Page 64

A roar of heat—like the air itself igniting.

I turned just in time to see the flames.

POM Security forces. At least three of them.

Their black, featureless masks reflected the red warning lights, and then glowed an unsettling soft orange as their hands wreathed in fire.

The rain hissed against the unnatural heat.

The sleeves of their jackets were etched in glowing orange as their Flux activated, enhanced and controlled by tech.

I barely had time to shout before one of them hurled a wave of fire straight at Taos as she cut across the open space between the building and the gate.

She screamed.

Vex and Marco kept running as she fell to her knees. Vex at least turned and fired a few rounds, but bullets didn’t faze them. Yellow light flashed around the guards as their shields activated. One swept his arm in an arc, unleashing a wall of flames.

The heat slammed into me like a solid wall, scorching through the rain.

My breath hitched, the air thick with the acrid stench of burning plastic and flesh.

Taos was down, curled in on herself, hands clutching her side where the flames had disintegrated jacket and skin.

Her face twisted in agony, the hair on the right side of her head burned away.

I didn’t think. I ran.

I slid across the wet pavement until I was beside her, wrapping an arm around her less-injured side.

The second my fingers closed around her, the next wave of fire came roaring toward us. I threw up my hands.

Flux surged—wild and erratic from the Vector—but it answered.

Electricity crackled through the air, snapping and twisting around us like a living thing. I barely had control, the charge slipping against the raw heat pressing in.

The fire slammed into my shield of electricity.

For a second, the world was nothing but blinding light—orange and violet clashing in a violent, writhing storm.

Pain lanced through me. My arms shook, my legs nearly buckled. The energy was pulling too much, the Vector amplifying it beyond what I could hold. My nerves screamed. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs—too fast, too erratic.

But I didn’t let go.

Taos whimpered under me, trying to move. “Eon—”

“Don’t,” I hissed through clenched teeth.

Vex and Marco were still pinned behind the gate, their gunfire useless.

A guard stepped forward, hand raised to break through my faltering shield.

I twisted my wrist, shifting the charge. The storm around me changed, violet energy snapping downward. Lightning ripped from my fingertips, arcing toward the guard’s chest.

His shield flared. Sparks danced across the surface, then cut through. The tech unable to withstand pure energy.

He staggered, dropped to his knees, then crashed face-first into the ground.

I ground my teeth so hard my jaw ached. I hadn’t just—no way, I wasn’t that strong.

My whole body itched from it, Vector making everything feel just slightly wrong.

My nerves stretched too tight, like I wasn’t entirely in my own skin.

The perfect high was already wearing off, and I was left shaking.

Then fire surged again.

I barely had enough left to block it.

A shockwave rattled through me, my knees hitting the wet pavement as I collapsed under the force. My vision blurred, flickers of violet bleeding into the edges of my sight.

Too much.

I wasn’t Cy. I didn’t have the bottomless reserves of a natural-born combatant. I was barely holding it together.

Taos whimpered again, and the sound cut through the static in my head.

I had to keep it together.

The two remaining guards advanced—slow, methodical, confident.

I had seconds.

Through the haze, through the burn in my veins, I reached out with Flux.

Not at them.

At the ground.

Electricity danced through the rain, surging along the slick pavement. The first guard stepped forward—right into the trap.

Sparks snapped upward, a violent charge jumping from the wet asphalt to his legs.

The energy detonated—not enough to kill, but enough to send him staggering. His muscles seized. His balance broke.

“Move, now!” I gasped, grabbing Taos and dragging her toward the gate.

Vex and Marco sprang into action, laying down more useless fire as I hauled her forward.

We made it past the gate, and Marco grabbed her other side.

My vision blurred with Vector and adrenaline, and the next thing I knew, we were in an alley, the two men standing over Taos and me.

“We have to keep moving,” Vex said. “We can’t keep carrying her. We’re too slow.”

In the distance, sirens wailed—sharp, rising. The low whine of a drone hovered somewhere above the rooftops.

Marco shifted on his feet, his hands flexing at his sides. “We did what we could. We got her out.”

I clenched my teeth. I got her out—barely. Taos lay between us, panting through her teeth, her arm curled against her burned side. She wasn’t moving much. That scared me more than the sirens.

“We’re not leaving her,” I said. Maddox wouldn’t have…Cy wouldn’t have.

Vex exhaled sharply. “I get that you feel responsible, E, but—”

“She’s dying.”

The only sound was Taos’ soft moaning. Rain dripped from the edges of the alley, pooling in the cracks beneath us.

Marco glanced down at Taos, then away, jaw tight. He knew I was right.

Vex swore under his breath. “People die.”

I laughed, breathless and bitter. “Go fuck yourself, Vex.”

He didn’t argue. Just looked down at Taos one last time, then turned and started down the alley. Marco hesitated—only for a second—then followed. Their footsteps faded into the night, lost to the rain and sirens.

I let out a shaky breath and turned back to Taos. Her skin was clammy, her breaths uneven.

“Stay with me,” I murmured, checking the wound. The burns were bad, the skin charred and oozing. I had no MedKit, no supplies. I hadn’t been prepared for this.

A shadow moved at the mouth of the alley.

I snapped up, Flux flaring to my fingertips, ready to fight with whatever I had left—even as my pinky shook.

And then I saw him.

Cy.

Dripping from the rain, hands shoved in his pockets, expression unreadable.

He took one look at Taos, then at me, and sighed.

“You dumb bitch.” It was more exasperation than venom.

“Cy, what the fuck? Did you follow me?”

