Kael's threat hung in the foul market air, cold and sharp as a blade of ice. The crowd of demons and spirits, which had been murmuring, fell silent, their ghostly eyes fixed on the unfolding drama. An open conflict was a rare and valuable entertainment, a welcome distraction from the eternity of trades and misery. The sound of a distant hammer stopped. The melancholic music of a ghost bard ceased mid-note. All attention was now focused on the Broker's floating dock.
Leo felt his blood run cold. Kael wasn't bluffing. His relaxed posture was that of a predator that had already cornered its prey and was just savoring the moment. Capturing him here, in the middle of the Night Market, would be a show of power that would instantly erase the stain of his previous defeat in the forest. It would be a statement to the underworld of couriers: Kael didn't make mistakes, he only created opportunities.
But before Leo could stammer a reply, the whispering voice of the Whisper Broker filled the space between them, dripping with an ancient, impersonal amusement.
the countless eyes in the Broker's smoke-form blinked, turning from Kael to Leo with a collective curiosity. * *
Kael raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to the Broker, his irritation barely contained. "Stay out of this, Broker. This is Syndicate business."
The Broker's words gave Leo the opening he needed. His mind, sharpened by panic, seized the only possible way out. He couldn't fight Kael physically, but maybe he could trap him in a deal, using his own logic against him.
"He's right," Leo said, his voice trembling less than he expected. He turned to the Broker, ignoring Kael for a moment, a calculated act of defiance. "You want a story that hasn't been written yet? A single victory is ephemeral. But a rivalry... a continued struggle between him and me, between chaos and order, between the independent and the corporation... that's a saga. That's worth far more."
Kael looked at Leo, an expression of disbelief mixing with his arrogance. "Are you trying to negotiate your own hunt? How pathetic."
"I'm trying to survive," Leo replied, his eyes meeting Kael's, refusing to look away. "You want to clear your record. Capturing me here is an option, yes. It's fast. But it's messy. It's dishonorable. An ambush. What will the Syndicate see? That you needed to corner me in a monster market to catch me. But what if there was a better way? A way to prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are the superior courier? A sanctioned victory, witnessed by entities like the Broker, would be worth far more to your reputation than capturing an 'amateur' in a dark alley of the Underworld."
He was appealing to Kael's ego, to his need for order and clean victories. It was a long shot, a gamble on his enemy's vanity.
The Whisper Broker rippled with pleasure, its smoke-form expanding and contracting like a satisfied lung. *
The Broker turned its attention to Leo, and all its eyes fixed on him, making him feel naked and exposed.
The price was even more monstrous than before. To sell the joy of his own redemption, the climax of his struggle. But Leo didn't flinch. Satisfaction was a luxury; survival was a necessity.
Kael was silent, his mind processing the variables. Capturing Leo now was fast, but messy. It could annoy Queen Persephone and the Broker. This new deal was elegant. It turned his humiliating defeat into a calculated tactical move. It gave him license to hunt Leo openly, turning his personal vendetta into a professional duty. And, in his mind, the final victory was an inevitable conclusion. It was the perfect solution.
"I agree to the terms," Kael said finally, his cold tone sealing the deal.
Leo felt a shiver, the weight of his future sacrifice settling upon him, but he nodded. "I do too."
The Broker turned to Leo, its eyes glowing with the knowledge it was about to share. *
The information settled in Leo's mind. A name. A place. It was a start, a thread of hope in a tangle of despair.
"Our business is concluded," Kael said, his voice cutting through the moment. He looked at Leo, his predatory smile back. "This contract buys you a little time, amateur. But make no mistake. The hunt is still on. In fact, it has just officially begun. Now, every delivery you make, every step you take, I'll be watching. And when the time is right, I will collect my part of the contract."
With that, Kael turned and disappeared into the crowd, as silently as he had arrived.
Leo stood alone before the Broker's stall, trembling, not from fear, but from the enormity of what he had just done. He had bought his survival by selling the joy of his own future victory. He had a new mission, a new destination, but also a sanctioned hunter on his trail.
He had flipped the chessboard, but the game had just become infinitely more dangerous.