By the time he got to the station, he was exhausted and sweaty. His mind was foggy, and the pounding headache turned into a migraine.
He barely registered the quiet, measured footsteps following him and the presence of someone stepping in behind him on the line, hanging too close. The line moved forward, and he shuffled onto the train bound for the Golden Fields.
The car was mostly empty, save for a few tired-looking workers and merchants.
Devvyn removed the backpack and settled in the furthest seat from the entrance, trying to keep a low profile. He hugged the bag to his chest and rested his head against the window, staring into space. A bunch of thoughts were jumbled in his head, but he didn't have the energy to process them. Not now. He groaned. Just not now.
The train lurched forward with a familiar rumble and quickly cut through the city's outskirts. Devvyn's eyelids grew heavy, the fatigue from the day washing over him in waves. He fought to stay alert but eventually gave in, his head drooping, body relaxing against the cold window.
Time slipped by. The rhythmic clack of the rails was hypnotic, and he drifted deeper into sleep.
Suddenly, a sharp jolt woke him as the train slowed, then stopped and the doors opened. Devvyn blinked multiple times to shake the sleep from his eyes before he stood up. He adjusted the bag and was about to transfer it to his back when he noticed something was wrong. The backpack felt lighter.
His heart dropped, thudding painfully as he pulled it onto his lap and unzipped it. The bag gaped at him, empty. The Echo was gone—the bag's fabric torn at one corner—a clean, deliberate cut.
Devvyn's breathing stopped, and his body grew cold as the weight of his situation crashed down hard. Someone had taken the Echo while he was asleep. He'd messed up. His throat tightened.
"I'm so dead." Devvyn cried to himself. It was one thing to steal a one-lux Echo. It was another to lose a 7-lux Echo. Ah hell. Gaur was going to kill him. He could run, he thought. Gaur wouldn't find him if he ran to other holdings. Maybe Redemere. He'd become a pirate.
But Aela and Jelric. Oh, Mizuho's teeth. Devvyn's hand began to shake. He forced himself to stay calm and think. Five people hadn't left the car. He glanced around, checking if they were carrying a bag or looked suspicious. None of the people in here fit the description.
If I stole from someone, I would leave before they had a chance even to see me. A voice in his head said. Right. Devvyn bolted from the train.
His heart pounded as he scanned the station, eyes darting between scattered passengers and ticket lines. Then he spotted a familiar figure. Tall, close-cropped hair, broad shoulders. Was that…
"Hey!" Devvyn yelled.
The man turned, and in that instant, Devvyn saw the pale birthmark curled around his eyes. His stomach clenched. It was the Echo Hunter from before, the one who brought the paper to Gaur's office. He was carrying a backpack identical to the one hanging limply in Devvyn's hands.
Their eyes locked.
There was a beat of recognition.
Then the Hunter bolted. He turned on his heel and took off, weaving past stunned passengers and leaping over a low railing.
"Hey, stop…" Devvyn yelled again. He cursed and chased after him, the worn straps of his gutted bag thudding against his side as he sprinted out of the station and into the open cornfields beyond. He plunged in after the Hunter.
Devvyn crashed through the rows of corn, each stalk whipping at his arms and face as he ran. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the field, making it harder to tell where the Hunter had gone. After several minutes of sprinting, the sounds of fleeing footsteps faded, swallowed by the rustling hush of the corn.
He slowed and stumbled into a small clearing between the rows, his hands dropping to his knees. All around him, the corn swayed gently, but the Hunter was nowhere in sight.
"Great Mizuho," he muttered between gulps of air, "if you help me through this, I swear I'll dedicate my life to you. I'll live an honest, quiet life back in the Lower City. I'll fix pipes, sweep floors, or help Maelis—"
A rustle to his right cut him off.
He straightened as he spotted a figure darting through the corn just a few rows away. Devvyn cursed under his breath and took off again, crashing toward the movement, breath ragged, heart thundering in his mouth. His promise to Mizuho already forgotten.
Devvyn surged forward, pushing his legs harder. Finally, he had a good view of the Hunter. "There you are," he hissed through gritted teeth, lowering his head and picking up speed. Corn stalks whipped past in a blur as he closed the distance, boots thudding against the dry earth. Just a few more feet. He panted.
The Hunter glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide, and then tried to veer left but he turned too fast and lost balance.
Devvyn lunged. He slammed into the Hunter with full force, both of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs and dirt. The air rushed out of Devvyn's lungs as he landed on top of the Hunter, grappling to keep him down.
The Hunter struggled, twisting and throwing an elbow into Devvyn's ribs. Devvyn grunted but didn't let go, clawing at the backpack with one hand and trying to pin the Hunter's shoulder with the other. "Give it back!" he growled.
