I led Rebel along the twisting path that many footsteps had made. It looked like an informal road carved by desperate feet—worn, uneven, and haunted. If I could still call this a forest, it had long stopped pretending to be natural.
"You seem like a nice kid," Rebel commented. "How'd your friend end up in this Cradle?"
"Don't call me kid," I snapped. I didn't want conversation. My head pounded from keeping both my physical focus and mental trace active. The world blinked in and out of code: solid objects, flickering 0s and 1s underneath, always threatening to collapse.
Ahead, a thin column of smoke curled upward like a warning flag. I slowed and stopped.
"Hexa Quell is just ahead," I said, folding my arms. "I've paid my debt."
"Stay close for one more moment," Rebel muttered, eyes scanning the trees. "This could get rough."
Exactly why I wanted to stay out of it.
"Hexa Quell," Rebel called, voice booming like a spell. The force of it stirred the leaves into disintegration—dust spiraled through the air like ash after a fire.
To my surprise, a female voice answered, amused.
"You don't know when to quit, do you?"
She stepped out of the trees like she belonged there. Her eyes glowed unnatural hot pink, her hair shimmered with a sticky, candy-floss sheen. Uncanny. Slightly unhinged.
"Who's the stray?" she asked, cocking her head at me.
"Hand it over, Hexa," Rebel said, tone tight. "No need for a fight."
Hexa grinned, tongue sliding between her teeth. "Tough, Rebel. Finders keepers."
My stomach twisted. Whatever she had, it mattered. A lot.
"You stole it," I said. "Give it back. It doesn't belong to you."
Rebel shot me a glare. "Don't talk."
Hexa snorted. "Didn't know you'd turned mentor. Did you rescue her, Rebel? Save her from the big bad monsters?"
She pushed right into my face—too close. Her breath was stale, her voice syrupy and cruel. "Get lost, newbie."
Rebel exhaled sharply, drawing his weapons. "I don't want to hurt you, Hexa Quell. Or your crew."
"Oh please." She rolled her eyes and unsheathed a pair of daggers with a theatrical twirl. "We've been itching for a duel."
The forest shifted.
From behind her, three more figures stepped out. Two girls. One guy. All wearing the same smugness as armor.
Rebel looked at me. I stared back.
"Four on one," he said. "You afraid?"
Hexa hesitated—only for a flicker—before smirking. "Never."
She launched forward like a beast unchained. Leapt off a cracked stump, daggers flashing toward Rebel. He rolled, barely missing her blades. Dust exploded where she struck.
He was up again in seconds, slamming into her with ruthless precision. They fought fast and close, movements too sharp to follow.
I stood frozen. I knew this feeling. That breathless moment before someone died.
"Stop it!" I screamed. No one listened.
"I said—" I drew in a deeper breath, felt the code rise like heat under my skin, "STOP IT!"
The ground beneath them buckled, subtly but enough. I'd rewritten its coordinates in a flash of thought.
Hexa stumbled, momentum slamming her sideways into a tree stump. She gasped for breath.
Her pupils narrowed as she pointed. "Codewright!" she shouted. "GET HER!"
One of her crew stepped forward—
Rebel was faster.
He threw himself between me and the others. "She's in my debt," he growled. Then strode toward Hexa and yanked a canister off her belt. Whatever was in it hissed faintly. He kicked her in the ribs—hard enough to fold her sideways.
"You're lucky I came," he muttered. "Next time, I'll send someone less forgiving."
We retreated fast. Once we were far enough, he shoved me back against a cracked, barkless tree. I hit it hard.
"What were you thinking?" he snarled.
"I didn't want to see someone die!" I shoved him back. "And I'm not in your debt anymore, so I'll be on my way."
"No, you won't." His voice was low, dangerous. "Hexa and her people will hunt you now. You exposed yourself as a Codewright."
I crossed my arms. "I'm not a Rotcastor."
"No," he said. "You're worse. You're naive." His eyes burned like the end of a fuse. "And in this place? That'll get you captured. Or sold."
I looked him over—really looked at him. He wasn't just angry. He was scared.
"I'll take my chances," I said. "I have my own mission."
"Don't think I can't Codewright too," Rebel muttered, "Do you want the easy way or will I have to drag you?"
I threw my hands up in the air and followed him.