Cirrus@Austlit

'What would you risk if you were running out of time to have the thing you wanted most?

'Meka: Bioorganic life forms that can look like anything, be anything, and are bonded to one person forever. Some might be cute and fluffy, others are warriors. It is your DNA that decides.

'Champion meka fighters are celebrities. Rich and famous, their battles are televised for millions of cheering fans. They even have their own action figures. A new law states only those with citizenship can own meka, making it an impossible dream for the poor living at the city’s edge.

'Becoming a champion fighter is thirteen year old Eli’s only hope of escaping the slums. However he can’t raise the money to buy his own meka before the law is passed.

'A grifter named Kalex offers Eli a trade: meka of his own, if he competes in an illegal fight to the death. When his meka ‘Phyre’ hatches, Eli realises there is no way she can win, but Kalex has no intention of letting him or Phyre escape alive. As he flees deeper into the city, Eli knows Kalex is on his tail. And it’s only a matter of time before Kalex finds them...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.