Decius almost ignored the man walking next to him, aside from the occasional checks in his mind to make sure he wasn't planning to turn on him.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about ditching the man in Azoka, leaving him there to find his own way back to his woman.

Decius had to get back to Sascha and Renata. It didn't matter if he ruined a man's life to do it. He just had to regain enough strength to make another jump across the continent, and he would never have to worry about the bounty hunter again.

The rolling hills had long ago disappeared, leaving them with open fields of knee-length, browning grass for as far as the eye could see. The sun was well overhead, dipping into the afternoon sky. Decius knew they wouldn't quite make it by sundown, for they still had hours of travel left, but not as much time to do it.

"How much further to Azoka?" The man asked, and Decius turned to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Longer than we'd both like. There's a village about an hour's travel from here, and we'll spend the night there." He replied.

Laurenz scowled. "You told me we'd be there by sundown."

"Well, plans change, old man." He snickered.

Laurenz stopped abruptly, causing Decius to stop a few steps ahead. He turned to face the bounty hunter, a wolfish grin painted upon his lips.

"Old? I'm only thirty." Laurenz deadpanned, his annoyance and disdain for Decius intensifying.

"Considering I'm only eighteen, you're old to me." Decius replied nonchalantly.

Laurenz seemed as if he were about to retort something, but he stopped himself. "Hold on. The file never said anything about you being so young."

"Ooh, look at you with your secret files on me. What else do you know about me that I don't want you to know?" Decius snapped, his smirk quickly fading.

"I know how many people you've killed, on record at least. You think you can fool me? I don't want to be in this situation any more than you do."

"If I was able to zap away from here right now, I would have done it already. But, I'm stranded here with you, all because I decided to save your skin. You should be thankful that I even bothered."

Laurenz clenched his fists. "Why couldn't you have just teleported us somewhere closer to civilisation?" He mumbled.

"I would have thought you would have some idea of how to hide from authorities, Marcello. Considering you kill people for a living." Decius surmised.

"Unlike you, I'm far too clever to be caught, boy. I've never had to run from anyone until now, thanks to you."

Decius rolled his eyes. "We're not going over this conversation again. We already discussed the fact that you didn't have to try and kill me, but you did, and that's why we're here. My main point is, if you have to run away, you go away from people. Maybe you'll learn something out of this encounter."

Laurenz chose not to snap back, instead he turned his attention to the passing surroundings. Low shrubs and trees had re-appeared, decorating the empty fields.

"Tell me about your power." Laurenz said, breaking the silence after a while of walking.

"I would have thought you'd know, considering you seem to know other things about me."

"Don't start with that. If I have to travel with you, at least pass the time by telling me about how it works." Laurenz snapped.

"Fine. People like me are called beacons. Not a particularly creative title, I must admit, but it is what it is. We have the ability to send out a beacon to a different part of the universe, where it in turn sends us a burst of power to complete the task we wish to do. Other than that, there's not much more to tell. I inherited the ability from my mother, and now here we are." Decius told him.

After that, the two men went quiet once again.

The distant shape of a village was forming ahead, as the sun was slowly sinking, and Decius could tell they had to pick up the pace before it got dark.

Danger lurked beyond the wardings of every town and city, creatures and spirits that very few people have encountered and survived.

"We need to get this show on the road if we want to make it there by nightfall. I don't know about you but I'm not hanging around out here to be attacked by some beast." Decius announced, peering over at the older male.

"I have weapons, we'll be fine."

Decius snickered. "Oh sure. I'll just listen out for your screams when you realise that the wild creatures out here don't let bullets stop them from feasting."

"That's just old folklore." Laurenz scoffed.

"If that's what you believe, fine. But if you're dead by morning, I'm not gonna cry for you or anything."

Laurenz mumbled something inaudible, before spitting out a reluctant "fine."

Decius sped up his pace and Laurenz followed suit, the pair racing the dropping sun. They had less than a half hour to make it into the village where the wardings and runes would provide protection for the night.

Decius wasn't sure how the strange symbols worked to scare off predators, but they had sure saved his skin more times than he could remember. He shuddered as he recalled packs of Crocotta hunting him down. Crocotta were terrifying, canine beasts that were relentless killing machines. It had been the safe boundaries of an elvish village that had allowed him to survive to see the present day. He had not yet seen an establishment without protective runes, and he highly doubted that there were any that had none.

As the two men powered across the fields, the sun fell quicker towards the horizon. The structures became easier to make out as they closed in on the town. The buildings were made of dark wood and stone, indicating to the two men that it was less developed than those communities that turned to metals.

The sign showing the town's name was old and rusted, the words indecipherable. Laurenz decided that this was a signal that the town could not be trusted.

Decius had his own vivid thoughts about the place from personal experience. He had stayed there before, letting his soul rest in the pub, drinking away any pain he may have felt. It was mere days after he left his family that he found his way here, and it was his home for little over a week.

But that was four months ago, and it felt as if the tiny town had entirely changed. Although, change was in the eye of the beholder, for his perspective had shifted, along with the way he saw things. After significant time given to brood and mull over his decisions, he wasn't sure that the town appeared as inviting as he once thought.

