by Karen MacRae
“So what can it do in theory?” asked Beitris.
“It magnifies white energy. I don’t know how much, but it feels at least ten times more powerful than using my bracelets. What’s different is that I can use the white stone to magnify or focus or do both.”
“Sorry to be a dunce, but I don’t understand what you mean,” Beitris said.
“I can use my gift to manipulate aura energy and crystal energy. They’re related. I don’t know how, but Valteira’s energy field taught me that the two things are basically interchangeable. If I add crystal energy to aura energy, it gets bigger, more powerful… magnified. The more I add, the more power there is.”
“And the bigger your aura gets,” Beitris said, nodding. “I saw that at the Castle through Lord Witheridge’s glass. Your aura was huge and incredibly bright. So brightness must be related to power too?”
“For Anna, yes,” said Seleste. “I’ve not noticed the same for other gifted.”
“I don’t suppose it matters. Without that Witheridge glass, I can’t see it anyway,” Beitris laughed. “Sorry, I interrupted you, Anna. I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on, I promise.”
Seleste and Anna shared a smile. They both knew it was a promise that wouldn’t last long unless Sy was around. When the big Seaskian was there, Beitris hardly said a word, but she was more than chatty the rest of the time.
“So crystal energy magnifies aura energy. Then, if I put that power through the bracelets, it gets stronger, but it also gets smaller, like the power’s being squeezed into a tight channel. It makes it even more powerful. Like… em… Like stepping on a pebble in bare feet. A small stone hurts more than a big stone. Does that make sense?”
The other women nodded. “But you can choose to just magnify with the white peristone?” asked Seleste.
“So my internal book says. It massively increases my capacity.” The Shaper saw the blank look on her friends’ faces. “There’s a limit to how much energy I can hold at one time. The white peristone makes that limit much higher, but just how high, I don’t know.”
“What else does it do?”
“It’s supposed to act as an automatic shield against aura attacks. I know I can burn them off anyway, but carrying the white stone means I won’t be hurt if I don’t notice one. It protects its carrier.”
“But not any carrier,” added Seleste. “Evaline said the stones were ‘keyed’ so they’d only work for someone of her line with the same gift. You, in other words, because there can’t be a lot of Healer Shapers of Desmarais descent around.”
“Apparently, white and black peristone aren’t made by Stone Crafters alone: a Shaper needs to add their gift. Shapers battling for supremacy centuries ago were hardly going to make a weapon that another Shaper could use against them so they learned to add some sort of lock to it so it would be useless to their enemies. That’s me reading between the lines, mind, and Euan couldn’t add anything when I asked him last night.”
“Makes sense though. It also might explain why there’s none of it around. To be found, at least. There are probably little white and black peristones lying in ditches all over the world, but of no more interest than any other pebble to anyone but their creator. It also explains why Nystrieth needs those books. He needs to make his own, not just find an existing stone.”
“So Evaline’s white peristone plus your bracelets and Breac’s jewellery make you insanely powerful and immune to aura attack. What else?”
“There’s more?” asked Beitris in a small voice, the reality of Nystrieth getting hold of black peristone hitting her hard.
Anna nodded. “There’s more,” she said, her voice apologetic. “The white stone can act as a sort of hub for coloured stones that are keyed the same. Because all my stones were Evaline’s, I should be able to link with whoever carries one of my bracelets so I can see their auras in the dark, know where they are all the time and even know what they’re thinking and feeling. I might even be able to Shape through them.”
“That illustration. The one with the Shaper in the middle with the white stone and the light spreading from it to the eight coloured stones. That’s what it meant,” Seleste said absently, her head down, her mind thinking through the implications of a single Shaper suddenly becoming nine. She lifted a pale face to the others. “We cannot face nine Nystrieths. We don’t have the manpower. Even with our allies’ support, he’ll slaughter us.”
“We’ll have nine Annas,” Beitris said hopefully.
“Only if Anna works out how to use them,” said Anna, her voice showing quite clearly that she was overwhelmed by the weight on her small shoulders.
