The hourglass pact

g, ink-black river. Elias stumbled, his boots slipping on greasy cobbles and unseen refuse. Nyra's grip on his arm was

wet brick walls, accompanied by the chilling, electronic whine of the Warden skiff. Shouts, d

y tangible link to his father. Now he was running for his life, pulled along by a ghost from his past who wo

ater streaming into his m

re fluid, economical, dodging overflowing drains and piles of decaying scrap metal with an instinct Elias lacked. He felt clumsy, slow, his lungs burning.

over the downpour. "The temporal

ve. "My gear has a dampener, but it's not perfect, especially this close to the breach point. You? You're a walking anomaly right n

perpetual, rain-smeared twilight that passed for day down here. The alley twisted, branching into narrower fissures, some barely wide enough to squeeze thr

e ground

without moving. The rain seemed to slow, individual drops hanging suspended like glass beads for a fraction of a heartbeat. The soun

gainst the slick brick wall, pressing them

metallic. Shadows crawled unnaturally across the opposite wall, elongating, twisting into shapes that hinted at things best left unseen. A low

d from the vambrace on her wrist, intricate runes briefly glowing beneath the soaked fabric of her coat sleeve. The light pulsed once, twice, pushing

immediately lethal. The sense of dislocation remai

with a faint, unhealthy light. Elias mimicked her, his heart hammering against his ribs. He saw now – the subtle signs he'd learned to avoid but never truly understood:

ed by the relatively normal chaos of pounding rain and their own ragged breathing. Nyra leaned against the

t?" Elias pan

he blue strobing light was gone, but the high-pitched whine, though fainter, was unmistakable. It was moving. Searching. "Cleanup Crew. They deploy t

?" The question burst out, fueled by years of confusion and the fresh terror of the last hour. "Why d

s whine. When she spoke, her voice was low, rough with emotions Elias couldn't decipher. "Ten years ago, your father saved my life. The night everything went wrong. The night I

nt her away? Protected her? From what? F

pursuing whine, but upwards, towards the dripping, decaying fire escape clinging to the buil

wasn't falling straight down. It was falling slowly, tracing a lazy, spiraling p

lit whisper, casting stark, dancing shadows on the wet alley

breathed, her voice barely audib