The Queen's Quarry

by Frank Morin

  Releasing quartzite, he frowned. Turning, he saw Kilian watching him and said, “I can’t even keep quartzite stable with internal focus.”

  Kilian gave him that roguish smile and said, “Then I guess we’d better practice.”

  72

  When Inspirational Speeches Are Not

  It was actually a great time to practice, with everyone scattering to their various duties. So Connor asked, “Where to?”

  “Come on. We need a bit more privacy,” Kilian said.

  Together they absorbed a bit of basalt and raced out of town, down through the foothills, and across the wide, snowy valley toward New Schwinkendorf. Connor grinned as they flashed across the top of the snow, kicking up sprays of fine powder, moving too fast to sink in. Connor laughed into the cold wind that whistled in his ears as he ran. He loved that sound.

  That was it! That’s why he heard wind every time he tapped serpentinite. It was the sound of running with basalt, the sound of freedom.

  Feeling exultant that he’d figured that out, he barely noticed the cold until they slowed in the cleared streets of New Schwinkendorf. Only then did he remember he could have tapped granite at the same time. He’d been so looking forward to trying two primary-affinity stones, he felt annoyed that he’d missed his chance.

  The streets were all laid out in an orderly grid pattern, so unlike the original town that Connor had to wonder if the eventual residents would like it or hate it. Kilian led him at a trot past the nearly completed assembly building, dodged workmen and wagons laden with supplies, then entered the shell of another building just up the street. The outer framework was complete and much of the sheathing was finished. The interior was little more than a skeleton of beams that suggested a complex arrangement of multiple floors and rooms.

  “What is this building supposed to be?” Connor asked.

  “One of the administration buildings, I believe,” Kilian said.

  “Why isn’t anyone working on it today?”

  “I’m not sure, but it makes a perfect place for a little practice.”

  “Far from Faulenrost and a lot of innocent bystanders, you mean?”

  Kilian shook his head. “I don’t think you’re a danger to people, Connor. I do think you need the least amount of distractions possible while you try to stabilize your tertiary affinities.”

  That was definitely true. The other truth was that he was freezing. He hadn’t exactly dressed for a Strider sprint across the winter landscape. He said through chattering teeth, “Maybe I’ll start with marble.”

  Kilian placed a hand on his shoulder and warmth flowed into him like an invisible river. He sighed as the chill faded and said, “Thanks.”

  “I forgot you couldn’t keep yourself warm. It’s second nature to me,” Kilian said with a rueful smile.

  “Any suggestions?” Connor asked as he downed a vial of soapstone and water.

  “You’ve been practicing daily in Altkalen?”

  Connor nodded. “Didn’t seem to help much. I still can’t keep an elemental connection more than a couple seconds.”

  “Have you gained any other insights about how the higher frequency power source interferes with you?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me.”

  “It takes time, and unfortunately the threshold affects different Petralists in different ways.”

  “Really?” That seemed weird until Connor considered that they would have established different affinities, in different orders.

  “Few Petralists have succeeded in ascending twice. Of those who did, we all faced varying degrees of interference from the two conflicting power frequencies. One that I knew of never managed to figure out how to overcome that challenge and died in battle shortly after ascending.”

  “You really need to work on your inspirational speeches,” Connor grumbled, feeling even more desperate than ever. He couldn’t imagine not figuring out how to stabilize his precious tertiary affinities. They played such a critical role in battle planning. He’d never survive another encounter with Harley without them.

  “So what can I do? How long does it usually take?”

  “It varies. For some it’s taken weeks or months,” Kilian admitted.

  “I can’t wait that long!” Connor exclaimed.

  “Why do you think I told you not to ascend?” Kilian asked, sounding a bit exasperated too.

  As if he’d had an alternative. As much as the current situation frustrated him, dying at Raufarhofn would have been worse. He tried to calm his racing thoughts. He’d faced many difficult challenges. He could figure this out. As he considered Kilian’s words he suddenly got an idea.

  “If the second threshold messed everything up by tuning my affinities to the higher-frequency, green power source, what would the third threshold do? Would it grant access to another frequency?”

  “Good question, but no. Tallan once explained that the third threshold seemed to bring stability. It helped balance the two different frequencies and smoothed out the troubles he’d encountered after the second threshold.”

  That was even better than Connor had hoped. “That makes it easy, then. I just need to ascend the third threshold right now.”

  Kilian surprised him by shaking his head. “Not if you want to live.”

  “Why not?”

  “You can’t tempt the third threshold until you’re stabilized. Otherwise the attempt would almost definitely kill you. At the least, you’d burn out all of your affinities and never again manage to touch the power of any stone.”

  His words chilled Connor far worse than the run down from Faulenrost had. “So if the third threshold is out, what else can you suggest?”

  Kilian grimaced. “I’d hoped to locate Evander by now, but he’s concealed his location from my messengers. From what Ailsa’s reported, my mother has not had better luck. I had hoped he might have discovered better techniques in his deep studies at the Carraig.”

  “Well, I need to do something. Maybe I should go look for him,” Connor suggested.

