Chapter 50: Clearside

The waters took on a golden hue in the sunset. The crashing wave flooded the streets, lurching and colliding with emptied buildings. The spray glowed like a dancing fire.

Leo stared down below at the destruction. Allan, Spade, and Ivan remained silent beside him.

Wood snapped like branches in the wind. Stray splinters drifted in the tidal waves, pulled alongside a growing pile of debris. Blankets, broken furniture, scattered boats, limp rag dolls, torn clothes, cracked plates, blurred paintings.

With each new building devoured by the water, a new pile of items was added to the surface of the tide until the entire wave looked like a speckled shadow.

Irving’s home had been one of the first ones to go. The fury of the old fae magic left nothing in its wake. Nothing could remain whole under that all consuming pressure. Leo’s hand drifted over to the amulet hanging around his neck, and he absently clutched the cool stone.

The water had worked quickly. Already he could see it beginning to draw back towards the lake. It carried within it the possessions of the people of Clearside, and as the wave surged backwards, those drifting items were pulled down into the depths.

In the end, when the bubbling settled and the last few streams trickled in, the surface of the Glass Lake was once again rendered perfectly smooth. A mirror reflecting off the sunset and the wall of light. Utterly tranquil.

The hush that had fallen over the onlookers broke. Leo could hear the evacuated villagers further back on the road, but he couldn’t make out specific words.

He kept staring down at the darkened earth where Clearside had once stood. There was barely anything left. All of this, he thought, the result of some dead fae ghosts.

Leo heard a slow exhale to his side, and he turned. Ivan was staring down as well, eyes distant with memories. The icy numbness slowly began to dissipate from Leo’s mind, and he carefully studied the man.

Name: Ivan

Age: 24

Level: 20

Class: [Mercenary, Tier 0]

Personal Skill: [Foresight Lvl 2]

[Fragment in possession]

Ivan hadn’t absorbed the fragment or his class would’ve changed. It was still on him.

Leo pursed his lips. Thinking about taking the fragment now, while the people of Clearside mourned so close by, felt distinctly wrong.

He remembered the lack of hesitation in Sonia’s eyes as she’d prepared to physically cut the fragment out of him. That was the sort of single minded ambition most fragment hunters would have. This was what he’d signed up for, Leo reminded himself. His fingers squeezed into a fist.

Before he could move, however, the Hound suddenly spoke.

“Thank you.”

Leo blinked, taken aback. Ivan turned to face him.

“I didn’t have a chance to thank you properly earlier. For saving me,” he said quietly. “So, I’m doing it now.”

Leo didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure how to, and the silence stretched to a point of awkwardness. He cleared his throat.

“Uh, it was nothing.” He’d mostly done it for himself, for the sake of keeping the fragment from Sonia.

Ivan smiled wryly, perhaps sensing Leo’s thoughts. His hand moved to a pouch tied to his belt, and Leo instinctively tensed as he rummaged around its contents. He could see Allan and Spade both shifting in his peripheral vision.

What Ivan pulled out, however, was not a weapon or some other means of attack.

Instead, he held up a small translucent shard that Leo would recognize anywhere.

The fragment.

Leo’s jaw must’ve fallen, because Ivan snorted at him before dropping the fragment into Leo’s palm. He hurried to catch it, mind still reeling, and stared down at the shard resting in his hand.

Its material was identical to that of the first fragment, but its shape was slightly different. This one was a bit more rounded than the warden’s had been.

If he’d had any doubts about its authenticity, the notification that flashed across his vision confirmed it.

[You have obtained [1] minor fragment]

Leo curled his fingers around it, carefully keeping it secure in his hand. He looked up at Ivan, brows furrowed, a clear question on his face.

“Call it a debt repaid.” Ivan’s eyes flitted over to the lake, then back again. “Besides, I don’t want it anymore.”

“Why not?”

Allan was the one who spoke. His dark eyes were hard as he scrutinized the Hound. Ivan met his gaze warily, glancing between him and Spade, before he sighed.

“I thought it would fix things, but it just made them worse,” he muttered. He tapped his head, mouth twisting into a bitter smile.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I thought the fragment would let me control my visions. You know, I used to pray I had a skill like [Foresight], but the longer I have it the more I hate it. The visions don’t even feel like mine. It’s like someone’s just putting these random images in my head, and I’ve got no say in it.”

He laughed hollowly. “Most of the time I don’t even know what they mean, and if I do, I can’t do anything about it.”

The first fragment had enhanced Leo’s personal skill. He thought back to Ivan clutching at his head when he’d first grabbed the shard from the pond.

“Was that what that headache was? A vision?”

Ivan pursed his lips and nodded. His shoulders were tense, and he didn’t seem keen on talking about it. Leo carefully placed the fragment into his bag, the one where the stolen crests were stored.

“Still, you could’ve given it to someone else.” Like one of the other Hounds, for one.

“I could’ve.” Ivan turned to the surviving Clearside residents and the lingering Hounds, who seemed to be talking with Flora.

