“Shut up,” Bloody Lip growled. He raised his knife. “Leave now and I won’t hurt you.”
“We could say the same thing,” Kade replied.
A wind gust blew through the alley, sweeping trash into the air. I pulled my sais and held them in the ready position.
Bloody Lip met my gaze and pushed the man down, turning all his attention to us. “I know you. You’re that student who cost me my job.” His other hand moved and with another snick he brandished a second knife. “You won’t surprise me this time.”
He advanced. Another gust flowed around us. It whistled and slammed into Bloody Lip, but the air around us remained calm. He kept his feet as the litter in the alley shot past. The victim huddled low to the ground.
A banging noise sounded behind me and I turned in time to avoid a couple of barrels rolled by the wind. They hit the edge of a cobblestone and launched into the air, connecting with Bloody Lip. He tumbled to the ground, cursing as a knife skittered out of his hand.
The wind stopped and Bloody Lip crawled to his feet and ran away. Kade helped the victim to stand.
“Thank fate you came along. That man was trying to rob me,” he said. His voice quavered with a shaky indignation.
“Do you want us to escort you to the Citadel guards to report him?” I asked.
He flinched and attempted a smile. “No. No time. I have a delivery to make. Can you accompany me to the store? It’s not far.”
“Sure,” Kade said. He moved aside to let the man lead.
“My name’s Chun. Who do I have the pleasure of thanking for rescuing me?”
We introduced ourselves. Chun chatted about nothing in particular and once again thanked us when we reached his destination.
The storefront was unremarkable, but I recognized the place as belonging to one of the many black market dealers Pazia and I had visited. Chun’s reluctance to talk to the authorities was now understandable. His delivery was probably of black market goods.
We left and headed back toward the Keep. Two blocks away I made the connection.
Stopping in midstride, I said, “Chun entered Bloody Lip’s place.” I explained about Bex and Bloody Lip’s attempt to strong-arm me and Pazia into buying fake diamonds.
“Do you think Chun and he worked together?” Kade asked.
“No. Bloody Lip mentioned getting fired.” I thought it through. “Let’s go back and see where he goes.”
We found a small alcove near the store and waited. My attention tended to wander. The air between me and Kade felt as if a mini thunderstorm brewed within the narrow gap. A sudden desire to grasp Kade’s arm and share his energy swelled in my heart. I stifled it with difficulty.
Chun finally exited after the lamplighters had finished lighting the street. An errant gust had blown the lamp near us out. From Kade’s grin, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.
Before Chun could move away, the door swung open and a man stuck his head out.
“I forgot about the midseason festival,” he said. “Bring us ten more crystals. The tourists will snatch them up. Everyone loves a bargain.”
They shared a chuckle, and I wondered if the crystals he mentioned were the fake diamonds.
Keeping a half-block distance back from Chun, we followed him to the Citadel’s north gate. He stopped at the public paddock nearby. Each of the Citadel’s entrances had a place where you could stable your horse or store a wagon. A convenience for those who only came for the day. The paddocks were run by the government and every large town in Sitia had one.
Chun hitched a dilapidated wagon to a brown horse. Spokes were missing from the wheels and the broken back gate was tied to the sides with knotted and frayed ropes.
“If he’s selling the fakes, he certainly isn’t putting his money into transportation,” Kade said. “Then again, what better way to avoid robbers on the roads.”
“Zitora didn’t seem as concerned with the fakes, but we should know who is producing them.”
We watched as Chun spurred the horse and drove through the north gate. Once he was out of sight, we questioned the paddock manager.
“Comes in twice a season,” he said, checking a ledger. “Nice guy. I know he’s a member of the Moon Clan because he told me about the troubles they were having with bandits and how he was unhappy with their Councillor.”
“Do you know why he comes?” I asked.
“Deliveries, I think.” The man shrugged. “Must be small because the wagon’s always empty. He pays his bill on time and never leaves anything behind. Wish I could say the same for everyone.”
