Chapter 9 · Blood-Red Lockdown

"Don't you dare pass out on me, Kai. Not now."

Vala’s voice was a whip, cracking through the static in my brain. Her hand was clamped onto my shoulder, digging in hard enough to bruise. I couldn't see her—everything was a blur of jagged neon and screaming red warnings—but I could feel her breath hot against my cheek, smelling like ozone and expensive gun oil.

"I'm... trying," I choked out. My voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a well.

Inside my skull, the Void wasn't just a voice anymore. It was a fucking earthquake. The ancient consciousness I'd merged with was rebooting, and it felt like someone was scrubbing my brain with steel wool. Every nerve ending in my body ignited. I arched my back, a silent scream tearing through my throat as my vision flickered into a strobe light of blood-red code.

"Hold him!"

Another voice. Not Vala. Rougher. More corporate.

I felt a sudden, violent jerk. Someone had grabbed my ankle and was dragging me across the grit of the alley floor. I clawed at the concrete, nails snapping, leaving streaks of red on the gray stone. The world tilted.