Shattered Line

Chapter 10: Fin Ardin

"Why did we arrive in some random tower outside the city?" Rydin remarked.

"Better question would be where is the security?" Isla added.

"True," he remarked as he peered upwards, his gaze enraptured by Arcadia's white star. "Think they don't care?"

"Maybe. Too hard to say. But anyone possessing real danger can arrive through other means."

"Like?"

"Base aura," she explained. "Materializing—the technical term."

"What? Wait a minute," Rydin exclaimed. "Is that even possible?"

"For the powerful, yes." She paused then added. "For you? No."

"It's remarkable how rude you are to others. How do you have any friends?"

"Emotions are irrelevant."

"You mean irrelevant when people are trying to kill you?"

"That's right. You're learning Rydin."

Rydin's brow wrinkled and his gaze chilled as his conversational mood scattered. Isla spared him no more glances, instead, she stared down the neat stone inlaid road. Soon, they would see Fin Ardin. The massive library and its self-created city.

She held her view stationary, shunning the shiver-inducing woods beside them. A bizarre conglomeration of oddly shaped ash-colored trees plagued the forest. They appeared as bunches, bent in unnatural ways, twisting around clumps or swerving horizontally past others. If not for the striking azure blue leaves dominating her attention, she would have preferred another route. For when the light hit them, they blurred, shimmering a haze of colors.

"Freaky woods," Rydin voiced as if mimicking her thoughts.

"Not the weirdest sight out there."

"Oh yeah? What else have you seen?"

His words sparked her search through forgotten memories. "Hallucinogenic swamps, man-eating bugs, flame-spitting rivers, blood-soaked lakes, more or less."

"Hmm...," Rydin remarked then added. "I wonder if those places have their own stories like that mountain." He pointed northbound as they veered from the forest edge. The open plains widened, segmenting the landscape and distancing the treetops to expose the white-tipped mountain.

"What about it?"

"Mount Avia. It's a rumored holy mountain that houses Arcadia's spirit."

Isla yawned, covering her open mouth. "Oh? This world has a conscious?"

"Sounds like it. It might be fun to check out," he declared, his head turned tight toward the mountain peak.

"Don't you have better things to deal with? Like finding a cure for Leef?"

Rydin sighed. "I wasn't being serious, Isla. At least not now. Maybe later. What do you think?"

"You can go yourself. I have no interest and no time for useless adventures."

"Useless adventures? Seeing the truth for yourself isn't useless. But I guess those after you wouldn't give you the leisure for such. Right?"

"Rydin. No matter how many times you bring up my situation, I'm not talking about it."

"You sure?" he challenged.

"Yes."

His quiet mouth clenched shut, but his snicker still escaped.

"You find this funny?"

"Yes," he countered.

She growled but avoided responding further. What was his problem? Why declare himself an annoyance so openly?