Chapter 9 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 9: The Core Ledger

"Move."

Kael's hand closed around my wrist before I hit the corridor at full speed. I yanked free and kept running.

"Raina, wait—"

"He's down there." My voice came out raw. The chip burned cold against my temple, feeding me a live signal that pulsed like a heartbeat three levels below. "He's in the sublevel shaft and his vitals are dropping."

"That's bait." Kael matched my stride, boots hammering the metal grating. "The system wants you down there."

"I don't care what it wants." I hit the stairwell door with my shoulder and it slammed open. Emergency lights flickered red down the shaft, casting everything in bloody stripes. "That's my brother."

"Then let me go first."

"No." I vaulted the railing and dropped to the first landing. The impact jarred through my knees but I didn't stop. "You'll slow me down."

His landing was quieter than mine, controlled. "You'll get yourself killed."

"Not before I get to him."

The air got colder the deeper we went. My breath misted in front of my face. The chip overlaid a schematic across my vision, showing me the path in pulsing blue—