The Shadeborn recoiled, its twisted mimicry of his sister’s face melting like wax under a blowtorch.


    Ethan’s burning fist slammed into its chest.


    The creature exploded into ash and static, its dying screech echoing through the alley. The blue flames flickered out, leaving Ethan gasping on the ground, his veins throbbing like they’d been injected with liquid nitrogen.


    Lila crouched beside him, her device whirring frantically. “You just nuked a Shadeborn. How?”


    “I… didn’t mean to,” Ethan panted. His breath fogged in the air, the mark on his arm now etched with jagged black cracks.


    “Yeah, well, meaning to is overrated.”


    A new voice cut through the silence—gravelly, laced with a smirk.


    Ethan looked up.


    A figure leaned against a rusted fire escape, silhouetted by the moon. They wore a tattered bomber jacket covered in glowing graffiti tags, their face hidden under a hood lined with frayed neon wires. A pair of goggles with cracked lenses glinted as they tilted their head.


    Lila stiffened. “Jax.”


    “Miss me, Lils?” Jax pushed off the wall, sauntering forward. Up close, Ethan could see their face—late teens, sharp features, and a smirk that screamed trouble. A mechanical spider the size of a hand scuttled up their arm, its legs clicking like a ticking bomb.


    “Who’s this?” Ethan muttered.


    “Jax. Scavenger. Pain in my—”


    “—Savior,” Jax interrupted, flicking the spider onto the ground. It skittered toward Ethan, scanning his mark with a laser beam. “Yikes. The Veil really did a number on you, huh? Those cracks ain’t decor.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Ethan glared. “What do you want?”


    “Same as you. To survive.” Jax knelt, their goggles reflecting the spider’s data. “But unlike you, I don’t got a death wish. That mark’s a two-way street. You fry the Veil’s pets, it fries you.


    Lila grabbed Jax’s collar. “You know how to fix it?”


    Jax pried her hand off, unfazed. “Fix it? Nah. But I know someone who might. Problem is, she’s kinda locked up in the Hollow’s basement.”


    Ethan’s head snapped toward Lila.


    “We have a lot of things,” Lila said tightly. “Including traitors.”


    Jax snorted. “Traitor’s a strong word. Let’s say… entrepreneurial. Point is, sparky here’s got a week, tops, before that mark eats him alive. You want answers?


    Ethan stood, swaying slightly. “Why help us?”


    Jax grinned, revealing a gold-capped tooth. “’Cause watching you blow up more Shadeborns sounds like a great time. Also, I hate Kaela.” They tossed Ethan a cracked smartphone covered in stickers.


    The spider leaped back to Jax’s shoulder, and they melted into the shadows, whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like a funeral march.


    Lila cursed under her breath. “Jax is a liar, a thief, and probably a pyromaniac.”


    Ethan stared at the cracks snaking up his arm. “You got a better idea?”


    “No,” she admitted. “But if we’re breaking into the Hollow’s vaults, we’re gonna need more than a glowstick and attitude.”


    Somewhere in the distance, a Hunter screeched.