Chapter 16 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 16: Trade Light for Blood

"You're going to want to run," Liv said. Her blade caught the red glow spilling down the corridor. "Now."

"Can't." I pressed my palm flat against the stone. The shard's heat bit through my skin. "System's locked. He's overriding it."

"Then we fight."

"With what? A knife against whatever the hell that is?"

The red light grew brighter. Footsteps echoed closer. Slow. Deliberate. Vald wasn't in a hurry.

"He knows we're trapped," Liv said.

"Yeah. I noticed."

She grabbed my shoulder and hauled me up. "You die, I don't get answers. So don't."

"Great pep talk."

"Shut up and move."

She dragged me toward the back wall where the map had been. My legs didn't want to cooperate. The shard's interface flickered in and out, throwing error codes I couldn't read. Every step felt like walking through mud.

"There," Liv said, pointing at a crack in the wall. "Air's moving."

"That's not a door."

"It's better than here."

She wedged her knife into the crack and pried. Stone groaned. A chunk broke free and clattered to the floor.

"Louder," I said. "He definitely didn't hear that."

"You want to do this?"

"I want to not be here."

"Then help.