Ashera's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

The woman won't say how she knows about the thing that hunts Neko. She crosses her arms and stares at the wooden hand rising from the earth, its bark-covered fingers spread wide like it's catching rain. Ashera asks again. The stranger shakes her head. "You don't need to know what it is," she says. "You need to stop feeding it." Ashera feels the connection pulse in her chest, still hot from the mirror's destruction. She thinks of the shattered pool she left behind, glass fragments glowing faintly with residual light. Every piece a marker. Every shard a trail. The stranger finally meets her eyes. "I had someone too," she says quietly. "I thought I could reach them faster if I pushed harder." She doesn't finish. Ashera understands without hearing the rest. She needs to know if the damage can be undone. The shattered pool is still out there, lit by the connection's power. Ashera turns back toward the clearing, but the stranger catches her wrist. "Don't," the woman says. "Touching it again will only make it brighter." Ashera pulls free. She has to see what she created, has to know if the light is fading or growing stronger. When she reaches the clearing, the pool of broken glass gleams like water under moonlight. The glow isn't fading. It's spreading. Thin lines of light crawl outward from each fragment, tracing patterns across the dirt. Ashera kneels at the edge and reaches toward the nearest shard. The connection surges before her fingers touch glass. She jerks her hand back, and the light flares brighter in response. The stranger was right. She can't fix this by pouring more of herself into it. The stranger appears at the clearing's edge, standing near a weathered canvas tent Ashera hadn't noticed before. The tent's poles lean slightly, fabric rippling in the wind. "You've been here a while," Ashera says. The woman nods. "Watching," she admits. "Waiting to see if you'd figure it out on your own." Ashera looks at the glowing pool, then back at the stranger. "Figure out what?" The woman steps closer but keeps her distance from the light. "That power doesn't care about your intentions. It only does what it does." Ashera feels the words like a blade between her ribs. She wanted the connection to protect Neko, to shield him before the darkness could touch him. Instead she turned it into a signal fire. The stranger gestures at the pool. "This doesn't go away. But you can learn to stop making it worse." Ashera sits at the pool's edge as the stranger returns to her tent. The light still pulses beneath the shattered glass, steady and unmistakable. She cannot undo what she's done. The connection has already called out, and something is listening. But she can stop adding to the beacon. She presses her palms against her thighs and feels the power coil hot in her chest, searching for somewhere to go. She doesn't release it. The connection pushes harder, demanding an outlet, but Ashera holds it inside. Her arms shake with the effort. Sweat gathers at her temples. The light in the pool doesn't fade, but it stops spreading. When the sun finally sets, Ashera is still sitting there, every muscle burning from the work of keeping the power contained. She has learned what it costs to stop calling. Tomorrow she will learn what it costs to move forward without leaving a trail.