Storm Glass g-1

by Maria V. Snyder

  When Aydan finished his last bowl, he stood and stretched his arms and back. “There’s some melt left, refill it when you’re done.” Without another word, he left the workshop, heading next door to his home.

  Ulrick stopped shoveling. “What is it with older glassmakers? They order you around and go off without a thank-you or goodbye. My mother’s the same way.”

  “When you have a limited time left to live, would you want to waste it on small talk?” My brush with disaster had caused me to realize again how precious life was. Interesting how after Alea had released me over four years ago, I had felt the same way, intending to enjoy every free moment of life. Yet I had lapsed back into a daily routine, wishing my time away.

  Ulrick looked at me. Strands of black hair clung to his sweaty forehead. The urge to wipe the dirt off his strong chin pulsed in my chest. I wished I could render his proportioned features in glass so I could stare at him without blushing, and I reconsidered sending the note about Aydan to my sister. Ulrick certainly wouldn’t be paying attention to me if Mara was here.

  I squirmed under his continued scrutiny. “Aydan mentioned melt. Would you like to work the glass?”

  “Could you show me how to make animal shapes? My mother always thought it was a waste of time.” He shrugged. “No money in it. But I’d like to learn.”

  We worked together and, with my guidance, he made a swan. The piece didn’t resemble a first effort. Ulrick’s skills with the glass were impressive.

  With the second animal, I gathered the molten glass onto the end of a blowpipe. When he finished shaping the legs and tail of a pig, I instructed him to blow through the pipe. The creature’s body expanded as it should. Although well crafted, the pig didn’t glow with magic. I didn’t mention the lack of power. What worked for me didn’t have to work for him, but my curiosity about how he inserted the magic into his pieces grew.

  “Can you make one of your vases? One that sings?” I asked.

  “No. I need a special sand mix. It’s your turn. I’d like to see you work your magic.”

  Remembering his failure to see the inner glow in Zitora’s unicorn, I said, “You probably won’t be able to see it.”

  “Maybe I just need to be here. What are you going to make?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He huffed. “You sound just like my sister. How can you not know?”

  I shrugged.

  “I have to have the image of my finished piece firmly in mind before I sit down at the bench. Otherwise I end up with a cold slug of glass.”

  When I couldn’t provide the exact reason my method worked for me, he gathered the last of the melt. All distractions disappeared as I focused on rolling the pipe and shaping the glass. My mind open to the slight nuances in the glass, I used my tweezers and tugged until a shape formed. Then I blew magic into the piece. The core glowed as if on fire.

  “I thought you said your speciality was animals,” Ulrick said.

  “It is.” I considered the finished sculpture. Technically it was a living thing, but I had never made a seashell before. It twisted around a center point like a conch shell. “Interesting.”

  “Crazy,” he teased. “Crack it off. I’ll put it next to mine in the annealing oven to cool.”

  “Do you see the inner light?”

  He hesitated for a heartbeat. “No.”

  “So to you this is…”

  “A lump of dull glass shaped like a shell. Sorry. Perhaps you should stick to animals.”

  I waited to see if he would remember seeing Zitora’s unicorn. He frowned but didn’t mention it. I said the words for him. “Or perhaps not.”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “Don’t worry about it. My ego can handle it.”

  “I know my ego wouldn’t. Otherwise I would have agreed with my mother and found another occupation instead of trying to prove her wrong.”

  We cleaned up the work area and filled the kilns with Aydan’s special sand. Ulrick added enough coal to keep the fire hot for most of the night. Aydan would need to check on it overnight. By then, the sand mixture should melt and be ready in the morning.

  When we finished, we headed toward the Keep. The lanterns along the main Citadel road cast a yellow softness on the hard marble walls of the buildings. Our footsteps echoed through the deserted street. I marveled over how much time had passed while Ulrick and I had worked.