I thanked him and we left his office.
“I bet he’s supplying the black market with the fake diamonds,” I said. “I wish I could follow the wagon.”
“I can,” Kade said.
“What about Varun?”
“There are sand suppliers in Moon lands.”
“And the lava flakes are shipped down from the Emerald Mountains.”
“Then I can interview the suppliers for clues to Sir’s whereabouts and follow Chun.”
A moment of regret consumed me. I had hoped he would stay a few more days, but it made sense for him to go. “What about your pack?” I asked.
“Keep it for me. I only have a change of clothes and my orb. I can buy what I need on the road.”
Kade rented a horse from the paddock manager. I wrote him a list of sand suppliers in Moon and Cloud Mist lands. To avoid traveling in the Avibian Plains, he would have to come back this way to reach the rest of the clans.
“I should be able to follow Chun. I’ll send word if I learn anything,” Kade said.
“Use the glass messengers. Every large town has a magician with one of them. Just tell him you have an important message for Master Cowan and he should deliver the information right away.”
“I could always threaten him with a hailstorm.” Eagerness laced his tone.
“That could land you in jail.”
“Not for long.”
I laughed at his boast. “Can wind unlock iron bars?”
“No, but metal gets very brittle when it’s cold.”
“And you know this from experience?”
“Let’s just say I have a stormy past.”
I groaned at the pun as he swung up on the horse.
Kade paused before leaving. His playfulness gone. “Be careful.”
“You, too.”
Back at the Keep, I wrapped Kade’s orb in a blanket and stored it under my bed. Over the course of the next few days, I would be overcome with the need to unwrap the orb and sit with it in my lap. The magic trapped within the glass sphere pulsed through my body as I listened to its song and watched the swirls of color inside. At night, even through the thick covering, I heard the orb calling Kaya’s name.
I missed Kade, yet I was enjoying Ulrick’s company. My dual emotions unsettled me until I realized those mixed feelings occurred all the time. I longed for my family, but was glad for Mara’s presence. I even wished for Aydan’s company, missing his gruff commands and kind gestures. My missing Kade was all part of being his friend. Nothing wrong with it. No hidden meanings in it at all.
Equipment for our glass shop arrived. Ulrick, Mara and I assembled and installed the various pieces. My excitement grew as we planned the first set of experiments and recruited helpers from the Keep’s students.
“Just need the kiln and we’ll be good to go,” Ulrick said.
We snuggled on the couch in my quarters. A fire roared in the hearth. The white coals from Gid had been delivered, and I was testing how long the coals would burn so I could determine how often the kilns would need to be fed. Once the kiln reached the correct temperature to melt the sand, the best course of action was to always keep it hot.
“I’ve managed to convince Seften to help us next week,” I said. “His magical illusions are very good.”
“You’re hoping to duplicate what you did with the spiders?”
“Yes.”
“What is he going t
o send after you? Snow cats would be useful or necklace snakes. No one would bother you if you had a snow cat following you.”
I laughed. “I think we’ll start with something a little smaller.”
The day of meeting with the jeweler arrived. I joined Pazia in Zitora’s office.
“We’ve been watching the store, and have followed a few people,” Zitora said. “We think we know who Elita’s main supplier is, but we’ll know for sure today. I want you to arrange to buy all his diamonds over ten carats.”
“All?” I swallowed. The cost would be unbelievable. Even Pazia paled.
“Yes. All.”
“Why?” I asked.
“So he knows you’re serious buyers. And when you ask him for more, he won’t hesitate to go straight to his source.”
“Why don’t you just arrest him and extract the information from his mind?” I knew there were a few powerful mind-reading magicians at the Keep.
“As soon as he’s arrested, word will spread and the source will disappear. Also only Third Magician Irys is legally allowed to obtain information that way, and she’s still in Moon lands.” Zitora handed Pazia a large money bag. “Make sure the diamonds you buy are real then return to the Keep. I’ve assigned another magician to follow the supplier.”
