Chapter 16
Homunculi
Ronan approached the junkyard on his usual path, cresting the hill overlooking it from the west just after dark to avoid casting a silhouette against the cotton candy sunset sky. He expected no trouble; even the garbage man’s irritating sniping stopped when the sun went down, as long as Ronan didn’t set off any trap lights. He expected an empty maze and deserted ruins. What he saw in the valley below sank his hopes of sweeping up the last of the pesky avian’s mess without interference.
Lights and activity.
There was a smell too, the same as before but stronger now, alkaline and somehow so electric that it crackled like static in his flared nostrils.
“Turoc,” Ronan growled, and sank lower into the tall grass.
If it was Turoc, and Ronan was almost certain that s
