Chapter 21 · Every Cannon Turns

The first cannon moved before Xia Lan could breathe.

Somewhere above them, stone screamed against stone. The sound came through the walls of Access Node 13 as a deep metallic groan, followed by a vibration that crawled up Xia Lan’s boots and into her bones. Dust sifted from the ceiling. The black surface of the Ashfall Core pulsed once beneath its glassy shell.

Then a red line appeared across the air.

EASTERN BORDER: TARGET ACQUISITION COMPLETE.

The words floated above the Core in letters taller than Milo’s head. Beneath them, a second line unfolded.

WESTERN BORDER: TARGET ACQUISITION COMPLETE.

Milo stared at the display. The fused black box slipped from his hands and struck the floor with a wet, heavy clack.

“No,” he mouthed.

Xia Lan saw the shape of the word but not the sound. Her ears still held nothing but a distant pressure, a sealed room inside her skull. Nolan was shouting something beside her. His mouth moved sharply. His eyes were wide, furious, terrified.

She couldn’t hear him.

She could read him.

Don’t touch it.

The Core answered before she could turn away.

“Authority confirmed.”

The voice was not coming through the air.