Bounty Signal

Chapter 2 – "Ash Protocol"

Part 3 – "The Bounty Signal"

He stood by the canal—its slick surface rippling with reflections of broken streetlamps and bioluminescent veins, an ill-lit artery of discarded blood. Beside him, Vireya's cloak trembled in the cool Sprawl breeze, her gaze steady on the canal's dark mirror. Between them was neither warmth nor trust—just shared exhaustion.

Kael swallowed. The aftertaste of ash and memory lay thick on his tongue. "So what now?" he whispered, voice rough. "We run until we vanish?"

Vireya's gaze remained distant, but something shifted behind her eyes. "Hiding only delays the hunt," she said softly. "They're watching."

A sudden ping echoed through the night. Kael checked his implant—nothing. But then, a distant trill began to ripple through the Sprawl: elevators grounding, shutters clicking, drones lifting into flight—all as though the city had woken to a single command.

He looked at Vireya. "Warning?"

She didn't answer. Her fingers flexed gently. He felt the glyph on his spine pulse, quicker now.

Farther along the canal, a drone emerged from the darkness—miniaturized model, no larger than a rat, but deadly silent. Its red eye flicked twice in recognition mode and then burst into signal-blue strobe: PRIORITY TARGET: UNSANCTIONED BLOOD‑BONDED PAIR.

The drone snapped a burst of memory-sense and transmitted. Its signal pulsed outward, invisible but undeniable—a beacon.

Kael cursed under his breath. "It's started."

Before Vireya could answer, another drone sliced through the sky like a swooping bat, trailing sensor nets that shimmered in the faint glow. Kael clasped his wrist, trying to summon his overlay—but every interface was blank. He flexed a clenched fist; static buzzed in his veins.

"They know," Vireya said. Her voice was steady—but dark. "Not just Ember. Someone placed a bounty."

Kael shook his head. "Someone masked." He stared into the canal, glassy and oppressive. "Who is powerful enough to issue a hit and drone-sweep the Sprawl instantly?"

Vireya didn't answer—not yet.

Behind them, Marion stepped through a broken grate, bending like a specter through the night. Their robe was streaked with ash. Their mask caught the light, smiling silently.

"What happened?" Marion asked, voice low.

"Active bounty," Kael said. "They're sweeping the Sprawl."

Marion's masked head tilted. "Did you see who issued the call?"

"No signature," Vireya said. "But it wasn't Ember. It's… underground."

Marion made a sound through the mask that sounded like a sharp intake of breath. Then: "The Black Rose Protocol."

Kael's wrist mod buzzed in response—finally coming to life, though just a faint buzzing. It showed a blinking note: "Signal received: Black Rose Protocol now active citywide. Priority kill zone initiated. Location: pending."

He looked at Marion. "So it's official?"

"More than official," Marion said. "It's irrevocable."

Kael's eyes darted to Vireya. "Someone wants you… dead. And I'm dragged along."

Vireya's face hardened. "Or alive—by design."

Kael frowned. "Define 'alive'."

"They want both of us captured—for interrogation," she said softly. "Maybe execution. At worst… trophy."

Kael's blood ran colder than the canal air. He balled his fists. "Then we fight."

Marion waved a hand, dismissing the plan. "No. You don't know what you're up against."

Kael looked at Marion, then at Vireya. His voice was firm: "I know the Protocol hunters are already on our tails, and whoever issued this has more power than Ember. Staying out in the open is death. We need to move—now."

Vireya hesitated, then nodded. "There's a safe house." She led them into the night—fast, silent steps.

They threaded through winding alleys, still slick with rainfall from earlier hours. Drone eyes glided overhead. Kael walked on the outskirts, blade out, scanning every shadow. The bond in his blood throbbed against the walls—a second heartbeat, all too aware.

They reached a low building patched with metal sheeting and vein-root grafts—one that looked abandoned but still hummed with arcane tech. Vireya knocked on a panel; it slid open. Inside: a hidden courtyard lit by phosphorescent moss. A figure waited—a tall, wiry man in shabby formalwear, eyes covered by thick goggles.

"Dax," Vireya murmured.

He opened his coat, revealing several bread-crumbed scented grenades—instantly activated. "Warning signal—Sprawl's melting down. Marion got us in just before masks went live."

Marion nodded. "Thank you."

Dax flicked a switch; trap-doors in the courtyard dropped, revealing a funnel to deeper tunnels. "Go."

Vireya and Kael slipped inside.

The door closed. Heavy metal slid over them. Drones buzzed outside, probing—but the perimeter sealed.

Inside, the tunnel was silent. Damp. Lit by runed sconces. Veins lined the walls—arcane conduits that pulsed softly with life.

"This is safe… for now," Dax said, "but not for long. Bounty's live."

Kael sat on a ledge as the dizziness hit—an ache in his head. The canal reflection came in flashes of afire altars and burning crowns. Memory fragments. He pressed his fingers against his temples.

Vireya kneeled beside him.

"You need to stabilize," she said. "Or the bond will bleed more memories—and not just relic scenes."

Kael looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She shifted her coat and revealed a compact vial strapped inside. "Drink this. It dulls the bleed—for a while."

He took it.

Cold water.

Empty.

He crunched it.

Again: cold, nothing.

She said quietly, "It's a placebo. But it centers your mind."

He closed his eyes, frustrated. "So we're out here, hunted by everyone—and I'm bonded to a centuries-old queen with no cure."

"We adapt," she said firmly. "We survive."

Marion crouched beside them. "You should know—Black Rose Protocol isn't just a kill order. It's an Extraction Directive."

Kael's head snapped up.

"That means someone wants to bring you in—maybe to study. Maybe to re-bond."

"Or worse," murmured Vireya.

Dax looked at them both. "And we're not the only ones hunted."

"How many others?" Kael asked.

"Half the Bone Market vendors. A dozen covert safe houses. Protocol lists are heavy."

"Why us?" Kael said bitterly. "What makes us worth an extraction team?"

Marion took off the mask.

Kael and Vireya gasped. It was a woman—Pale, sharp jaw, cyber-etched runes over one eye.

"My name now…" she said, voice soft. "Is Marion Vex."

Marion took the mask in her hand like a trophy. "I was—someone else."

Kael's pulse jumped. A maker unveiled.

Vireya gasped. "They made you?"

She nodded. "I made myself."

Kael shook his head. "Like I made Kael."

Marion closed the mask, slipping it under her arm again. "But now things are changing."

Kael stood. "We don't have time for ceremonies."

She smiled. "You do. Because you need to decide."

Kael looked at Vireya. She nodded.

He looked at Marion. She nodded back.

Dax put a datachip on the ledge. "Next safe stop. If we make it there alive."

Kael picked it up.

Outside, the night hooded them.

Inside, survival loomed.

He tucked the chip into his coat. "Then we move."

And as they passed through the tunnel, the city's bounty signals pulsed behind them—marking them for death, capture, or transformation. But inside, the bond whispered: You belong to me now.