Storm Glass

by Maria V. Snyder

  An elaborate chandelier hung above the first landing. I marveled at its intricate construction and brilliance.

  “That’s one of Gressa’s pieces,” Ulrick said in a neutral tone. Gressa was his talented younger sister. “She has a glass shop in Fulgor. She and Mother never worked well together. Gressa left as soon as she turned eighteen.”

  “Do you want to visit her while we’re here?” I asked.

  “I guess, if we have time.”

  We climbed three stories before walking down a long corridor. I marveled at the sculptures and paintings decorating the hallways. The Moon Councillor’s Hall made Booruby’s look dumpy in comparison.

  Yelena escorted us to an impressive office with a reception room. Dark crimson couches and brown leather armchairs contrasted in a pleasing way against the white marble walls. Thick red-and-gold carpets covered the floor.

  “Good thing I was traveling with Master Jewelrose,” Yelena said. “Otherwise, they would have stuck me in the basement, using a barrel for a seat and an old packing crate as a desk.”

  Third Magician pished at Yelena. “She exaggerates.”

  Kade lounged in one of the armchairs. His dusty boots matched his disheveled appearance. One elbow was propped and he rested his head in his hand. He said nothing. Master Jewelrose waved at us to sit down and sent Yelena for tea.

  Ulrick coughed. He was the only one bothered by sending a Soulfinder for refreshments. Leif plopped on the couch, kicked off his muddy boots and put his feet on the table.

  “We’ve come to a standstill,” Master Jewelrose said. “Councillor Moon’s sister is organizing a coup, but the Councillor refuses to believe us. She insists the Commander of Ixia has sent Valek here to assassinate her.” She leaned back in her chair. A few black strands of hair had escaped her tight bun. Dark smudges stood out under her emerald-colored eyes.

  “Why is she convinced Ambrose is out to get her?” Leif asked.

  “Ambrose?” Yelena raised a slender eyebrow. She carried a tray of tea and fruit. “You’re on a first name basis with the Commander now?”

  “I usually call him Amby, but not in mixed company. Hey!” Leif caught the apple his sister threw at him.

  They looked chastised after Master Jewelrose gave them a stern stare. Yelena retrieved a black statue from a desk in the corner. She handed it to me.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “You tell me.”

  Carved into the shape of a dagger, the smooth statue glinted. “It’s not stone. Probably a type of high-quality glass. Just like those fake diamonds.” I turned the piece in my hands.

  “What’s the significance?” Leif asked.

  “It was found on Councillor Moon’s pillow. Her advisers warned it was a calling card from Valek, and she had been targeted for assassination,” Yelena said.

  Before the Commander’s takeover of Ixia, Valek had assassinated the entire royal family. To make the job more interesting and challenging, he would leave one of his carvings on his victim’s bed to warn them.

  “Valek doesn’t leave warnings anymore and, truthfully, if the Commander wrote an order for Councillor Moon’s assassination, she would be dead by now.”

  Ulrick gaped at Yelena’s matter-of-fact tone.

  “There has to be another reason the Councillor thinks the Commander is after her.” Leif reached for the dagger.

  “The Councillor recently sent a team of specialists to search the Moon lands for diamond deposits. She believes the Commander wants to stop her before she finds any,” Yelena explained.

  “Meanwhile, dear old sis is amassing arms and soldiers by selling fake diamonds?” Leif guessed.

  “Right, but we had no proof. Until now.” She smiled at me. “Opal and Kade found the link between the sister and the fakes. Chun. Kade followed him straight to the mine.”

  “It’s in a cave,” Kade said.

  “What about the real diamonds? Any ideas on those?” Leif asked.

  “Nothing substantial. Although...” I wondered if I should say more.

  “Although?” Yelena prompted.

  “When I held the real diamonds, a vision entered my mind. It was cold with white all around.”

  “Like a marble quarry?” Master Jewelrose asked.

  “Perhaps.” I had assumed the white was snow, but it could be marble.

  “So we still haven’t connected the real diamonds with the sister,” Yelena said.

