Raindrop's Arc

Chapter 14 of 15

Raindrop lifted his wand to pull the beat back in line, but the wood split with a sharp snap. The drums stumbled. The spiral wobbled wide. Drops scattered off the curve and pelted the boards. He grabbed a crackling twig from the prop bin and tried to splice the break. Sparks jumped. The beat lurched faster, then slower, and the drummers ducked as blue arcs hissed past their hands. Raindrop ran the broken wand to the cloud-carving artisan's workshop. Inside, the artisan pressed warm honeycomb wax around the split, sealing the wood until the wand felt whole again. Raindrop sprinted back and raised it. The drums caught. The spiral tightened. Drops snapped onto the curve. He felt the ripple spread — brief, bright, real. But the wax was already softening under the stage lights, beading at the seam.