“Hold on, what if the beads Elona has are keyed?” asked Beitris. “Even if she gets those stones back to Nystrieth, he wouldn’t be able to use them.”
Anna shook her head. “I can’t believe they’re keyed. If they had been, they’d not still be on Shae. The Shaper who helped make them would never have left them there. However, Euan says the stolen beads are only average quality and he’s positive they aren’t a great match because they were made by different Crafters in different styles and from stone taken from different areas of Shae so even if Nystrieth manages to make black stone with one set, the other sets won’t… ‘talk’ to them.”
“You know that for sure?” Seleste asked, her eyes fixed on the Shaper’s, her voice brittle with worry.
Anna hung her head. “No. I only know what white peristone can do. I have no idea what black can do.”
“Time to wake the others,” Seleste insisted, getting up from her bunk and throwing on some clothes.
The men’s cabin was deathly silent when Seleste and Anna finished summarising their conversation.
Finn broke the silence. “Euan, give me something. Anything.”
The Shaen smiled reassuringly at Anna. Their link was telling him just how bad she was feeling. “He’s going to need a Stone Crafter with the power and knowledge to make black stone. There’s only one: my grandfather, and he will never make it. He’d rather die.”
“We don’t know what’s in those books he’s after,” pointed out Malik.
“And we don’t know what black stone does,” added Seleste. “Euan, do you know?”
“All I know is that black and white peristone make the bearer like a Stone Crafter as well as a more powerful Shaper. They can see and feel peristone but can only Craft light. They’re also immune to aura attacks, but I don’t know how it actually works. Black and white might be different.”
Finn let out a long sigh. “We’re spending altogether too much time guessing. For now, we focus on doing everything we can to stop Nystrieth from ever getting those beads and the books and helping Anna master her peristones.” All eyes looked at the girl from Straton. “What do you need, Anna?”
Anna swallowed her tears and stepped forward. It was not her fault she was a Shaper. It was not her fault Nystrieth existed. It was not her fault Shapers could do terrible things. She felt Euan send love and encouragement through their link and remembered she was not alone. “There are eight of you,” she said. “I have eight bracelets. I’d like to give you all one and see if we can get this hub thing working.”
Anna had already decided who was to get which colour. The peristones shone brightly as she handed them out. Sy got the red to match the red tints in his stone wall aura and because of Rojoch’s rich red aura. Spider got the orange. Now she could see peristone like a Stone Crafter, Anna thought the orange bead looked like the sun was shining brightly on a little piece of his gorgeous burnt umber aura. Beitris was the obvious choice for the yellow bead; not only did it match her sunny yellow aura, it was her favourite colour. The green was easy too: it was just like the darker waves in Finn’s sea green aura. The blue had been harder. Anna had wondered about giving it to Jimmy or Malik, but the stone’s shine went best with Euan’s cobalt blue rather than their darker, more purple glows. Instead, Jimmy got the indigo and Malik the violet. Seleste got the lilac. It looked stunning against her
shining silver aura.
“Why do I get the girly colour?” whispered Malik to Seleste.
She stifled a laugh. “How can a colour be girly, you baby?” she whispered back. “It’s a perfect colour for you. Violet against your dark purple is gorgeous. Stop complaining.”
“What’s next?” asked Spider.
“Everyone up for a game of hide and seek before breakfast?”
Laughter echoed around the cabin then eight friends disappeared out of the room. Anna gave them five minutes then awoke the white peristone by prodding it gently with her gift. Almost instantaneously, she knew where everyone was: Spider and Sy had headed straight for the galley, it being as good a place as any to hide and having the added benefit of something to eat; Seleste and Malik had just squeezed into the utilities cupboard on the lower deck; Beitris and Jimmy were with the horses; Euan was in her cabin and Finn was in the Captain’s office. Anna sent a smidgeon of power through the links then focused on each in turn. Spider was hungry. Sy felt… content, at home in the kitchen. Seleste and Malik were happy to be on their own together. Beitris and Jimmy were sad, missing Lachlan and Hew, unused to being a two and not a four. Euan was thinking of her. He felt her presence and sent a pulse of warmth to her, sort of a cuddle of light. She smiled then looked for Finn. He was… worried. He too felt a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Anna felt herself blushing. She felt like someone peeping through curtains or listening at doors. It was not a pleasant feeling. She shut off the links and went to rope Euan in to tell everyone to get breakfast.
