Cyrus Thornflare's Arc

Chapter 6 of 11

Cyrus walked until the reeds thinned, then circled back. Something at the iron gate had snagged in their memory. They knelt at its base and ran a hand along the scorched metal. Their old handprint was there, faded brown. But beside it, lower, sat a second mark. Smaller. Cleaner. A burn signature that was not theirs. Cyrus's breath caught. Someone else with fire had passed through this gate before them. Cyrus dug at the base of the post. Their fingers struck stone. They lifted out a flat carved disc, slick with algae, fire marks cut deep into its face. The pattern matched the smaller burn on the gate exactly. A signature, left on purpose. Cyrus turned it over and found three letters scored into the back — the initials of their younger sibling. Cyrus's hand shook. Their sibling had fire too. Their sibling had been here, walking the same path, leaving signs only Cyrus would read. The corporation had not just taken family. They had taken another fire user. Cyrus pocketed the disc and stood. The hunt was no longer only for rescue. It was for someone exactly like them. A few paces off the gate, Cyrus spotted a low stone hut tucked under bare branches. The door hung open. Inside, a cold hearth held fresh ash. A watcher's post, built to keep eyes on the gate. Cyrus pressed a palm to the ash. Still faintly warm. Whoever had watched their sibling pass was gone, but not long gone. Cyrus stepped back into the reeds, disc heavy in their pocket, coordinates cold at their chest. They knew now who they were walking toward. They moved faster. At the edge of the clearing, Cyrus passed a hollow tree, its trunk split wide and rotted black. Inside the cavity sat the broken stump of an old guard booth, its boards burned through. The same small burn signature scarred the wood. Their sibling had stopped here. Fought here. Cyrus closed their fist on the carved disc. The second fire user was real. The second fire user was blood. Cyrus turned toward the coordinates and ran.