Chapter 31 Lost

Breathing heavily, Aurora jumped into the next alley and turned to look behind her. Nothing. Again. Ever since she'd first followed the whim of Precognition into the back alleys of Grandhardt, she'd felt as if someone were following her. Yet the streets were empty no matter how often she turned back.

The wound she'd scratched into her neck still hadn't completely healed, though it was scabbed over and no longer bleeding. Now, there were several such injuries across her body. She was tired…no, exhausted. Every time she tried to stop and rest, the insatiable itch would begin again. It had moved from her neck to her side, from her side to her arms, and so on, driving her forward and never letting her sleep.

Her shoulders sagged as the itch began again, and she once again proceeded down the dimly lit and cramped passage. For the dozenth time since her arrival, she wished she'd never gotten off the train at Grandhardt Station 3…and even more so wished she hadn't spent so much Essence Leveling Precognition after receiving it. It was now at Level 4, too far past the point where she could safely remove it.

After the vision in her bedroom, she'd felt drawn to this place. With every step in the right direction, Aurora felt a warmth wash over her, relieving the irritations that constantly plagued her otherwise. She cherished this feeling. Even though she knew that the Card was stringing her along like a puppet…attending to its needs was the only manner in which she could find a release.

Some of the broader alleys were much more manageable, where the mid-afternoon sun blazed clearly over the rooftops. Like this one, though, most others hadn't been so amicable. Aurora squinted as the path darkened again, the purple Circuits running along the walls and powering the buildings scarcely giving off enough light for her to see.

She stumbled forward, her boot catching one of the many water-filled potholes in the poorly maintained pavement. Cold, foul-smelling liquid splashed onto her trousers, and she almost retched as she reached out to brace herself on a nearby crate.

A single tear threatened to leave her eye, but she blinked it away and shuffled forward before the Card could punish her again. She didn't have time to brood about her current predicament when she could be doing something about it. Soon, she came to a tee in the path and glanced in each direction.

The way to her right widened out, and she could make out lights and a bit of ruckus toward the end, while the left led into another dark alley, without even the comfort of the purple Circuits to light her path. Aurora took a right, wanting nothing more than to find a nearby inn where she could collapse…but her Card had other plans.

Within three steps, the sheer agony of the prickling that crept up her legs almost forced her to her knees. She turned back and limped uncomfortably into the opposite path, where a brilliant warmth doused the sensation and flooded her with reassurance.

Aurora smiled briefly, trying to soak in the feeling, but a crackling sound brought the young woman to her senses. She whipped her head around but, like always, found nothing. A shiver ran down her spine, though not from her Precognition.

The tingling in her legs began again, so she hurried off toward the next bend in the darkened alley, not having time to investigate, or the Card would assault her until she couldn't move. Fear began to invade her mind as she continued forward, but something told her that this would all end if she could just make it to whatever destination the Card had in store.

Aurora rounded the next bend…and stopped short. Her eyes were bleary and hot from lack of sleep, and she had to wipe them several times to clear her sight, but once it was clear, she knew she'd seen this place before. This long, unlit alley had been the one in her vision.

She recognized the doors and windows against either wall, though they were all boarded up or broken rather than warm and inviting as they had been in her dream. Many of the signs were busted, and not a single Circuit on the street was powered. The several water-filled divots were dried up and deeper than she remembered, and scorch marks could be seen up and down the alley.

A fowl stench wafted from the passage, making her eyes water further, the scents of garbage, refuse, and ash mixing in the atmosphere. Aurora wanted to turn back, but the warmth that pervaded her being let her know that she was heading in the right direction.

Thinking again about the description of her Card, she couldn't understand how proceeding this way could bring her fortune while turning back would cause her pain. She shook her head. She was too tired to think. All she could do was move and avoid the pain and discomfort that awaited her in the other direction.

Aurora found some semblance of resolve in her belief that she would return to normal once she reached her destination. Trudging forward and wiping her bleary eyes, she did her best to observe her surroundings. Her Card had to have a reason for bringing her to this place.

Around halfway down the passage, another stench became mingled with the others, and toward the end, it was unbearable. Charred debris and broken glass littered the area, making it more challenging to navigate with her focus waning. A strong, chilling wind blew through the narrow street, causing her to tremble. She looked down to avoid the wind, and that was when she saw it.

Grandhardt's Sour Skies

It was the same sign from her dream, though it was now lying on the cobblestone. Everything was so much different from her vision…but it seemed the place had existed. And if the place existed, did that mean that the rest was…

There was a soft scraping somewhere behind her. She snapped her head around and cast Psionic Wave back the way she came. Every bottle, rock, and piece of rubble in the space around her lifted and flew toward the far wall at tremendous speeds.

