Atoi complied without comment and Broth followed without hesitation. Once they were in place, Jade moved on to the cavern wall where a half-dozen woven tapestries hung on the rough-cut stone, which she found odd. Why hang them in a dark section of the Great Hall? Wall hangings as intricate as these deserved the appreciation of people seeing them.
Another oddity caught her eye. A beautiful tapestry depicting a rich banquet hall filled with carousers draped closer to the floor than the others did. It rustled softly, but she couldn’t feel any wind. She pulled the tapestry aside. A shadowy passage as tall and as wide as a door, ran deep into the wall. Did she dare follow it? It was now or never: her companions wouldn’t fool the two guards who’d drawn the duty long. They’d been diligent, though they had to be tired from packing around all that armor.
Jade climbed into the tunnel, letting the tapestry fall in place behind. It was darker than the hall, but a dim light ahead indicated the passage wasn’t long. A few quick strides brought her to a slit of brightness slicing through the darkness from ceiling to floor. She crept close, peeking through a crack in the wooden wall. Storage shelves filled with mugs and pitchers lined a small room.
A set of open double doors opposite her, allowed a peek into a larger room beyond where a black table strewn with maps and miniature figurines stood. The red robe’s back was toward her, presumably, speaking to someone unseen at the table. Inching away from the light, Jade crept the way she’d come.
Slipping past the tapestry, she rejoined her companions, motioning for them to follow. The guards fell in behind when they strode past. As she made her way back to their chambers, Jade mulled over what she’d seen. The passage could be a way out, or—if nothing else—, a way to shake the guards when the escape route was found, though she’d have to convince Crystalyn it was time to go. It wasn’t going to be easy.
EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE
Crystalyn let Darwin drone on with his in-depth theories on how Users, Dark and Light alike, manipulated the Flow. She’d heard his ideas a few times in the past few days. He’d outlined a theory he’d nurtured, he claimed, where she could tap into the Flow using one of her symbols as the recipient. The symbol he’d grown excited about when he pointed it out in her second book of symbols was under the heading Absorptions.
From there, it had been a tricky matter of combining it with an aggression symbol, but they’d managed after a few volatile results where she’d had to heal them both, more than once. Darwin’s excitement was contagious every time she’d made a breakthrough. Most notably, when she’d combined her absorption symbol with multiple aggressions and manufactured a larger black and white one. They’d been working on that one alone for the better part of a week.
He was quite knowledgeable in most aspects of the Flow, but as far as they’d been able to discover, her symbols used something besides the Flow. What that something was, they’d not been able to determine. Crystalyn didn’t mind too much, as long as they spent time together, and she was getting better.
In theory, he was studying her symbol magic and training her in using them safely. But they hadn’t been able to substantiate if she Interrupted the Flow to create her symbols. Darwin had insisted that must be the case. Though she’d demonstrated in front of many Dark Lords and Users alike—whomever Darwin wanted—no one in the Dark Citadel had proven it so. Everyone simply assumed the Flow was integral to her magic.
Crystalyn wasn’t so certain. She had tried to access the Flow on Glacier Mountain against the Lore Mother’s instructions, and it hadn’t gone well. Thankfully, Darwin had moved on to assisting her with deciphering the meanings of most of the symbols in her two books. He even brought it to her attention that at least one other volume must exist, since tier two was missing. Something she hadn’t thought about for any length of time.
Crystalyn sighed with wistfullness. She’d love to get her greedy hands on one or two added volumes for her collection, but most likely they were on another world. Ruena probably had them stashed away somewhere.
Most days she spent accompanying Darwin as he handled the routine military tasks involved in the upkeep of a large and militarized dwelling. For a while, Atoi or Broth, or even Jade had insisted on coming along, but they’d quickly become bored, preferring to roam on their own.
Jade seemed to have given up asking her to leave, which was a relief; she was learning so much that leaving now would be foolish. Jade’s motive for exploring the Citadel was clear: she looked for an obscure way out, which was fine with Crystalyn. It gave them all something to do. The three of them got along well, with Jade becoming the group’s unspoken leader from the outset. Even Atoi stayed close by her, though she spoke as little as usual.
