The Butterfly Effect

The town was quieter than before. Not a peaceful silence—the kind that judged from the shadows, that tried to hide. They had secrets. Far more than they wanted to admit. And they knew that this hunter was here to gather them… that he wouldn't leave until he'd collected all of them. Until there wasn't any hope of forgetting he'd ever come. Because in one way or another, this was undoubtedly going to lead to the end of something.

Alexei wanted to believe it was just him; that this job was getting to him more than usual, that that's the only reason something felt so wrong. He had to think that. If he didn't, then he started to consider all the other reasons, and he didn't think he'd be able to keep it together. He was barely holding on as it was.

Perhaps that's why Rosie didn't offer to split up this time, or even suggest they do anything but stick together. Or… maybe she wanted the company, too. There was something in her cold expression that he'd never really seen in her before. It was… weird. By all accounts, what happened this morning was nothing new to her—neither the mentions nor the task. But there was something else bothering her.

Or, rather, something she wasn't going to bother hiding. Still left plenty of questions, though.

And speaking of questions… they were having distressingly good luck when it came to their mission.

Alexei went to look around while Rosie walked up to talk to the shopkeeper. He pretended he didn't care what they were talking about.

"Hey. My friend and I over there are travelers. We've been tasked with giving something to someone named Feodor Ruslan. Sound familiar to you?"

The shopkeeper let out a soft hum. "Oh, of course. But… what do you need to give him? He comes by often, I could hold onto it for you. I'm sure you must be busy. People like you never seem to stay in one place for very long."

"Unfortunately, it's sensitive information."

"I won't open it. I'm guessing it's something bigger than a letter, or else the sender would've just spelled a bird… I hear even Seothia's doing that nowadays."

"I understand, ma'am, but I'm afraid I can't just take your word. This was part of our direct orders. Don't want to risk getting in trouble."

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that would be a problem…"

"Back to something else you mentioned, though. Why mention Seothia? It's pretty far for most people over here to care about. Does Feodor know someone there?"

"Well… no, I don't think so. But I wouldn't be surprised if he did, either. He's spent a fair bit of time with all sorts of people over the years. Some of them are pretty concerning, honestly. I have to worry about the kind of people he's getting himself involved with…"

That was an all too familiar sentiment to Alexei. It was also, he knew, one of the best confirmations they were going to get. He had to fight hard to make sure he remembered to breathe and continue to look apathetic to the conversation.

Rosie still continued her mini-interrogation, however, as if what they had wasn't already enough. "What kind of people?"

"I'm sure it's nothing—just the more judgmental part of me, I suppose. They're the kind you don't often see stick around for long. The ones who are there one second, and gone the next. For all I know, they're simply busy people. I ought to trust Feodor a little more and assume that they are."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"We wouldn't mind checking a few of them out, if you can give some names or descriptions."

The shopkeeper shook their head. "That doesn't sit quite right with me. As far as I can tell, they might be a little off-putting, but they're not doing anyone any harm."

No one but him would've noticed the bitter edge in Rosie's tone as she remarked, "We believe in being proactive."

"Aye, and I try to live by the rule of not poking my nose into other people's business. I think I've said a bit too much. I'm sure Feodor's got it under control, whatever he's dealing with. I know he won't risk anything unnecessary, now that he's taking care of little Yul all by himself." The shopkeeper tapped their fingers against the counter. "Now, I've got some work to do in the back. If you're not here to buy anything, then I suggest you head off."

Rosie nodded. "Right, thanks for your time. Here." She put a copper coin on the counter before turning around and gesturing for Alexei to follow her out.

They were quiet for a little bit as they walked away, finding themselves naturally drawn to an alleyway. It was tucked away from everything else—from the sights and sounds of what little was going on in town, whatever prying eyes might be nearby.

And that's when Alexei stated, "That's the fifth person who's mentioned the same thing. I don't think we can say he isn't…"

She shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's the fifth person who knows we're looking for him."

"Huh?"

"Like I mentioned before, it's not hard to get them to scatter. Since we've taken out one person and he's still here, our next option is to let him know we're going after him. He'll start taking the hint soon and, if we're lucky, he'll be gone before we have to start looking."

"Priesty isn't going to like that."

She barked a laugh. "I'm a step away from strangling him already, so I think he's got the hint, too." She gestured back towards the main road. "Come on, you want to get something to eat? We're not in a rush, no matter what he says."

…

Rosie seemed a bit better after a drink, watching people pass by the window. "You know, what Priesty said reminded me of something. I never really… actually told you about her, did I? Just a couple of mentions here and there—whatever other people knew about her."

With a mix of curiosity and caution, he shook his head. "I know she meant a lot to you. And the reason you're here…"

"I was always good at merc work—knew my way around a blade and enough magic to round it out. Left my home at the coast to see the world, picking up whatever odd jobs I needed along the way. Escorted merchants, transported goods, that kind of thing. It wasn't long before I met her… Eira."

She let out a wistful sigh. "I'd never found someone quite like her before. We complimented each other's strengths, and covered the others' weaknesses. Pretty much everyone we came across seemed surprised that we hadn't been working together longer. And it wasn't just work—I felt like I could trust her with anything. Everything. I considered her to be my world, what helped me through the hard times and gave me hope for the future. We were even starting to talk about settling down somewhere, believe it or not. But then she… she was gone."

"Let me guess, that's when Priesty swung in?" Alexei prompted.

"There's a reason he's gotten this far and why no one's stopped him," she muttered. "He can read people in seconds, somehow guess exactly what they want to hear. Then when they realize he's just been using them, it's too late to back out of it." She took another chug from her drink. "He said he knew what happened to her. I knew, deep down, that he was always lying to me—but at that point, I didn't care. I didn't think, because it all just went back to her, and what had been taken from me. Then he had something he could use against me, something that could keep me here. But having you here with me… I'm starting to realize something else. He's the only one who deserves their fate. And I'm not so much of a puppet as to let him stop me from giving him that."