Chapter 24 · The Ash Ledger - Chapter 24: Both Armies Bleed

The blade bounced off the core's surface. Again.

Rowan ducked under a construct's swing and rolled left. His mark burned hot enough to blur his vision. Three more constructs materialized from the tower's skin, same empty faces, same glowing veins feeding straight back into the wall.

"It's regenerating faster than we can damage it," Mara shouted from across the chamber. She had blood on her temple and her coat was shredded down one side. "We're not even scratching it."

"Because it's pulling from both armies." Rowan blocked another strike, felt the impact rattle up to his shoulder. "Every soldier dying out there is fuel. We're feeding it by fighting."

Mara's expression went flat. "Then we need to cut it off at the source."

"The core node." Rowan pointed at the crystalline mass embedded in the center of the chamber, pulsing with that sick amber light. "But it's shielded. I can see the pattern lock from here. Five layers, maybe six."

"Can you break it?"

"Not without the right resonance." He slammed his shoulder into a construct, sent it stumbling back. "It needs a command signature. Someone who's tied into the protocol."

Mara went very still. "Me.