Crystalyn felt twinges of something missing now that Atoi didn’t tag along after her, though her constant link with Broth filled some of the void. They had found limitations with it. There were dark places in some dark corners of the Citadel, the link severed with no warning at all. Most times Jade’s little group went around such places—Broth refused to go through those areas—but it still sent a shock through them both whenever it happened.
In a way, Crystalyn envied them their freedom to roam around the Citadel at will. Well, nearly at will. Some places the little group found guarded and barred to them. Lord Charn’s ever-present guards had claimed it unsafe to venture there. The day Jade had complained about the off-limit areas, Crystalyn made her promise to adhere to the decrees without question. Jade agreed, though reluctantly. One of the places cordoned was the route she’d left from the first time, the gated waste tunnels.
There was little point trying to leave, and Jade must know that. Though they had the run of the place, it was never without an escort, even when they bathed. Her face still heated when she thought of the first time. The male guards had laughed when she and Jade had refused to remove all their clothes at the nobles bathing pool. They’d found it hysterical that two women quick-scrubbed in their undergarments. Now, after Darwin spoke with Lord Charn about it, female guards handled the duty whenever they bathed. They had even gotten into the helpful habit of using their bodies to shield them from the bulk of lordly male eyes lounging at the opposite side.
“Am I rambling again, dear one?” Darwin asked.
Crystalyn started, and then smiled sheepishly. “I suppose you are, but it’s one of the things I like about you.” She shivered a little. The breeze blowing up from the bottom of the monstrous wall still carried the slight nip of winter. The golden sunrays piercing the barren land beyond the wall throughout their inspection made up for the wind, a bit. The bright sunlight brought the promise of midday warmth, though she doubted they’d be outdoors much longer, which was unfortunate. She wanted to soak up enough warmth to last through the night, for the Citadel always seemed to have a chill about it. But Darkwind had delayed longer than his normal allotted time for inspecting the ramparts and the soldiers garrisoned along the wall’s great expanse. Perhaps he enjoyed the time outdoors as much as her.
“It’s the only thing you like about me, you mean,” Darwin said, a smile tugging at his lips. “I am so crushed. And here, I thought I had many other qualities besides my supreme expertise in all things known and unknown, all that is, all that was, and all that shall ever be, forever.”
Crystalyn laughed. Echoing loud across the battlements, it sounded strange to her ears when it returned. With difficulty, she clamped her mouth closed, but her smile remained. Darwin had a way of wrenching laughter from the depths inside her where she’d kept it safely locked away. If he kept at it, she’d develop horrid lines around her eyes at an early age.
Darwin’s smile faded, his features growing earnest. “It’s all right, you know. You can be happy. All that’s required is that you trust me. Together we can accomplish anything, for there is little that can block our desires. You know this, don’t you?”
“I’m…beginning to,” Crystalyn said, hesitant. She wasn’t sure why she all of a sudden felt such reluctance. Was he offering he
r something?
“Not the reply I was hoping for, but I will accept it as an assurance you will want to speak again on the subject soon.”
“Broach the subject whenever you wish,” Crystalyn said, relieved.
“Do you promise?”
Crystalyn smiled. “You have my word.”
“Then seal it with a kiss,” he said, his brown eyes shiny, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips.
Glancing around, Crystalyn pulled him behind the gatehouse and stepped into his arms. Long and lingering, the kiss stirred something deep inside, awakening her to every nuance of her body and stealing her breath. Finally, she stepped back, feeling heady. She could go on for hours locked in his strong, firm arms. If only they could. Leaning toward him, he leaned toward her. The second kiss held passion, more urgent than the first, Crystalyn’s blood heated, coaxed alive by his fervent lips, her body responding to the firm caresses. As his loving hands moved closer to her sensitive places, she found she wanted him there and…she pulled away. Someone might come upon them. It wouldn’t do for the General’s men to see them as love struck adolescents, though her breath came in gasps and her body still tingled from his touch.
