All Chapters of The Soul-Code Warden: Rise of the Ghost Heir: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
41 chapters
Chapter 11: The Override
"My arm is cooking inside this thing!" I yelled. I shoved my hand deeper into the console's smoking gears."Arix, get out of there!" Pip screamed. "The heat is going to take your hand off!""Shut up and stay back!" I barked. "Damian, get your people to the service shaft. Do it now!""I’m not leaving you to fry," Damian said. He grabbed my shoulder, trying to yank me away."Let go!" I snarled. I shoved him back. "If I pull out, that beam fires. You want to see the whole sector turn to glass?""The dragon is opening its mouth!" Lyra cried. She pointed out the window. "The red light... it’s blinding!""How long, Pip?" I hissed. My skin was blistering against the hot metal."Six seconds!" Pip yelled. He was pounding on his data-pad. "The targeting is locked! We’re dead!""Watch me," I said. "System, start Logic Loop. Command: Identify Primary Threat."[Logic Loop active. Scanning.]"What is it doing?" Brux asked. He shielded his eyes from the glow outside. "It’s twitching!""It’s looking
Chapter 12: Harvest the Beast
"Pip, stop shaking," I said. I didn't look up from the dragon's neck."It’s a brain, Arix! A real, wet brain!" Pip yelled. He backed away, his boots crunching on broken glass. "It’s floating in there. It’s twitching!""I know what it is," I said. I jammed a pry bar into the metal. "Hold the light steady. I can't see the mounting bolts.""How can you be so cold?" Pip’s voice went high. "That was Silas! We ate stew with him three weeks ago!""Silas is gone," I said. I felt the bar catch on something heavy. "Right now, this is a processor. If we don't take the power drive, Silas died for nothing. Do you want that?""No, but—""Then hold the light!" I barked."Arix! The knights!" Damian shouted from the edge of the rubble. "They’re at the bottom of the hill! They’re moving fast!""How many?" I called out. "At least fifty on foot!" Damian yelled back. "Plus three wyverns circling. They have their lances out!""Keep them back," I said. "Are you insane?" Damian ran over to me. He grabbed my
Chapter 13: The Nanotech Secret
"Watch it," Damian hissed. He shoved Pip into the damp stone wall. "You're dripping blood on the crystals.""I can't help it!" Pip squeaked, clutching a sack of glowing stones. "My arm is sliced open. I'm doing my best!""Your best is going to get us tracked," Damian snapped. He looked back into the dark tunnel. The sound of rushing water masked the heavy clank of Paladin boots far above. "Arix, how much further?""Until I say stop," I said. I didn't look back. I was focused on the terminal on my wrist.The screen flickered red. The power drive I’d ripped from the dragon was slung over my shoulder. It was heavy and hot. It felt like a live bomb."We’re in the Undercity," Lyra whispered. She leaned against a rusted pipe. "The air is dead. My staff... it's not breathing.""Staffs don't breathe," Brux grunted, wrapping a dirty bandage around his leg. "It’s a stick.""It’s a focus!" Lyra snapped. She held up the weir-wood. A massive crack ran down to the grip. The grain was blackened. "
Chapter 14: The Smuggler's Route
"We can take the Palace right now," Damian said. He paced the sewer floor, his boots splashing in the muck. "Did you see that, Arix? Lyra erased a concrete pillar like it was paper! We don't need to hide in the dirt anymore.""We're staying in the dirt," I said. I was busy wiping grease off my Master-Key terminal."Why?" Damian shouted. He stepped into my space, his chest puffed out. "We have the firepower. We can blast the main gates by sunrise. The rebels are ready. They saw what happened. They want blood!""They'll get their own," I said. "You think the King only has one dragon? You think he doesn't have an army of those brain-jars waiting? One mistake and we’re all recycled.""So we just sit here?" Damian asked. He looked at Lyra, who was staring at her black staff. "We have a god-tier weapon and you want to wait?""I want the Soul-Code Treaty," I said. "The what?" Brux asked, looking up from his bandages."It’s a document," I said. "A hard-coded contract kept in the Archives. I
Chapter 15: Deep Water Combat
The freezing water surged past my waist, swirling with black oil. The three heavy-guards didn't move. They stood on the dry ledge like iron statues, their red visors burning through the mist. The hum of their pulse rifles was a low, vibrating growl that made the surface ripple around my chest."The water is rising too fast!" Pip screamed. He was splashing frantically. "Arix, I can't touch the bottom!""Grab the pipe!" I yelled. I reached for my Master-Key, my fingers fumbling with the wet interface."Don't bother, Warden," the lead guard boomed. His voice was a distorted, metallic rasp. "The coolant is conductive. Use that toy and you’ll fry your own heart. Drop the drive.""Come and take it," I said. I tapped the screen. A massive spark jumped from the terminal, biting into my wrist. I hissed and pulled my hand back. The screen went dark."It’s grounded!" Damian shouted. He held his shock-baton high above his head. "Arix, we’re trapped in a giant battery!""I know!" I barked. "Ly