  “Does it matter?” Leif asked.

  “Not for this case, but I would like to know where they’re coming from. Perhaps if Opal accompanies me and Kade to the cave, she can sense where the real diamonds are.”

  Happy tones emanated from the dream voice in my mind. It had been quiet all day as if growing roots deep into my soul. An uneasy feeling rolled along my spine, and dread pulsed. Something waited for me in the cave.

  25

  “Are you up for a trip to the cave?” Yelena asked.

  “Sure,” I said.

  “No,” Ulrick said.

  “Don’t you think three magicians can keep her safe?” Yelena fixed Ulrick with her powerful stare. He blanched and quickly apologized.

  “Three?” I asked her.

  “Kade, Leif and me.”

  “Me?” Leif squeaked. “Why me?”

  “I need someone to light the torches. And Kade knows where to go.”

  “What about Irys?” Leif asked.

  “Someone needs to guard the Councillor at night. We don’t trust her people,” Master Jewelrose said.

  “We’ll go tonight. Around midnight.”

  “Tonight? We just arrived,” Leif whined.

  Yelena frowned, then brightened as if she had a sudden idea. “Rest now and join us for a late dinner. I’ve made friends with the Councillor’s cook and I’ll ask him to make your favorite beef stew with garlic potatoes and apple cake for dessert.”

  Leif’s petulance disappeared in an instant. “When’s dinner? Maybe I should grab a piece of cake now to tide me over for later. Which way is the kitchen?”

  Yelena shooed us out the door. “Guest quarters are behind the Hall, next to the stables.”

  As Leif, Kade and Ulrick headed out, I asked Yelena, “Friends with the cook?”

  She gave me a conspiratorial smirk. “The Councillor is in danger. I don’t want her poisoned on my watch.”

  * * *

  “Leif, light the torch. There’s no one around,” Yelena said.

  We crouched a few feet inside the mouth of a cave; inky blackness surrounded us as the wet smell of minerals filled my nose. The cave was located about an hour’s ride north of Fulgor. Kade had seen Chun enter and then exit carrying a bulging bag.

  “I had to make a decision,” Kade had said during the ride north. “Either follow Chun or investigate the cave. I chose the cave, but didn’t get far without a light.”

  “Any luck with the sand suppliers?” I asked.

  “No. Although the Brubaker brothers offered me a discount on something called lightning strike.”

  I laughed. “How much?”

  “Twenty percent.”

  “I would have haggled for thirty.”

  “Excuse me, what is lightning strike?” Leif asked.

  “When lightning strikes the sand, the heat melts the grains. When it cools, you can have a crude glass rod shaped like a lightning bolt. Its purpose is decorative. They must have guessed Kade was connected to the Stormdance Clan.”

  Two torches blazed to life, pushing the darkness back. Shadows danced on the uneven walls of the cave and pebbles crunched under our boots. Leif peered at a small hole toward the back of the chamber with a dubious expression.

  “I’m not squeezing. If I don’t fit, I’ll just wait for you,” he sai
d.

  “Relax. Once you go through that tunnel, the cave opens up,” Yelena said.

  “Have you been here before?” I asked. The prospect of getting lost was unappealing.

  “No. My friend told me.” A bat sat on her shoulder. “He agreed to scout for us.”

  “Wonderful,” Leif muttered.

  I really couldn’t say anything about a scouting bat. I claimed glass and spiders spoke to me, and diamonds gave me visions. Each person’s magic had their own quirks.

  Yelena led the way with one torch. I followed. Leif held the other torch and Kade came last. We crawled through the narrow chute. As predicted, the tunnel widened until we could stand. I wiped the dirt from my hands as I looked around the small chamber.

  My dream voice cut through my skull as if the person stood next to me and shouted in my ears. He wanted me to save him. Promised me more magical powers and whatever else I wanted. I tried to block the voice with my hands. It didn’t work.

