The Rifts of Psyche by Kyle West (i love reading .txt) 📕

“Without smashing your body into a bloody pulp, of course,” Serah said.

“Yes,” Fergus said. “There is that.”

Lucian ignored the joke. It was not what he needed right now. “Okay, so get Fergus down there first, then Cleon I assume. Serah after. And then . . .” Lucian frowned. “I just realized I’ve never tried to Bind myself to something before.”

“It’s no different from Binding another person or object,” Fergus said. “Only the stakes are higher.”

“Can’t we hurry this up?” Cleon asked. “I’m freezing my ass off here.”

“And I’m burning ether,” Fergus said. “Get me down there, Lucian. Fast.”

Serah nodded. “Go ahead, Lucian.”

He had to get moving quickly. He didn’t know how long Fergus could keep the stream going. Lucian reached for his Focus, creating a tether from Fergus to the distant rock. It was hard to say how far away it was. A couple of klicks at least. Lucian drew ether from the Orb, streaming more and more magic into the tether.

Fergus was lifted into the air and sailed downward toward the rock, following the blue line into the mist.

“Geez,” Cleon said. “Hope you’re not going to make me fly like that.”

Lucian ignored him. He needed his full concentration to keep his Focus strong and sure. It he lost it, even for a moment, the tether would dissipate and Fergus would fall to his death.

It took about a minute for Fergus to travel the entire distance. When Lucian felt the Captain was getting close, he slowed the stream to allow for a gentle landing. The rock continued to glow steadily.

“All right, Cleon,” Lucian said. “You’re up.”

“I’ve got no choice, do I?”

He stepped up to the precipice and closed his eyes. He was shaking, either from nerves or the cold. Perhaps both.

“Don’t piss yourself,” Serah said.

“Are you sure you want those to be your last words to me?”

Before she could get in her own retort, Lucian attached a new anchor point to Cleon, who shot off the cliff with a yelp. Serah laughed as Cleon screamed for his life, his voice lost to the wind. Once Cleon had made it safely, Lucian let go of the stream.

“Now what?” he asked.

“We’re done,” she said. “With them out of the way, we can waltz off into the sunset.”

“Come on, be serious.”

At that moment, the light from the rock began to sputter. Was Fergus running low on ether?

“We may not have much time,” Serah said. “You think you could stream us both down there at the same time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Getting those two down took less effort than I thought. There seems to be no limits to the Orb.”

Her eyes marveled. “Amazing. That’s what we’ll do, then.”

The rock shone again, and Lucian reformed the tether. This time, he created two anchor points, one for both he and Serah. The Orb of Binding thrummed, feeding Lucian more and more ether, all of which went into building up the strength of the tethers.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Serah said. “This amount of magic is unreal!”

As soon as the tethers reached the right tension, Lucian and Serah were pulled away from the cliff with surprising speed, so fast that Lucian was afraid he might lose his pack. His Focus felt more slippery this time, as if it couldn’t handle this amount of magic as efficiently. It was a hard limitation on just how much magic he could stream. The ground below rushed up to meet them, but they could at least see through the mist now.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Serah shouted.

Lucian didn’t want to tell her he was hoping for the same. Maintaining his Focus was difficult under the strain. His concentration almost slipped a couple of times, forcing him to refocus his efforts.

“We’re almost there!” Serah said.

They were close enough to see a large boulder and two figures beside it standing on a flat expanse. Lucian slowed the flow from the Orb, and within moments, he and Serah touched down a few meters away from Fergus and Cleon. Fergus stopped streaming his Radiant Magic on the rock, and it faded to its usual gray color. His face was paler than usual. Lucian hoped he hadn’t had to overdraw.

“We’re here,” Fergus said. “Now, which way is Snake Rift?”

“West,” Serah said, pointing. “We’ll have another choice to make there. Cross the rift and try to shoot across the Upper Reaches on the other side, or travel the rift itself and make for the Blue Crossing.”

“Let me guess,” Lucian said. “That connects to the Blue Rift?”

“You catch on fast,” Serah said. “That will take longer, but it’s safer. In the Upper Reaches, you’re trading humans for wyverns and exposure to cold, and wyverns and exposure to cold are undoubtedly more dangerous.” She peered into the gray, cloudy sky. “Speaking of, we should really get moving.”

“I thought wyverns only hunted at night,” Lucian said.

“They do,” Serah said. “However, our smell and body heat might be too much of a temptation to resist. And I don’t know how long it’ll take to cross the Reaches here. I’ve never been this way before.”

“Doesn’t look like there are any caves or mountains around these parts,” Cleon said. “Should be safe.”

“You might be surprised,” Serah said. “We’ve dallied enough. Let’s move.”

She took point without waiting for anyone else. Fergus opened his mouth, before Cleon clapped him on the shoulder.

“Looks like the Captain has been usurped.”

“Why, you little—”

“Hurry!” Serah called.

The three men brought up the rear, plodding across the gray landscape.

24

The going became easier, even with the thin air. The land was flat, sloping slightly downward. The problem would come later when it was time to descend into the Snake Rift.

By early afternoon, the slope was steeper and rockier. They had to weave around fallen boulders, lower themselves down sheer cliffs, and have Lucian tether everyone across crevices. Even if the ether from the Orb of Binding was infinite, Lucian’s mental capacity to stream it wasn’t. He wasn’t only physically tired, but mentally. Exhaustion was written on