ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 583: The Descent

"You’re seriously planning to ride that down the mountain?" Chris continued, shaking his head. "Without myst? Not even a little reinforcement?" He let out a short laugh. "That’s not bravery. That’s suicide."

No one replied.

Chris took a few steps closer, boots crunching against gravel. "And you," he added, turning his attention squarely on Sheila. "I thought you were smarter than this. Putting your faith in a clown’s plan—" his gaze snapped to Dylan "—and keeping a hothead like him around—" it shifted to Asher "—just makes it worse."

Asher stiffened instantly.

"The hell did you just—"

"Asher," Sheila said sharply, not raising her voice, but cutting through him all the same.

He clenched his fists, jaw tight, fire flashing behind his eyes, but he stopped. Forced himself to breathe. Chris noticed—and smirked, satisfaction gleaming in his expression.

"That’s right," Chris said lightly. "Keep him on a leash."

Then his gaze moved again.

This time, it landed on Liam.

The air seemed to change.

"And this," Chris went on, tone sharpening, "is the worst part. A dark mage. Even restricted, even useless without myst, you’re really comfortable having him at the front?" His lips curled. "Figures. Poor judgment seems to be a theme."

He opened his mouth to continue.

Liam looked up.

His stare was cold—flat and utterly unamused. Rain slid down his face, dark hair plastered to his forehead, red eyes burning with something sharp and restrained.

"Talk about me one more time," Liam said, his voice carrying clearly through the rain, "and I’ll make you regret it."

The words landed like a blade.

The summit went silent.

Even the rain seemed to hesitate.

Liam didn’t raise his voice, but there was an edge to it—something dark, irritated, and unmistakably dangerous. "I’d advise you to keep anything involving me out of your mouth," he continued evenly, "or I’ll leave you so broken your own mother won’t recognize you."

No one spoke.

Not even Chris.

For a fraction of a second, uncertainty flickered across his face—quickly masked by a scowl. "Watch your tone," he snapped. "I can make your life very difficult at the academy—"

"Fuck off," Liam cut in, not even looking at him anymore.

The bluntness of it stunned everyone present.

"And keep your childish games to yourself," Liam added coldly. "If you want to stay up here so badly, then do it. Don’t try to crawl into other people’s heads just because you’re too scared to move."

He shifted forward, climbing fully onto the sled, hands bracing against the barrier as if the conversation had already ceased to exist.

Chris stood there, rain soaking into his clothes, jaw tight, eyes burning—but he said nothing.

The silence stretched.

Then Sheila turned away from him without another glance.

"Positions," she said calmly.

One by one, the group finished mounting the sled, adjusting grips, settling weight. Asher threw one last look over his shoulder at Chris, a slow, deeply satisfied grin spreading across his face. He clearly enjoyed the look on Liam’s face far too much.

"Knew he had no issues with speaking his mind, but didn’t expect him to say all that," Dylan muttered, impressed.

Asher chuckled. "Me neither. But I’m glad he did."

With everything set, Asher and Dylan moved into place behind the sled. They dug their heels in, counted silently, then shoved.

The sled lurched forward.

As gravity took hold, Asher and Dylan leapt onto their boards in one smooth motion, ropes snapping taut as the sled tipped over the edge and began its descent.

Behind them, Chris and the others rushed forward, boots skidding as they reached the summit’s edge—just in time to watch Sheila’s group vanish down the mountainside, swallowed by rain, mist, and momentum.

And then they were gone.

***

The moment the sled tipped fully onto the slope, the mountain took them.

Gravity seized the makeshift construct without hesitation, the shield beneath them scraping violently against wet stone as the descent began far faster than any of them had truly prepared for. Rain hammered down in thick, blinding sheets, instantly reducing visibility to little more than vague shapes and rushing motion. The world narrowed to sound and sensation—sled shrieking against rock, rope snapping taut, breath tearing from lungs.

"Hold!" Sheila shouted, her voice nearly swallowed by the roar of rain and friction.

Liam leaned forward instinctively, bracing the front barrier as the sled lurched over uneven ground. The forward shield slammed into a shallow dip, sending a violent jolt through all of them. Ariana cried out as her shoulder struck Sheila’s arm, but Sheila locked her grip tighter, anchoring them both.

The sled accelerated.

Mud sprayed up in thick arcs, water rushing beneath them like a living thing. The mountain wasn’t solid anymore—it was dissolving, reshaping itself second by second. Small stones began to skitter alongside them, bouncing, overtaking, vanishing ahead.

"Speed’s increasing!" Max yelled from the rear, fighting to keep the braking log angled properly. He forced it down harder, muscles screaming as the log dug into the softened ground. The resistance helped—but only barely. The sled shuddered violently, threatening to fishtail.

Behind them, Asher and Dylan were already in motion, sliding hard and fast on their bark boards, rain plastering their clothes to their bodies. The rope snapped tight between them and the sled, jerking both boys forward.

