Chapter 29: Clear Waters I

Clearside’s streets were busier than Leo had expected, especially given that it was still fairly early in the morning. Villagers stood outside starting their morning chores, and more than a few stared up at the sky, where the wall of light remained. It was quickly becoming clear that it was now a permanent fixture, or at least it would be for as long as Zelyra’s Sovereign saw fit to keep it up.

It wasn’t just Clearside residents, though. A number of Hounds moved about the dirt road, the villagers giving them a wide berth and constantly keeping the mercenaries in the corners of their eyes.

Across the street, one villager watched with his jaw clenched as two Hounds lifted a rowboat away from his home. Though his fingers were curled into a fist, he made no move to stop them. That explained how the Hounds were getting so many boats, at least.

A flash of movement caught Leo’s attention. He turned, and there to the side were Ivan and a man he recognized as Fergus from earlier.

The man’s jaw was stiff, eyes narrowed, and he and the younger Hound seemed to be in the middle of an argument. A few other Hounds glanced in their direction as they passed, and a couple even sneered, but Leo couldn’t tell at who. More than one muttered under their breath as they heaved the boats across the street.

Leo cursed internally. Of course it had to be Ivan of all Hounds. He supposed it was better than Dalton, who seemed to actively dislike them, but the seer had seemed fairly suspicious of them so far.

Just as the [Fragmentholder] considered trying to go around the two Hounds, however, the argument came to a close. Fergus scowled and stepped back, his axe resting across his shoulders. Ivan turned around, still frowning, when his eyes met Leo’s and immediately hardened.

“What’re you doing outside?”

Leo resisted the urge to scowl. “I didn’t know we weren’t allowed to walk around.”

Ivan didn’t answer that, which Leo took to mean that they were, in fact, allowed to leave Irving’s home so long as they stayed within Clearside.

The former [Thief] exhaled, forcing his muscles to remain relaxed and attempting to remove the edge from his voice.

“Look, we were wondering if we could go to the lakeshore. You can escort us or make another Hound do it if you want. We just want to see the waters.”

“Why?”

“This is our first time seeing it,” Allan said lightly. “We didn’t manage to get a very long look last time, so we were hoping for another chance.”

“We didn’t have enough time to leave offerings,” Leo added. Ivan paused at that, brows furrowing a little. Did he also worship the fae? The [Fragmentholder] certainly hadn’t been expecting that.

The Hound’s eyes flitted between the three, then behind them at the gap between buildings where the shore could barely be seen. By now, even more Hounds had gathered by the waters with boats and oars ready. It was far busier than it had been when it was just the guards, and Ivan seemed to come to the same conclusion.

“Fine,” he finally conceded, albeit with obvious reluctance. “I’ll escort you. There’s plenty of Hounds on the shore, so don’t try anything.”

Leo’s brows raised a little. To be honest he hadn’t really expected that to work, and he couldn’t tell if the Hound was more or less reasonable than he’d assumed. The seer was difficult to decipher.

He nodded slowly. “Okay. Thanks.”

Ivan just grunted and strode forward, jerking his head for them to follow. After a quick exchange of glances, the trio followed.

The closer they approached the Glass Lake, the brighter it became. The cloudless sky combined with the wall of light beamed off the flat waters like a beacon, and Leo had to squint to get a half-decent view of it.

Backlit by the mirror-like lake, various Hounds moved about, shifting boats and tying them down, pointing fingers and barking orders at each other.

“I said left!” he heard one yell.

“There’s a rock here,” another Hound retorted. “You want this boat torn up?”

A little ways behind the tide of movement, a tall figure stood watching with an impressive calm. He stood so still that Leo didn’t notice him at first despite his massive build. As they approached, the man turned around, and he recognized the Hound as Douglas.

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“Good morning,” he said. Douglas turned to Ivan, and though his expression didn’t change much, his brown eyes visibly warmed. “I didn’t think you were stationed here today.”

The words sounded curious, not accusatory, and Ivan didn’t stiffen or seem tense like he had been around Sonia. The Hound gestured to them.

“I’m escorting these three to the lake. They said they wanted to pray.”

“I see.” Douglas looked at them with a hint of approval. Definitely a fae worshipper. “It’s rather busy now, but you should be able to find some space.”

Leo met eyes with Allan and Spade. It would be best for them to split up to cover the most ground. A number of boats had already been brought to the shore, and they could try and assess which would be the easiest for them to use once they had the tide movements.

