Chapter 16 · The Ash Ledger - Chapter 16: The Engineer's Debt

The fourth node cracked open like a rotten tooth.

Rowan didn't have time to celebrate. Ilya was already moving to the fifth, her fingers flying over the panel's surface. The crystal hummed, then whined. She cursed.

"How many left?" Mara asked.

"Eight." Ilya didn't look up. "And the countdown's not slowing down."

Rowan checked his wrist. The black mark pulsed. Forty-one minutes. The Ledger fed him a map overlay—twelve nodes scattered across Veyrhold's lower district, eight still active. Two armies closing from opposite sides. And somewhere out there, Soren was either dead or playing dead.

"We're not going to make it," Mara said.

Rowan wanted to argue. He didn't.

Ilya's hands stopped. She turned, and her face was pale. "I can cascade them."

"What's that mean?" Rowan asked.

"I break one, it triggers the next three in sequence. Saves time."

"So do it."

"It'll fry the whole grid. Everyone in the district loses water, heat, comms. For weeks."

Mara stepped closer. "How many people?"

"Four thousand. Maybe five."

Rowan's mark flared. The Ledger didn't care about water or heat. It cared about combat efficiency. It was already calculating. He saw the numbers scroll past—acceptable civilian cost, force multiplier, tactical advantage.