Kano swallowed. Her assumption had been correct. He had no intention of negotiating. “It’s a generous offer. Unfortunately, I’ll have to pass. I was all for running away when I heard you were coming, but Yon had other ideas.”

“Yon?” Shorin asked, amused. “You’re working with a necromancer? It’s funny where we can end up in life, don’t you think? How exactly did you end up working with her?”

Kano bit her lip, wondering how much she should tell him. “I recently found out that… there’s something wrong with my brain. Yon said the equipment they have here might be able to help me, so I got her in here, and it turns out she was right.”

“You actually believe she came here to help you? You really do have brain damage. I don’t remember you being so hopelessly naïve.”

Kano’s breath caught in her throat. Was he right? Had Yon been deceiving her all this time? She wouldn’t put it past the necromancer, but… no, there was no point in thinking about it now. Even if Shorin was right, he was still her enemy. Unless… “Why? Are you offering me an alternative to working for her?”

Shorin burst out laughing. “It seems I learn new things about you by the moment, I had no idea you were capable of coming up with jokes like that. I can only applaud your comedic timing.” Then all good cheer vanished from his face, leaving it blank. “I can’t say the same of your lack of sense. My patience is wearing thin. Leave. Now.”

Taking a deep breath, Kano readied her force field. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

“Fine, then you leave me no choice.” He raised his gun, but Kano was already moving. With a swipe of her hand, she cut through the rifle, rendering it useless. Shrouded in his own dark green field, Shorin caught her wrist. Their eyes locked. Green with veins of orange, his eyes hadn’t a trace of worry. It was as if he was enjoying a day at the park. She struggled, force fields grinding together in a series of colorful sparks. But Shorin had the advantage in strength and leverage.

With a smirk, he twisted her arm. Her force field contracted, crushing her wrist. Then all hell broke loose. Amid Shorin’s henchmen, who were trying to get a clean shot, an abomination exploded. It dissolved into a red mist, splattering everyone around it with gore. Reeling, they were easy prey for the creature hiding inside their companion. Caked in blood, it tore into them with its long claws.

Their frantic gunfire didn’t even slow it down, the wounds healing almost instantly. Shorin’s eyes widened, and he released Kano. Spinning around, he froze. Kano was every bit as surprised, but she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. Her kick struck him in the back of the knee. Failing to pierce his field, it sent him staggering rather than breaking his knee.

Heat building in her chest, Kano hurled herself at him before he could recover. She swept his legs out from under him and got an arm around his throat. Now he was the one getting crushed by his own field. He kicked and flailed, but there was nothing he could do to break her hold. As her hold tightened, his struggles grew weaker.

Kano felt a surge of exaltation. She was doing it! Then another explosion lifted her off her feet, slamming her into the ground a few feet away. Her field held, but it didn’t stop the concussive force of the explosion. Wiping blood from her face, Kano tried to get her scattered brain to focus. Everything was a blur. Seeing a tall smudge moving toward her, she struck. She misjudged the distance and her hand went wide.

The figure stepped in and delivered a crushing blow to her chin. It was enough to send her back to the ground, seeing stars. Frantic, she covered her head and tried to roll out of the way. A hand caught her by the leg and dragged her back. Without any sense of strategy or technique she kicked back with her free leg. She felt it connect, and then she was free.

Staggering to her feet, she blinked, hoping to clear her vision. It was patchy, but she could make out Shorin standing just out of reach. Chest heaving, with a hand to his throat, he didn’t look much better off.

“You remind me of her,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You always did. It’s the face, you see.” He took a step toward her. “I’ve always hated you. Hated that you have the same face.”

Another step, and a concussive wave erupted from him, smashing into Kano like a runaway train. Digging in her feet, she weathered it. The generator in her chest was a raging inferno within her, but she stayed standing. Running out of time, she closed the remaining distance in two quick steps. She came in low and caught his leg before he could retreat.

They both went down, but she maintained her hold. Arms trembling as she strained against strength of his muscles and his force field, she bent his leg back. It hurt him, but she was fading fast. Gritting her teeth, Kano brought forth every ounce of effort she could muster and pushed. A fraction of an inch at a time, she pushed. Until finally, with a resounding snap, his leg broke. His cry of pain was music to Kano’s ears as she let go.

With Shorin in no position to resist, she rained blows down on his head. Bone cracked and splintered beneath her fists. The green field around Shorin flickered and died as the light went out in his eyes. Dropping her own field, Kano collapsed on top of him. Her chest felt like it was on fire, the skin red and blistered. But she was alive.

The exchange couldn’t have taken more than a minute, but it had drained her almost completely. She could hear bursts of gunfire nearby—whatever had attacked Shorin’s group was still out there. Kano supposed she owed it a debt of thanks for saving her life, assuming it wasn’t planning on killing her too. Having seen it tear ghouls to shreds, it wasn’t a risk she much wanted to take right now. Better to leave their meeting for when she’d recovered.