  Kilian chuckled. “Leaving you to run alone into Obrion would be a singularly bad idea, I think.”

  “I’m not helpless,” Connor grumbled.

  Kilian raised one eyebrow and asked, “How well did your last excursion go?”

  That was a good point. Connor sighed. “So do you have ideas? I’ll keep practicing, but trying the same things doesn’t usually produce different results.”

  “Agreed. I do have one idea we can try.”

  “Name it. I’d kiss a pedra or play tag with a torc if that would help.”

  Kilian chuckled. “I’m tempted to watch you try.”

  Connor grimaced. A pedra had once tried to rip his head off. He knew all too well how disgusting they were up close.

  Kilian said, “It’s possible that if you actively tap a green-attuned power stone, you may be able to keep the green frequency from interfering. Then maybe you could establish red-attuned connections at the same time.”

  The idea actually had merit, but he only knew of one green-attuned power stone. “Tempting porphyry again is a really bad idea.”

  Just thinking about the dangerous stone was like throwing open the door to the wild hunger that had assaulted his will so much in recent weeks. Connor’s vision blurred as the need for porphyry erupted through him, so strong his hands began to shake and he growled with the need to embrace it. He had some porphyry. He’d kept one pouch of the dangerous powder when he sent the rest of Craigroy’s stash to Jean.

  The abrupt need startled and terrified him. Ever since he’d managed to control porphyry in Merkland the craving for it had subsided to a dull ache. He’d dared believe that after his ascension it would no longer pose such a threat.

  Kilian placed a strong hand on his shoulder and he glanced up. He hadn’t realized he’d doubled over, clutching his stomach. Kilian’s gaze was penetrating, but compassionate. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m not sure. All of a sudden I feel the craving for porp
hyry stronger than I have in days.”

  Kilian frowned as he helped Connor stand straight. That unnerved Connor as much as anything he felt from porphyry. Kilian was supposed to have all the answers. Connor couldn’t tempt porphyry again without knowing for sure Kilian was confident it would work.

  Kilian said, “You’ve established a deep affinity with porphyry. If you can control it, I suspect it would indeed help stabilize your tertiary affinities, but it is not the only green-attuned power stone.”

  “Really?”

  “Indeed. Both obsidian and pumice have partial links to green-frequency power.”

  “How can people establish affinities with them, then?”

  “Because those connections are not exclusive. Obsidian was the first-ever power stone, the only igneous stone that has its own threshold. I don’t think my parents understood how to tune power stones to the different frequencies yet, and obsidian ended up somewhere in the middle of the two lowest frequencies, allowing both the red and green to flow through.”

  “What about pumice?” Connor asked.

  “Another unique stone. From Aifric’s description, it actually absorbs red frequency power. To do that, it must funnel that power elsewhere. I suspect it does so by linking somehow to a higher frequency power source, most likely the green.”

  Connor frowned as he considered the new information. “I definitely vote trying one of those first.”

  They made a quick basalt-fueled dash back to Faulenrost for the stones they would need, and that time Connor remembered to tap granite at the same time, hardening his skin against the cold. Running while tapping both basalt and granite was an amazing experience, and he wished for more time to explore the different possible combinations. He was only tapping a little granite, just enough to harden his skin, but what if he tapped more? Would swelling his muscles allow him to run faster, or would the expanded bulk actually slow him down?

  He’d test it later. He collected some stones, including that secret stash of porphyry. He didn’t want to use it, but he’d keep it close, just in case.

  They returned to the empty shell of the building in New Schwinkendorf and Connor purged his active igneous stones, then absorbed a little pumice. Immediately he recognized its strange feel, like hundreds of tiny bubbles under his skin. His mind returned to that night he’d saved Shona from Ilse’s band and hid from Kilian in the Wick.

  In the past, when he thought of that memory, he’d always just thought about that first kiss with Shona. Now he felt relieved to have other aspects of the memory to consider.

  Tapping pumice seemed to accelerate the intensity of the bubbles bouncing around under his skin, and like that time in the Wick, he seemed to have a lot more air, even though he slowed his breathing. Now that he’d ascended, could he actually breathe underwater? That would be fun to try out.

  With pumice active, he also tried tapping soapstone. As soon as Water formed in his mind, he felt the two conflicting frequencies crashing through her, mixing and colliding across her robe. But with pumice active, the red-frequency power source seemed a lot stronger and as covered most of her hands.

  She gave him an approving smile, her long, blue tresses waving like a gentle tide. Connor eagerly took her hand.

  He connected!

  His senses radiated out beyond the building and mapped the snow-covered streets of New Schwinkendorf. The green frequency power still collided with his grip, but only briefly. That contact shook his connection with Water, but did not quite sever it.

  “It’s working!” Connor exclaimed. He tugged on the snow just outside the building, melted it, and fashioned a globe of water over his palm. With the green interference, it shook and nearly dissolved every couple of seconds, but each time he managed to catch it and reform it.

  Kilian watched closely. “It’s not great, but it’s better.”

