A sharp, searing ring tore through Devvyn's skull.
Screams clawed at his ears. Smoke stung his eyes. Ash coated his tongue. Dust choked his breath. Every nerve screamed with pain. The blast had hurled him into a vendor stall—he wasn't sure how far from the stage—but he was alive, and the flimsy wood had broken his fall.
Groaning, he shoved splintered planks off his chest and staggered upright. Blood oozed from cuts across his arms—shallow but burning. His satchel had twisted tight around his throat, nearly choking him. He winced as he yanked it loose, the strap scraping raw skin, and knotted it around his waist instead.
The sky above Port Azure had turned a burning shade of green, residue from the rune magic. Above him, an embroidered banner of Primordial Mizuho burned, dropping pieces of fiery cloth. Devvyn dodged one. Thick black smoke curled around him and into the air from burning tents, wood, confetti, and other festival decorations. The smoke was so thick that Devvyn couldn't see anything more than what was in front of him. His eyes stung.
He needed to find Aela and Jelric.
"Get down!" A guard appeared in front of Devvyn, barking, "Get down. They're armed. They have mana-guns. Get down and stay low!"
They?
"What's happening?" Devvyn shouted back.
"Are you deaf, boy?" The guard grabbed Devvyn, walked him over to a still-standing vendor stall, and shoved him behind it.
"Wait, please—"
The guard hooked his leg behind Devvyn's knee and tripped him. "Stay fucking down if you don't want to die."
Devvyn gasped as his back hit the ground, winded. "Hey!" he called, but the guard had already melted into the smoke, leaving him alone. Devvyn reached out blindly, and his fingers brushed open eyes. He snatched his hand back.
"Sorry." Devvyn apologized, but the person remained silent. Probably scared. "Hey," Devvyn shook the person's leg. No response. Then, he rolled over and met blank staring eyes. The person wore a guard's uniform, and the part of his uniform where his crest should have been was replaced by a gaping hole. He was dead. He was looking at a dead man. Mizuho's teeth. Sickly dread pooled in Devvyn.
The nausea took him by surprise. He swiftly turned away from the dead man and emptied his gut on the ground. Devvyn's body shook, the nausea reared its head again, and Devvyn vomited a second time. His stomach cramped. He hadn't eaten anything all day except the ice pop and a slice of bread for breakfast, so it was bile that came out. And it tasted like sugarcane and flour—not a great combination.
He grimaced, spitting the last of the bile out.
Devvyn remembered what the hooded woman had chanted before setting off the bomb. The Unbound.
The Unbound were people who could not bond with Echos or chose not to bond with one. They were all around Thaloria, relegated to doing menial, dangerous jobs to survive. Yes, the Unbound rejected the notion that power should be limited to those with Echo affinity, but they'd never been a violent group—never attacked anyone. Until now. Why?
The smoke cleared, swept up by a guard using his air Echo, and Devvyn finally saw the entirety of the chaos that had unfolded at the square. Guards clashed with the Unbound, who were easy to identify from their long, red flowing robes. The guards wielded water like whips, lashing weapons away from the Unbound's hands. Earth Echo wielders raised cobblestone from the ground and trapped Unbound rebels in makeshift stone prisons. Others hurled walls of wind and fire. Some civilians were in the fight too, using their Echos to create distractions and give the guards an upper hand, but most hid behind boxes, stalls, wherever they could find.
But The Unbound moved faster than normal humans should. They were stronger too, and had mana-guns. It was an even fight.
Whatever was happening, Devvyn knew he needed to find his friends and get the hell out. Without thinking, he threw himself into the fray. "Aela! Jelric!" He crouched, moving from one hiding spot to another, checking for Aela and Jelric.
He got to one with a woman and two children—girls. The woman was covering both children's mouths so they wouldn't cry out loud. She had blood trailing from her forehead. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot. At that moment, Devvyn could only think about how glad he was that Aela had decided to leave her siblings behind. He brought out the handkerchief from his satchel and helped her clean the blood from around her eyes.
She mouthed a soft thank you to him. Devvyn spread the handkerchief on her neck in case she needed it again and moved to leave. The woman's hand shot out and caught the back of Devvyn's overalls. "Wait!" Then she quickly let him go and covered the child's mouth again.
Devvyn stopped.
"Are you searching for someone?" She asked.
Devvyn nodded. "My friends."
The woman turned her neck to the left, gesturing at something they both couldn't see. "The guards are taking people to safety. That's why we're all hiding around here. It's safer until they come. They might have taken your friends. I think you should wait."
