Chapter 204: Witness Map

The Heart of Winter responded by revealing its witness map.

Threads of light appeared beneath the surface of the frozen lake. They didn’t point to villains. They pointed to problems: dry lands and dried-up water routes, hungry demons, poor living conditions, contract trading, a lack of safe homes, contaminated wells, and paths where too few people had too little information. The lines branched out from the White Meridian and kept growing, reaching farther than Austin Veyron could have imagined.

Tessa crouched at the edge of the lake.

"It isn’t trying to lead us anywhere," she said. "It’s just showing us what it knows."

"That’s great," Ceryn said. "Now we can screw up without thinking a map made the decision for us."

Austin Veyron looked at the lines spreading past the White Meridian. He wished one of them would burn brighter than the rest. Then there would be an obvious villain to hunt down.

Something simpler than all of this. Not a world full of broken things, with no single great evil to blame for them.

"Name it," Veyra said.

"I wish the map would pick our next battle."

"And what would it make?"

"Something to blame for our mistakes."

Sable’s crown shard caught the light of the map. "Then we work with facts," she said. "Not commands."

Nyra laid the heart shard against the surface of the ice. A blue-black boundary formed at the edge of the witness map. It didn’t cage the map. It only showed where the map ended and human choice began.

"It will share what it knows with anyone who compares the evidence," she said. "It won’t answer anyone’s private questions."

Sigrun stepped forward.

"The northern guides can use the map to warn people about dangerous weather," she said. "We’ll give the warning. We won’t pretend to control what happens."

The Heart began to close.

The expedition made its way back up toward the Winter Archive with three maps copied from the Heart of Winter. Tessa took one. Ceryn took one. Sigrun took one. Each held information only about its own region of the world.

The moment they reached the top of the ice shaft, the White Meridian attacked.

A whiteout poured down on them through the hole in the archive. It buried the steps and wiped away every path marker they had left behind. The cold left behind by the fallen echo no longer spoke, but it still knew how to keep people apart.

It showed Austin Veyron a path upward with no one else on it.

THE FASTEST WAY OUT OF HERE IS ALONE.

DEVOUR awakened.

He could do it. He could make it to the outpost first and open the doors for everyone else to come up afterward. He could tell himself that leaving them behind in the whiteout was the practical choice.

"Name it," Veyra said, grabbing his wrist.

"I want the fastest way out."

"And what would it make?"

"The person who left everyone else behind."

Sable took the crown shard from her coat and pressed it against the ice wall. "Then the target is smaller."

Beneath the clear path upward, Austin Veyron read the message.

THE FASTEST WAY OUT OF HERE IS ALONE.

"Target," he said. "The fastest-way-out-is-alone claim. Not the ice. Not the route. Not the people."

"Witnessed," Veyra said.

"Witnessed," Sable said.

Austin Veyron laid the white root chain against the wall.

DEVOUR opened. The claim tasted like closing a door behind you because you’re faster than everyone else.

THE FASTEST WAY OUT OF HERE IS ALONE.

He consumed alone.

The whiteout stopped pouring down.

The clear solo path disappeared. In its place, the original steps returned, wide enough for all of them to climb together. Sigrun took the lead whenever they reached slippery ice, calling out where to step. Rin took the back. Tamsin carried their supplies, and Nyra kept the boundary around the heart shard in the middle of the line.

They made it back to the Winter Archive unscathed.

The caretakers of the outpost had kept the public relay running. The false rescue routes were gone. Real routes and information were posted on the signal mast instead: wind, fuel, and the nearby shelters.

Nahlia’s relay flashed.

"We have a public route council in place in the Grand Meridian," she told them. "Anyone can use the witness map to see what’s happening in their area."

Marcus followed up. "There’s one situation that needs help right now. A caravan city is running low on water routes. The Heart of Winter detected drought, heavy contract use, and demon presence around their market."

Tessa pulled out her copy of the witness map. It showed a thin line crossing toward the east side of the desert.

"This isn’t coming from the echo," she said.

Ceryn looked over the information. "Not enough water. People leaving the city. More contracts being made at the market. Demon interference, most likely."