  “A million percent better,” Connor laughed, trying to pull on more water, but he timed the pull badly, just as another wave of green-frequency power swept across Water’s hands, and he lost the connection. The globe of water splashed down over his hand before he could save it.

  Kilian clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll need to keep practicing, but maybe we’ve found the way to accelerate your stabilization.”

  Connor took a deep breath and reached for a piece of marble. Time to push the limits a little.

  73

  Extreme Alone Time

  “Hamish, did you decide to take a nap in there?”

  Dierk’s voice startled Hamish awake as it boomed into his helmet through a speakstone. He actually had nodded off, held up by the complex harness securing him in place in the tight cockpit of the amazing Juggernaut.

  “Just double-checking access to the components,” he replied quickly. “Give me another minute.”

  The past five days had sped by in a blur of activity and strudel-induced creative frenzy. Hamish had worked with Dierk, Jean, Verena, and dozens of Builders, researchers, and workers on the monumental task of completing the Juggernaut. It seemed the entire town turned out to support efforts to finish other mechanicals and provide whatever supplies the tiny strike force could bring south to Merkland.

  Verena’s presence invigorated everyone. Working with her again was like a breath of cool air on a hot afternoon in the middle of summer. Every time she entered the workroom, she infused it with new life. But even so, their work was daunting. Hamish caught far too little sleep and had to eat far too many smashpacked meals.

  They’d done it, though.

  Hamish glanced around the cockpit at the center of the twelve-foot tall, spherical wonder. By now he knew every component as well as he knew his personal battle suit, but it still amazed him.

  He’d helped design the initial concept, but they’d taken those rough ideas and given them wings. How they powered the suit was simply brilliant. Jean and her team had developed an entirely new way to harness affinity stones.

  The engineering master still left him gaping. To his right sat the marvelous new furnace. All it burned was a small piece of marble. That constant fire was then mixed with single grains of diorite, released one at a time through a clever set of rotating canisters. The explosive result produced tiny but fierce bursts of power that drove a series of gears and pistons that in turn powered most of the ingenious mechanicals. Hamish controlled the flow of that power with a series of brass knobs and levers arrayed all around him.

  He spun a complete circle, touching each one, connecting with the many components and weapons built into the armor. His harness was suspended from brass casters set into a complex pattern of channels that allowed them to spin in any direction. In testing, they’d proven that he could remain upright as the armor rolled, except for in the most abrupt changes of direction.

  Dierk, Jean, and their teams had packed a remarkable amount of mechanicals into the armor, including drills, thrusters, missiles, and battering ram arms. The armor could roll at impressive speeds and even fly short distances. Even the Althing researchers had presented him with a small vial of highly corrosive acid that he could spray up to thirty feet.

  He’d expected to need wagonloads of power stone to fuel the massive juggernaut. Some of the individual components did consume marble, quartzite, or diorite, but that little central furnace powered most of the mechanical’s ravenous needs.

  Jean’s voice interrupted his inspection of the mechanical wonder. “Hamish, are you eating in there?”

  He laughed. He’d consumed dozens of smashpacked meals in the cockpit over the past few days, but he’d always offered to share. “Come on in and find out.”

  He activated one of the last components they’d gotten working. They called it a sightstone. It was another clever use of quartzite that Jean had decided must be possible. Hamish and Verena had figured out how to make it work just the day before. Little pieces of quartzite were embedded in the outer shell, and they could act as remote eyeballs for Hamish.

  He activated the one closest to Jean. One side o
f his visor shimmered as the quartzite linked to that outside sightstone revealed the image of what its paired stone could see. It was sort of like using long-vision goggles, but seeing objects visible only to that outer stone.

  Through it, he could see the cluttered jumble of benches, tools, and empty crates that had held power stones. The team was gathered near Jean, who stood facing the Juggernaut, her expression a bit impatient.

  “No. You come out. It’s dinner time. I promised Verena and Connor we’d join them at the inn.”

  “Coming!”

  He released the sightstone, unbuckled, and scrambled out the access tunnel to the round exit door. Jean had been incredibly optimistic in her declaration that they needed another month. Hamish figured they needed six to do things right, but all they’d had was five days.

  The frantic pace their teams had sustained around the clock through all of those days inspired him. Hamish had only ever achieved that state of complete focus and inexhaustible enthusiasm during the construction of his initial battle suit, fueled by hundreds of smashpacked meals and secret trips into the kitchen for buckets full of sweetbreads.

  Jean helped him crawl out and stand. She looked tired, but her smile still lit up his soul. Spending so much time with her during the final assembly and exhaustive testing had made it all worthwhile.

  Dierk and the rest of the team looked worse. Dierk’s glasses were a bit askew, and he had dark circles under his eyes. Twenty men and women, most grease-stained and disheveled, gathered around in a tired but enthusiastic circle.

  Hamish glanced at the glittering out shell, made of steel and hardened granite plates. The Juggernaut was rough and raw, but ready for battle. He wasn’t sure he could destroy Harley, but he could sure keep her busy until the rest of the team figured out how to take her down.