30. Zai
Zai
The forest parted ahead of us, revealing what had to be Brookfalls. A river vanished into its center, swallowed between the houses.
After two days of trudging through moon territory and a restless night in damp underbrush, we had finally arrived, crouching in the tree line outside the town.
Two sun wielders had stayed behind on the ship with the non-wielders. The rest of us—nine in total—had trekked here on foot, staying away from rivers and settlements.
Evening light stretched across weathered rooftops and stone bridges. I scanned the town’s outskirts, calculating distances and escape routes.
The scent of roasting meat and woodsmoke drifted from the town, curling through the trees like a taunt.
“We need to find that traitor,” I muttered. “The sun wielder.”
Tera grunted. “I think the townsfolk might get a bit suspicious if we swagger in and start asking around about a townswoman with sun powers.”
Mouthy Mara chuckled, her dark-brown curls falling in a tangled mess over her shoulder. “Yeah, we look like we crawled outta a blaze-wretched swamp.” Smirking, she plucked a soggy leaf from her sleeve and held it up. “Which, ‘course, is exactly what we did.”
I glanced over at the crew. We’d hidden our leather armor beneath clothes in Moon Queendom colors, stashed on the ship for missions just like this. But the garments hung wrinkled and trail-worn. Dirt streaked every face. None of us had taken a bath in several days.
Rafforin patted his rounded belly, his merry eyes cutting toward the town. “How ‘bout we forget the blazing traitor and raid the town for food instead. The smell of grilled meat is drivin’ me crazy.”
Kestrel had dubbed him Ravenous Rafforin for his insatiable appetite, and from what I’d seen so far, the nickname was well earned.
Sharp-Eyed Sashiva’s pale eyes swept the rooftops and streets. “Roughly four hundred residents.” She gave Rafforin a pointed look. “How do you expect the nine of us to pull off a raid?”
A spark of respect flickered through me. Half the crew would’ve spent a candlemark counting buildings to reach the same conclusion. Sashiva had needed all of three heartbeats. Kestrel’s nickname for her was, as usual, annoyingly accurate.
“Oh, I know!” Mouthy Mara’s dark eyes gleamed with eager mischief. “Instead of a raid, we could tell ‘em we’re sent by the Moon Queen to inspect their food for poison.”
I huffed at the ridiculous idea. Mara was quickly becoming a strong contender for Kestrel’s title as the most irritating person on the ship.
Jaded Jorgen sneered. “And what would ye say when they want proof we’re sent by the Queen?”
Mara grinned. “The trick is not to think ‘bout the consequences ‘til they’re consequencin.’”
As they continued bickering, my gaze snagged on Flint beside me. A violet light played across the back of his head. Frowning, I turned to find the source.
No more than a stone’s throw away, a purple shimmer slashed through the air. The rift split wider before my eyes, reaching upward from the forest floor toward the canopy.
A massive pair of clawed hands thrust through the narrow opening, gripping the edges like fabric, wrenching them apart.
A monstrous head shoved through the seam—the skull alone taller than my entire body.
Pale skin strained over a gaunt face. Instead of a nose, two narrow slits punctuated the space between the eyes and mouth.
At least a dozen horns spiraled from its scalp, and sharp teeth protruded from its gaping mouth.
“By the blaze,” I breathed, dread icing my spine. “A monster!”
“Good idea!” Mara grinned. “If we fake a monster attack and make the townspeople flee, we could—”
I grabbed a fistful of her tunic and spun her around.
Her eyes widened. “Oh… A monster!”
Around us, gasps escaped gaping mouths. The crew scattered, crashing through brush and shouting curses. Tera barked a command, ordering everyone to follow as she took the lead toward the edge of town, up a rocky outcrop.
Behind us, the monster spilled fully free, stumbling out on two gnarly legs. It towered as tall as a two-story house, pale-gray skin stretched taut over limbs and torso. Its ribcage jutted from its chest, each bone outlined against the dying sun.
We scrambled to the top of the hillside, gaining a clear view of the town’s center. The monster didn’t bother following us. Instead, it headed straight for Brookfalls, hunched over like an old man. Its arms hung too long, ending in clawed fingers that scraped against the forest floor as it moved.
This was the second time a rift had appeared before us—only this time, the Dual Wielder was nowhere in sight. Maybe his wild magic wasn’t behind these new rifts after all.
The council meeting from a few weeks ago surfaced in my mind—the General’s report of monsters punching through the western border. I’d dismissed it as a one-time occurrence, but now a pattern emerged.
This was no coincidence. This was the world fracturing.
Something must have shifted in the rift itself. The whole scorching thing was shattering like brittle shale.
Flint grunted beside me. “Crackin’ caverns, what’re we supposed to do now? That thing’s gonna wreck the whole scorchin’ town.”
“Let’s wait it out,” Tera said, watching the creature’s slow progress. “If we’re lucky, the Dual Wielder will reveal himself in the chaos.”
A chill burrowed into my gut as the town carried on in blissful ignorance below.
A woman leaned out from a second-floor window, calling down to children playing by the river.
They tumbled inside in a flurry of small feet and squealing laughter.
Farther down the street, a group of men and women spilled out of a tavern, engaged in cheerful conversation.
A merchant dragged display crates into his shop with the unhurried ease of a man who had no idea what was lumbering toward his town on crooked legs.
But Tera was right. Our mission was to get the Dual Wielder, nothing else.
Besides, these were moonfolk. Enemies of the Sun Kingdom. The ones who’d doomed the world when they opened the rift a hundred years ago.
They’d lit the flame. They deserved to burn in it.
So why did unease coil through me like poisonous smoke?
“Abyss take me…” Jaded Jorgen’s voice was a low murmur. “Another one.”
I followed his gaze toward the violet shimmer where another pair of claws split through the tear.
Just as the second monster broke free, a shriek of terror rose from the town below.