  Nighttime fears and apprehensions crawled along my skin. I checked Ulrick’s shadow, sighing with relief to see the shape matched my companion’s broad shoulders. I wondered if he knew how to defend himself. Like an idiot, I had left my sais back in my rooms. The need to protect myself still wasn’t instinctive in spite of my recent kidnapping. I had assumed Ulrick’s company was all I needed to stay safe.

  “Why is seeing the inner glow so important?” Ulrick asked.

  I explained about the magic trapped inside.

  “If I can’t see it, then I’m not a magician.”

  “I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. The Masters are just realizing there are a number of unusual magical abilities. If it hadn’t been for Yelena, my magic never would have been discovered and I wouldn’t be here.”

  Ulrick looked at me in surprise. “You know Yelena Zaltana?”

  “Yes.” I waited.

  “What’s she like? Is she as powerful as the rumors say? As beautiful?”

  I suppressed my annoyance. At least he wasn’t pumping me for information about my sister, and he hadn’t heard about my involvement with trapping the evil souls. I confirmed the rumors and told Ulrick a few details, including her commitment to Valek, the Ixian Chief of Intelligence.

  “The most hated man in Sitia in love with the hero of Sitia. Wow. I’d bet the story of how they met would be fascinating.”

  “It is.” Before he could ask for more information, I changed the subject. We discussed the best way to explore his magic glass until we reached the Keep.

  The gates were locked, and the guards suspicious until I explained who we were. We didn’t see anyone walking around the Keep’s campus, but Ulrick insisted on escorting me to my quarters.

  “You really don’t need—” I started.

  “Nonsense. After what happened, you should have a battalion of guards with you at all times.”

  “A battalion? Six-hundred men?”

  “All right. A platoon then, and not a single soldier less.” He acted stern.

  “I’m insulted, now. Only thirty men? I’m worth a cohort at least.”

  He considered. “I don’t know. You’re the only glass magician that we know of, but I’ve seen the shell you made, and—”

  “Watch it.”

  “You’re right. One-hundred men at least, although I’d be happier with two cohorts.” He opened my door for me and gestured me inside.

  As I passed him, he placed a hand on my shoulder. I paused.

  “I’ll go and order that battalion. We shouldn’t skimp on safety.”

  The intensity of his concern sent a wave of warmth through me. We had been joking around. Hadn’t we?

  I couldn’t think of a proper response, so I thanked him for taking me home. He nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

  In my sitting room, I poked the dying embers of the fire into flames, adding wood until the hearth blazed with light and heat. The crisp air felt empty. And I longed to be…Be where?

  Be home with my family? The familiar homesick ache didn’t fill my heart. And the thought of going back to helping my father in the factory was unappealing.

  Be at the coast with Kade? Tempting, except for the fact Kade grieved for his sister and kept himself at a distance. Plus the Stormdancers had no real need for my skills.

  Be with Ulrick? I would enjoy getting to know him better. My skin still felt warm where he had touched me. But I might have read more into the gesture than he had intended. He probably viewed me as a younger sister who held no talent for shaping glass.

  I guessed I would have to be cont
ent with my current situation. The thought of working with Zitora raised my spirits. Perhaps my last year at the Keep wouldn’t be as lonely as the first four.

  Tired from only a few hours of sleep, I dragged my body out of bed the next morning. After breakfast, I hustled to the Masters’ meeting room in the Keep’s administration building.

  All three Masters sat at a conference table. They argued without anger. I hesitated in the doorway until Zitora waved me in and pointed to an empty seat.

  Maps of the Moon Clan’s lands covered the surface. Black lines marked the Ixian border.

  “…Valek isn’t involved,” Master Jewelrose said.

  “But that’s his calling card,” Zitora said.

  “Was. Just because a black statue was found in Councillor Moon’s house doesn’t mean she’s been targeted for assassination.” Irys Jewelrose flipped through a file of papers. “The Councillor’s sister desires the position. It is probably an attempt to scare the Councillor into retiring. We’ve seen this type of power struggle within the clans before.”

  “But what about the report of illegal border crossings into Moon lands?” Zitora asked. “We can’t send Ixian refugees back to Ixia.”

