Chapter 10 (Continued)
"The Web" Part II
Varn's grin didn't fade.
Outside, his people drew closer, their a rising whine that grated at the nerves. Somewhere farther off, Cael could swear he heard the rumble of wheels , black particles, no doubt, or something worse.
Time was running out.
Vey spun away from the window, fists clenched.
"How much time?" he snapped.
Varn just shrugged. "Two minutes. Maybe three. Depends on how eager they are to erase you."
Cael turned to Vey. "We need to move."
"Not yet," Vey said. "Not before we rip the rest out of him."
Varn laughed softly. "Rip it out? I'm already dead, boy. You just haven't figured it out yet."
Cael stepped forward. He crouched again, this time level with Varn's eyes.
"No. You're not dead yet. And that's your leverage." His voice was steady, cold. "They sent a retrieval team, not a kill squad. That means you're valuable."
Varn didn't reply.
Cael leaned in closer, voice a whisper. "But if we leave you behind, taped to a chair with blood on your face and no tongue to talk with… you'll be worthless. Disposed of. You want to live? Then give me something that matters."
Varn's eye twitched.
Cael caught it. Pressed.
"You said you're just logistics. A cog. Fine. Then tell me what the engine's built for. What's the Internal Circle's real goal? What's all of this for?"
Silence.
The whine of the drones was louder now. Close.
Then, finally, Varn breathed out a bitter sigh. "You think they're protecting you?" he asked. "Keeping order? They're not."
Cael didn't flinch.
"They're gathering. Every System User they can find. Every one of you that can warp, shatter, summon, cloak , whatever your talent is, they want it registered, trained, and weaponized."
Vey stepped forward. "Weaponized? For what?"
Varn's smile was gone. "For war. Full-scale, cross-zone war. And they won't just use you. They'll burn you out, throw you into fire you were never meant to survive, and then write your names into a classified report labeled 'acceptable casualties.'"
Cael felt his pulse thunder in his ears. "So that's what all this is. The recruitment centers, the 'tests,' the identification chips."
"You're not soldiers to them," Varn said. "You're bullets."
Vey's jaw tensed. "Who are they fighting?"
"You think I know that?" Varn laughed. "They don't exactly hand me maps of the whole campaign. I move crates. That's it."
"But you know who Powder Vein is," Cael cut in. "Don't you?"
Varn's face twitched. A flash of something , regret? Fear?
"I know enough," he said. "They're the ones who come before the troops. Before the broadcasts. They make the holes. Break barriers. Scout out new Zones like bloodhounds sniffing out weak fences."
"You mean," Cael's voice dropped. "All those breaches we've had in our Zone. The sudden failures in the borderwalls, the anomalies,"
Varn raised an eyebrow. "You thought that was natural? A glitch? Hell no. It's them. Powder Vein tests your defenses before the Circle crushes the survivors."
Cael staggered back a step, heart racing.
He looked at Vey, but Vey was already shaking his head, muttering under his breath, "This can't be real."
"It is," Varn said simply.
Outside, tires screeched. Boots hit the pavement.
They were here.
Cael moved fast, slamming the window shut, locking it. "Just one more thing," he snapped. "Why Arven Sector? Why the shipments there?"
Varn looked up , not smug anymore. Just tired.
"Because it's the epicenter."
"The epicenter of what?"
"The spark. The first domino. When Arven goes down, the report is ready. The Circle invades. Other Zones retaliate. The chain reaction starts. And once it does…" He smiled grimly. "No one stops it."
Vey stared at him.
"And who's the enemy? The one they're planning to burn down?"
Varn shrugged. "Doesn't matter. They change the names every few weeks. Could be 'Zone 8' or 'Zone Lira' or something else tomorrow. I just follow orders."
"That's it?" Vey growled. "You help kill innocent people and you don't even know who they are?"
Varn's expression was blank. "I'm not paid to ask."
The front door rattled.
A thud. Then another.
Someone was trying to force it open.
Cael spun around, grabbed his pack from under the table and started throwing things into it , the map, the blueprints, a burner drive, water flask, knife, a cloak.
"Time's up," he said.
"No," Vey snapped. "Not yet."
Cael looked up. "Vey…"
"He's a monster," Vey hissed. "He helped plan the slaughter of people. Entire Zones. He deserves worse than death."
"And if we kill him, they'll know we were here. They'll double the search."
"So what?" Vey's voice cracked. "You want to let him live? Let him walk free? What happens if they don't erase him, Cael? What if they put him back in charge of another pipeline?"
Cael hesitated.
"He's a threat. He'll always be a threat," Vey said. "Unless we end it now."
Cael was silent for a long moment.
Then he muttered, "We're not killers."
Vey stepped forward, eyes dark. "Then let's make him less dangerous."
Cael narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying?"
Vey didn't blink.
"We cut out his tongue. Crush his fingers. Make sure he can't speak or write. He wants to be a middleman? Fine. Let him be a silent one."
"That's," Cael started, then stopped. He turned to Varn.
The man sat silently, staring at them. Not pleading. Not moving.
He knew.
"You do it," Cael said.
Vey was already reaching for the edge of his coat.
"I will."
Cael turned his back and went back to packing.
The sound of spellcraft crackled behind him , sharp syllables whispered between clenched teeth. The air chilled. Shadows flickered. A dim glow lit the room.
Varn's body spasmed once in the chair , a flash of blue light struck his arms. Then another. Bone cracked. His scream was choked off almost immediately , a second flash silenced it.
Cael closed his eyes.
Another flash. The chair shook.
And then , silence.
Cael turned.
Vey stood over Varn, chest heaving. Blood smeared his hands. His eyes were dark and unreadable.
The man in the chair no longer looked like someone who could hurt anyone ever again.
"He won't be talking to anyone," Vey said flatly.
Cael nodded once.
The front door cracked. The hinges split.
Time to go.
They moved.
Cael kicked the window open. Vey helped him slide the unconscious, bleeding body off to the side, careful not to leave footprints in the blood.
Then they dropped down into the alley.
The wind outside hit them like a slap , sharp, electric with danger.
A drone buzzed past overhead, scanning.
They didn't stop running.
Down the alley, past trash bins and broken fences. Over a chain-link wall. Through a drainage pipe that stank of rot and rust.
Behind them, the apartment exploded in noise. Doors being kicked open. Voices shouting orders. Flashlights cutting through the night.
But Cael and Vey didn't look back.
They ran.
Through the maze of the Undermarket. Into a crowd of workers. Down into the sewers. Over rooftops.
Until finally , finally , the city swallowed them again.
And the last pieces of the puzzle burned behind their eyes.