Cyrus Thornflare's Arc

Chapter 3 of 11

Cyrus pushed hard through the reeds, lungs burning, the blade tight against their ribs. The green glow was behind them now, but something worse pressed close. Heat had flared when they passed the eggs. Cyrus felt it in their palms, then their chest. Now a thin chirp pulsed somewhere on their body. Steady. Even. A signal. Cyrus stopped in the wet grass and looked down at their own coat. Something was broadcasting. Something the heat had woken up. Cyrus needed walls and shielding, fast. They cut east toward an old brick tower that rose above the reeds, its spiral stair clinging to one wall. Inside, Cyrus stripped the coat off and laid every item on the cold floor. The watch in their pocket ticked normal. The blade was silent. The chirp came from a small button sewn into the coat's lining — heat-activated, sleeping until their fire woke it. Cyrus held it under their palm and let the heat climb until the plastic curled and went quiet. The signal died. But Cyrus knew the truth now. The corporation had been listening since the safehouse. Every step they had taken today had been heard. Cyrus climbed the spiral stair to clear their head. Halfway up, they passed a scorched patch on the brick where their hand had braced on the way in. The print was burned deep, yellow at the edges, the shape of a small winged thing pressed into the soot by some trick of the heat. Cyrus stared at it. The fire was leaking again, marking places without their say. They pressed a palm flat to the cool wall and breathed slow. The bug was dead. The trail was dead. But the corporation had heard the map being found. They would be moving now. Cyrus pulled the blade out and held it to the narrow window light. The etched path was all they had left. And whoever drew it was waiting at the other end. Cyrus pressed the melted button between two fingers and let it drop to the floor. The chirp was gone for good. But the silence felt worse. The corporation knew the map existed. They knew Cyrus had it. The race was on now, and Cyrus was already behind. They pulled the coat back on, tucked the blade close, and started down the spiral stair. The etched path led somewhere out past the marsh's edge. Cyrus would have to reach it before the corporation closed the gap. They stepped out of the tower and into the dusk, moving fast.