  Good point. Before Commander Ambrose agreed to a trade treaty and created a dialogue between Ixia and Sitia, Ixian refugees were granted protection. But now it has become a diplomatic problem between the two countries. The Commander wanted to be informed about any deserters, but he hadn’t been willing to let them live in Sitia. As far as I knew, an agreement still hadn’t been reached, and the Council claimed ignorance over how many have crossed since the treaty.

  “A mess,” Master Bloodgood said. “Irys, send a message to Liaison Yelena. See if she will accompany you to the Moon lands. Best if we get this settled quickly. We need to step up our negotiations with the Commander, and finalize the refugee issue.”

  Irys collected her files and stood. “I’ll leave as soon as possible.” She paused next to me. “Good work with those Stormdancer orbs. I knew we sent the right person.” She winked at me before leaving the room.

  “I agree,” Bain Bloodgood said. “Councillor Stormdance wanted me to express his thanks. You have impressed us with your knowledge and your escape from harm.”

  “And she made a few important discoveries,” Zitora added.

  “Indeed. I will leave you to discuss your plans.” Bain’s gray eyes sparkled with delight at the prospect of learning.

  When the door closed behind Bain, Zitora rolled the maps and returned them to the iron rack. She spread a clean sheet of parchment in front of her. Picking up a stick of charcoal, she said, “First thing we should do is to construct a glass workshop in the Keep.”

  “Truly?”

  “Yes. We should have built one years ago. You’ve supplied us with your glass messengers all these years and I never stopped to think how inconvenient it was for you to go to the Citadel. You should have requested your own shop.”

  “I didn’t mind. I learned a lot from Aydan.” Plus he always listened to my problems and frustrations.

  “We now have Ulrick and all those interesting abilities of yours to experiment with. And the need for your magic animals has increased. The Council would love to set up a network of messengers all over Sitia, which means you’ll need to make more and you’ll need to access the equipment without working around Aydan’s schedule.” She flourished the charcoal. “I need a list of supplies and specifications.”

  Zitora wrote down the items needed to build a workshop and I roughed out the design and layout of the shop on another sheet.

  “I’ll find a location and hire a building crew,” Zitora said. “You can buy the necessary supplies and equipment. Ulrick can help you. It’ll give him something to do until the shop is ready for you both to use.” She signed the bottom of the list. “Bring this list and all the invoices to the Keep’s accountant to pay the bills. Make sure you’re not cheated. You might want to enlist the services of the market’s Helper’s Guild. I hear Fisk can point you to the best merchants in the Citadel.”

  “I’ll have to travel to Booruby for a few of these supplies.”

  “You’re in charge.” She handed me the paper. “Go where you need to.”

  “But what about my apprentice classes and studies?”

  Her eyebrows spiked up in impish delight. “Besides daily self-defense, weapon and equestrian practice, this is your studies.”

  As I hurried from the Masters’ meeting room, I thought about the classes I no longer had to attend. Would I miss the sessions with the Professors and my fellow apprentices? Every school day for the last four years, I had two morning classes followed by lunch. The afternoon activities included weapons and self-defense training with the Master of Arms, and an extra-long history class. Learning Sitian history spanned the entire five-year program. My evenings had been spent studying and practicing the day’s lessons.

  My emotions flipped from relief—no more frustration over what I couldn’t do with my magic and no more accidents—to disappointment—no more hope that another aspect of my power would reveal itself.

  However, the job of purchasing supplies and equipment for a glass workshop thrilled me. This task I could do. No worries, hesitation or doubts. A welcome change of pace.

  Leaving the administration building, I searched for Ulrick. The weak midmorning sunshine tried to warm the air, but we were over halfway through the cooling season, and soon the dreary dampness of the cold season would dominate. First morning classes had ended. Students filled the campus pathways. Clustered in groups or hurrying to another building, they had a half-hour break before the start of the second sessions.

  Intent on finding Ulrick, I sailed past the others not bothering to note their moods. I found him outside the guest quarters surrounded by a gaggle of senior girls. Hanging back, I waited for the group to disperse, but Ulrick spotted me. He excused himself and joined me.

