shifting my hold on Bran, I got a better grip on him so that we were almost running. Finally, I allowed myself to think about Vincent.
The power transfer hadnât worked. A very good thing , I reassured myself. She hasnât figured out how to drain Vincent of the Championâs power . But my bubble of hope burst when I remembered that she had still succeeded with the binding ceremony. Vincentâs spirit was trapped, unable to leave her side.
And here I was running away from them. I felt like screaming from frustration and rage. Knowing that Vincent was powerless in the evil revenantâs hands made me more determined than ever to figure out how to free him.
But first, we had to get Bran to safety. He could hold the key to helping Vincent. It would be hard for the numa to break down a metal door blocked by an iron bar. But almost every building in Paris held an access to the sewers. Once Violette figured out how Bran had escaped, she could be after us in the time it took her to break into the basement of a nearby building.
Bran directed us through the corridors around multiple twists and turns. It obviously wasnât his first time in the sewersâhe knew exactly where he was going.
After thirty minutes of half-running half-hobbling beside the fetid water, squeezing through tight openings, and shuffling through low connecting passages, we arrived in front of another locked door. Bran removed a brick to the right of the door frame and pulled out a massive skeleton key. I opened the door with it, and Georgia led him through.
âLock it from the inside,â Bran called. Georgia helped him settle him into a chair, where he sat panting.
I found a lighter and a glass lantern holding a candle. Georgia turned off her phone light after I lit the lamp and the space around us flickered into view. We were in a small room furnished with two cots, a couple of old ratty armchairs and shelves stocked with first aid supplies and canned food. âWhat is this place?â I asked.
âOld Resistance hideout, made by my grandfather,â Bran replied breathlessly. âSince the war, my family has kept it as a safe place. But we never needed to use it as such until last week when my mother hid from the ancient one and her numa. We canât stay long, though. If they know weâre down here and come back with reinforcements, they could find us.â
âWe should take you to La Maison,â I said. âBut thatâs in the seventharrondissement, all the way across town. It would take hours to walk there if we stay in the sewers. And with the shape youâre in, Iâm not sure you could even make it.â
Bran shook his head. âI canât walk much farther. And even if I could, I only know my way around the tunnels under our neighborhood. I could never find my way to the other side of the river.â
âSo weâll have to go aboveground,â I said.
A buzzing sound came from Georgiaâs coat. She fished her cell phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. âArthur. Again.â
I stared at her. âWhat do you mean, again?â
âHeâs been leaving me messages all morning, wondering how Iâm doing,â she replied with a shrug.
âWhy donât you answer?â I asked, incredulous.
Georgia made a face. âI donât want to look too interested. Thatâll just scare him off.â She looked as offended as if I had suggested that she marry him on the spot.
I grabbed the phone out of her hand and answered the call. âArthur? Yeah, this is Kate. Violette and some numa are after us, and we need your help. Weâre hiding in the sewers. . . .â I turned to Bran. âWhere are we exactly?â
âUnder the northern tip of Montmartre Cemetery,â Bran responded. âYou can tell them to meet us right inside the north gate.â
I handed the phone back to Georgia. âHe said theyâll be here in