“Of course I followed you. You’re a wanted criminal. It’s literally my job—”

“Shut up and help me!” I dragged Taos over to him.

“I should arrest you both! Not that this one’s going to make it long enough—”

“Cy! Please!” My voice cracked, and I saw him flinch. “Help me get her to a MedClinic.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long, suffering sigh before he finally caved. “God fucking damnit.”

He grabbed Taos under her other shoulder, and we lifted her between us. “Not the MedClinic. My place is closer. I’ve got a military-grade kit.”

We hobbled down the alley without another word, the only sounds our ragged breaths and Taos’ labored wheezing.

By the time we reached his building, even our panting had joined the city’s chorus of sirens and rain. He kicked the elevator button with his foot, and we nearly collapsed inside.

“Welcome home, Cyanos,” the elevator chimed as the doors slid shut.

“Warning: Low Heart Rate Detected,” my Vysor intoned as red lights blinked. Taos’ body slacked even more between us.

“Cy…”

“Almost there.” He didn’t look at me. His face was ice cold, his eyes glowing. The enforcer, the assassin.

A few moments later, we dragged Taos into Cy’s apartment.

“On my bed,” he said. I didn’t question him. As we set Taos down, she cried out weakly, the burns on her skin oozing freely, plasma soaking into the sheets. Cy flung open his closet, and I heard him rooting around as I held Taos’ hand.

“You’re gonna be okay.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and I saw her chest shake with silent sobs.

“I would say don’t lie to her, but…” Cy knelt down beside me, setting a stack of long packages sealed in autoclave sleeves down on the bed.

“Help me.” He pulled out a knife and cut away her burned shirt and pants. He peeled one open, and a white gauze strip with a semitranslucent green gel adhered to one side lay inside. He unceremoniously slapped it across one of Taos’ burns and she cried out.

“Careful!”

“You want her alive? Move.”

I didn’t argue. My Vysor was flashing more warnings about Taos’ low heart rate. I copied him, opening the strips and gently placing them on her. Once her front was covered, I helped roll her on her side so Cy could add more to her back. She sobbed harder.

“Almost done, I promise.”

Cy just pressed his lips flat and worked. I laid her back down and let my Vysor do a scan. Already her heart rate was stabilizing, and her face had relaxed.

“What are these?”

“Nanites,” Cy replied. “They’ll help with the tissue repair. And there’s a hormone stimulant in the gel that’s causing her to release endorphins—to cover up the pain. She should rest now.”

“This POM tech?”

He didn’t look at me. “Yeah. Developed for the security forces. Useful for wounds in the field.”

“Amazing what money can get you. I assume this isn’t available to the public?”

He shrugged and stood up. “POM lost one of its biggest pieces of military tech to some extremists recently. They’ve been a lot less inclined to share their new developments since then. Don’t want to lose their edge, ya know?” He finally locked eyes with me, and now it was my turn to look away.

“How’s she look?” he asked, motioning to my Vysor.

“Looks like she’s stabilizing.”

“Well, I’m no nurse, so my job’s done.”

I turned back to Taos and reached for her hand—until his came down on my shoulder.

“You’re not a nurse either. Let the tech work. Come on, you need a drink.”

“Just give me a minute with her.”

He nodded, leaving us alone.

I grabbed some gauze from his kit, gently trying to clean the soot and blood from her hair. Her eyes opened slowly, pained but clear.

“E? I’m alive?”

“Yeah, you’re gonna be okay.”

At that, she laughed. “I’ve never been okay.”

The neural implant behind her ear flashed nonstop, working to fight the pain. I knew better than most how futile that was.

“What’s that implant for, Taos?”

She closed her eyes, and I thought maybe she’d fallen asleep.

“Advanced fibromyalgia. I’ve had it since I was fifteen.”

She paused again, her lungs straining. “My family made billions treating conditions like mine.” Taos gasped, each word clearly costing her.

“But never curing them. Why cure what you can treat forever?” She struggled to control her breathing.

“Even their precious daughter wasn’t worth developing a permanent solution for. ”

There was something in her tone beyond pain—resentment, sure, but also envy as her gaze flicked to my hands where small arcs of electricity danced unconsciously between my fingers. I gently threaded my fingers through hers, cutting off the display.

“That’s why you joined Tanaka’s lab. Looking for alternatives?”

“She understood. Digital consciousness wouldn’t just preserve memories—it could liberate us entirely.

Change everything. That’s why I took the code.

” Her fingers tightened around mine. “You were always her favorite, you know. The things you could do intuitively that the rest of us had to struggle through…”

Sure. A favorite she discarded the moment I faltered.

Even now, half-conscious and in pain, that competitive edge crept into Taos’ voice. Her eyes met mine, desperate for understanding. “The code we worked on, E—it was never just about research. It was about transcendence. Liberation through technology.”

“That’s what the Church is trying to do with the chip removals,” I murmured, realization hitting. “They’re trying to separate consciousness from the body. Find some kind of immortality.”

“They’re trying the same thing, but crudely. Destructively.” Her gaze intensified. “But I can make it work, E. I’ve been refining the approach. With the right resources, the right…catalyst…”

She looked at me meaningfully, and I understood—she meant my Flux abilities. Something she couldn’t replicate, no matter how much family money or technological enhancement she acquired.

She started to shiver, and I saw the gel pads glowing softly. She let out a soft sigh, and her breathing evened out as she slipped into sleep.

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Get some rest, Taos.”

As I watched her sleep, I wondered how much of her revolution was genuinely about changing the system…and how much of it was about transcending the limitations she resented so deeply—limitations no amount of privilege could overcome.