The room smelled of smoke, wet stone, and unwashed bodies. Half a dozen oil drums burned low, throwing long shadows that moved like they had their own plans. A dozen Cursed looked up from crates and bedrolls, hands already resting on knives or lengths of chain. In the center sat the silver-haired woman with the scar running from her left eye to her jaw. Sable.
She studied Jax for a long second, eyes flicking to the glowing leash on his wrist, then to the blood on Mira and Lira. "You three look like the god-corpse just tried to eat you and spat you out half-digested," she said, voice low and calm. "The Choir's been screaming about a new leash-bearer all night. That you?"
Mira moved up beside Jax, left shoulder dipping hard with every breath. Lightning still crackled faintly around her knuckles, but it was weak now, rationed. "We just dropped half their people into the sea. You want to be next?"
Lira stayed half a pace behind, fingers tracing slow compulsive circles on her thigh. Blood had dried in dark tracks down her face, but fresh drops were already forming again. "The futures here are thin," she whispered, too quiet for the others. "In one of them she helps us. In the others she tries to take the leash for herself."
Sable smiled without warmth. "Smart prophet. Saves time." She tapped the short blade across her knees. "Name's Sable. This is my patch for the night. You want safe passage to the next isle, you pay the toll. One shadow. Fresh. From whatever you just ripped out of that corpse."
Jax felt the leash pulse against his wrist, warm and almost affectionate, like it enjoyed being bargained over. The new god-corpse echo inside it stirred, hungry for more. He kept his face blank. *Three moves ahead. She's testing. Give her the wrong echo and she betrays us later. Give her the right one and we buy time and information.* The numbers in his head stayed cold, but Lena's voice still echoed faintly through the links, softer now, like she was running out of breath.
He met Sable's eyes. "You know the Choir's coming for us."
"They always come," Sable said with a shrug. "But they don't like me much. I stole one of their nullifiers last month. Still works." She tapped the small black shard hanging from her neck. It glowed faint green. "Keeps their voices out of my head. Handy."
Mira's lightning crackled louder. "You want him to weaken the only thing keeping us alive so you can hide longer?"
Lira's finger-circling sped up. "Two futures now. In one we give her the shadow and she leads us to a safe bridge. In the other she sells us to the Choir leader who's already crossing the sea."
Jax rolled the leash across his palm. The links bit skin, the small pain helping him focus. He uncoiled it and released the weakest new echo: the braided voice from the tower that had first spoken with Lena's tone. Dark mist flowed from his links and into Sable's waiting palm. She shuddered as the shadow settled into her.
"Deal," she said, voice rough. "The safe bridge is two towers over. But the Choir leader is already on the water. He's bringing more nullifiers. If you want to reach the next god-corpse before he does, you'll need to move fast."
Mira stepped closer, shoulder twitching. "And you just sold us out for a week of safety?"
Sable smiled again. "Survival's expensive. You'll learn."
Lira suddenly grabbed Jax's arm. Her fingers stopped circling. "The futures shifted. The Choir leader is binding something from the god-corpse on his side. He's trying to match your new echo. If he succeeds, the whole isle sinks before morning."
The leash pulsed, warmer, hungrier. The god-corpse fragment inside it stirred, almost eager to be used again.
Jax looked at the three women: Sable with her scar and stolen nullifier, Mira with her twitching shoulder and buried grief, Lira with her bloody face and fading futures. All of them bloodied, exhausted, but still standing. Still with him, for now.
"We move," he said. "Safe bridge. Next isle. No stops. No more deals."
Sable stood, sliding the blade into her belt. "I'll take you as far as the bridge. After that, you're on your own. The Choir doesn't forgive people who carry what they want."
The tower's back door creaked open. A narrow chain-bridge swayed outside, suspended over the black sea. Far below, the water churned with distant ripples; something large moving toward them.
Jax started across first, the leash glowing faint blue to light the way. The new god-corpse echo hummed inside it, tempting and dangerous. Lena's voice came through again, softer, almost tender.
"Jax… the water's over my eyes now."
He didn't look back. But the numbers in his head stayed locked, sharper than ever.
*Three moves ahead. Reach the next isle. Use the new power. Get home before the water finishes what the leash started.*
Behind them, the chanting rose again across the water, closer now, dozens of voices speaking as one.
"The leash remembers."
"The leash chooses."
"The leash becomes us."
The bridge swayed under their boots as the sea began to boil.