Omina's ring tightened around Ty's ribs.
The first touch felt cold.
That worried him more than pain would have.
Pain was simple. Pain at least had the decency to announce itself. The ring around his chest felt like a question made of wire.
Ty tried to step through it.
The pressure stopped him.
Across the ground, the cuffed body laughed with Ty's mouth.
"Careful," it said. "You break one toy, you might break the other."
JJ stood between Omina and the sponsor panel that had vanished into her wrist. Her fist stayed closed around the mark as if she could keep the next bad choice from opening by force.
"Let him move," she said.
Omina kept her hand raised. "He is moving badly."
"He crawled out from under a slab."
"And immediately tried to attack himself."
Ty pointed at the thing in the cuffs.
The red light in his throat scraped.
"Mine."
"Yes," Omina said. "We covered your limited vocabulary."