  Kade glanced at me with a question in his eyes. I waved his concern away. Nothing he or anyone could do about a voice in my head. If Yelena heard it, she would have said something. Ignoring it, I focused on the cavern. A few stalagmites ringed a pool of water. I couldn’t see another opening.

  “Here’s where it gets...interesting,” Yelena said.

  Leif and I exchanged a horrified glance. My heart flipped as Yelena placed her torch in a sconce and removed her cloak.

  “It’s just a short swim to the bottom and there’s a rope,” she said.

  My thoughts scattered as fear roiled the contents of my stomach.

  “Are you insane?” Leif asked. “How do you know there’s a rope? Are you going to tell me your bat can swim?”

  “I sent him here to observe the workers after Kade told me the location. And I can see the rope.” She pointed down.

  In the surprisingly clear depths, the end of a rope had been tied to a metal rung. The rope followed the bottom of the pool and disappeared under a rock.

  “I’ll go first and see where it leads.” She kicked off her boots and her bat hunched down, taking a firmer grip on her shirt.

  “Do you want a bubble of air around you?” Kade asked her.

  She considered. “I think it would make it difficult for me to get to the bottom. I’d be too buoyant. How about just around my nose?”

  “Too hard to create for these conditions. If we were outside in the daylight, I probably could.”

  “I’ll manage. If I get stuck, though—bubble me.”

  “How will we know you’re stuck?” I asked.

  Yelena stared at Kade.

  “Yes, I hear you fine,” the Stormdancer said.

  I realized she had mentally communicated with him and I suppressed the pinch of longing. The dream voice flared to life. It promised me the power to read minds if I set him free. A strong compulsion to hunt for the voice pressed between my shoulder blades.

  Find me. Find me. Set me free. The scratchy voice clung to my thoughts, and dominated my senses. No longer just a murmur in my mind, but almost a physical force.

  I struggled to concentrate on Yelena, wondering if bats could swim as she jumped into the pool. Water splashed on us. Leif muttered oaths under his breath. He held his torch over the water. The silt on the bottom of the pool stirred into milky white clouds when she reached the rope. Soon she disappeared from our sight.

  “You know what I’d like to know?” Leif asked.

  Set me free.

  “How to swim?” I guessed.

  Powerful magic will be yours.

  “Real funny. I’d like to know who was the crazy son of a bitch who reached this spot and said, ‘Gee, I wonder where this pool goes?’ Any other reasonable person would have looked around and declared this room a dead end.”

  Find me. Find me.

  As we waited, I tried to push the voice away. Concentrated on the type of person who would dive into a pool just to see what was there. An adventurer? An explorer? If someone didn’t take a chance or try an experiment, then certain discoveries would never have been made.

  Find me. Set me free and I’ll reward you with unlimited power.

  I staggered, but steadied myself against the wall before Leif or Kade noticed.

  “Finally,” Leif said as Yelena broke the surface. “Well?”

  “The water’s cold.”

  “I knew I should have let Ulrick come along. He’s serious. And with no sense of humor, he would counter your wisecracks perfectly.”

  “Leif, that’s enough,” Yelena said. “Don’t listen to him, Opal. He tends to babble when he’s nervous. I want you to follow me back over. Swim down to the rope and pull yourself through the tunnel to the next pool. When you get to the other rung, let go and float up to the surface. You do know how to swim. Right?”

  Kade snorted.

  I shot him a nasty look. “Yes. I do.” I pulled my cloak off and hung it from a stalagmite, then tossed my boots next to Yelena’s.

  “Kade, stay here and keep watch. Leif, follow Opal,” she said.

  “Why can’t I keep watch?” Leif pouted.

  “Lighting torches, remember?”

  “Oh, joy.”

  Hesitating on the edge, I braced myself for the cold. When I entered the water, the shock tore threw me, robbing my lungs of air for a moment. The voice in my mind was stunned into silence.

  “Deep breath,” Yelena said. She swam to the bottom.

  Drawing in a shaky, clattery breath, I ducked under the surface and followed her. She had made it sound so easy, but the cloudy water obscured the rope. In a panic, I searched with my hands, making it worse. I would have given up, but my tingling fingers finally brushed the rough threads.

