Chapter 13 · Dead Line

The apartment smelled like burnt coffee and something metallic I didn't want to think about.

Kira sat on the couch, elbows on her knees, staring at nothing. Her hands were shaking. The silver blade lay on the coffee table between us, still smeared with ash that used to be my mom's face.

I couldn't look at it.

My wrist throbbed. The numbers glowed faint red under the skin, like something alive had burrowed in there. Six days, twenty-three hours, fourteen minutes. I watched the seconds tick down. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven.

"You gonna tell me what this is?" My voice came out flat. I was too tired to yell.

Kira didn't look up. "It's a marker."

"Yeah, I got that part." I pressed my thumb against the numbers. They pulsed warmer. "What happens when it hits zero?"

Silence.

"Kira."

"I don't know." She finally lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot, dark circles underneath like she hadn't slept in days. Maybe she hadn't. "I've never seen one before."

"Bullshit." I stood up, my legs shaky. The room tilted a little. When was the last time I ate? "You knew exactly what that thing was the second it showed up.