Page 137 of Neon Flux

“I willnotbe doing that. You vile, violent, completely—”

“Keep up the compliments, doll. Really feeding my ego here.”

Oh, she was mad. Her face twisted, and finally—finally—she couldn’t keep her Flux under wraps. Electricity danced around her arms, lighting up the dim corridor in wild flickers of pale violet and white.

“Cy,” she hissed, her voice crackling with static. “Youdon’tget to joke about this.”

I turned to her, leaning casually against the wall like I didn’t still have a severed hand in my grip. “I’m not joking. You thinkthey’d let us waltz in here with a smile and a song? Sometimes you’ve gotta get your hands dirty, Eon. That’s the job.”

She glared, arcs of electricity snapping dangerously close to my chest. For a second, I wondered if she might actually let loose—fry me right here in the hallway. I wanted her to. I wanted to see how far she’d go, what she could really do.

Instead, she exhaled sharply and pulled the Flux back into herself, like stuffing a storm into a glass jar. Lightning in a bottle, indeed.

“Just…open the damn door.”

I nodded, vaguely disappointed.

We moved down the hallway in tense silence until we came to a bend. Around the corner, two POM Security grunts stood guard outside a set of double doors.

I stuffed the hand into my inside jacket pocket and pulled out my short-bladed tanto.

“What are you doing?” Eon hissed.

“My job. They have shields. I can’t shoot them.”

“But you’re going tokillthem? Just for being in our way?”

“Yes.” I’d never had to explain this to someone before. Everyone in my world understood the necessity of violence. But not her. She’d been a victim of it time and time again, yet she still didn’t understand that peace was never an option—not in a world like ours.

“Can’t you…I don’t know,shockthem or something?”

I let out an annoyed hiss. “If I could, I would. These are trained POM assets, just like me. Doubt I’d get the jump on both of them without getting my ass stabbed. Not worth the risk.”

Eon bit her lip, glancing between the guards and me. “Just like you, huh?”

I blinked. “Well…beta assets. Not quite as good, but—”

She rolled her eyes. “Then they’ll fall for the same tricks.”

I frowned. “What?”

Eon took a slow breath, squared her shoulders, and smoothed her face into wide-eyed panic. I barely had time to step back before she rounded the corner, stumbling like a lost lamb.

“Oh, thank God! Please—you have to help me!” Her voice pitched high, trembling. I almost believed her.

The guards snapped to attention. “Ma’am, you’re not supposed to be here—”

“I know! I got turned around—I was just—” She swayed, hands shaking. The guards stepped forward, lowering their weapons just slightly—just enough.

Then I saw it. The flicker of violet light dancing across her fingers.

She stumbled into them, one hand to each chest. Before either could react, a sharpcracksplit the air, and the two guards seized, their bodies locking up as she sent a controlled burst of electricity straight through their systems. They dropped like stones.

I stepped forward, nudging one with the toe of my boot. Still breathing.

Eon straightened, brushing her hair back. “There. No bloodshed. Remind me why I brought you again?”

I huffed, half-annoyed, half-impressed. “Not bad, doll. Though these guys might be a little worse for wear tomorrow.”