"Are you insane?" Devvyn hissed. "That's straight to jail if we're caught. No—when we're caught."
"We won't," Jelric said, annoyingly calm. "I have a solid plan. Been thinking about it since my new neighbour moved in."
"What does your neighbour have to do with this?" Aela asked, arms crossed. She stared at Jelric like he'd finally lost it for good.
Before Jelric could answer, a beach ball bounced across the sand and landed between them with a soft thud. It sat there, absurdly cheerful and out of place. Devvyn picked it up, dusted off some sand, and turned to the cluster of kids down the shore. One of them waved. He tossed it back with a lazy arc, watching it sail through the air before turning back to Jelric.
"I can't believe I'm even entertaining this idea, but okay. Start talking." Devvyn said.
Jelric rubbed the back of his neck. "My dad quit his job last month. He's been trying to find something else, but there's nothing out there. Nothing decent, anyway."
Aela's expression softened, just a little. "We didn't know."
"Yeah, well, he didn't want anyone knowing. But then this new neighbour moved in across from us. Real quiet type, keeps to himself. I overheard him talking to my dad a few nights ago. Turns out…" Jelric hesitated, then leaned in slightly. "He's an Echo Hunter."
Devvyn blinked. "Like…Hunter Hunter? What's he doing here? Aren't Echo Hunters well off enough to live either in the Golden Fields or Eternis? I heard they even had free lodgings sometimes."
"That's none of our business. Focus." Jelric said. "I heard him telling my dad there's a new shipment coming in tomorrow. And that he'd take him to his boss if he were serious about joining the crew."
Aela's mouth dropped open slightly. "Ignisara teeth! We can just wait for your dad to get the job, tag along one day and steal them."
"Uh, yeah, no," Jelric said. "Would be too late by then. They monitor Hunters closely to make sure they don't take Echos for themselves. But we currently know precisely when a new batch of Echos is coming. We can go with my dad and neighbour, and say we want to hang out at the Coral Coves. We go to the Cove, and two of us change into the uniforms and head back. We grab three Echos before they move the shipment for registration."
"So your plan is just to sneak in and take one?"
Jelric spread his hands. "I said it was solid. I didn't say it was safe. I'll steal one of my neighbour's uniforms tonight."
Aela groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I don't like it," she cut in, "Too many things we don't know. Even if we're able to sneak in, how do we get the Echo out and then home?"
"We don't." Devvyn and Jelric said at the same time. Jelric grinned, happy that Devvyn was catching on. Devvyn explained. "The Coral Coves is a ten-minute walk at most. We can hide them there. That way, even if they figure out that Echos are missing, they won't catch them on us."
Aela started to object again.
Jelric rolled his eyes. "Look, if we don't do something soon, we'll never get out of this dump. You saw the eviction notice. You think Lord Pyrethorn's going to change his mind because of a silly petition? And it's certainly safer than the Gauntlet Trials. We can always abort the plan if we get there and security is too tight."
Devvyn stayed quiet. He wasn't sure he hundred per cent liked Jelric's plan, but it made sense. But there was one more problem.
"We'd have to go to Eternis," Devvyn said.
Aela stiffened. "The gang…."
Jelric's smile faltered. "Right."
Devvyn ran a hand through his hair. "Owwyn and Vance the Fourth are probably looking for me."
Jelric waved a hand. "Then we get you a disguise."
Devvyn hesitated. The plan was insane. Risky. Probably going to get them all arrested—or worse. "We need to map out the plan," He said. "Entry, timing, escape, everything. Make sure we aren't missing anything."
"Already done, my friends," Jelric said proudly. "I've been watching my neighbour all week, listening in on his calls too. Just be at my house by 5 am. We're leaving really early."
Aela shook her head. "You're ridiculous. This is ridiculous."
Jelric gave a dramatic bow. "Thank you."
Just then, the city clock tower chimed loudly, striking three times, Echoing through the streets.
Aela glanced up at the sky and sighed. "I need to pick up my siblings. I'll see you both tomorrow, 5 am."
"You don't have to come, Aela," Jelric said.
"And let you two idiots get caught within five seconds? Absolutely not."
Jelric grinned. "That's the spirit."
As she turned and jogged off down the street, Devvyn hung back with Jelric.
"You good?" he asked.
Jelric looked surprised. "Me? Yeah. Why?"