Austin Veyron felt a pull, but it wasn’t the same as it had been with the echo.

This wasn’t a source seat. Something else was there, something that wanted his attention. Probably someone selling water to desperate people and forcing them into contracts.

"What will the council do about it?" Austin Veyron asked.

"The council doesn’t decide for anyone," Marcus replied. "It only knows there’s a problem there. The locals have asked for people who can look into the route issue, and maybe take out demons if it comes to that."

Sigrun studied her map. "We can send them fuel from the north," she said. "But it will take time to get there."

"We can send people from the Freehold," Elena said from the Grand Meridian, "but we won’t be able to get in unless someone’s already on the ground helping them."

Veyra looked at Austin Veyron.

He knew what she was asking without her having to say it.

"Name it."

"I want to help the city."

"And what would it make?"

"A response route. Not a conquest."

Sable kept her crown shard low. "Then we ask who chooses to go."

Tessa chose to go and bring the witness map with her. Ceryn wanted to help examine the market contracts. Veyra wanted to help the people out of their situation. Rin wanted to see what kind of danger was waiting for them. Tamsin would carry food and water for the trip. Nyra wanted to make sure the heart shard reached the city safely. Calder wanted to take out any demons causing problems. Sable wanted to see what the demons were doing to the city. Sigrun would stay at the White Meridian until the map protocol could be sent across the north, and she would share fuel information through the public relays.

No one was forced to go.

No one was told to go.

The route council recorded the names, and the reasons, of everyone going to the city.

As they traveled from the White Meridian toward the east side of the desert, the weather changed. It went from freezing to hot and dry, and Austin Veyron’s body slowly thawed as the heat settled into him.

The crossing took two days. Each night, he dreamed of the white seat at the First Table. Each morning, he woke to find the mark on his wrist quiet, as though it were asleep. Was it really sleeping? Or could he simply not feel the hunger right now?

On the second evening, the caravan city came into sight.

It was a large city surrounded by high walls, built around three old wells, with tents spread out around the outside. Water flags hung from many of the roofs, but the fabric was thin and dirty. Long lines of people stood outside the walls with nothing to carry water in. Nobody talked to each other. They just stood in line.

On a raised platform stood a man dressed all in black, with horns curving from his head. He looked like a demon, and he was smiling. In his hands, he held a book bound in red.

"Welcome to Seregate," he said to the lines of people waiting to enter. "I am Broker Keth, and I’m sorry you’re thirsty. But everything has a cost."

Tessa saw the line on her witness map begin to tremble. Austin Veyron felt the mark on his wrist begin to wake. It wasn’t a pull. It was as though it already knew what was waiting for them in the city.

Ceryn studied the market signs. Water was being sold, and the contracts being offered to people all bore the same seal as the one on Broker Keth’s book. The city wasn’t just short on water. Someone was forcing people to sign contracts to get it.

Tessa wrote down everything they could see from outside the city. "We don’t know what the contracts say yet. We should ask some of the people in line."

"What if he tries to buy us off?" Rin asked, watching the guards at the gate.

"Then we say the price out loud, so everyone hears it," Calder replied.

Austin Veyron wanted to walk up to Broker Keth and destroy him, take whatever powers he had as a demon, and use them to help the city. But that would only be a temporary fix. The city would still need water, and if they took out the man who knew where the water was coming from, they could make things even worse.

Veyra noticed him thinking about it and moved closer.

"Name it."

"I want to take him out of the city."

"And what would it make?"

"A fight we’d call right without asking who gets hurt when the water stops."

Sable kept her crown shard low at her side. "Then we need to learn more about the city before we destroy anything."

Once they were inside the city, they made it clear that they had come as witnesses to what was happening. Tessa posted a notice on the city’s public information board.

WATER ROUTE REVIEW. LOCAL CONSENT REQUIRED. NO PRIVATE CLAIMS ACCEPTED.

A few of the people in line looked at the notice. One man read it twice. He didn’t smile, but he didn’t turn away either.

This wasn’t the sovereign echo.

It was something new, and it wanted him to devour it.