With no need to disguise ourselves, Pazia and I set off for the meeting. Ulrick hadn’t been happy about staying behind at the Keep.
“She’s no friend of yours,” he had said. “If you get into trouble, she’s going to protect herself first.”
Good thing the conversation had been interrupted by the arrival of the kiln from Booruby. Distracted, he had skipped his lecture on safety, settling for a promise from me to be extra careful.
My thoughts centered on trust as we hurried to Elita’s store. She had said to arrive before the lamplighters lit the back alley. The troop of lighters was already out on the streets, shimmying up the posts with their flaming sticks.
The door opened after our first tap. Hustled inside, we entered the same room as before. Elita waited with a man of average height and weight, although I would never forget him. His pure white hair was buzzed close to his head and was in stark contrast to his midnight skin. Elita introduced him as Mr. Lune.
Six diamonds sparkled on the velvet-covered table. They ranged in size from a thumbnail to a cherry. We all hunched over them as if they possessed a magical attraction.
“May I?” I gestured to the stones.
“Certainly. They’re as genuine as the mountains they were mined from,” Mr. Lune said.
“The Emerald Mountains?” Pazia asked.
“Nice try, sweetheart. I’m not stupid enough to tell Vasko’s daughter where I found my diamonds.”
I picked up the smallest one. It was a round stone with the bottom cut to a point. Numbing cold soaked into my skin where the diamond rested on my palm. My mind’s eye filled with a frozen and flat wasteland.
As I checked the others, my bones ached with cold. The snowy vision stayed and a few wooden structures came into focus. The wood, peeling and gray, appeared weathered by many storms. The buildings leaned as if constructed during a strong wind. Piles of snow decorated their roofs and icicles hung from the windows.
The gems were authentic. I signaled Pazia with a discreet gesture.
“How much?” Pazia asked Mr. Lune.
“For which one?”
“For all.”
Shock and then gleeful greed blazed on Mr. Lune’s dark face before he smoothed his expression into mild interest. His first amount was so ridiculously high, even Elita couldn’t suppress a huff of amusement.
Pazia handled the brisk negotiations. Feeling had returned to my palm and I wanted to see what would happen if I touched all six diamonds at once. I laid my hand over the gems on the velvet. Ice pierced my skin and spread throughout my body, driving the heat out. Once again the white expanse formed in my mind. This time I concentrated on the structures, searching for any clue to their location.
Gray smoke billowed from a chimney rising above the only stone building. Footprints tracked between doorways. Another set of tracks ringed one small shack. These resembled snow cat paw prints, which ended in a scuffed mess stained pink.
Unable to endure the icy grip on my body, I pulled my hand away from the diamonds. I glimpsed a deep pit before the vision melted.
Rubbing my arms, I shivered. The gems had been mined from the northern ice sheet above the Territory of Ixia, a vast expanse of snow and ice almost as big as Ixia. Mr. Lune had lied about the mountains.
“…pay Elita and the two agents who brought you here, plus my workers, there’ll be nothing left,” Mr. Lune said.
“I know how much miners are paid. My offer is more than generous,” Pazia countered.
The negotiations launched into another round. My thoughts shifted to Ulrick. He would be worried if we delayed too long. A deluge of emotions swirled in my chest. The thrill of holding his hand, the wonderment over his attraction to me, the annoyance about his protectiveness, and the worry we lacked a certain spark all churned. I shied away from the last thought. Since our brief touch in Zitora’s office, I couldn’t think of sparks without thinking of Kade.
“…five golds per carat, and if you can find me six more diamonds over ten carats from the same mine, I’ll up it to six,” Pazia said.
Mr. Lune blinked a few times. “Six more diamonds that big? They’re hard to find. Their rarity increases the cost more than a gold. The other gems will cost you twelve golds a carat.”
They haggled. A wild glint shone in Pazia’s eyes. She enjoyed the verbal battle. She offered a flat rate of nine golds per carat if he could secure six more large gems.