  “What’s the plan for today?” he asked with a smile.

  I filled him in on the details of my meeting with Zitora. Even with students walking past and calling out hellos, he gave me his full attention. Although my sense of importance died when Pazia Cloud Mist bumped into me.

  “Sorry,” she said with a tone implying she was anything but.

  A fellow apprentice, Pazia’s powers were impressive enough to cause speculation on whether or not she possessed Master-level magic. Knowing her, I didn’t doubt she would demand the Master-level test. She had taken an instant dislike of me the moment we met at the beginning of our first year. And she always seemed to be a witness to my most disastrous efforts, including my latest goof of burning her with hot wax.

  “I know I didn’t interrupt anything vital,” Pazia said. “Ulrick, do you need me to rescue you from the One-Trick Wonder?”

  “Excuse me?” He looked at her in confusion.

  Normally, I would ignore her snide remarks, but not this time. “You did interrupt us. I suggest you get to class before you’re cited for tardiness.”

  Anger flared in her olive-colored eyes. “You’re going to be late, too. Especially if I set your clothes on fire.”

  A valid threat. Pazia was known for her temper. I should have backed down and kept my mouth shut, but I didn’t. Perhaps the sais around my waist gave me a feeling of empowerment.

  I laughed. “Set fire to my clothes? How first year. Pazia, you really should be setting an example for the younger students not fires. But if you must show Ulrick how petty you can be…” I held my arms out with a weary patience. “Go ahead.”

  16

  INSTEAD OF IGNITING my shirt, Pazia pressed her lips together in annoyance. “You’re not worth my time.” Turning her back on me, she rushed away.

  “You called her bluff,” Ulrick said.

  “She’ll make me regret it.”

  “How?”

  “By spreading lies and ugly rumors about me to her friends.”

  “Why would you care?”

  I paused. Why would
I care? It wouldn’t change anything.

  “She’s a student, one of many,” he said. “You work with a Master Magician. Liaison Yelena is your friend.”

  Ulrick’s comment sounded logical, but just because I knew and worked with respected magicians didn’t mean I deserved the same honor. I had to earn my place. Unfortunately with my limited magical abilities, all I’d earned from my classmates was contempt. And a few of them, like Pazia, even thought I had betrayed Sitia by pricking Yelena with Curare.

  “Let’s get started with this list,” I said. “We should order the kiln supplies first.”

  “Is there a brick merchant in the Citadel?”

  The Citadel had been built with marble, so I doubted there were many brick factories nearby. “Probably not, but I know who to ask.”

  “It’s about time,” Aydan said. The glassmaker had put us to work as soon as we entered his shop. “They should have built you a kiln years ago.”

  Ulrick pulled the cooled pieces from the annealing oven. He inspected my seashell. “I agree. Your magic glass is important to the magicians. You should have demanded your own shop.”

  I was just glad to be a student at the Keep. The thought of requesting special treatment seemed alien. Plus, coming to Aydan’s had always been a good excuse to get away from my classmates. Not wanting to explain to Ulrick, I asked, “Would you demand kiln time from your mother to work on your pieces?”

  He considered. “No. I see your point.”

  “And I see two people standing around doing nothing,” Aydan said. “Ulrick, add coal to the kiln. Opal, gather me a slug.”

  We hastened to obey. When the glassmaker had finished his work for the day, he wrote a list of all his suppliers. “Don’t forget you promised to find me a helper.”

  Since a trip to Booruby was required for us to finish our project, I planned to talk to Mara about coming to the Citadel. In the meantime, Ulrick and I agreed to help Aydan in the mornings. The glassmaker would find a temporary assistant for the rest of the day.

  “Don’t you have classes?” Ulrick asked as we left Aydan’s shop and headed toward the market.

  “Not anymore.” A brief pang touched my heart, but when I considered working with Ulrick all day, the empty feeling filled with…What? Happiness? A sense of purpose? Excitement? Perhaps a bit of all three.