Read City of Cruelty and Copper (Temperance Era) for Free Online Page B

wide and sometimes less than four feet high. Nobody in Temperance lived this deep, for one it was rat infested and for two, there were skeletal remains that hadn’t been removed, not to mention rocks and other debris. We had archaeologists on the South side that were slowly excavating the underground city, but after thirteen hundred years, we had only succeeded in revealing thirty seven percent of what awaited us.
    Isaac looked back at me and I realized he hadn’t turned on his flashlight. I shined the light on his face and he shielded his eyes. “I can’t believe you actually turned that thing on.”
    “It’s dark,” I said.
    “Turn it off.”
    I obeyed automatically and waited for my eyes to adjust. Around us was whitish rock that shimmered in the pale fading light of the sun. Rays of sunlight caromed off the stone, casting us in a grayish glow. It wasn’t nearly as dark as the shadows had suggested. I flipped the flashlight around in my hand, giving Isaac a puzzled look.
    “Isn’t it cool?” he said. He looked very boyish in that moment. I sometimes wondered how we were only a year apart, Isaac being eighteen and me seventeen.
    I glanced at the mishmash of rocks, the cobble stone sidewalks that continued downwards, and the naturally formed pillars. I shrugged. “It’s unfinished.”
    Isaac laughed and for a split second I worried about a rock slide. Down here his laugh echoed off the rocks making it sound deeper and richer. “I thought this might be more interesting than another massacre.”
    True, I had almost forgotten all about Fable and the kitchen knives they were likely stabbing her with right now. I felt uneasy knowing I’d have to return to Rab and my strict lifestyle in a few hours. “It feels like we’re trespassing on a compost heap.”
    Isaac laughed again. “That’s because we haven’t got to the good stuff yet.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “There’s good stuff?”
    Isaac didn’t answer me as he continued down the straight slab of sidewalk that angled towards another small circular platform with multiple roads leading off it. Two of the roads were completely blocked by rocks. If I could turn myself into liquid I might fit through the tiny spaces left. One of the other paths was unkempt with wires dangling from the ceiling. It looked like it used to have something attached to the wall, but it had been ripped out hundreds of years ago. The first people of Temperance kept records in code and only a few people knew how to read those codes nowadays. Whatever they were wiring into the wall was long gone now.
    One of the paths led into a cavern with higher ceilings and a pattern of stones that scattered across the floor. I wanted explore there but Isaac ducked into the wiry path with the narrow walls and I followed, not wanting to get lost. He squished his body through the exiguous tunnel and I used my hands to steady myself. I only had to bend a few times to avoid more of the wires. I banged my knee against a metal box left haphazardly on the ground and let out a wail. The tunnel continued until Isaac and I were on a ledge. The city was miles above us and we were standing in a small cavern. I noticed stalagmites along the walls in the blurry gray darkness. I pulled out my flashlight to get a better look. It was a completely undeveloped part of Temperance. I peered over the cliff and realized it was only a couple of feet down to the next platform. Below that were more stalagmites and above us were giant stalactites, reaching towards us with their icy fingers.
    “I guess we stop here?”
    Isaac crossed his arms and grinned. For a second I thought he was going to jump and then he jerked his head towards it like he wanted me to jump. “You can go first.” A smirk appeared on his face.
    I frowned. Isaac knew I wasn’t that athletic and that spelunking around in caves wasn’t what I did with my friends. I clicked the flashlight off and looped it into my belt. It wasn’t like I was trying to prove