Devvyn hesitated. What if Aela and Jelric were out there, wounded?
As if the woman sensed his hesitation, she said, "You can't see anything through the smoke. Waiting here is your best bet."
She was right.
Devvyn sat down, trying now to think about his friends bleeding out, holes through their chests like the dead guard.
It was pure torture to sit and wait, listening to pained groans from injured people while the guards fought.
Occasionally, the smoke cleared, and Devvyn could see through it that the Unbound were still fighting strong. Then, it would close up again around the places where people were hidden.
The city guards weren't trained for combat against mana-guns and whatever enhanced gear the Unbound were using. Their Echo strength ranged between two and four Lux, and they were trained to catch petty thieves, smugglers, and pirates. A fight of this kind was not exactly their forte. So their immediate strategy was defense: keep the civilians hidden while holding back the Unbound and wait for backup.
Devvyn hoped people wouldn't choke to death before then. Smoke from mana and rune weapons wasn't as toxic as normal ones, but his chest was starting to feel tight regardless.
He was contemplating going off on his own when the smoke started to clear and a guard came. He had four golden crests on his uniform. A Commander. He was big like Gaur but with none of the gruff. For someone in a hurry, he was surprisingly gentle. He slapped wet rags on their faces and took the girls from the woman, comfortably carrying both in his arms. "Stay close to me, and don't step out of the smoke's covering."
The woman got up with a limp. Devvyn saw that she'd twisted her left ankle, so he crouched a bit and let her lean on him. They walked at a snail's pace, fraying Devvyn's patience.
"Where are we going?" Devvyn asked.
"Empty warehouses." The Commander answered. "The fight's focused here, and it's easier to protect everyone if they're in one place."
It would also make it easier to kill everyone. One place. One strike. But Devvyn kept his mouth shut and followed.
"Come on. My comrades are keeping the fight away from here, but we need to hurry."
They picked up more people along the way.
Everyone shuffled forward in a straight line, silent and miserable. Two more guards joined the rotation—Earth Echo wielders. They raised gravel stones from the ground and formed a shielded path for the civilians to walk through, protecting them from stray bullets.
The Commander channeled the smoke upward, and finally Devvyn could see clearly. There weren't many people, so it was easier to stay organized, but Devvyn knew that if anything surprising happened, there would be an immediate stampede. He stayed close on the guard's heels.
When they reached the warehouse, the guard banged on the metal door three times, and it swung open, revealing another guard and other civilians inside. They ushered everyone in and locked the door.
Devvyn helped the woman and her children find a corner to stay in.
"Thank you." She said
"You too," Devvyn answered as he looked around. Inside, the warehouse was brightly lit, so the bomb hadn't affected the Port's electricity. Children cried, and their parents tried their best to shush them up, but even they looked like they wanted to break down, too.
People shivered, from shock and fear, and anxiety.
Devvyn scanned faces one by one, looking for Aela and Jelric. Many of the faces he saw were those of highborns. Too many. Devvyn's brows narrowed in suspicion. The ones that weren't had marking on their arms or necks from an Echo bonding. Devvyn checked the woman he came with. She had one on her arm.
Echo marks. All of them had them. And the ones that didn't? Highborns. The rage hit like a slap—if he hadn't been with the woman… Molten hot anger flooded Devvyn. The guards were getting highborns out first, then Echo users, then any random person lucky enough to be near one of them, like him.
The Commander would have left him if he hadn't been with that woman. That meant Aela and Jelric could still be out there. He calmed himself down and kept looking. His friends had to be in here. There! Way into the warehouse, he spotted a familiar overall. Aela, nestled in a corner, shivering. "Aela." He called.
Aela turned and immediately burst into tears. "Devvyn!"
Devvyn shoved his way to her, ignoring protests from people. He pulled her in against him so hard that her hand banged his chest. But neither of them cared. Aela collapsed into him, sobbing. Her tears were falling thick and fast. "It happened so suddenly. You were there and then you weren't and the bomb…"
Devvyn stroked her back until she calmed down. "Aela." She shuddered in his arms. Devvyn pushed her back, holding her shoulders so that she would look at him. "Where's Jelric?"
"He's not with you?" Aela's eyes went wild, frantic. "We got separated. He was looking for you and told me to go with the guards." She broke down into tears again. "Jelric's still out there."
"You made the right choice, Aela."
"No! I should have stayed with him."
"Remember your siblings, you're all they've got. Jelric knows that, too. I'll go find him."
"I'll come."
