Chapter 26 · Sunburst Crypt

"Three minutes, Vesper. If we aren't out by then, the purge timer turns this whole crypt into a microwave," Lucian said, his voice strained.

He was leaning back in his chair, his useless legs draped over the edge of a rusted console. He looked fragile—like a single gust of wind could snap him in half—but his eyes were scanning the vault's ceiling with a predatory hunger.

"I'm working on it, you arrogant prick," Vesper snapped. She was drenched in sweat, her combat boots sliding on the slick, oil-stained floor. She slammed a heavy-duty plasma torch into the vault's locking mechanism. "Maybe if you could actually stand up and hold the damn flashlight, we'd be halfway done."

Lucian tilted his head. "I'm managing just fine from here. Focus on the gear, not my spine."

He wasn't just managing. Under the cover of the dim, flickering amber lights, thin, obsidian threads of nightmare essence were snaking out from his fingertips, weaving into the vault's circuitry. He was chewing through the security codes from the inside, feeling the digital pulse of the crypt like it was his own heartbeat.

Suddenly, the floor shuddered.