Down in the utilities’ cupboard, Malik was moving damp mops so there was enough room for a cuddle.
“I thought Evaline said she’d know how to use the stone?” he asked Seleste.
“Everyone knows a sword can kill, but it doesn’t mean they know how to use one the first time they pick it up.”
“Ah, true… So we play hide and seek until she gets used to finding us? I confess I’d prefer a less fragrant hideaway next time, but I can think of worse ways to spend time.” Malik snuggled into Seleste and started kissing her neck.
“She can also sense what we’re feeling too, you idiot,” Seleste giggled quietly, the tone of her voice making it clear she didn’t think her boyfriend was remotely idiotic.
Euan banged on the door five minutes later. “Time’s up, lovebirds. Anna had us all pegged immediately. She’s rounding up people on the upper decks. I got the lower decks. If we don’t hurry, everything Sy made for breakfast will be gone.”
A slightly dishevelled duo came out of the cupboard straightaway. Sy’s cooking was more than enough reason to get up to the canteen as quickly as possible.
Anna was tucking into her second plateful of pancakes with Sy’s special sweet sauce when Seleste sat next to her. “Just how clearly did you sense what we were feeling?” she whispered.
Anna blushed. “Don’t worry, I only had a quick peek. No details, just first impressions.”
“But you could have known more?”
“It varies. You, Finn and Malik are the hardest to see. Too many years in the spy business I would guess, then Sy, then Spider, then Beitris and Jimmy. Euan is so open he can feel the slightest touch of my gift on his aura. It’s almost like we’re talking.”
“Interesting,” said Finn. “Sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard my name.”
“Me too,” added Spider.
A quick look around the table showed that everyone had been listening.
“Can I suggest you send some sort of warning before you connect properly? If it’s possible?” Malik asked.
“I can’t see why not. Let’s try it.” Anna sent a strong probing thread of energy down the violet channel, almost like a hard knock on a door. She got a firm “No” in reply and immediately cut off the link.
“Perfect,” smiled Malik, relieved to have some control over his privacy.
“Everyone happy with that solution? I ask before I connect?”
“If I don’t answer and you can tell something’s wrong, I want you jumping in with whatever you can do to help,” said Sy. The others nodded their agreement.
Anna grinned. “Unconsciousness for all and any around you without a stone. Gotcha.”
“If it works. We’ve only tested finding us and sensing how we are,” said Spider. “We don’t know what’ll happen if you try to Shape people around us.”
CHAPTER 34
Ionantis
L ady Kuri’s carriage was waiting in the harbour when the Lealta docked in Ionantis City. Captain Alexander gave up his office for the King’s Councillor and Finn to meet in private.
“I cannot trust her, Finn,” Lady Kuri said. “I will honour our King’s wishes, but the very thought of giving her those books makes me quake. There is a very good reason Shapers were outlawed.”
“She’s sworn on pain of death to remain white, Isabella. She created a new oath, just for herself, because she worked out how to break the King’s oath.”
The Councillor paled. “She did what?”
“I know. It seems incredible, but she broke it. So did Nystrieth, in Alscombe. Anna said it was easy, once she worked out how.”
“Light help us,” Lady Kuri murmured, closing her eyes in horror. “What is this new oath and how do we know we can trust it?”
“Seleste Peyton. She Read and described it all as it was done. Anna used memories of her mother, everything good that she had believed in and everything Anna believes in herself to form a white net that actually goes through her heart. If anyone tries to break it or remove it, even Anna herself, her heart will fail.”
Lady Kuri held Finn’s eyes, looking for the truth in his words. Finn saw her distrust.
“I swear, Isabella. She is white and always will be.”
