The Gadgeteer Box Set

by Gin Hollan

  Andun paused, his expression shifting from satisfied to sad. "It is a Lyar grave."

  "A what?" Sam and Arabeth said at the same time.

  "From the war, when you were sent into exile. There were people that used the crystals to impair the mind, repair the body, or change reality. They were used to do terrible things in the war and when it ended, they were hunted down. When found, whatever building they were in was burned and buried, usually with them inside. The areas were cleared and trees were planted, to keep them from being used as farmland, or for other things."

  Arabeth's face blanched.

  "And nothing grows in those spots?" Sam asked.

  "Right. We don't know why it burns, though. I would have let it rest, but it took Lyar fire to put this together." He held his hand out close to his chest. On it sat a five-inch solid black sextant. Well, it was mostly a sextant. Frowning, Arabeth leaned forward to look closer. There were three separate clockwork mechanisms inside three copper circles between the place where the index mirror sat and the graduated arc below. A series of four movable glass filters were along the front, as though it was part microscope. The curious part was the crystal inside a clear tube acting as the drum. The entire thing seemed to shimmer with the same blue of the crystal.

  "So, it's done. This is your key?" she asked.

  "It is," Andun replied.

  "What does it open?"

  "I'm not sure. I take this to the governing council to prove my claim." He sat down on his heels and spread out a small cloth on the ground. Taking the sextant in both hands, he pulled a small pin from the rear brace. The entire thing fell apart. Drawing the corners of the cloth together, he bundled it and tucked it inside his coat. "It was taken apart and scattered around Vensay at the end of the war."

  "The war was 150 years ago," Sam said, only mildly interested in Andun's device.

  Arabeth reached out and took the device, holding it up to sight, moving the lenses, then gave it back. "Impressive. I understand basic sextant use, but what are the clockwork parts about? I presume they're not decorative."

  "No, every part has a role to play," he said. "I think they work like a combination lock."

  "Fascinating. You used something in the copse to put it together?"

  "I assembled it as we went, but the shard had to be lit with that fire," he said softly.

  An image of her friends around that fire jumped to the fore of her mind. "Did you know they were here?" she asked.

  "Who?"

  "Melanie and Graham are in there, right?" She wanted to understand, but how could it have been real? "And your little sister. They looked like ghosts, so I’m afraid I panicked."

  "You saw someone in there?" He stared, eyes squinting at her. "Your friend, Melanie.... Can we trust her?"

  "Yes, but why do you ask? I thought Seers were automatically loyal to the crown."

  "She wasn't raised in our culture. I'm not taking anything for granted," Andun said.

  On one level Arabeth was relieved to see her friends. On another completely separate level she wanted to sneak away and pretend she hadn't.

  He smiled. "This is good. I'm sure that you feel as though you've stepped onto the moon, but all these things are understood to us, and have been part of the world since it began. Behind the mountain, this knowledge was kept from you. For everyone's safety."

  "I thought I was going crazy," she whispered.

  He laughed.

  "Now, wait a minute." Sam turned. "You're saying they burned people alive in their homes over these crystals…. Over what they could do?"

  Andun held up his hands and backed up a few steps. "I wasn't there, obviously. I'm relaying history, that's all."

  Sam looked at the opening in the copse then walked past him, pushing his reins into Andun's hand as he went.

  Andun watched him go, then turned back. "I didn't want to say this in front of him, but with the right crystal, you could talk to your friends. If you saw them, then you can talk."

  "I'm starting to hate this question, but how does it work?"

  "Crystals are all about resonance and a stack of others things I didn't pay attention to when my tutor explained it. That there are people alive who are more powerful than Seers ... that's exciting, but it puts you in a lot of danger if anyone finds out."

  The Lyar grave didn't terrify her now. It actually seemed practical, and that was something she could work with. "At least I'm not hallucinating."

  "I wouldn't tell anyone about this, if I were you," Andun said hesitantly.

  "You're kidding me. There is no way I'm telling anyone," Arabeth said resolutely.

