Zeph Kaizen's Arc

Chapter 34 of 51

The drum grew closer while Zeph sat back down inside the stone building. Kaine followed and shut the door behind them. The candle under Zeph's ribs still burned, but every time he reached for Zento the connection thinned like wet paper. He had stood in the door before a real fight and it held. Now, with the drum shaking the walls, the door kept slipping from his grip. "You keep grabbing it," Kaine said. He knelt across from Zeph, his yellow eyes steady, the pendant at his chest catching the low light. His voice stayed flat, the way it did when he wanted Zeph to hear him and not the fear. "Stop grabbing. You're not holding a rope. You're holding a name." "The name won't stay." "Because you're naming it for the fight. Name it for you." Zeph closed his eyes. He turned the bracelet on his wrist until the cool stone found the inside of his arm. He tried again. Who stands when no one else remains. The candle steadied. Zento did not come. "He's not answering," Zeph said. "He is. You're not listening in the right room." Zeph opened his eyes. "Then show me the room." Kaine reached over and pressed two fingers to Zeph's sternum, right where the candle sat. "Here. Not the door. The floor under the door. Zento stands on the other side, but the boards under both of you are the same wood." Zeph breathed out. He stopped reaching forward. He pressed down instead, into the bracelet, into the floor, into the candle. The heat spread flat under his ribs. The door opened without him pulling it. Zento was already there. He did not look surprised. "You found the anchor," Zento said. "Kaine found it." "Kaine pointed. You stood." Zento crouched so their faces were level. "The door was never in front of you. It was under you. Name what holds you up, not what you're reaching for." Zeph named it. The bracelet. Kaine at his back. The floor. The candle held wide and did not flicker when a drumbeat hit the wall. "Now go," Zento said. "The three names will come when you call. The fourth will come when you stop needing to ask." Zeph opened his eyes. Outside, a bird lit on the sill of the narrow window, feathers streaked with pale color, marks along its wing that matched the ones on the walls. It watched him once and lifted away. Kaine was already on his feet. "They're at the tree line." Zeph stood. The candle stayed lit without him watching it. The connection held under his feet instead of in his hands. He walked to the door and put his palm on the wood. "I won't drop it this time," he said. Kaine drew the bar back. The drum was very close now.