Zero Aculin's Arc

Chapter 3 of 8

Zero rode toward the ridge with the core lashed to his saddle. The clay seal held for now, but the ground turned rough. His mount picked its way over loose stone and root. Each stride jolted the saddle. Each jolt threatened the dried clay over the crack. Zero heard a faint tick. He looked down. A thin line had split the gray shell. One bead of blue fluid welled at the edge. A hard fall would break the seal for good. He slowed the beast to a crawl. That helped the clay but cost him time, and the sun climbed higher. Warmth was his enemy now. Heat thinned the fluid and softened the seal. Ahead the terrain broke into a slope of shale. His mount could not cross it slowly without slipping. Zero faced a choice. Crawl and let the sun do its work, or charge and let the shaking finish the crack. He wrapped the core in his loosest animal skins to pad the blows. He tied it flat against his chest, off the jolting saddle, and gripped the beast with his knees. Then he urged it forward at speed. The saurian lunged up the shale. Stones flew. Zero curled his body around the core and took the shocks through his own back. The seal cracked wider, but his padded chest caught each jar before it reached the clay. Fluid seeped, slow, not streaming. He crested the ridge and reined in hard. Below stood the crystal city, its spires burning with color. At the road's edge waited two figures carved from crystal, each taller than three men. One held a sword and shield. The other cradled stone books. Between them, a living shape stepped from the shadow of the warrior. A saber-toothed cat, purple and green, padded onto the road. Its long fangs gleamed. It did not crouch to spring. It sat, watching him, calm as a scholar. A woman came behind the cat. She was tall, lavender-skinned, her white hair falling past her waist. She rested one hand on the beast's shoulder without fear. Her eyes went straight to the wrapped bundle at Zero's chest, then to the blue stain soaking through the skins. "You carry a wounded star-heart," she said. "And badly. Get down before it bleeds out on my road." Zero climbed down, one arm cradling the core. He did not know her, but she knew what he held. That was enough. He unwrapped the skins. The clay had split nearly through. Another hour of riding would have emptied the core. Alurianne Silvermist studied the fracture. "Clay," she said. "Clever, for a stopgap. It would not have reached my gates." She turned toward the spires. "Bring it inside. We can mend the crack. But you will owe me the truth of where you found it." Zero followed her through the crystal wardens. The seal had held long enough. Now the repair he had crossed the wild for waited past the gate.