Darwin sighed deeply. “Before I give you back to your sibling and companions, I think we should get a final practice session completed for this day.”
“Okay, my magic absorb again?”
“Precisely, I feel like we are close to a breakthrough.”
Crystalyn agreed, though it did seem to work well as protection against a magic attacks. It wouldn’t work for anything physical. Providing he was right, tying his magic or someone accessing the Flow to hers would provide both barriers at the same time. “Well, here goes,” Crystalyn said. Bringing out her cross-patterned absorption symbol, she combined it with the airy one under the heading: Multi-aggression in the black lettered book. The same one she’d almost used on Lore Rayna when she’d drawn her bow in the meadow.
“Good, now mold it over and around you like a dome,” Darwin said.
Crystalyn did so, marveling how easy she accomplished it now.
“Mind you, keep it away from the ground, as I’ve mentioned.”
Crystalyn lifted the beautiful, smoky symbol with its intricate white crosses several inches above the stone of the wall. Darwin had to remind her nearly every time. It was an opposite method from grounding herself as Kara Laurel taught, and she found it hard to shed the habit.
“This time I shall throw tiny burst of dark flame at you. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Darwin’s right hand vanished behind a glow of black. As before, whenever someone accessed the Flow, the stone below bled clear, the captivating river of white frothing below. At least for her it was white; Darwin had described it as black when she’d asked. A black fire shot from his hand and struck her shield. This time, not only did the crosses on the symbol—a radiant white resembling the river at her feet— pool at the top center, the intricate pattern along its full length glowed, then faded. “Did you see that?”
Darwin smiled. “Yes. We are getting close. I think soon, you will be able to use the excess Flow in your barrier to your advantage. That is enough for now. I have an unpleasant duty ahead of me and must attend to it. I would like you to go with me, but I have kept you from your family and companions long enough.”
Crystalyn was intrigued. “They will wait.”
“I suppose so. They appear to be content, even the Dark Child,” Darwin said softly, taking her arm. “Except for the quiet, brown-hooded one, I cannot ascertain his demeanor. Or is he a she?”
“I imagine he would be correct. I’ve never actually spoken to him, since he’s mute.” They began the long climb down the wide stairway leading to the courtyard behind the wall, the same set that seemed never-ending just days ago. Now she barely noticed them. How long could Jade keep Burl’s identity undisclosed? Was it even a secret? Crystalyn had a nagging feeling that Lord Charn knew. After Jade’s first day at the Citadel, Lord Charn hadn’t mentioned her sister’s companion, not once.
Nor did he ever mention Atoi; no one but Darwin had. They all ignored her as if she weren’t there. Crystalyn found the whole thing odd. If it were the other way around, she’d be trying to coax information from them. “What is it you have to do? Is it something I can help you with?”
Darwin’s countenance darkened. “If only you could, but alas, it will not be permitted.”
They descended the stairs in silence. Crystalyn felt his tension through the solid set of his arm, the rigid way he moved. She preferred the relaxed, easygoing Darwin, but she couldn’t think of a single thing to say.
Striding under a stone arch, they passed into the courtyard. Armored soldiers, black and red-robed—even some brown Users lined the perimeter. The milling crowd parted for them, opening a path to a small, raised area cut from black marble flecked with gray. Darwin strode straight to it, not once halting to chat with a known soldier or a familiar robed User, as was his usual behavior. Crystalyn wondered at the solemnity of the occasion. Halted at the platforms edge by a gentle pressure on her elbow, she glanced at him. He watched her expectantly. “What do you have to do here?” she asked.
“A challenger for my position has come forward,” Darwin said his dark eyes unreadable.
Crystalyn frowned. “How often does this go on? Are you going to be all right?”
Darwin’s smile was roguish. “It does not happen often; I’ve retained this position for some years now. We shall soon see how I fare.” His smile faded as he glanced at the dais.