"No," Devvyn said. His tone was stiff, final. He'd never spoken to Aela this way before, but he needed to be sure she was safe. "You stay here, Aela."
"Okay. Fine. But if you don't bring him back, Devvyn, Ignisara help me—"
Devvyn embraced her in another hug. "Don't say that. I'm bringing him back."
The warehouse door opened again, and more people poured in.
The Commander entered last. "Remain calm. You're safe here, and we are getting the Unbound under control." He was lying. Devvyn saw it in the way his hands shook and how he addressed the crowd without looking anyone in the eye.
Devvyn fought his way to the guard.
"Are there any other warehouses with people? We need to know our family and friends are safe!"
"It's just this one." The Commander admitted, eyes to the ground. "But rest assured, we're still rescuing more people. The Unbound aren't attacking civilians." He turned to leave as the last of the rescued group entered the warehouse.
Without thinking, Devvyn seized the Commander by the arm. "I'm coming with you."
"Kid, don't be stupid." The Commander said, his voice like cracked gravel. He eyed Devvyn's clothes, his hands, and neck. "You were lucky. I suggest you sit your ass down kid and pray to the Primordials for your friend's safety."
Devvyn's grip tightened. "Please, my friend Jelric. I have to find him." But the Commander wouldn't budge, so Devvyn changed his tactic. "You can't keep me in here against my will. I'll claw my way out of this warehouse if I have to."
"Fine," the Commander said. "It's your funeral, kid."
"Don't expect me to protect you if shit hits the roof." The Commander warned.
Devvyn nodded, but his initial courage was wearing off, giving way to fear. He heard guards screaming orders at each other. Devvyn ducked under a splintered banner pole and sprinted through a broken fountain. The Commander did all of that effortlessly, but Devvyn wheezed, already out of breath.
"What's your name, kid?" The Commander asked.
A bullet flew past them, and the Commander dropped down, pulling Devvyn along with him.
"Devvyn." He managed to say.
"Are you sixteen yet?"
"Fourteen."
"You're a brave kid. I expect to see you applying to join the guards when you turn sixteen."
"I'll think about it, Sir." Devvyn smiled, an earnest one, for the first time since morning. He broke into a small laugh, thinking about it.
The Commander stared at him like he was crazy, then said, "See that spot?" The Commander pointed and cleared out the smoke to reveal the people there. "We move on three. Got it. You check for your friend, if he's not there, you wait until we get those people to safety and find another cluster. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Sir."
"On three. One… two… three!"
The Commander sprang forward, and Devvyn followed without hesitation. He ducked when the Commander ducked, hit the dirt when he dropped, and kept low until they reached the tight knot of people ahead. Jelric wasn't among them. A flicker of panic surged in Devvyn's chest.
They repeated the same maneuvers—dodge, dive, press forward—evading bullets and the Unbound with practiced rhythm. But every group they reached, every huddled knot of survivors, Jelric wasn't there. By the fifth, Devvyn's jaw ached from how hard he was clenching it. They cleared the main square, then cut inward toward the railway road.
At the twelfth cluster, still no Jelric. The Commander laid a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, I think—"
"No."
"You can't go on much further. You're tiring out. I can find him with…"
"No!" Devvyn had watched the Commander leave people behind after subtly checking for an Echo mark. He wasn't going to risk Jelric being one of them. No matter what the Commander said. He couldn't trust him to that extent.
"Stubborn as a mule." The Commander muttered. "Just one more run, kid, and I'm throwing you back in that warehouse myself."
Devvyn prepared to run, but the Commander stiffened and held him back.
"Wait, there's…Get down. Now!"
Two things happened at once. A grenade whistled over their heads and landed in the water, creating a shockwave. A flash of pale fire exploded, the smoke dispersed, and Devvyn saw a man fall, clutching his side. He was dressed in ceremonial black and crimson. The colors of the Lord of House Pyrethorn. An Unbound loomed over Calder Pyrethorn, mana gun in hand.
Devvyn didn't think. He just moved.
Fool. Fool. Fool. Maelis had always said Devvyn's one weakness was that he always dashed into things without thinking about the consequences first. Like stealing the Locator, like going after the woman with the rune bomb, like he was doing now, running headfirst into danger.
Devvyn's mind screamed at him to stop, but he was already in motion. He barreled forward, slamming into the Unbound rebel's side.
There was a brief moment of weightlessness, as though he and the Unbound person were both birds flying in the sky. Then, it all came crashing down as they hit the cobblestones hard, and the hot barrel of a mana gun kissed his forehead.