“I’m going to head this way,” Leo said, gesturing to the right. Ivan frowned.

“Are you splitting up?”

“I can help you keep an eye on them,” Douglas offered. “Every soul has their own personal connection to the lake.”

“We won’t go far,” Spade remarked in a casual tone. Ivan’s eyes shifted to Douglas, then back, and he finally nodded slowly.

“Fine. You get ten minutes.”

Douglas frowned at that, apparently disagreeing with the allotted time necessary for prayer, but he didn’t say anything.

With a final meaningful glance at Allan and Spade, Leo turned and stepped to the right with Ivan trailing close by.

As he walked along the shore, the damp earth soft beneath his feet, Leo was acutely aware of the Hound’s eyes on his back. His presence was a constant in the background.

The [Fragmentholder] attempted to keep his steps casual as he continued along at a relaxed pace, carefully surveying the boats, the uneven parts of the shore that dipped closer to the waters, the flat expanse itself and the distant, barely perceptible hints of islands. Leo couldn’t make out any mist from here, but he assumed it was further into the center of the lake.

“Walk faster.”

Leo shot a frown over his shoulder at Ivan.

“I’m trying,” he muttered. He did speed up a little though, not wanting the Hound to get too impatient, and his eyes scanned the shore faster.

There weren’t any trees nearby, but a few parts featured taller swaying grasses. Much of the areas the boats were being moved to sloped smoothly downward, making it easier for them to take off, but Leo noted a group of Hounds carrying a small rowboat towards an area below a slightly steeper incline.

Hazel eyes narrowed, gauging the distance between the spot and the village. It wasn’t perfect, but it was slightly more hidden than the other spots he’d seen. Depending on the positioning of the guards, it might be their best shot.

Leo could sense Ivan’s growing impatience behind him, and so he finally came to a spot by the shore a little ways away from the shouts of nearby Hounds.

Right there, a mere foot away from the water, the crisp wind blew strong and constant. The water gleamed like a shining jewel, deceptive in its stillness, and Leo exhaled.

Acutely aware of Ivan’s gaze, the [Fragmentholder] found a slightly thicker patch of grass and carefully kneeled down on it. The ground was soft, the position itself familiar even if the context was different.

Leo had never been religious, believing in neither the Ancients nor the System Administrator as true gods. Still, he’d seen prayers often enough and been made to perform them for the sake of blending in, so he knew what they should look like and what actions he needed to take.

Clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes and muttered quietly under his breath. He forced his shoulders to relax, even as every nerve in his body balked at the idea of being so vulnerable when surrounded by enemies.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but Leo made sure to stay like that for a while—as long as he imagined someone who worshipped the fae first visiting the Glass Lake would take.

Finally, when he felt the dampness of the ground beginning to travel up the cloth of his pants, he opened his eyes and carefully rose again.

When Leo turned around, away from the blinding waters, he found Ivan watching with an unreadable look. The [Fragmentholder] studied him carefully. The Hound hadn’t pulled out any weapons and didn’t look especially tense, so he didn’t think Ivan was suspicious of him.

If anything, the man looked contemplative, like he was trying to piece together a puzzle. Leo waited cautiously for him to say something, but he didn’t. He simply stared out into the water, expression stoic and impossible to read.

Leo turned to the waters as well. Ivan wasn’t rushing him, so he guessed he still had some time left before meeting back up with Allan and Spade.

He pulled up the fragmentholder database again, but as expected, the map was as unclear as ever. The number of fragmentholders had increased to 832,156.

Turning his head slightly, he peered down at the still waters.

Just like before, there was no disturbance across their surface, no sign of movement at all. Leo frowned. The fae magic, whether lingering or from living fae, likely affected not only the waters but also the area directly above the lake.

Leo raised his eyes, attempting to see if there was a visible difference in the air. Maybe they could find a way to go above it, then land in their desired location? No, they had no means of achieving that sort of flight, and if the magic had a bigger range than expected then it could go horribly wrong.

He took a step closer to the edge of the lake. If he could just figure out what was inside those waters, then maybe that would be a hint. But that same strange haze overtook him as he attempted to stare down into those depths. Leo gritted his teeth, ignoring his growing headache. He took another step closer, close enough that the tips of his shoes nearly brushed the waters.

The [Fragmentholder] leaned forward, attempting to get as far above the lake as he could for the best view. Within that swirling haze, for a brief second he thought he caught a hint of real waves and ripples hidden below the flat surface. Before he could get another look, however, a hand suddenly jerked him backwards.