Nod's End

COMING SOON

The city that never sleeps seems to be holding its breath. Under the dim glow of neon signs and flickering streetlights, Catalyst waits, restless in the shadows. The silence is thick, the streets too still. It's a slow night. Maybe the slowest he's ever had.

Then, in an instant, the quiet shatters.

An explosion rips through the night, pulling Catalyst into action. A chase through the labyrinthine alleys of the undercity. What began as a routine patrol spirals into a relentless gauntlet of chaos, forcing him to fight—not just to keep up, but to survive.

EXCERPT

"BESPOKE TO VENGEANCE"

The icy wind stung his skin as flurries of snowflakes continued to fall from the sky. He shuddered as the cold chill radiating off the Aden River sent a shiver up the length of his spine. His breaths came out in puffs of mist that wafted back, ghosting the flesh of his cheeks.

He sat on the ledge of a Nod’s End apartment building, kicking at the bricks with the back of his heel. He’d been waiting for what felt like forever, but couldn’t have been longer than an hour. He usually never had to wait this long. They was always teeming with activity, especially this part of Nocturne. He was always breaking up a fight, stopping petty theft in its tracks, or pulling some guy off a girl in a back alley.

Tonight it was quiet.

Below a man and woman were hunched over a steel drum, heads bowed low and hands outstretched to the flame, that licked up from the steel basin. The only thing they seemed intent on was keeping warm.

The streets, cracked and falling deeper into disrepair by the day, were covered by a think sheet of ice. Catalyst had watched the man slip and fall just a few minutes before. He swore as he went down, but otherwise didn’t sustain any injuries.

His pride had just been hurt more than anything.