In Aurora's fatigued and flustered state, the force of the blast sent her tumbling back. The air left her lungs as her back slammed into the ground. Hurriedly, she tried to recover, lifting her head to find…nothing.

The debris crashed harmlessly into the brickwork, throwing dust in the air but hitting nothing else. Aurora was alone. Her head fell back to the pavement. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe evenly, and as her adrenaline receded, a putrid stench assaulted her.

Her thigh began to sting, the telltale sign that Precognition wanted her to do something. She opened her eyes…and pushed herself back to escape the rotten corpse that lay before her. Before she could stand, an intense and comforting warmth permeated her being, much more potent than anything she'd felt before.

Then it was over. Aurora no longer felt the warmth or irritation that Precognition had been causing her over the past days, and she sighed in relief. For the umpteenth time that day, she recalled the Card's description.

The Wielder has a sixth sense that steers them in the correct direction to keep them out of harm's way or lead them to great prosperity.

Aurora held her breath and forced herself to examine the body. As disgusting as it was, the dead couldn't harm her…so had the Card been leading her to prosperity?

The corpse was severely charred, much like the debris in this section of the alley. Its skin was so distorted that she couldn't make out many features, only that the person had been short and wore a lot of jewelery.

Aurora squinted her eyes at that, recalling the shadowy man and bag from her vision. Why would someone murder this person and not remove their Relics or—her eyes traveled down to the man's waist and widened—their Deck Box?

Tentatively, she reached for the item, still undamaged even after the hell this person had been through. She frowned slightly. Should she really take something that didn't belong to her? Well…this person couldn't use it, and if Precognition could really lead her to prosperity, then this must have been why she was brought here.

Steeling her resolve, Aurora peeled the Deck Box away from the burned skin, where it tried to cling to its original owner. One by one, she similarly removed the Relics, feeling like some kind of rogue as she plundered the items. She didn't want the wealth for herself, but if it could ease her parents' struggles…

A full Deck Box and this many Relics… Even without knowing the value or the Level of the Cards, this would be enough to pay back at least two years' worth of her ten-year tuition. Regardless of the circumstances in which she found it, Aurora couldn't pass up this small fortune.

The loot had already been pocketed before she could finish her thought. She simply needed to take these items back to her parents' shop in York and…

There was another noise behind her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance at her paranoia and turned to look down the passage. This time, she thought she actually saw movement and Psionic Wave was on cooldown.

Aurora raised her hand swiftly and cast Flash, causing a bright light to ripple from her palm and illuminate the heavily shadowed alley. Though she was almost blinded by the sudden burst, she caught sight of something that made her blood run cold. A body of black and a hint of crimson, just like the figure in her vision.

Precognition sent a ripple through her body, but she didn't need to be warned. She had already fled.

***

Nathaniel frowned and looked down at the map in his hands. He'd been traveling for at least two or three hours after having snuck out of the manor at midnight, yet he became lost at some point. Carefully setting down the massive trunk he had lifted over his shoulder, he stopped and studied the map.

Currently, he was standing in Grandhardt…somewhere. He'd turned off Wisk and took a side street, thinking it looked like a shortcut. After that, nothing seemed to go right. The number of dead ends he'd come to couldn't even be counted on both hands.

"Whoever designed this mess should be canned," he grumbled and looked around for a landmark or street name. This whole adventure had been ridiculous. Syward was nothing like this, as it was built in a grid pattern, and every structure matched.

He would have asked for directions, but it was so late into the night that even most of the bars had closed down an hour ago. With a sigh, he noted a broken signpost on the corner of a building and walked over, finding the rest on the ground. All of these buildings and no one using them. What a waste.

Clydesdale Ave

After piecing together the three planks of wood, Nathaniel lifted the map and looked it over again. He unfolded another panel, then pressed his palm to his forehead.

"Oh. Huh…"

Nathaniel felt his cheeks burn for a moment and was suddenly glad no one was around to chastise him. Carefully, he turned the map over and swiftly found the corner he was standing on. The map was marked with colors, and unfolding that last panel had revealed a legend he hadn't known was there.

That made things more straightforward, and he also came to realize that he was on the wrong side of the city. Even having a proper route now, it would take him until morning to reach his destination, and the stations were closed at this hour. Smiling slightly at his mistake, he tucked the map into his coat and turned to fetch his trunks.

Before he'd taken two steps, he heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the distance. Whoever it was, they were running his way…and fast. Thinking he'd been found out already and his family had come to pester him into joining one of their parties to ascend, he pressed himself against the wall and activated one of his many Relics, which helped him meld into the darkness.

