Chapter 49: Tidal Wave II

By the time the boat reached the shore, the waves thrashed violently. Leo had to grip the edge of the vessel with his uninjured arm to cling on. The water’s spray was icy cold against his skin.

Up ahead, the crowd gathered by the shore had grown in size. Nervous faces murmured and watched the returning boats with wary unease.

Leo noted that a few Hounds seemed to have stayed behind during the fragment hunt, perhaps to watch over Clearside. Among them, standing in the front of the crowd, was Flora.

The first few boats up ahead reached the shore, and the groups of Hounds leapt out. Most rushed over to Flora, confirming Leo’s suspicion that she was the de facto leader of the “land group.”

They were too far away to hear what the Hounds were saying, but Leo suspected they were explaining what had happened on the lake. Throughout it all, Flora’s green eyes remained fixed on them. Leo swallowed. He wondered for a brief moment how far her [Watcher] personal skill extended—how much she’d seen.

The moment their boat hit the shore, Leo jumped out, ignoring Allan’s concerned call. He jostled his shoulder with the motion, but the temporary pain relief from [Renewal] and his own adrenaline allowed him to push past the sharp sting.

“You all need to evacuate!” he yelled at the gathered crowd. He jerked his head at the lake. “There’s gonna be another wave; it’s not safe here!”

Eyes flashed to the waters, and Leo was distantly aware of more Hounds landing behind them. The murmur of the crowd rose to a panic. Villagers began to scatter, fleeing from the shore. The people of Clearside knew to take any warnings about the Glass Lake seriously.

Through the growing chaos, Flora continued to stare at Leo, who met her gaze evenly. She didn’t move.

“I’m not lying,” he said, muscles tense. Flora, however, acted like she hadn’t heard him.

“What happened to Sonia?”

Leo blinked, caught off guard by the question. They’d definitely received a party notification about her death.

The [Fragmentholder] gritted his teeth. He could hear the sound of the waves growing; they didn’t have time for this right now. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, however, a second figure stepped up to Flora. The words died in his throat.

Ivan, clothes and hair smeared with mud and eyes haunted but otherwise unharmed, shot Leo an inscrutable look, then turned to the other Hound.

“You can trust him, Flora,” he muttered. “He saved my life.”

The surprise that filtered into Flora’s expression mimicked Leo’s own. He’d expected Ivan to take off running with the fragment, but here he was. A single use of [Judgement] confirmed that the fragment was indeed still on him.

Slowly, Flora nodded and turned to the other Hounds.

“You heard him. All injured Hounds move to higher ground. The rest of you, evacuate the villagers.”

Her voice was steady—not quite a yell but clear enough to be heard.

After a brief pause, the Hounds burst into movement. The last lingering parts of the crowd scattered.

Yells rang across the street. Doors opened and slammed as people rushed into their homes. Others ran about in a frenzy, searching for their families.

By now, the rippling tide could be seen from within Clearside’s borders, and it only further inflamed the growing mayhem.

“Leave your possessions, move to higher ground!” Flora yelled, taking charge. Leo hadn’t expected the Hounds to help the villagers; he didn’t know what he’d been expecting.

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Allan stepped beside him, dark eyes tracing Ivan’s movements as the man went to help with evacuations.

“What do you want to do?” he asked quietly. Leo frowned, hazel eyes fixed on the Hound.

“…Let’s just keep an eye on him for now,” he finally said. He turned to Allan and Spade. “First, we need to help the villagers get away.” Ivan didn’t look like he was planning on running. They could get the fragment after this.

The two of them nodded and scattered. More boats landed on the shore, the Hounds inside jumping out and bolting. Many of them were drenched head to toe. Leo could see a boat still left on the lake flip over, unable to withstand the rocking waves. The people inside yelled as they fell in, but their voices soon stopped as the Glass Lake pulled them under.

Leo looked around, and he spotted a man leaning against a store wall in an alleyway, shoulders hunched. He hurried over. A quick scan revealed that the man was only putting weight on one leg.

“I dropped my cane,” he muttered, eyes flicking between Leo and the lake. Leo nodded and stepped closer, offering his uninjured arm.

“Here, lean on me.”

The man nodded gratefully, and slowly but surely they made their way out of the village up to higher ground. Leo gritted his teeth. The man was taller than him, and the weight put pressure on his injured shoulder regardless, but he pushed through and kept going.

The [Fragmentholder] could see a growing crowd gathering outside the village’s perimeter. There, the grassy ground sloped upwards into a hill overlooking the lake. The main dirt road that he, Allan, and Spade had traveled on acted as an unofficial boundary.

A woman hurried over to help the man as they approached, thanking Leo profusely. He waved her off and ran back down to the village. It felt distinctly odd to hear someone thanking him like that, he thought.

Time moved in a blur. Leo wasn’t sure how long had passed. The world seemed to both speed up and slow down at once.

Clearside was in a frenzy. He hurried down battered dirt streets, helping the remaining villagers up to the hill. Hounds and villagers alike aided the evacuation efforts. Flora continued to take charge; doors slammed and were left swinging open on their hinges in the race against the clock.

Slowly but surely, the village emptied out. The streets, once flooded with people, now lay deserted with abandoned possessions strewn across the damp earth. Leo’s own heart was racing, his breaths rough, but he cast Clearside a final scan.

By now, Flora and the Hounds were also moving to higher ground. Leo could see Allan and Spade approaching, the two also done with their sweeps.

“The wave looks like it’ll hit soon,” Spade remarked, grey eyes studying the roiling surface. Leo nodded and readied to leave.

And yet, despite it all, something felt wrong. Like there was something he was missing.

Leo’s eyes widened. His head snapped back up to the gathered villagers atop the hill, quickly taking in their faces and stopping when he didn’t find the one he was looking for.

Leo cursed.

“Irving,” he said. Understanding passed through Allan and Spade’s faces while the [Fragmentholder]’s mind raced. They needed to hurry. There wasn’t much time left.

Spinning around, Leo sprinted down the streets towards the man’s home.

In his peripheral vision, the surface of the lake rose. A high pillar of water formed and extended higher and higher into the red and pink sky. The lingering light of the sun’s dying rays and the glowing wall of light reflected off the wave, making it shine blindingly bright. It hurt to look at.

“There’s no time!” Allan yelled. “We need to go!”

“We’re almost there!”

Even as he spoke, Leo knew it was too late. He could hear the overwhelming roar of water as the pillar surged forward, barrelling towards Clearside. His heart thumped. They were too far to make it to the main road. They—

“Over here!”

Hazel eyes snapped up, widening when they landed on Ivan. The Hound gestured for them to follow, waving frantically. Leo didn’t have time to hesitate. He changed direction.

The moment Ivan saw them follow, he turned and ran. He led them out the village towards another area of higher ground that lay further up the main road from where Clearside’s residents had gathered.

The wave hit the shore and began to flood the buildings. Wooden support beams snapped and splintered under the pressure. Debris and litter drifted to the surface. The earth vanished under the water.

As they raced down the empty streets and exited Clearside, Leo chanced a glance back at where Irving’s house sat on the perimeter of the village.

For just a brief moment, as the water engulfed the sky, he thought he caught a glimpse of the man seated by the window, a portrait in front of him, his eyes fixed outside and watching the rising wave with a strange look of peace.

Leo blinked, half wondering if it was a trick of the light.

He didn’t have the chance to check again, because in the next instant, the water swallowed the home whole.