A number of villagers were hugging each other, clutching each other like a lifeline. Others were crying, and Leo couldn’t blame them. Their homes had been destroyed in an instant, and they hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it.

“I guess,” Ivan finally said, “I felt like you should be the one to have it.”

Leo nodded slowly. He still didn’t fully understand, but he assumed it was part of the man’s gratitude for saving his life on the island. He decided to not question it more, lest the Hound change his mind.

Instead, he nodded at the former Clearside villagers. “What’ll happen to them? The Hounds?”

Ivan shrugged. “We’ve always been split. A lot of Hounds’ll probably leave, join other groups or work alone, but there’s some who’ll stay. Flora will take over what’s left of us. I’m guessing we’ll guard the villagers until they find shelter.”

Ivan must have seen the look on Leo’s face, because he sighed.

“What Sonia said wasn’t a lie, you know. We do pride ourselves on staying honorable, or at least we used to,” he said quietly.

The mention of the former Hounds leader made Leo pause. He remembered their brief conversation on the lake shore and his supposed debt to the woman. How close he’d seemed to be with Douglas in particular.

“About—”

“Stop.” Ivan cut him off. “Don’t talk about Douglas or Sonia or Dalton or anyone else you fought on that lake.”

The man’s jaw was clenched, muscles coiled tightly. He exhaled a shaky breath. “I know it was fair game. We all knew what we were getting into when we signed up for the hunt, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear about it.”

He was giving them an out, Leo realized. This was a temporary truce sprung from his gratitude towards Leo for saving him and for warning the Hounds and villagers about the wave. That was the only reason he wasn’t attacking them right now in vengeance.

The [Fragmentholder] nodded slowly. He couldn’t help but admire Ivan’s self control. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to put aside his own emotions like that, however briefly.

By then the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, and the last few rays of light lit up the dirt road in a warm glow. Leo doubted they’d be allowed to stay the night. This goodwill would only last so long, and it was better for them to leave now to find shelter before nightfall. Then, they’d be able to properly treat their wounds and deal with the bonus experience and fragment.

Leo removed the amulet around his neck and handed it to Ivan, who stared down at the glassy blue stone with furrowed brows.

“It stops the spatial magic on the lake,” the [Fragmentholder] explained. “It was Irving’s, but…” his voice trailed, an image of the man’s final expression rising in his mind. He cleared his throat.

“You’ll probably get more use out of it than us. Call it a trade.” He patted the pouch containing the fragment for emphasis.

He knew he could probably sell it, but the amulet’s ability to stop the wave warping was likely the result of old fae magic, and he didn’t want to see what would happen if the necklace was moved too far from the Glass Lake. The image of the fae corpse still remained vivid in his mind—he’d had enough of dealing with the ancients. Their magic wasn’t compatible with the System anyway.

Besides, Ivan handing the fragment over, even in gratitude, felt too much like a debt. This at least made it a little more equal in his mind, and it avoided any guilt he would’ve felt from selling Irving’s heirloom.

Understanding flashed across Ivan’s face, and he nodded.

Leo took a step back, readying to leave and head to where Allan and Spade were waiting on the road. Before he finished turning, however, Ivan suddenly stopped him.

“Wait!”

The [Fragmentholder] glanced back. The Hound looked hesitant, but determined at the same time. He took a deep breath.

“I don’t know if this’ll mean anything, but if that vision’s relevant to anyone here, it’s probably you three.”

That got Leo’s attention. “The one you got on the island?”

Ivan nodded. His brows furrowed in thought, and a hand flew to his head as though still feeling the lingering pain.

“It…It was vague. The actual images were hard to make out, but it was dark. There was a barren field covered in dead bodies,” he muttered in a rush. His eyes squeezed shut in focus, and his voice grew more hesitant.

“I saw lightning crackling across the sky. Hitting the bodies.” He exhaled. “I think—no, I know it was the Stormcaller.”

Leo’s eyes widened. Ivan continued.

“Like I said, I don’t know if it’ll matter, but if I’m handing you the fragment I thought you should know.”

Leo nodded, mind already churning. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. He forcibly shoved his theorizing aside for later.

“You’re staying with the Hounds, right?”

“I am.” Ivan glanced back at the remaining Hounds in question, who did indeed appear to have dwindled in numbers as several chose to leave. “They’re not perfect, but they’ve been my family for years. I know Flora will be a good leader.”

“Be careful.” The words rose unbidden, and Leo was surprised at how genuine they were. “With a personal skill like yours, you could end up in a lot of trouble one day.” Any prophecy skill was bound to get attention.

“Believe me, I know.” Ivan smiled thinly. “I’ve been hiding pretty well so far. I just have to keep it up.”

A beat passed.

“You be careful too.” Ivan raised a hand, and Leo didn’t hesitate to shake it with his uninjured arm.

With a final nod, the [Fragmentholder] stepped over to where Allan and Spade were waiting.

Leo gazed up at the steadily darkening sky, then back at the evacuated villagers, at Ivan joining the remaining Hounds, at the ruins of Clearside, and at the shining Glass Lake one final time. He turned away.

“Let’s go.”