Chapter 27 · Twin Glitch

"Don't let go, Rex!" Vesper shouted as Kaelen's fist drove him through the reactor deck.

Rex hit hard enough to crack the alloy beneath his back. His lungs forgot how to work. Before he could suck in air, Kaelen's hand closed around his throat and lifted him off the floor.

"You have three seconds," Kaelen said. His face no longer looked fully human. Black armor had grown over his jaw, his neck, and half his skull. Blue-white code crawled beneath the synthetic skin. "Tell me how to remove the tether."

Rex clawed at his wrist. "Try asking nicer."

Kaelen squeezed.

Vesper fired twice. The rounds struck Kaelen's shoulder and burst into sparks. He barely turned his head.

"Vesper!" Rex rasped.

"I know," she snapped. "I know he doesn't care about bullets. I'm working on the part where I don't die."

Kaelen flung Rex across the chamber. He slammed into a support column, shoulder first. Pain flashed down his arm. His vision filled with red warning text.

CORE LINK: 91%.

NEURAL TETHER: UNSTABLE.

PARTNER VITALS: VESPER CROFT, CRITICAL.

Rex spat blood onto the floor. "You seeing that?"

Vesper's gaze flicked toward the red glow burning behind his left eye.