“What’s your answer!” the Tangent screamed. Michael swore he saw a flash of red behind his eyes, like a demon coming to the surface. Fear chilled him to the bone.

“We have to destroy your program,” Michael said. “I’m sorry.”

The manic anger vanished from Kaine’s face, and he actually smiled. “Then by all means, give it your very best shot. At least you’ll finally be out of my hair. I’ll just have to establish another connection to replace yours.”

He brought his arms up and blinding lights flashed from the palms of his hands. The ground beneath their feet suddenly lost all solidity, turning into a mist of green and brown.

And then they were falling.

2

Chaos took over Michael’s world.

His feet landed in a mysterious substance. It was purple and looked slick, like it could be wet, but it was firm, like hard rubber. It rippled out from where he stood, as if a giant rock had landed in a pool right before it froze solid. Bryson was above him, Gabby below, but they were still together.

“What’s happening?” Bryson yelled.

“And where’s Kaine?” Gabby added.

A shadow passed over them, answering her question. A massive winged creature descended from a misty green sky, each flap of its wings sending a fierce wind blowing over Michael and his friends. It sailed downward and landed in front of them, huge claws digging into the rubbery surface beneath their feet. Its scaly golden skin glimmered like oil on water. Kaine sat on the back of the beast, in a saddle, holding tight to reins. Michael had never seen a creature more terrifying. It had enormous horns protruding from its head and eyes like black marbles. It opened its huge mouth to reveal impossibly large teeth, and then it screamed, a sound so piercing that bright stars burst in his vision.

“I should never have offered you one last chance.” Kaine spoke from the monster’s back. “I was wrong, but I’ve learned my lesson. Now here we stand, the very core of the Mortality Doctrine at your feet, Michael. How fitting that you and your friends will die right atop its skin.”

Figures began to step out from behind Kaine’s beast, as if a trapdoor had opened and released his minions. There were KillSims, mostly—enormous wolves and black-cloaked ghosts, an unseen wind blowing around them. And there were other creatures. Demons, similar to those from the place Gunner Skale had gone to hide along the Path, big and bloody and angry. Monsters from storybooks—trolls and goblins and wights. Two dozen, three dozen, four dozen creatures, amassed in a line behind Kaine and his winged beast.

“Maybe you should’ve brought a bigger army,” Kaine announced from his perch. “For the good of both man and Tangent, I can’t show mercy today. For that, I’m sorry.”