  // Chapter 33 //

  HOW MARBLE HAD managed to stay with Arabeth was easily attributed to the claw marks on her shoulder now, and the tear in the collar of her shirt. Lifting the fox down, she set Marble on the ground and pulled out more treats.

  Marble was not simply irritated. She seemed angry, if a fox could get angry. Arabeth sat cross-legged and stroked her, determined to not move from that spot until Marble was calm again.

  "Are you sure you won't go back in? This may be a good chance to talk with people that can help," Andun said.

  Arabeth shook her head and continued to focus on assuaging Marble.

  "I'm not sure what good it would do. If I tell them what we're doing, they'll worry more than they may already be."

  "I can't put that fire out," Sam grumbled. "No amount of dirt stops the burning. What is in that soil?"

  Arabeth shrugged.

  "Can I choose other people to talk to?" she wondered. "Those folks may have been at the fore of my mind, and therefore, I could talk to them."

  "They're the ones least likely to fall over from a heart attack at seeing a ghost," Sam said.

  "I should let my mother know the trouble sniffing around our borders is something exceptional and odd, and we are not ready for it." Arabeth kept her voice soft and soothing as she continued to pet Marble. The animal had settled down onto Arabeth's lap and was cleaning herself. "She'll think I've invented an odd visual communication device, so it won't be a problem reaching out to her."

  "But what would you say?" Sam shook his head. "I think you would only confuse her."

  Sam didn't know her mother ran a spy network on both sides of the mountain? That surprised Arabeth. The prospect of suddenly becoming her mother's most valuable spy pleased her.

  The prospect of beating her arrogant little sister at her own game had its appeal, too. Now, not only did she have firsthand information about what was going on out here, but she had the future king with her.

  Had her mother's spy network made it out this far? They'd never directly talked about it. Arabeth was too ... provincial, or something. ‘Too happy in her bubble,’ was how her sister had phrased it. ‘Unsuited to the world of information-gathering and subterfuge’ was the other phrase.

  If she hadn't stumbled into one of their planning meetings, she still wouldn't know. Arabeth uncoiled her fists, shocked that she cared as much as she did. When had she ever cared about spy work? This was probably just the comfort of familiar old grudges. She needed to let them go.

  "You're awfully quiet," Sam said.

  "I'm trying to talk myself out of doing something stupid and childish, and failing."

  Sam chuckled.

  "Andun, can I try to reach people I can't see in there? What makes it work? And why hasn't someone rebuilt the Lyar? It seems terribly useful."

  "There's no reason to rebuild." He shook his head. "What you're doing is supposed to be impossible."

  "When you kill off everyone with even a slight predisposition, that definitely narrows the odds," Sam said. "But it seems you missed one."

  "I didn't kill anyone off," Andun said.

  "So, communicating like Seers is allowed, but this isn't?" Arabeth asked.

  "It's too dangerous," Sam guessed.

  "Technically, the minute we get to the city, I should have you arrested." Andun shrugged.

  "But you won't."<
br />
  "Not when you're on my side." He laughed. "Strategy and tactics." He tapped the side of his head.

  Arabeth smiled, hoping he wouldn't want to talk about it. So much for fitting into that world. She was a tinker, and something of a horsewoman, but that was where it ended. That was where her interests lay.

  "Tell me what you saw, exactly," Andun said.

  "It was like they were ghosts. Faded, with white and grey edges." Arabeth shuddered.

  "Do you think they can help?"

  "I had a thought. It's kind of obvious, though, so I doubt it will work."

  "What is it?" Sam asked.

  "If we can convince people that Andun is a decoy, they'll divide their resources attempting to confirm or refute. It would increase the odds in our favour."

  "You mean, you want to try implanting thoughts, like a Lyar?" Andun frowned.

  "Actually, I was thinking of asking Melanie to relay it as a message," she said. "I don't know how to do that other thing."

  "That's a better idea." He seemed relieved.