The footsteps became louder, and he could hear them drag across the broken pavement as if the person were hurt or not looking where they were going. Whoever it was, it certainly wasn't a Syward. A bright flash lit the night, nullifying his Relic's properties. With the footsteps almost upon him and worried that this was the beginning of an assault, he stepped away from the structure…and a young woman crashed into him.

Nathaniel looked down at where the woman had fallen before glancing back along the street she'd come from. It was empty. Once he was confident that there were no threats, he turned his attention back to the young lady. She'd ploughed right into him, and with his Levels, he knew she probably felt like she'd rebounded off a brick wall.

"Are you all right, miss?" he asked, crouching slightly and offering a hand…then pausing when he found he recognized the woman. "Aurora Price?"

He'd hardly recognized her until he'd looked at her for more than a few seconds. This was indeed the pretty young woman that Rowan had introduced him to a few days prior as well as the top student in the Academy. Though…she looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark bags beneath them, she was scraped and bruised, and she even looked up at him with fear and anger.

The harsh emotions subsided swiftly after he spoke her name. He watched incredulously as her intensity calmed, and she revealed a look of relief and hope.

"The Card…it led me…" She looked back down the street and then to him again. "You'reNathaniel?"

"Yes, I—"

Before he could finish, the girl slumped to the ground, unconscious. Nathaniel scratched at the back of his neck and shook his head, but he still smiled. This was why he'd left his family. He wanted his own adventure, after all.

Shrugging, he lifted Aurora's senseless body and threw her over one shoulder, hoping she wouldn't be offended when she woke. With his other arm, he carefully stacked his two overly large suitcases and knelt awkwardly, hoisting them onto his opposite shoulder.

Looking around, Nathaniel frowned. He'd forgotten which direction he needed to travel. With a sigh, he dropped the suitcases and pulled out the map.

It was going to be a long morning.

***

Zachary watched from atop a crumbling building as Nathaniel tossed Aurora over his shoulder. It was strange. What was the Syward scion doing in Grandhardt? And was it merely a coincidence that Aurora turned into him?

He watched their figures grow smaller, not giving up his pursuit but wanting them to gain some distance. It was well-known that Nathaniel had many mysterious techniques, and it wouldn't do Zachary any good to be caught if the man happened to have a Card tailored for detection.

Leaning back against a crumbling wall, he pulled a fresh paper from his pocket and sprinkled a dash of tobacco before rolling it and placing it between his lips. A flame lit above his thumb, and he breathed deeply, lighting the tip and inhaling a lungful of the intoxicating fumes. This batch had been grown on the Twenty-Fifth Floor and hit much harder than most of what could be found in standard shops.

Smoke left his lips in the shape of an O when he breathed out. He watched it rise into the night and merge with the dense fog that hung over the city. Something about smoking…no, the sensation it gave…made him feel alive.

He watched the cherry burn as he pulled down another lungful, its light reminding him of that night so long ago. Zachary smiled slightly. The fire, the smoke, how it moved with the wind…even the pungent odor. It was beautiful.

Only a minute or two had passed when the blue footprints Nathaniel had left behind started to fade. He raised a brow slightly. That man would be a problem.

Zachary had expected Nathaniel's Cards to be well Leveled, but if Tracking could only keep up with him for this long…it didn't bode well for his plans. He wouldn't be able to confront Aurora unless the two were separated.

The cherry reached his fingertips, and he took one more hard drag before flicking the end into the distance. Leaping quietly to the next rooftop, he followed slowly, keeping the last of the fading footsteps in the edge of his vision.

Zachary thought about what he'd witnessed. The woman had somehow stumbled across the corpse around noon. He'd hardly turned the corner when she began to run in the opposite direction and had no chance to ask her what it was that had her so riled up all morning.

That wasn't to say that he hadn't tried. Every time he closed the distance keeping them apart, she moved in some way that caused him to lose sight of her briefly in the moments his Tracking Ability was on cooldown. From his past observations, he knew that any average person would be quite frustrated by this, but he persevered.

Then, after she had run into Nathaniel, he heard it. Had he been any further from the girl, he wouldn't have heard her last words before she fell unconscious, but he had. And now he was more sure than ever that Aurora held something he had to have.

It was a Card that was causing her to feel such strong emotions. Which one, he didn't know, but he planned to ask. Zachary's steps hastened as the footprints he followed turned a corner. He wasn't sure where Nathaniel was headed, and he wasn't sure how long it would take for the man to release Aurora. But…he would wait.

He was a patient man, after all.