Rolling off the lifeless body of Shorin, Kano heard a voice over the center’s speaker system. “Kano, if you can hear me, get back inside.” It was Yon. “I figured out how to get the turrets back online; they’ll be up and running in a few moments. Best of luck getting here in time. Hope you don’t get shot.” The voice cut out.

Grimacing, Kano forced herself up. It was hard to tell if the necromancer was trying to help her or kill her. Either way, she was better off inside. At least she’d be away from the other people who were definitely trying to kill her. She glanced back at the carnage as she jogged toward the center. At least half of Shorin’s lackeys were down, their attacker locked in combat with the remaining abomination.

Trading blow for blow, the newcomer had trouble dealing meaningful damage to its hulking adversary, but it was wearing them down. Nothing its foes did slowed it down. Kano watched as the abomination caught the other creature’s entire upper torso in its mouth and bit down. In the time it took for the creature to step back, it had already recovered. It was enough to make Kano wonder if it wasn’t more of a threat than Shorin had been.

Seeing the center’s guns move, Kano picked up the pace. The doors opened before her, and she ran inside as a fresh hail of gunfire erupted behind her. Alone in the entranceway, Kano took several deep breaths.

Her chest felt a little better, but she wouldn’t be using her force field again soon. Even if she’d had energy left, the generator couldn’t take much more. She wondered if she could take Shorin’s for her own. It was just an idle thought, but it seemed like it might be worth asking Yon about. Assuming his body was still intact and Yon was still alive and on her side. Big assumptions, given how fluid the current situation was.

Figuring Yon would be close to the network, Kano headed there. The threads shuddered and thrummed, glowing in all the colors of the rainbow. Kano thought it was something Thirty-Six would appreciate if she were here. But the little ghoul was nowhere to be seen. The necromancer stood alone, her black robe appearing far more colorful in the light of the network.

“Where’s Thirty-Six?” Kano asked, walking toward Yon. “I thought you said you’d watch her.”

Yon backed away in the limited room between threads. “I’m going to need you to listen very carefully.”

“Where. Is. She?” She kept walking until Yon’s back was nearly touching the crystalline strands behind her.

Out of room, Yon balled her hands into fists and stood her ground. “Listen to me! I can explain!”

“Then explain.” Kano could feel fury building within her, threatening to explode. Something bad had happened to Thirty-Six; there was no doubt about it.

Yon took a deep breath and launched into a rapid-fire explanation. “I managed to get the monitors working with Rovon’s help.” She pointed to a nearby monitor that showed the outside of the facility—there was nothing but corpses in the shot. “Thirty-Six and I were watching when you fought with Shorin. One second Thirty-Six was worried, the next she was gone.”

“Gone? Are you saying she wandered off?” Kano relaxed. If she was walking around the center somewhere, there might not be anything to worry about.

“No. She collapsed. At first, I thought she’d up and died, but then the network started doing that.” She gestured toward the strands. “And I realized what must have happened. Somehow her soul left her body and joined the network. That’s what got the defenses working again.”

Kano brushed away the tears building in her eyes. “Then bring her back.”

“I can’t.”

Filled with fresh adrenaline to offset her fatigue, Kano surged forward and grabbed the necromancer by her shoulders. “What do you mean you can’t? Why not?” Her hands squeezed, digging into Yon’s soft flesh.

Yon gasped but didn’t struggle. “As far as I can tell, she’s just another part of the network at this point. Removing her would be like trying to remove an individual strand from a rope. A rope made with technology I can barely understand, let alone replicate or deconstruct.”

Then Thirty-Six was gone? Just like that? Kano couldn’t believe it; she refused to believe it. This had to be some sort of trick. The necromancer must have betrayed her after all. Bone grated against bone, and Yon’s face grew pale. Kano could see the necromancer’s fear; it was all too clear. But she couldn’t see even a hint of guilt.

Exhaling, the raging storm within her drained away. No, it hadn’t been Yon’s fault. Whatever the necromancer’s past crimes, she was innocent in this. Kano let her go. “She didn’t say anything? Before it happened.”

Rubbing her shoulders, Yon lowered her head. “No, not a word.” She managed a sad little smile. “It gave me a bit of a fright.”

Consumed by her own thoughts, Kano barely heard her. The thought that she’d never see Thirty-Six again hurt. It ached. In a way she’d never experienced before. Despite the short amount of time they’d spent together, Thirty-Six had become a central part of her life. Now that she was gone… Kano didn’t know what to do anymore.

Was there even a point in trying to go on living? What else was there for her out there? It was only when she thought of Nove and the other children that she brought herself back to reality. She still had a responsibility to them. She’d see this through, and after that…

It was better not to think about what came next.