Chapter 8 · The Parasite Pact

"Don't move, glitch," the guard spat, pressing the serrated edge of a mana-blade right into the soft skin of Kane's throat. "One twitch and I'll carve your head off before you can blink."

I froze, my back pressed against the damp, vibrating wall of the corridor. My heart was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I wasn't the one with the knife to my throat, but the air in the tunnel felt like it was being sucked out by a vacuum.

Kane didn't even flinch. He looked at me—really looked at me—with those piercing eyes that seemed to see right through my skin, through the monster I'd become, straight into the terrified girl underneath. He looked bored. That was the terrifying part.

"You're not a mob," Kane said, his voice a low, raspy grate. He ignored the blade cutting into his neck. "You're something else. Something the Maw didn't make."

"I'm nothing!" I snapped, my voice cracking. "I'm just... I'm just trying to get out!"

"Liar," he whispered. He shifted his weight, and the guard shoved the blade deeper. A thin line of crimson leaked out, staining his collar. "You've got a scent. Not blood, not slime. Something...