Page 129 of A Thousand Cuts

Warmth on the back of his hand.

Comforting weight settled on his legs.

“And you didn’t know he was a caster?” someone asked.

Liam tried opening his eyes, but it was like his entire body was detached from his brain. He couldn’t get anything to move.

“No, I didn’t,” another voice said, and this one Liam recognized. Daddy. “And clearly neither did he.”

“How is that even possible?” Liam was pretty sure that was Hart.

“Seems to be a theme around here, lately.” Ash, maybe? Liam wasn’t sure.

His eyes still wouldn’t open. He tried calling out, but nothing came. The voices grew muffled, and before he could attempt tomove again, something pulled him under where it was quiet and calm.

He came to again sometime later. Phased into semi consciousness, disoriented and feeling scared for some reason. He couldn’t recall why.

There were voices around him again. Some he knew, some that sounded unfamiliar. They were talking about him. He couldn’t really understand what was being said. He couldn’t hear Daddy.

His mind drifted, and before he knew it the voices had faded, and he was gone again.

“Mr. Undergrove, I find this extremely unprofessional.”

It was a female voice, clipped and chastising, that greeted him when he next floated to the surface of his consciousness.

It felt clearer this time. Maybe he’d break the surface and come up for real. He tried wiggling his toes. He wasn’t sure if it did anything, but it felt better than when he’d last tried.

“Avery, please. And I came as soon as I got the message,” Avery—apparently—said.

Liam had no idea who that was, and with increased awareness came fear. He didn’t know where he was. The room was filled with weird staticky noises and hushed voices.

“You came as soon as Midas texted you,” the woman said. “Yet we have called you several times with no answer.”

“It was the middle of the night,” Avery said.

“Curses don’t keep a regular sleep schedule. Your position requires you to be on call—”

“I wasn’t sleeping.” Avery cut her off. “I was harmonizing with the music boxes. After months we finally managed to find the perfect key.”

There was a pause as the woman took that batshit information in.

“Regardless of your activities, it doesn’t change the fact that you seem to think Midas is more worth your time than a callfrom Nexus. This isn’t the first time you’ve ignored calls or letters.”

Liam couldn’t make heads or tails of the conversation.

He knew Midas. That was the extent of it. It didn’t fully comfort him, but it at least felt like he wasn’t alone in a strange place. Where was Fix? Was he gone? He tried wiggling his toes again. He was so tired.

“Midas brings me items in urgent need of TLC. I can’t not answer,” Avery said with all the guilelessness of someone explaining he was helping helpless bunnies or puppies. But there was something else winding between the letters of Midas’s name in his mouth, soft and tender. “Nexus calls for more…unpleasant reasons.”

“Your retesting isn’t unpleasant,” the woman said, her voice pitched higher.

Liam flinched internally at the sound. He just wanted to open his eyes and see.

“It’s entirely unnecessary.”

“You haven’t retested in years. It iscompletelynecessary. By law.”

Liam pushed himself harder. He sent all his wishes and strength into his eyelids to pry them open.