"Rope’s holding!" Dylan shouted, leaning his weight back to add drag. His boots carved trenches through the mud as he fought the pull.

Asher did the same, teeth clenched, every muscle burning as he adjusted his stance to keep from spinning out. "This thing gets any faster," he barked, "we’re not stopping it!"

A sharp crack split the air.

"Rock!" Charlotte yelled.

A chunk of stone the size of a helmet burst free from the slope ahead, tumbling directly into their path. Liam reacted instantly, slamming his weight into the front barrier. The shield took the impact with a deafening clang, the force rattling through their arms and bones, but it deflected the rock just enough for it to glance off and vanish into the rain.

The relief was instantaneous—and short-lived.

The sled hit a steeper incline.

They dropped.

Ariana screamed as the ground vanished beneath them for a heartbeat, the sled slamming down again with bone-jarring force. The side barriers held, but barely. One of the rope bindings strained, fibers groaning under the stress.

"Left side’s slipping!" Sheila shouted.

Charlotte shifted immediately, throwing her weight to counterbalance. Liam mirrored her movement without a word, their coordination instinctive and precise. The sled corrected just enough to avoid spinning, but the ground ahead was worse—rutted, torn apart by water and gravity, the mountain actively collapsing beneath the rain.

Max’s arms shook violently as he forced the log down harder. The smell of wet bark and friction filled the air. "I can’t hold this much longer!"

"You have to!" Sheila shouted back. "Just a little more!"

Another rockfall erupted to their right—smaller stones this time, but faster. One slammed into the side barrier, snapping a rope. The panel flapped loose, barely held by the remaining ties.

Asher saw it first.

"Side’s failing!" he yelled, digging his heels in harder, nearly losing his footing as the sled yanked forward again. He growled, forcing himself upright, body screaming in protest.

Dylan twisted the rope around his arm once, twice, anchoring it against his shoulder despite the burn. "We’re not losing it now!"

The base of the mountain loomed ahead—closer than expected, but far from safe. The slope funneled into a narrow chute where water rushed violently downward, dragging debris with it. Logs. Stones. And broken branches.

"Dead ahead!" Liam shouted.

Charlotte’s eyes locked onto the chute. "If we hit that straight on, we flip!"

"Max!" Sheila yelled.

"I see it!" Max roared back. He shifted the log sharply, angling it despite the pain ripping through his arms. The sled screamed in protest, grinding as it began to veer—slowly, barely—away from the worst of the flow.

The rope snapped tighter as Asher and Dylan were yanked sideways, both boys barely managing to stay upright. Dylan’s board clipped a submerged rock, sending him sprawling. He slid hard on his side, nearly losing the rope entirely.

"Asher—!" he gasped.

Asher grabbed the rope with one hand, hauling Dylan back into alignment as they skidded dangerously close to the rushing water. Mud soaked them completely, dragging at their limbs like hands trying to pull them under.

The sled slammed into the edge of the chute anyway—half the force, but enough.

They spun.

Ariana screamed as the world tilted violently, rain and sky and ground blurring together. Sheila wrapped an arm around her instinctively, the other gripping the sled with everything she had. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Hold on!" Liam shouted, teeth clenched, arms burning as he fought to keep the front barrier from collapsing.

The sled struck a rock outcropping and jolted violently—but that impact saved them. It bled off speed, tore the remaining loose side panel away completely, and sent it skidding off into the mud, but it stopped the spin.

They shot out of the chute and onto flatter ground.

But they were still moving too fast.

"Brace!" Max yelled, releasing the log at the last second as it threatened to snap his arms entirely.

The sled plowed into a patch of dense undergrowth at the base of the mountain, tearing through brush and wet earth before finally slamming to a halt against a thick cluster of roots and stone.

The impact threw them forward.

Liam hit the ground hard, rolling once before stopping. Charlotte landed beside him, skidding through mud. Sheila and Ariana tumbled together, breath knocked from their lungs. Max collapsed backward, arms shaking uncontrollably.

Asher and Dylan crashed in moments later, boards flying as they hit the ground and slid to a stop in the mud.

For a few seconds, no one moved.

Rain continued to pour, relentless and cold.

Then—breathing. Ragged. Uneven. But Alive.

Ariana laughed weakly, half-hysterical, half-relieved. Sheila lay back in the mud, chest heaving, rain streaming down her face as she stared at the sky.

"...We made it," Max muttered hoarsely.

Liam pushed himself up slowly, wincing as he checked his arms—scraped, bruised, bleeding in thin lines, but functional. He looked back up the mountain, now hidden behind rain and mist.

Asher let out a rough laugh, mud smeared across his face. "That," he said breathlessly, "was insane."

Dylan groaned beside him, then grinned despite the pain. "Worth it."

They were battered, scratched, and covered in mud and rain.

But they were at the base.

And the mountain, at last, had let them go.