Chapter 6 · The Ash Ledger - Chapter 6: The Black Archive

The Black Archive wasn't a prison. It was a corpse factory.

Rowan pressed against the outer wall, Mara beside him, both of them staring at the convoy stopped fifty yards ahead. Three cages on wheels. No guards in sight. Just that low hum coming from underground, like a furnace waiting to be fed.

The mark on his wrist itched. Not the usual burn. This was different. Hungry.

"They're already inside," Mara said. Her voice was flat, but her hand was white-knuckled on her blade hilt. "If he's in one of those cages—"

"He is." Rowan didn't know how he knew. The Ledger knew. It always knew where the bodies were.

The mark pulsed. A new line of text crawled across his skin, cold and sharp:

*UPGRADE AVAILABLE: HARVEST PROTOCOL. COST: 1 WITNESS.*

Rowan's stomach dropped. "No."

"What?" Mara turned.

"It wants me to kill him." He showed her his wrist. The text glowed faint red in the pre-dawn gloom. "That's the price. One witness. It'll give me something in return."

Mara went still. "What kind of something?"

"Does it matter?" Rowan pulled his wrist back, covered it with his sleeve. "I'm not doing it."

"I wasn't asking you to.