“Fine,” Ezra said. “Let’s let ‘em eat.”

Will could tell Ezra was a trying to stifle his excitement.

They let the Links go and gather food, but Ezra wasn’t comfortable leaving Tenebrim alone. The praying mantis probably needed supervision the least, but Ezra was understandably a bit overprotective after losing him to Murden. Pexel again ran from tree to nearby tree, munching on hard-to-see insects that scurried across the strange tree trunks and branches. Swoop stayed relatively close as well, though she regularly flew to where Will could no longer keep her in sight. It made Will nervous, but he calmly reminded himself that everything would be ok.

To distract himself, he sat down, spread out the red blanket against the ground, and reached for his pill bottle. After twisting off the lid, he let the contents spill out across the blanket’s surface. He counted twenty-eight Binders. He’d already used two. There must be thirty in every bottle. How had his parents come across so many?

Will carefully replaced the Binders, and it wasn’t long before the Links returned. First was Pexel, then Swoop, then finally Ezra and Tenebrim came walking through the trees. Once everyone was back, they stood, sort of waiting for Will to go through with what he’d promised.

“Okay,” Will said. “So… how do we do this? Which one first?”

“However you want to,” Ezra said.

Will nodded a moment and began to pop the top off the Binders. Once he did so, each of the Links turned eagerly and gave Will their full attention.

“Let’s feed Pexel first,” Will said. “All that’s left for him is his feeding ability.”

Ezra rifled through his pockets and removed his small knife. “Cut one in four pieces. That should be enough to see.”

Will handed Ezra a Binder, and he separated it quickly. Will took a fourth and began to hold it toward Pexel.

“No, no,” Ezra pulled Will’s hand back gently. “It has to be Bet, otherwise you’ll reset the process. Pexel will start to link to you. It has to be the owner who feeds it, remember?”

“That’s right, I’m sorry.” Will felt embarrassed.

“It’s fine,” Bet almost laughed. “Did you see Pexel? He wasn’t gonna take it.”

Ezra face scrunched into a doubtful look as Will passed the bit of Binder to Bet.

“Thanks Will. I’ve been wanting to see this for a while.” Bet took the piece and held it up to the silver squirrel who snatched it up greedily and shoved it into his mouth. He then leapt from Bet’s arm to the ground and began to dash forward. An almost invisible surface appeared just ahead of Pexel as he moved upward through the air and into the trees. After he stopped in the branches, a slightly visible pathway remained behind, like a ramp made of glass.

“Oh, I love this one,” Bet said. She clearly seemed to know what was going on. Without wasting another moment, Bet climbed behind him, up toward the very same tree branch. It was like she was walking on air.

“Bet,” Ezra said. “Get down quick, you know it won’t stay for much more than a—”

But that was about all he managed. Will watched as the pathway began to fade from view. It drifted away from ground level first, until the entirety of it disappeared.

The ramp was gone, but Bet was fine. She only smiled and hung from the branches before dropping herself down with a thud. “That’s a good one,” she said with an enormous smile.

“It is,” Ezra turned to Will to explain. “It’s like the barrier ability except Pexel decides its shape and where it appears. Wherever he goes, the barrier forms behind. It only stays for something like ten seconds, but still, it’s very useful.”

“Okay, cool.” Will felt a strong sense of satisfaction thanks to Bet’s enjoyment of the moment. “So, let’s try Tenebrim next,” he said.

“Sounds good.” Ezra held out his hand for Will to give him a few Binders. “Now, we already know his passive ability, but it may take a few Binders to get it back.”

It took three. After each one, Ezra would command Tenebrim to attack a few nearby shrubs. Eventually, Tenebrim reared back and warped forward to slash at the leaves. He instantly reappeared back where he was and left the bushes severed and torn.

“So that’s that. Good to have it back,” Ezra said. “Now may I?” He began to reach for the second of the pieces that had been cut.

“Go ahead,” said Will.

Ezra calmly fed Tenebrim the small piece, then stepped back to watch. Tenebrim made a few irritated grunts. He seemed confused about how to apply his new ability. Eventually, he turned toward the woods and placed his praying claws against one another. Ahead, thorny plants sprouted from the ground and grew up into a substantial wall. Tenebrim then turned back to Ezra, ready for praise. Ezra patted the Mantis approvingly.

“Nice, I like it,” he said. “This is a fairly common option for combat links. He can use this ability to trap others. Makes it easier for him to fight. Plus the vegetation won’t do anything to slow down his dash ability. He can cut straight through.”

Ezra seemed satisfied, so Will took another couple of Binders and placed them in his hand. Swoop knew what was coming. She hopped excitedly back and forth on the ground, fluttering her wings and leaving streaks of purple-pink glow against the ground.

Will held out his hand and fed them too her, one at a time. She ate them happily, and after each one she stopped and stared at Will, eager for more.

“She needs another,” Ezra would say, though each time he said it his voice took on a grimmer sort of tone.

It took six.

Ezra had said it should only take two or three. Will didn’t say anything about it though. It seemed pretty clear that Ezra was every bit as surprised as he was. Finally, after finishing the sixth Binder, Swoop flew high into the air. Once she did so, she seemed to split apart. Suddenly, there were three Swoop’s spiraling around. Each of them dived into the trees and began to zig-zag through the faintly-glowing mossy trunks. The three birds flew to Will to land on his shoulder. As the first one did so, Will felt no weight on his arm. It was as if the bird didn’t exist at all. The Second Swoop came and landed on his other shoulder. Again it felt like there was nothing there. Finally, the last Swoop came and alighted back on the ground before Will. A few seconds later, both the birds on his shoulder puffed away into a haze of black smoke before they disappeared into the gentle breeze.

Down on the ground, the real Swoop hopped back and forth as if terribly pleased with herself.

“What was that?” Will turned to Ezra for an explanation.

“Never seen that before.” He had a shocked looked on his face. “Like Bet said, Cakrit’s are really rare. Regardless, It could be useful. We’ll just have to think about it.”

“Do I give her a small piece to see her feeding ability?” Will said.

“I wouldn’t.” Ezra shook his head slightly, “But that’s up to you. You know what she’ll do. But once she opens a pocket and you step through it, you’re on your own to figure it out. I’d wait till you can talk to a teacher about it.”

Will nodded his head. What Ezra said made sense. Still, he very much wanted to see and feel what it was like.

Should Will…

Try out the feeding ability

Wait for later

This Poll is Closed