Laurenz and Decius slowed down as they drew within a few metres of the entrance, their breaths heavy. The air was beginning to chill off and signs of night were clearly beginning to show as the sky bled a confronting shade of red around crimson and orange fiery hues that were painted upon the sky's blank paper.

"The inn is this way, I think." Decius announced, gesturing to the left. Laurenz to glance dubiously down the coarsely cobbled street in the direction that was indicated.

"OK, hurry it up, I need to rest, and I sure as hell need a drink." Laurenz replied, his tone fatigued.

Decius said nothing and began to walk again, ignoring the heinous exhaustion clenching his muscles. He knew he only had to sleep to regain some of his power, but insomnia had plagued him for the past week, and he could only hope to get any rest. It was becoming less bearable with each passing day to think about his mother and sister, and how he left them without even bothering to tell them the truth. He decided at that moment that he had to get to them more soon than he anticipated, the weight of his anxieties pressing down on him. The lack of his power prevented him from checking in on them, and he felt so mentally and physically drained that he wouldn't be able to attempt much, no matter how intense his urge was. Long distance power usage was far more advanced than close range.

However, Laurenz was close enough to him that he could use the scraps of his power to monitor him. In fact, he found himself using the man's brain to form a bridge to Seraphina. Somehow, he saw in real-time what was happening to her, as if Laurenz's longing for her was strong enough to allow him vision.

As he observed her, it quickly dawned on him that something had gone awry. She had cowered in a corner, and shattered glass rained down on her. But then a shadow was cast across her, and the figure that towered over her raised a pistol to her forehead, and an intrusive bang cut off Decius's visual.

Decius stopped dead in his tracks as he realised what had happened. He blinked a few times, realising that it was now dark enough for the streetlights to have illuminated.

Laurenz was a few paces ahead when he realised that his acquaintance had halted, and he did the same, turning back to face him. "What is it, Cavlacanti? Decided that this town isn't good enough for you?"

Decius took a moment to notice that he had been spoken to. His expression had been blank, and the colour had drained from his face. "What? No, it's fine, I've been here before, don't worry, everything's fine," he blurted out, trying to cover up and put aside what he had just witnessed in his mind's eye.

Laurenz raised an eyebrow, seemingly doubtful. "Well let's go inside then, instead of loitering outside," lifting a finger towards the sign that Decius quickly identified as the Dragon's Breath Inn. He nodded at the older man's comment, and rushed towards the door. As he went to pull it open, he found it wouldn't budge. It wasn't locked — the door handle went all the way down — but it seemed that it was jammed. He became quickly flustered, his tried mind drifting elsewhere, as he jiggled the door handle around. A final frustrated lift and pull at the same time on the handle, granted a begrudging creak outward of the heavy door.

Decius gave a quick scowl to nobody in particular and bustled in, grimacing at the tacky and faded decor that cluttered the reception. The entire interior had a yellow and peach colour scheme, and nothing seemed to match in the room. The carpet was stained and worn, and the wallpaper was tearing, but it wasn't like having the most stylish room was the top priority. Nobody was in the room but them, and Decius wondered if the staff weren't taking any more customers for the night. Laurenz shoved past him and slammed his hand on the bell that sat on the receptionist's desk several times, impatiently trying to catch someone's attention.

A middle aged woman scrambled into the room from a door to the side, out of breath. Her brown hair was in a beehive updo, and her makeup was blotchy and caked on. "Sorry, darl, didn't hear y'all come in. How can I help ya?"

Decius grit his teeth. "A room with two beds, thanks."

"Sure thing, I'm Vena, by the way," the woman announced, grabbing a key from behind her desk.

Neither of the men said anything, both of them more concerned about getting to the room rather than pleasantries. Vena shuffled out from behind the desk and led them through the door she had come through, into a corridor of doors.

She stopped at room three, where she plunged the key into the door lock. It clicked and swung open, the door hinge letting out a godawful screech from rust and neglect. The room was nothing special, it had two beds and a nightstand between them, and a room to the side with a miniscule bathroom.

"Well, this is it," Vena said, pressing the key into Laurenz's palm, "enjoy your stay." As soon as she finished speaking, she was off again, leaving the two men alone.

Decius was the first to push into the room, shrugging off his coat and tossing it onto the bed to his left. Laurenz closed the door and kicked his shoes off, before sitting down on the bed to the right.

The lamp that perched on the nightstand flickered and dimmed, the light struggling to fill the space. The walls had the same wallpaper as the reception, a faded colour with golden embellishments, and it had the same peeling features. The wood of the nightstand was chipped and vandalised with rude drawings, and the draw's handle had been broken off.

The room was of low quality, but neither of them could care less.

Decius untied his shoes and left them lying in the middle of the room. He leapt onto the bed and switched off the lamp, much to Laurenz's annoyance, who was now sitting in the dark. He managed to take off his jacket and slip under the covers of his bed with minimal vision, but not without silently grumbling about the ignorance of the man across from him.

Decius's soft snores filled the room in record time, and all was well for Laurenz, or so he thought.