"Your dad losing his job must have stressed you. I'm sorry, man. Should have known something was wrong with what happened today. And you've been acting a bit off since the festival. I thought…" Devvyn caught himself rambling.
"You thought what?" Jelric asked.
Devvyn drew back. "Maybe you had issues with your dad again. Like before."
"Nah." Jelric laughed. "He no longer hits me. I guess I'm overwhelmed. Been overthinking things lately, like what if I don't get into the military academy?"
Devvyn patted Jelric's shoulder. "Don't worry about that. We'll get the Echos tomorrow, no problem. You've got this plan locked down, and I'm not about to let anything mess it up."
"For sure."
"Why'd your dad quit anyway? His job wasn't too bad."
Jelric muttered something. Then, a little too quickly, "Actually. I forgot. I need to run an errand for my dad."
"We can go together," Devvyn said, already pushing himself to stand, his muscles protesting.
But Jelric was already jogging off before Devvyn was fully on his feet. "No, no! Just get ready for tomorrow. See you in the morning!" he called, the words already trailing off as he quickly put distance between them. Devvyn, still half-hunched over, watched him disappear down the street.
Devvyn frowned. He couldn't get rid of the feeling that Jelric wasn't telling them something. And his hunches were never wrong. He thought back to Jelric's odd behaviour at the festival after they saw his dad, how he'd yelled at his dad at the train station. Today, with the protest.
But there weren't any marks on Jelric's body.
Still chewing his thoughts, Devvyn made his way home.
The house was quiet when he stepped inside. Maelis had gone out, probably to the council office to submit her petition.
Devvyn crept upstairs, the quiet hum of the empty house was a stark contrast to the shouting crowd he'd just left. He changed back into the clothes he'd worn in the morning. He needed to clear his head, so he decided to finish weeding the garden. After changing, he went back outside and immediately got to work.
He knelt, grasping the tough stems of the weeds, pulling them from the earth with a rhythmic, almost meditative effort. He worked until the sun dipped low, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, his hands grimy, his back aching, but his thoughts a little less tangled.
Maelis still wasn't back. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand, a dull hunger starting to gnaw at him. Time to start dinner. He turned to head inside, already planning a simple meal of rice and leftover chicken broth, but in his room, he remembered the book, again.
His eyes drifted toward the loose floorboard where he'd hidden it. Curiosity gnawed at him. He locked his door first, before going to the floorboard. He dropped to his knees and pried it open, and brought out the book. He eased into a cross-legged position, not bothering to cover the flooring.
Then, he opened the book.
The first page was blank. He flipped to the next, then the next, his brow furrowing with each empty sheet. Page after page, nothing but pristine, untouched paper. A wave of disappointment washed over him, quickly followed by a flush of heat in his cheeks. He felt stupid, foolish for having believed that Eamon Wynstros, a random man dying in a smelly tunnel, was a leader of the Unbound. He was probably a thief.
With a frustrated grunt, Devvyn tossed the book to the ground. It landed with a soft thud, sliding a few inches across the floorboards, and fell open, revealing a page with writing on it.
Devvyn paused, leaning forward. Slowly, he picked up the book again, his eyes widening. "Mizuho's bloody teeth." He gasped. On the page, rows and rows of names were meticulously written in elegant, cursive script. He turned the page and met another list of names. He remembered Eamon mentioning a "Prisma", so he scanned for that name first but didn't see anything.
He began to read through the names, tracing each line, one name after another. His heartbeat quickened. He knew some of them. But they couldn't have? How was it possible? Devvyn's hand shook. Irric the Butcher? Headmaster Rhanes? Mrs. Dauntin? He flipped again, and then his breath hitched as he read a name he'd never expected to see.
"David Vergahn." Devvyn read out loud.
Devvyn's mind reeled, trying to reconcile the meticulously recorded name with the gruff, ordinary man he knew. Why would he be in here? A terrorist? A killer? It wasn't possible. Whoever Eamon Wynstros was, he was a liar.
A sharp, insistent knock thudded against his door, rattling the frame and jerking Devvyn violently from his thoughts. The sudden noise, amplified by the quiet room, was enough to startle him completely. The book, forgotten in his stunned grasp, slipped from his numb fingers and clattered to the wooden floor, landing open beside him.
"Devvyn?" Maelis called.
Devvyn opened his mouth to answer, but the words stayed stuck in his throat.
He reread the name.
David Vergahn.
Jelric's dad.
