28

You kneel down near the statue and hold out your hand, moving slowly closer to the little cat so you don’t scare it off. When you make contact, the cat stretches and presses itself closer to your hand. The fur feels strange—oddly damp and slick, hotter than you think it should be. Then again, is it fair to expect better health from a Minrathous street cat than most of its people have?

Suddenly, the cat arches its back and hisses at you—a loud, unnatural, shrieking hiss. You jerk your hand back to avoid its flailing claws, but aren’t lucky enough to dodge its teeth as well. That’s when you notice that the eyes it’s narrowing at you are a deep, luminous red. You didn’t even know cats could carry the blight.

A fine network of black is already spreading up your hand, the blight taking hold quickly in your veins. The only thing you can think of to save yourself is the Joining—but if you leave Minrathous now, you may never find out what’s happened to Neve.

• To try to save yourself, turn to page 41.
• To stay and focus on finding Neve, turn to page 42.