Chapter 16: The Archives Breach
"Watch the vent cover," I said. I shoved the metal grate aside. It hit the floor with a hollow ring. I didn't look back to see if the others were following. I had my eyes on the room.[Area Scan: High Fantasy Archives - Restricted Sector][Security Level: Terminal]"Is this it?" Damian asked. He hopped down behind me, his hand already on his sword hilt. "Where are the books? This looks like a tomb.""No books here, Damian," I said. I pointed at the rows of black stone pillars. "Just glass.""Glass?" Pip asked. He scrambled down, nearly tripping over his own feet. "You mean these tablets? They're floating."He reached out toward a glowing blue pane of glass hanging in a recess."Don't touch those," I snapped. I grabbed his wrist and shoved it back down. "You'll trigger a data-wipe. Then we're all standing in a very expensive, very empty room.""They’re everywhere," Lyra whispered. She stepped into the light. Her eyes reflected the pale blue glow of the tablets. "Thousands of them. It’
Chapter 17: The Soul-Code Treaty
"Shield! Now!" I roared.The turret lens flared a blinding white. A bolt of raw energy screamed across the room. It slammed into a wall of translucent gold light that hissed and crackled six inches from my face."I’ve got it!" Lyra screamed. She was bracing the black staff with both hands. Her boots were sliding back on the cold stone. "Go! Get to the vent!""Damian, take Pip!" I yelled.I grabbed the kid by his collar and shoved him toward the metal ladder. Damian moved like a blur, snatching Pip and hauling him up into the dark shaft. [Warning: Shield Overload Imminent][Thermal Energy: 8000 Watts and Climbing]"Lyra, move!" I barked. "I can't let go!" She cried. "The pressure... it’s pushing back!"Another bolt slammed into the gold barrier. The sound was like a hammer hitting a bell. The shield rippled.Lyra’s arms were shaking. "Now!" I grabbed her around the waist and dived.We hit the floor. The shield vanished. A third bolt sailed over our heads, melting the stone where we h
Chapter 18: First Blood
"Steady," I whispered. "Don't breathe until I tell you."Damian crouched next to me in the rusted remains of a hauling rig. His eyes were fixed on the road below. Rain turned the oil-slicked asphalt into a mirror. In the distance, the low hum of heavy engines vibrated through the ground."They're late," Damian said. He tightened his grip on his shock-axe. "The Silver Guard is never late. You sure about the timing, Arix?""I'm sure about the data," I said. I didn't look at him. I was watching the green text scrolling across my vision.[Sensor Sweep: Detected][Encryption: Level 7][Target: 150 Meters]"Lyra, you in position?" I asked into the comms. "I’m here," her voice crackled. "The artillery is primed. Just give me the word. I want to turn these bastards into ash.""Wait for the pulse," I said. The first transport rounded the corner. It was a massive, armored beast, plated in reflective silver. Two smaller scout fliers hovered above it, their red spotlights cutting through the r
Chapter 19: The Fantasy King's Shadow
"Don't touch the glass," I said. Pip’s hand froze an inch from the frost. "He’s breathing, Arix. Look, the bubbles. He’s alive.""I see it," I said. I looked down the line of trucks. Dozens of pods. Hundreds of lives held in a blue, chemical sleep. "Damian, stop staring at the metal and find a way to move these. We aren't leaving them here.""Move them where?" Damian asked. He didn't look at me. He was staring at the blood on his axe. "The Scrap Heap? The Guards will just come back. They’ll take them again. They’ll kill us all for touching their harvest.""This isn't a war anymore," Lyra said. She leaned against her staff, her face pale. "It’s a rescue mission. We have to get them to the lower tunnels. Somewhere the sensors can't reach.""It was always a rescue," I said. I gripped the Master-Key until my palm burned. "We just didn't know the scale of the debt. Pip, can you reroute the transport's power to the pods? If the engines die, the life support goes with them.""I’m trying,
Chapter 20: Forging the Vanguard
I pushed the heavy door open. It groaned on its hinges. Six guards leveled rifles at my chest the second I stepped into the room. I didn't stop walking. I didn't look at the barrels. My eyes were on the three people at the long table in the center of the basement."Keep your fingers off the triggers," I said. "Unless you want this whole block to go dark. You know what I can do to the grid."Sledge leaned back. He was a mountain of muscle and scarred skin. He tapped a finger on the table. He looked at the guards and waved them down. The rifles lowered, but the tension didn't."You've got a lot of nerve, Arix," Sledge said. He bit the end off a cigar. "Most people come here to beg. You come here to threaten my men. Why shouldn't I kill you?""I'm not here to beg," I said. I pulled out a chair. The metal legs scraped against the concrete. I sat down. "I'm here to fix your problem before it kills you.""We don't have a problem," Krell said. She leaned into the light. Her optics clicked