  Hand over hand, I pulled. With each stroke, the light faded until I moved through liquid darkness. My lungs protested as air bubbled from my lips. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold my breath. Just about to panic, I touched a knot of rope tied to another metal rung. I released my hold and floated to the surface, gasping for air.

  “Here.” Yelena grabbed my hand and pulled me from the water. “Once Leif gets here, we’ll have light. I found a couple of torches.”

  I lay on the hard floor, sucking in breaths. Soon a loud splash and coughing sounded beside me.

  “Next time,” Leif puffed. “Next time...I’m staying... home....”

  “And miss all the fun?” Yelena asked.

  “Come here, so...I can strangle...you.”

  “You’ll have to catch me first. Light these.”

  Wood thumped against wet skin.

  “Ow!”

  “Sorry.”

  Leif muttered about buying his sister flint before fire ignited on the torches. The light caused a chain reaction throughout the cavern. Leif never did strangle his sister, and I forgot all about the cold numbing my bones. We were too captivated by the spectacle around us.

  Every surface in the room sparkled as if alive. The yellow firelight raced through and reflected from a million facets. Crystals of every shape and size lined the walls, grew on the rocks and hung from the ceiling. Gressa’s glass chandelier was dull and ordinary in comparison. My dream images a poor copy at best.

  “Worth the swim?” Yelena asked.

  All I could manage was a thin squeak of assent. The voice consumed me. He was here, trapped in a glass prison, which I had made and helped Yelena to fill. I had been a conduit for the evil souls. Tainted—their black thoughts occupied my mind for a mere second but enough to...what? To reconnect with me? To claim me.

  My chest tightened. The compulsion to go straight to the prison wrapped around me like a rope, pulling. I glanced at Yelena. Did she hear him? He was one of the Daviian Warpers. The seven prisons had disappeared soon after Yelena and I filled them. Hi
dden by Valek, Yelena assured me in locations unknown to everyone but him, and she had made it clear she didn’t want to know. And now me.

  Free me. Crush the prison in your hand. Only you can do it.

  “Oh, yes. Worth getting wet for. Did I ever tell you you’re my favorite sister?”

  Yelena rolled her eyes since she was his only sister. “Are these your fake diamonds, Opal?”

  I closed my mouth and pushed to my feet, taking one of the torches with me. She didn’t hear him. I tried to do my job, despite the ghost’s increasing demands for freedom.

  A path wound through the chamber. From what I could see by the torchlight, it appeared to be several stories high, a couple hundred feet wide, and about seventy feet deep. Toward the back, I spotted an area where the crystals had been chiseled. These crystals were brilliant and clear. I rubbed my fingertips along the surface, pieces cracked off in my wake.

  “These are too brittle.” I searched until I found black-colored crystals. “These, too. They wouldn’t survive being shaped.” So why come here?

  Free me. You’ll be stronger than the Soulfinder.

  “Do you know what these are?” Yelena asked.

  “A type of gypsum crystal, but I’m not an expert. Pazia or someone from the Cloud Mist Clan would know.”

  I can tell you. Everything and anything you want to know.

  “What are they used for?” Leif asked.

  “They could be added into a glass mixture. Perhaps they are needed in the recipe to make the fakes.”

  “We’ll take a few samples to identify it. Leif, there’s a table on the other side of the pool,” Yelena called. “See if you can find a chisel.”

  Crush the prison in your hand. Release me.

  After a few minutes of grumbling, Leif brought a chisel, hammer and a cloth bag. Trying not to make a noticeable break, I chipped off a finger-sized piece of the clear, then broke a similar-sized chuck of black and stuffed them into the bag.

  The pressure in my mind bloomed into an unbearable torment. I sank to my knees and, without conscious thought, pried the prison from the corner where it had been wedged, one sparkle among thousands. Relief and power flowed through me as if I had drunk an elixir. I gazed at the glass, muddy-red light pulsed from its core.