“Deal.” Mr. Lune shook Pazia’s hand.
She counted out twenty golds as down payment for twelve diamonds. Mr. Lune would send her a message when he returned, and they would complete the exchange.
By the time we left Elita’s shop, all the Citadel’s stores had closed. The taverns remained opened. Bursts of laughter and measures of music formed pools of warmth in the cold night air. Pazia walked through them without notice. She reviewed the bargaining session with glee, detailing the finer moments.
Her enthusiasm was infectious, but I kept watch for strangers following us or worse—someone I recognized.
She ceased her chatter and placed a warning hand on my arm. “Around the corner…a man…” Pazia pressed her lips together.
My insides felt tight. I reached for my sais.
With an exasperated huff she relaxed. “Ulrick. Guess you forgot to tie his leash.”
The instant vision of Ulrick chained to a post like a dog made me laugh out loud. To an outsider who didn’t know about the various threats, Ulrick’s behavior around me would appear guard doggish.
My laughter wasn’t the reaction Pazia hoped for. She frowned, flashing me a cold stare from her olive-colored eyes.
“I haven’t pushed him away, and you’re jealous,” I said.
“Of course. He’s gorgeous, smart and caring. He deserves better than you.”
“I was right. You do think you’re better than me.”
“No. You’re still wrong. I said he deserved better. Not that he deserved me. In one small way, Opal, I’m just like you. I don’t know who to trust.” She strode on ahead and rounded the corner.
I stared at her back for a moment before rushing to catch up. Ulrick was berating her for leaving me alone. She met his tirade with a bored air, answered him with a flippant response and sauntered away.
“She only cares about one person,” Ulrick said. “Herself.”
But I wasn’t so sure I agreed with him.
Once the kiln reached the proper temperature, the sand mixture was loaded into the inner cauldron. It would take another half day to melt into molten glass. In the meantime, we set a schedule for the three of us to keep the fire hot.
“We could use a few more people to help,” Mara said. “Leif would—”
“You can�
�t ask Leif to shovel coal,” Ulrick said.
“Why not?” she asked.
“He’s too important. It’s like asking Master Cowan to mend socks.”
Mara fixed him with a cold stare. “If Leif thought shoveling coal was too menial for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
“It’s just—”
I touched his shoulder. “You really shouldn’t say any more. You’ll just dig yourself in deeper.”
He threw his hands up in surrender and checked the temperature of the annealing oven. However, Mara was right, we did need more helpers. I wondered if I could send out a general request to the Keep’s student body. Perhaps a few would be interested in learning how to work with the glass.
Zitora approved the idea and I wrote a message on the dining hall’s announcement blackboard. In no time, a handful of students arrived at our glass shop, offering to lend a hand. Working with their class schedules, Mara added the five of them in when they had free time and promised glass lessons in exchange for shoveling coal.
I erased the request off the board. Five would be enough for now.
Finally the melt was ready. We had loaded the kiln with a sand recipe that was similar to the Stormdancers’ mix. The three of us had decided to craft a few orbs for our first project to see if I could channel another’s magic into glass as I had done when Tricky attacked me.
“It almost feels like home,” Mara said as she gathered a slug for Ulrick on the end of a blowpipe.
“Do you miss home?” I asked.
“Yes, but it really was time for me to move on. If Mother mentioned grandchildren to me once more, I would have…”
“What?” I smiled.
“Threatened to remain childless!” Mara shaped the molten slug into a sphere then handed the pipe to Ulrick.
“My nieces and nephews were constantly underfoot,” Ulrick said. He blew a bubble into the sphere.
Annoyance twinged at how easy he made it look, and I was sure by the end of the day even our new helpers could thumb a bubble. Swallowing my frustrations, I reflected on Ulrick’s comment.
“Do you miss your family?” I asked him.
Mara lifted the pipe from his workbench, and reheated the glass in the glory hole.
“Not at all,” he said.
Storm Glass g-1 Page 24
