friad of that. Then again, you are Blade's student. He neva did have an interest in laws." She shakes her head, crossing her arms, "You gotta plan?"

I look away from her, staring at the Spine. She took me in when I escaped from Mirin. Gave me a job and treated me like her own son. And just like Blade, I'm abandoning her. "I have an idea. That core is my ticket out. With luck, It'll give me the power I need to fight my way out of here. We both know Mirin won't just let me leave."

Sal goes silent. I wish things didn't have to end this way, but Mirin won't stop until he finds me. The sooner I get out, the better. I grab the railing, ready to leap over it onto the roof when Sal grips my arm. Hesitnantly she brings out a small gray orb as big as a cherry in one of her gloved hands. The core. She shoves it into my hand, "Take it. Better you get it than the military or Mirin."

I stare at it in disbelief. So that's why my contacts never caught wind of it moving. Sal had it. But in order to do that, she had to find it before the carvers. And sure, the core might only be in the monster's heart, but the heart is as big as a house. Not to mention the toxic gasses released from the dead creature. I look up at her, but she's gone. No goodbye, no hug. Sailors like her do that as a way of saying they'll see each other again, as saying goodbye is condemning people to their fates. I grip the small orb. I won't let this opportunity slip.

***************

Walking in Atlas at night really shows how different it is from Calypso. There, the megacity's streets are clean and made of carefully cut stone, and the buildings are tall and fancy. The inner part of the city even has electricity. Out here, the streets are made of dirt, and the buildings are wooden, creaking at even the slightest gust of wind. Weak flame-powered lanterns light the way, only providing the smallest amount of light to fight back the deep shadows the Spine creates. Two different worlds connected by nothing more than location.

I sigh and kick a beer bottle out of my way. The sea air prickles my nose, and the smell of stale alcohol and seawater drowns out everything else. Atlas isn't a bad place; it's just underdeveloped. Then again, that's how the people here like it. They shun modern technology, only using it when absolutely necessary. Never really understood that side of them. Technology has always made things easier for me. At least when I lived in Calypso, it did.

The bar where I work and rent a room comes into view. It's a shabby place on the outside, but the owner has done a great job on the inside, filling it with all kinds of leviathan-related stuff, from pictures of the dead creatures to even a fang from one. Though the tooth is so tall, they had to cut a hole in the ceiling just to get it to fit. The tooth pokes out even now, illuminated by the Spine.

I pause at the door to look at the core one last time before pocketing it and locking the door behind me. With a sigh, I take off my sword, setting it on the nearby counter. Thank god I'm the only tenant here. It'd be such a pain to explain my forays into the city when even the bars are closed. I move to head upstairs when I notice three shapes hunkered down in the shadows of the room.

My breath hitches as fear strikes through me like a knife. Surely Mirin hasn't found me yet. I made sure to slip his scouts. One of the figures stands, unsheathing a sword. This isn't good.