Chapter 17 · Ghost Lab

"Touch that handle and I leave you for the hounds," Fixer said, his pistol jammed hard against the back of my neck.

"Yeah?" I said. "You brought us here to open it. So shoot or move."

He didn't move. The metal door in front of us was sweating cold, old chrome, no handle, just a palm scanner crusted with black rot.

"Elara," Fixer snapped. "Open it. Now."

"Don't order me," she said. Her shoulder hit mine as she pushed past. "And get that gun off him. We're not your dogs."

"You are until we're out of this hole," Fixer said. "You want the lab? This is it. You want to live? Open it."

His two mercs had rifles up, backs to us, watching the dark corridor we just ran through. The hounds were still out there. Somewhere close. I could hear the clicking.

Elara glanced at me. Her face was pale, sweat on her lip, eyes locked on mine for half a second. "Kyle, your hand."

"My hand?" I said. "That scanner's dead. It's rotted through."

"Exactly," she said. "It needs rot to wake up. Put your hand on it."

"Oh, great," I said. "Use the freak blood trick.