The Hunter snarled beneath him, kicking wildly, but Devvyn held on, dirt grinding into his palms as they wrestled in the dust.
The Hunter gritted his teeth and drove his fist straight into Devvyn's stomach.
Devvyn let out a sharp gasp, the wind knocked clean from his lungs. Pain bloomed across his gut as the impact folded him over—and the next moment, the Hunter threw him off with a violent shove.
He crashed onto his side, skidding through the dry soil, coughing and blinking dust from his eyes.
The Hunter scrambled to his feet and turned to run—but Devvyn, wheezing and trembling, rolled onto his hands and knees. His vision spun, but he spotted the backpack swinging from the man's shoulders. No. You're not getting away.
With a ragged breath, Devvyn lunged forward and grabbed the bottom of the pack. The weight dragged the Hunter back slightly but it was enough. He yanked with everything he had, pulling the bag off the Hunter's back and falling onto his back with it clutched to his chest.
But the Hunter spun around, face twisted in fury. He charged.
Devvyn barely had time to brace as the Hunter rammed into him like a battering ram. Pain shot through his back as they hit the ground again. The backpack landing some paces away from them.
The Hunter straddled him, one powerful hand pinning Devvyn's shoulder to the ground. With his free hand, the Hunter grabbed a jagged stone from the soil beside them. His grip tightened around it, knuckles white, veins bulging. His eyes were wild. Empty and unhinged.
Devvyn's breath caught in his throat. This wasn't just about stealing. The man was going to kill him.
The stone lifted high.
Devvyn panicked, thrashing, and his fingers brushed his boot—the knife.
Gaur's voice echoed in his mind: Protect it with your life.
Devvyn's hand closed around the hilt, and slashed blindly upward. The blade carved across the back of the Hunter's thigh.
The Hunter screamed a horrible, ragged cry. The stone fell from his hand and he collapsed to the side, clutching his leg. Blood soaked through his pants, spilling onto the earth in thick streaks.
Devvyn scrambled away, chest heaving. His hands shook as he grabbed the backpack and hugged it tight against his chest. Then he turned, knife trembling in his grip, and pointed it at the writhing man. "Why?" he rasped, and breathed in. "Why were you following me? Why take the Echo? What do you want with it?"
The Hunter groaned, dragging himself up onto one elbow. His leg was slick with blood, and his face was pale and tight with pain. Still, his eyes hadn't lost their edge—they were desperate, darting between the knife in Devvyn's hand and the pack clutched to his chest.
"Drop the knife," the Hunter rasped. "I'll go. No more fighting. Just… just let me walk away."
Devvyn didn't move. His grip on the knife tightened. "Answer me," he snapped, the tremble in his voice giving way to something firmer. "You followed me. You cut my bag. You tried to kill me. Why?"
The Hunter looked at the blood pooling beneath his thigh, then up at Devvyn with a hollow, almost pleading stare.
"They'll kill me if I fail."
Devvyn narrowed his eyes. "Who?"
The Hunter hesitated, as if just saying it might seal his fate. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said:
"The Unbound."
Devvyn's grip on the knife slackened. Every bloody thing happening in his life now kept tying back to the Unbound. "But you're a Hunter. Why are you working for them?"
"I-they threatened me. Said all I needed to do was steal a few Echos and they'd never contact me again. I don't know much, honest. I just drop the Echos in some alley in Eternis and that's it."
"Do you know who they are? I can help you. We can go to the Council and explain everything." Devvyn said.
The Hunter's face twisted with desperation. "No!" he shouted. In a sudden burst of motion, he lunged forward, bloodied hands outstretched, aiming to tackle Devvyn and wrest the bag from him.
Devvyn's eyes widened—he barely had time to react. But his instincts kicked in. He sidestepped just as the Hunter came crashing toward him.
The man stumbled past Devvyn, too fast to correct himself. His foot caught in a clump of earth and he tripped, falling hard. There was a sickening crack as the side of his head smashed directly against the jagged stone he had tried to hit Devvyn with earlier. He collapsed instantly, his limbs twitching once, then falling still.
Devvyn stood frozen, chest heaving. The knife was still in his hand, blood drying on the blade.
A dark pool began to spread beneath the Hunter's skull, seeping into the dry soil.
"It wasn't my fault." Devvyn's hands were trembling as he shoved the bloodied knife back into his waistband and hoisted the torn backpack over his shoulder. "Not my fault. Not mine. Not mine. He slipped."
Devvyn's breath caught as voices drifted through the cornfield. Distant at first, then closer. Laughter, chatter, maybe a cart wheel creaking. Panic surged through him. He had to get out of here. Now.
He cast one last glance at the lifeless body, at the blood pooling beneath the Hunter's skull, then spun on his heel and ran.