  Arabeth went to Davin's saddlebag and tried to figure out which was the crystal Melanie had given her. She'd need to be desperate to try a direct mental connection, by the sound of it, especially when she was exhausted. The other crystals had all reacted well to the red one she'd put in there and were all looking healthy again, in a variety of colours. She filtered through them, realizing for the first time that there had to be more than a hundred of them in there, each one ranging in length between her largest and smallest fingers.

  Her hand brushed one and she realized she'd found it. Pulling it out, she really didn't know what to do to start communication. Melanie used it to send her information. Could it work in reverse? She looked at Andun. As the king, he should be the most highly educated person in his age group. She needed to think of him as a resource, not as a kid nearing adulthood.

  "Andun, how self-directed were your studies?" That was too ambiguous, she thought. "I mean, do you know how, at least in theory, to send a message using one of these?"

  Andun cleared his throat and walked over. "It was all theory. As you know, royals are sensitive to these so I can't actually touch them." The look on his face was of longing, as though he really wanted to try it.

  Sam looked sceptical. "Have you tested that? It could be those in power have been trying to limit your access to information, or communication."

  "Yes," both Andun and Arabeth said. Sam's eyebrows lifted.

  "I had a few out while we were riding and he nearly fainted."

  "I wasn't fainting," Andun grumbled. "I'm susceptible."

  "Sorry, I was trying to be delicate." Arabeth pulled a few more out of the bag.

  His hand shot up to his forehead almost immediately.

  "Suffice it to say, we will be going around any crystal fields we find."

  "But you were all right near the Lyar?" Arabeth suddenly realized he’d been fine there. He even waited for them near the fire.

  Andun frowned. "Yes ... I was ... good."

  "Did you see anyone there?" They both knew what she meant.

  "No, but I wasn't looking either."

  "Trust me, I wasn't looking," Arabeth said.

  "Maybe they were looking for you," Sam suggested.

  "How does it work? Were the Lyar operators psychic?"

  "Mentalist abilities are charlatan acts. This is different. You're familiar with radio. It's like that, except that crystals are always active," Andun said. "They can also, according to legend, open doorways to places." He looked a little haunted at the thought.

  "Melanie has what she needs to broadcast, to continue your metaphor. What about Graham?"

  "If he took any of the crystals with him, it's possible. They have always been highly regulated, and normal people know better than to tinker with them."

  "Tinker with them...." She was thinking of her pistol and her grandfather's little box of shiny rocks. "Do you mean, they can be used as more than a battery?" That's all she'd heard anybody admit to. Her pistol proved there were other applications beyond mental communication and power sources. This smacked of a class system, something Arabeth was dead against. "Why are they so regulated?"

  Andun scowled with his head tilted. "It doesn't take a psychic to tell me you're hiding something. You know more than you let on, don't you?"

  Sam glanced at her, mildly worried.

  "Not really, but sort of."

  That made Andun laugh. "You don't have the polish of a true politician, but that was definitely a deflection. Out with it, then. Show me the source of this question."

  "Our friend, Graham, had a crystal-infused pistol that, when discharged at someone, made that part of their body go numb."

  Andun smirked. "A gun your friend has?"

  Arabeth felt her face heat up, but nodded. "You're dodging the question."

  "The same kind of gun that you knocked me out with?" he continued.

  Arabeth opened her mouth, then realized she hadn't thought about that. "Well, he had it. I have it now." Her face flushed crimson as she looked away.

  "My question is, what can weapons do when those shards are involved?" she asked.

  "Not much. Make you numb, that sort of thing,” Andun said.

  "Wait—if you're crystal sensitive, why did you wake up faster than others I've seen shot with it?"

  "That's a question for another day, I think. I'm not comfortable with you mulling over the idea of shooting me."

  "Right." She sat down and crossed her legs, signalling for Marble to come relax. The little fox give her cheek a lick. "I'm normally braver than this," Arabeth whispered to Marble. “What's wrong with me?"

