Page 176 of Godslayer
This word enters my mind like an echo.
Haryet. Floating in the emptiness. Made entirely of spark threads. The chain of Maidens behind her. Her hand, reaching for mine.
Please.
But this time, it’s not the face of Haryet I see.
It’s Tyse.
I look over at him. His body is shaking now, so badly, the VersiStrike is bouncing on his stomach. His wrists are bound to the table, as well as his legs, his chest, his head. If not for these bindings, the seizure might bounce him onto the floor, that’s how strong it is.
“What’s happening?” I say, feeling panicked. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He wants to fight, dear girl! He needs your spark! Can’t you hear him begging?Please, he’s saying.Pleasefill me up!”
But that’s not how it works! That’s not what he’s asking! I know this. Ifeelit. Yes, he does need my spark, that is true. But this is not what he’s trying to tell me. If it was that easy, he would justtake it.
This is something else.
Suddenly, his body goes still. A machine nearby sounds an alarm. I look over at a screen where a flat line travels across a black background.
“You better hurry,” the ugly god says. “This is it. That’s his heart,stopping.”
“Take it!” I yell. “Take it!”
“I’ve tried,” the god says, gesturing at the wall across from me. “I’ve hooked you up to the harvester several times. It works, on your end. But his body isnotaccepting it.”
Why? Why Tyse! I’m not dying! You can see that! We can do this!
I send these mental thoughts to him, knowing perfectly well he’s not a mind reader.
But thereisa response.
His body seizes up, the machine monitoring his heart begins beeping a steady rhythm again, and the shaking stops.
What? What did he just tell me?
“Hmmm,” Epsilon muses. “Perhaps he’s ready to play now. Let’s give it a go, shall we?”
Before I can answer, the harvesting cage on the wall across from me comes to life. Quickly, it moves into place. A moment later, a thousand needle-threads are piercing my skin.
A moment after that, I’m empty.
39 - FINN
Static. Blinking. White noise. Everything’s blurry.
White-blue flash.
Data display online.
SYSTEM REBOOT: COMPLETE
COMBAT READINESS: 92%
SPARK FLOW: STABILIZED
RECEIVER NODE LINKED — VERTEBRAL PORT 2
