Chapter 17: Transcendent Compassion

At the top, Conor found a door left slightly ajar. He slipped inside, his senses on high alert as he moved down the dimly lit hallway, Parker close behind.

The smell of stale air, dampness, and something acrid filled his nostrils, the sounds of the city outside muted by the thick, grime-coated walls. He could hear muffled voices coming from one of the rooms ahead and crept closer, careful to stay in the shadows.

Peeking through the doorway, Conor saw Theo standing in the middle of a small, cluttered room. The place was a mess—clothes and empty food containers strewn across the floor, the wallpaper peeling, the furniture mismatched and worn. It was the sight of the young woman on a pallet of blankets on the floor that caught Conor’s attention.

She was thin, her skin pale and her dark hair a tangled mess. She looked to be little more than a teen or maybe her early twenties, her eyes sunken and dull.

She was curled up under a blanket, her body trembling as she pulled it tighter around h