  Sam sat down with his back to hers. "Lean back. I could use a rest too."

  "Still not willing to try the Lyar? They're not ghosts, and they won't know you're there until you touch one of them," Andun pressed.

  "Can they touch back?" She shuddered.

  "No, it's not like that. The touch is to close the distance gap, that's all."

  She closed her eyes and leaned back against Sam. With his warmth behind her and Marble's in front, her sleepiness was catching up.

  "We would be safer in the copse," Andun said, joining them in the tall grass.

  "The horses need food," Arabeth said with a sigh. As she sat, she continued to fiddle with the red crystal shard. Melanie would contact them soon, right?

  The sun sat low on the horizon when Arabeth stood back up. Marble had already come and gone several times, apparently having forgiven Arabeth for her recent neglect. The mice in the field must've been plentiful. Several times Arabeth had seen Marble leap up out of the grass to pounce on something.

  Sam and Andun had gone back into the copse to cook wild roots and other vegetables. Sam's rationale was that fire was fire, and the food would be fine. They kept it out of the smoke.

  As they came and went, Arabeth had another problem. None of their suggestions seemed like the intelligent course of action. No offence to them, she apologized silently. There was simply a detail or two she was missing.

  With her paralysed by indecision, the guys had set up a kind of low camp. But it felt like something was at work. She looked at Sam and he shrugged when she explained it. He turned to Andun, telling him that her intuition was usually reliable.

  She pulled the tack off the horses and switched them to an improvised halter, tying their ropes to a stake so they could graze.

  And now, the crystals in her pack had started to glow. She stared across the ground at them, sitting only feet away. The others hadn't noticed it yet. They would, as the light continued to diminish. She pulled a couple out and stuck them in the ground, wondering what it took to start an entire crystal field. As they sank into the soil, the ground around them radiated colour, then faded. A few colour spots dotted out away from them, then faded as well. That was a good sign, right?

  The part that struck Arabeth as strangest—as if anything with the crystals was normal—was that the light from them
seemed to head towards the copse. She sat trying to decide if there was some form of relationship between the crystals and the fire. Were they somehow drawn to each other, on a molecular or chemical level?

  Arabeth clutched the red crystal in one hand. Melanie hadn't said a thing yet. There had also been no sign of pursuit. It was as though they had fallen off the planet. This moment in time, in this place, felt like the one actual respite she'd had since arriving on this side of the mountains. She couldn't shake the feeling that when they left, chaos would ensue. But what now?

  A motion off the horizon drew her eyes. An odd but distant glow had begun, and it had nothing to do with the sunset. She dismissed it as city lights.

  The wind shifted and she smelled the fire from the copse. What would happen when the crystals got closer to the fire? Before she realized what was happening, Marble had pulled a crystal out of the bag and was running toward the trees.

  "Marble, stop!" Arabeth jumped up to follow.

  Loud crackling and popping sounds preceded Marble running back out. A second later, fireworks shot out over Sam and Andun as they sprinted from the copse. Marble slowed, then as Sam neared, she jumped up and pushed off of him like she was using a tree to leap into Arabeth's arms. There was no sign of singeing on the fox’s fur when Arabeth caught her. She looked back to see if the horses had stayed. They were staring over, alert, but not moving.

  "What did your animal do?" Andun yelled.

  Sam looked just as panic-stricken, but relieved.

  Arabeth hesitated to answer, having to first fight off the sudden flurry of licks to the face Marble was giving her.

  "Are you all right?" she asked as she looked Marble over. "What did you do, silly?"

  "Did you tell her to do that? What was she thinking?" Andun asked, puzzled.

  "I'm not sure what you mean," Arabeth said, defensive. The impulse to take the crystals to the Lyar couldn't have been externally suggested, could it? That was about as unlikely as Marble reading her mind. Suddenly the red crystal she'd been holding vibrated slightly and she felt a thought from Melanie.

  'Help, something's gone very wrong. Gregor is raving and throwing things. It's like he's lost his mind.'