Crystalyn followed his gaze. A heavily armored man—nearly as big as Lord Charn, though smaller than Cudgel—strode the perimeter. Slung over one shoulder, a long-hafted, double-headed axe gleamed with the dark onyx brilliance she’d come to expect from the citadel. The man rested a large hand on the handle as if the axe’s sole purpose was a resting place for it. She disliked it immediately. The long haft bespoke a design to incapacitate from a distance, possibly from horseback. Yet the brute packed it around like a favorite sword. Surely, such a weapon would render a disqualification in a challenge.
The bulky man climbed on the black stone, two of his cronies supporting him from falling backwards from the weight of his armor, with a rough push forward.
His chainmail armor no hindrance, Darwin vaulted onto the dais, his sword still sheathed at his side. “Are you quite certain this is what you want, Gard?” he asked, coaxing a tight-fitting gauntlet over his right hand.
Gard’s lip curled. “Your reign is about to come to an abrupt end. You’re too young for it, anyway. It’s time to let those older and wiser run the kingdom.” Perfectly balanced, the axe stayed horizontal as the man let go to adjust his armor around his large waist.
“I have no reign, only duties,” Darwin said softly, yet his voice carried. Several voices from the ring of men surrounding the dais murmured appreciation at his declaration.
Gard scowled. “Bah! Enough talk! Let’s get to it.” Gripping the axe, he set it gently down on the dark stone, leaning on the haft with both hands. He nodded toward Crystalyn. “I have my evening wine and meal waiting for me in your chambers, with your lady friend there.”
Several raucous voices laughed at the comment.
Crystalyn’s face heated.
Darwin stiffened slightly, but otherwise showed no reaction to the taunt. “Raise the barrier,” he commanded, glancing to the sides and ends of the dark stone dais. For the first time, Crystalyn noticed four black robes stood by themselves on four sides of the circle forming a square around it. One palm downward, the other gesturing upward slowly, the Dark Users began lifting a clear, smoky box upward around the circular stone as if they were pulling it from the ground. Perhaps they were, the barrier roiled with the frothy turbulence of the Flow.
Before the black robes had raised it higher than a sword’s length, Gard charged.
Glancing over his shoulder at the barriers progress, Darwin appeared to not notice.
&nb
sp; “Darwin!” Crystalyn screamed.
Darwin spun toward her, his back now facing his opponent. Another scream welled in her throat, but died there. Darwin’s eyes smoldered with excitement, and something else…something dark.
Axe blurring, Gard swung for Darwin’s unprotected head.
Crystalyn blinked. A barely perceptible transparency outlined Darwin. He’d installed a personal barrier, but she couldn’t tell if he had used the one to protect against Flow-enhanced attacks, or a physical repel shield.
Brilliant sparks exploded beneath the half-moon axe blade, leaving behind a trail of molten white sparks as Gard’s favored weapon bounced harmlessly to the side of Darwin’s head answering her unspoken question. Gard cursed, launching a series of ineffectual two-handed blows.
Forced into the rising box barrier, Darwin pushed away from it, turning to face his attacker. The weapon barrier he’d been teaching Crystalyn how to use reflected the morning sun at odd angles. The personal shield absorbed the brunt of the two-handed blows, though she recalled enough well-aimed blows to the same spot could compromise it.
As she feared, jagged cracks soon spider-webbed in two spots on Darwin’s head and back, though they didn’t seem to hinder his movements. Darwin’s long sword appeared in his hand in time to parry a succession of blows. It’s horrible how the barrier leaves the weapon hand unprotected, Crystalyn thought, though she knew the reason why. The weapon had to be beyond the barrier in order to use it. Even a glancing blow from the brutal axe would maim for life. She couldn’t watch, yet it was impossible to look away.
Beginning as an overhead chop, Gard’s axe swept into a side cut, and then reversed midway to hack at Darwin’s sword-bearing arm. Twisting his wrist, Darwin tilted his sword tip downward slightly. The long sword took the brunt of the blow with a loud clang, forcing the axe to slide to the tip.
Gard danced away to avoid Darwin’s counter stab, his breath coming in gasps. Oddly, the big man removed his left hand from the axe, putting his arm behind his back. Even with one hand, the axe blurred as he parried with surprising speed.
Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1) Page 45
