Chapter 29 · Then we both die outside this door. Pick one

"Then we both die outside this door. Pick one."

A rifle barrel punched through the corridor wall beside his head.

Jaxon fired without looking. The barrel vanished. Someone shouted.

He grunted as the door shoved against his shoulder.

"Kael!"

I slapped my palm against the panel.

The Glitch answered like a live wire. Blue light raced up my arm and sank into the vault controls. The lock opened with a deep mechanical clunk.

Jaxon stumbled inside. I followed, and the door slammed shut behind us.

Three bullets struck the metal a second later.

The vault was larger than I expected. No gold. No weapons. Just rows of black servers, suspended screens, and a ring of glass cylinders standing in the center of the room.

My feet stopped.

Jaxon came up beside me, breathing hard. "Don't look at the cylinders."

"That's a terrible way to make me look at the cylinders."

"Kael."

I stepped closer.

The nearest cylinder was empty. The next held a pale synthetic frame wrapped in wires. The third was covered by a black sheet. A small label blinked at its base.

K-07.

My chest locked.

"What is that?"

"A failed host."

"For what?"

"For you.