The Councillor nodded, finally accepting the King’s man’s words. “There’s been no sign of Nystrieth’s minions in days so I’ve brought you the books. It seems only Sifry remains and he’s bed bound. And Ebdry and whoever else he’s recruited, of course, but my source tells me they’re not fully in the loop.”
“Sifry? Not Eduin Sifry?”
“None other. The poor man is badly crippled and can’t communicate, but he arrived with a woman I believe to be Elona. I don’t know how he came to be in their grasp, but they used him to try to get the books. He has full access to the library, of course. Thankfully, I’d been warned in advance and got them out of there.”
“With your permission, I’ll ask our latest recruit, Euan, to read them too. He’s the great grandson of Kendrick, Shae’s current Stone Elder and a strong Stone Crafter himself. If he thinks there’s no reason to keep the books, I’ll have them burned.”
Lady Kuri shook her head. “We can’t burn them, no matter how dangerous they are. Ionantis would break with The Kingdom entirely if we do something so heinous. The Chancellor continuously presses for complete independence from Rybis and the Inner Quorum are only just holding to their pledge of allegiance. We can’t risk it.”
The Councillor sat with a sigh. “You’ll find much changed here, Finn. The Chancellor alters every aspect of the University he can to weaken the link with the crown. His vision is for the Quorum of Gifted to be a worldwide, independent, academic organisation above any one country. The idea has some merit, but he naively thinks independent means safe. The proportion of new domestic students and staff has been reduced alarmingly despite their quality, four loyal Inner Quorum members have died unexpectedly in the past two years and their seats have gone to his cronies and the King’s Guard have been replaced with a private security force within the University. I used to rely on sound argument to sway votes. Now, I resort to blackmail.”
Finn homed in on the issue most likely to affect his mission. “This private security force…”
“The Quorum Guard, they’re called. More like the Chancellor’s private army. There’s no love lost between them and the King’s Guard, believe me.”
“We’ll have no support within the University?”<
br />
“Say your true name or show your medallion and you’re more likely to be arrested for consorting with a Shaper.” The Councillor sighed. “I’m still one vote away from the two thirds’ majority needed to ratify Anna’s pardon. The lawmakers refuse to budge. They insist the law stands above the King’s personal rulings and they’ll use Anna to set an example. If she steps inside the University walls, she’ll be arrested and almost certainly executed.”
“I’d like to see them try,” Finn said with a small smile. “They underestimate their quarry.”
Lady Kuri paced. “As a Black Shaper, she would kill them all and install a load of puppets in their place. As a White, they’ll kill her and leave our homeland vulnerable to the worst madman in centuries. It’s an abominable situation.” The Councillor sat again. She looked tired, frustrated. Finn had never seen her so vulnerable. “Her growing fame doesn’t help,” she continued. “It ruffles their sense of self-importance and makes them even harder to persuade. It also doesn’t help that whispers of Alsham Castle have already been blown out of proportion, unless she truly did lift a man high in the air with her gift?”
Finn gave an apologetic smile. “She’s very powerful and there’s a lot of crystal under the Castle.”
The Councillor’s mouth dropped open. “It’s true?” she gasped.
Finn nodded. “I wasn’t there, but others were and they’ve told me the full story.”
“Sweet light… I suppose we should be grateful she’s on our side.”
The topic of conversation currently looked anything but a fearsome Shaper. She was sitting cross-legged on her bunk, her hands resting in her lap, her face serene and her eyes closed. She looked all of about twelve.
Seleste, sitting opposite, was counting. “… one hundred and ninety nine… two hundred. Go!”
Anna opened her eyes and smiled. “Spider and Euan are with the horses.” She laughed. “Spider’s sticking a mental tongue out at me. I can almost see Euan’s thoughts, the link is so strong. He’s… he’s talking to Hope about me.” She grinned with happiness; being the King’s Shaper didn’t prevent her from also being an excited teenager in love for the first time. “Cherry’s on deck. He’s happy. He’s thinking about you and has just told me to get lost.”
