Inkway to Albreton

Chapter Twenty-two

The red knight sucked in air, struggling to catch his breath.

"Are you two all right?"

It was Prince Albert. Jasmine gave him a meek thumbs-up and an even mousier smile. Salina jogged through the water behind Albert with Enkaiein close behind. The red knight slid down Kurventhor's wing, offering a hand to help Jasmine down. She took it.

"Hey guys," she said once she and everyone else were in shallow water, "Is it just me or does this place look different?"

The trees seemed larger, though not as large as they had been in Fowlina's Forest and certainly not the same species. The water had an iridescent film at its surface that glistened in the setting sun and stuck to Jasmine's legs even as she got up to higher ground. The wildlife, which had before been mainly concentrated in the water, was now more easily found in the treetops where birds and monkeys hooted. She spun. The rift was still there, as wide as it had been when they left. Or perhaps... yes, Jasmine saw it now. It had grown taller, blacker, stretching the sky as if someone was ripping paper to peek through at her, and burning brown at its edges.

"Perhaps we switched direction somewhere," said Salina.

"Or maybe the world really is changing," said the red knight, pointing at something he saw. A purple Vein was reaching out of the rift a few yards away, curling itself into the roots of a tree before it vanished. But it was not gone. A minute later the tree morphed, shifted, grew sideways until it became intertwined with those around it, branches swallowing branches, leaves of contrasting color and shape molding into each other like putty before they re-solidified into a unified whole.

"That can't be good," said Jasmine.

"Quickly," said Kurventhor, "We must seal the rift before it spreads any further!"

"Okay, but how do we do that?" Jasmine bit her lip. She had no clue. And when she looked to Salina, it appeared she didn't have any ideas either. Albert drew his sword, facing the rift, but he only stood there and stared. "Enkaiein?"

Enkaiein sighed.

"At the very least we must return it to its previous size," said Kur. "My old friend, you know what happens to worlds Olden bleeds into. Otherworld has aided us both in the past, regardless of whether we belong to it."

"Don't tell me you were just going to let this happen," said Jasmine.

"It would appear that even if I wished it to be so, I could not convince you all to leave things as they are. Very well," said Enkaiein, "To seal a rift as large as this one, we must procure fastitocalon. I believe Jasmine has one remaining scale in the pouch at her side."

"No I don't. I used it up to free Kur."

"Look again," said Enkaiein.

Jasmine humored him and was very surprised to find not one, but three fastitocalon scales tucked inside her pouch. "What the..."

"Victor was generous. He must have been impressed with all of you."

"All but one of us," said the red knight, "There's only three there. I bet it was me he snubbed."

"But when the heck did he even give me these?"

"Does it matter?" Prince Albert asked. Jasmine supposed it didn't.

"Okay, so we use these like before," she directed her question to Enkaiein, "Just imagine the rift closing? Like a door?"

"That is how magic usually works," said Salina, plucking one of the scales out of Jasmine's fingers for herself. "We worked well together back there. I suggest we make haste or it will become more difficult. Yes?"