Chapter 249: Sand

Chapter 249: Sand

It’s head twisted to the side, a faint, almost untraceable burst of mana had just erupted. It squeezed its new fingers and toes, clinching them with the fascination of a newborn kitten waiting to feed. A sound was present, giggling. Diabolical and unrestrained, it sprinted off toward the burst.

Luckily for it, the burst was in the direction it was already heading.

That only made it laugh more.

“Good show, Leals!” Jude said, clapping his hands.

Glenny and Gelo followed along, though Gelo couldn’t really clap, so she created an orb of ice that constantly broke apart and refroze together. The sound produced was reminiscent of clapping, if in an echo chamber surrounded by glass shards.

All around were web-like constructs made of mist and mana. Jude blew on one, destroying it and its connected webs like a dandelion against the wind. The webs stretched high into the sky, nearly eclipsing Zeke as he flew overhead and far into the woods such that the dark night turned into a foggy mess.

Leland didn’t react to either the clapping or the webs. Instead he stared at where his hand was clamped to his arm, freshly healed skin underneath. But in truth, he wasn’t really looking.

Like a dream forgotten by morning, Leland struggled to fill his mind with memories of the power he was so close to touching. It was there, right there, and yet, it was half a world away, hidden beneath insight and understanding.

He was close. So close...

Jude clapped right in front of his eyes.

“What!?”

“You okay, dude? You were spaced out.”

Looking around, Leland only found worry. Between Jude, Glenny, and the oddly easy-to-read Gelo, tension was front and center. None were sitting, each standing quite close to him and staring like they had just seen a moose grow wings and fly.

“I’m fine...” Leland closed his eyes, trying one last time to gather what he had just lost. He exhaled, coming up empty. “I was close to something... realizing something big.”

“Something like what?”

“Something... something like power beyond explanation.”

“Rule,” Gelo whispered. As her eyes darted around to each of the boys, they all waited for her. “My mom talked about it once. Iceheart, elemental ice, is just part of a Rule. I don’t—”

Leland leaned forward. “Please. Tell me more.”

“I-I don’t know. She only said it matter-of-factly when referring to Iceheart and how her technique of achieving it wouldn’t help me.”

He leaned back, tasting the word, “Rule. Rule. A Ruler.” He found the cub staring wide-eyed at him. “Would you call your mom a Ruler of Ice or Cold?”

She nodded, the motion hardly noticeable. “I... would... but I don’t have any reason for it. Other than instinct.”

Jude spoke up, “I’d trust your instincts.”

“As do I,” Glenny offered. “Magical bear and all. Kind of goes with the territory.”

While Leland didn’t think the Lord of Curses to be that malicious, the point still stood. Ashford was forced to kill, decimate, and conquer all for a Lord locked away. The loss of agency made Leland’s skin crawl. Not to mention the fact that there were people out there stronger than him. He may not fight a Lord ever again, but he was under no illusions that he wouldn’t kill again.

Probably on this trip, even. Making sure he had the power to protect himself and his friends was paramount. Especially if threats like Ashford lurked in the shadows.

An hour before sunset, they arrived at the Tear.

Or, well, what they figured was the start of the Tear. The journey had primarily been through sporadic woods, thin tall trees with branches that stiffened against the wind and harbored plenty of life. Bugs, birds, monsters.

At least, until they came across a patch of gray sand randomly among the trees. Like a scrunched circle, the sand simply was. As if the world chose a point to insert the sand, a single tree had been split into dozens, each sliver of bark and wood hanging around the periphery of the sand. Dirt, soil, broken branches, everything natural in the woods had been pushed away to make room for the sand.

The boys and Gelo stood at the edge, their boots and paws inches from the sand.

“Who wants to go first?” Glenny asked.

“Me!” Jude shuffled his toes past the point of no return, touching the sand.

Nothing happened.

“Come on,” Leland said, motioning the others to follow. “Aunty P told me that a small fort was set up near the center of the Tear. We should meet them before dark.”

And with that, they traveled quickly, passing other random patches of sand until they came upon the Tear proper.

“Whoa,” Jude said in disbelief. “It’s like the Mirage Desert all over again.”

Sand, gray and dark, as far as the eye could see. With a border made of trees, a gentle breeze kicked up sand spray and dead leaves, turning the edge of the sudden desert rather cluttered.

“I disagree,” Leland said. “The Mirage Desert was rolling dunes of sand.” He gestured forward. “This is flat.”

Perfectly flat, like walking across a farmer’s field.

They stayed at the edge for a few minutes as Zeke scouted ahead. When the crow eventually found the fort, the group started their trek.

“Wasn’t something supposed to happen after an hour? When exactly does that timer start?” Jude asked.

“When we enter the Tear,” Leland said, swallowing. “So either we haven’t actually entered, or we’ll be finding out soon.”

Jude rubbed his hands together. “I hope it’s a monster. I’m bouncing for a fight!”

Being the nearest to him, Glenny accepted the responsibility of the moment and punched him in the shoulder.

When Jude cursed in pain, Leland quickly said, “Maybe we should start stabbing you when you say dumb things. You’ve already proven to me that stabbing is okay as long as you learn something from it.”

A bead of sweat formed on the back of Jude’s neck. With a nervous laugh, he asked, “You’re kidding, right? Leals? Hello? You’re kidding, right? Leals?”