Shadow Slave

This was the last secret about the fate of the lost expedition that Cassie had gleaned from her visions. But even then, the knowledge she had received was fragmented and incomplete.

All she could tell the members of the cohort was that, once they crossed the dark river and until reaching the next boundary, they had to keep their eyes closed at all cost, no matter what happened. No living thing could see what lay beyond these cold waters and remain... whole.

At least that was what she told them.

Cassie didn't really know herself what would happen if someone failed to follow that rule, but said that she had never felt more terror than in the short moment before the vision showing her the fate of the lost expedition had shattered and everything had grown dark.

This was telling a lot, considering what kinds of horrors the blind girl saw in her vision routinely.

…In any case, this was where Sunny came in.

While looking through the eyes of the shadow was still too dangerous, he could lead the cohort to their destination with the help of his ability to sense space through the shapes of shadows populating it.

At least in theory.

Standing on the shore of the dark river, six humans tied the golden rope around their waists. When everyone was ready, Nephis took out six strips of cloth and a block of wax. Lighting a small white flame on her palm, she sighed and turned to Effie.

"You're first."

The huntress made a complicated face, but then obediently approached their leader.

What followed next looked simultaneously intimate and disturbing. Using her flames to melt the wax, Changing Star gently took Effie's face in her hands and, after the huntress shut her eyes tightly, sealed them with melted wax. Then, she tied the strip of cloth around Effie's head to hold it in place.

cohort went through the same procedure. When Sunny's turn came, he shifted slightly when Neph's cool hands

few moments later, he

is… is this how Cassie

see anything, Sunny was left in utter darkness. However, he still had it better than the

vastly different from sight, but could

practiced navigating the world with the help of nothing else but Shadow Sense in the

staggering humans to the graceful boat, he helped them to board it and untied the rope holding it in place. Then, Sunny found the oar and pulled on

cold mist

the more it felt like they

much more ancient, much more

felt compelled to speak, so the silence was broken only by the murmur of rushing water and the creaking of the

I am

down with these silly thoughts,

kept making him

his eyes closed, Sunny couldn't help but remember the harrowing encounter with the being that appeared in a veil of fog and tried and lure him into gazing at it

where

matter how hard he tried — Sunny suddenly sensed a solid mass in the

they were drawing

bottom of the boat scraped against stone, Sunny jumped to the pier and tied the rope around the stone pillar. Then, he helped

shape swaying on the surface of the water. There was a second boat here, presumably the one First Lord and his companions used to

unlike Nephis and her cohort, there had not been an oracle in their ranks.

reason why none of