by Kay L. Ling
“That’s quite an accomplishment,” the first book agreed. “Are you more powerful than Sheamathan?”
“No,” she said hastily. “Not by a long shot.” A competent gem master wouldn’t be in this predicament, she thought, still angry with herself. On the other hand, now that Sheamathan was a beetle, Lana was more powerful. It would be fun to tell the books that story.
“I have so much news to tell you, it could take hours,” she said. And unfortunately, lack of time wouldn’t be an issue.
“Tell us everything. Leave nothing out!” they urged.
First, she assured the books that the gnomes were safe, and then she related the story of S’s defeat. When she finished, the books bombarded her with questions. Who was running Shadowglade now? What had become of the breghlin? Had the gnomes come out of hiding? How many clans had Lana met and how far away did they live?
She answered all their questions, and then shared the most recent news—the gnomes’ discovery of the Amulet. But like S’s spell book, these books all knew about the Amulet. They were glad to hear a team had gone to assess conditions at the barrier.
“A gem known as the Focal Gem is hidden in a cave near Last Hope,” said the Wekmir clan book. “Gem masters used it to destroy the Mydorian portal, and it might be useful again.”
A tingle of excitement ran down her spine. “What does it do?”
“It combines the gem powers of multiple users. Gem Masters working individually could never have destroyed the portal, but they succeeded when they combined their powers through the Focal Gem.”
“Unfortunately, they sealed themselves inside the Amulet in the process,” Lana said.
“An unexpected outcome, although a few gem masters warned that something of that nature could happen.”
“If gnomes discover the right gem powers and use the Focal Gem, they might be able to break through the barrier,” said the Danvian book.
“Any idea which gems they should try?” Lana asked.
The Entoran book, second in the row said, “We have long contemplated the matter.”
“So, I guess that’s a no. Well, at least we know the Focal Gem could be useful, and we have a general idea where to find it. The Amulet Team will be going through Last Hope on their way to the barrier.”
“You must take a message to them. Tell them to search for the Focal Gem.”
“Me? Take a message? I wish I could, but in case you didn’t hear me talking to my friends, I’m trapped here. I used Fair Lands gems to disrupt the energy field, and somehow the energy turned into iron. If you have any idea how to get out of here, I’d like to hear it.”
A gloomy silence fell over the room.
“Our knowledge of Fair Lands gems is limited,” said the Nafaren book at last. “We know that unpredictable reactions occur when certain Fair Lands gems combine with native gems, but we know little about individual gems.”
Lana said, “My friends, gnomes with gem powers, are trying to find a solution. They’ll figure something out.” She wished she really believed that. “When I drew infused powers a few minutes ago, I got a strong impression that I’ve used a gem, or a gem combination, that might get me out of here. But for the life of me, I can’t think what it is. I wish I could use foruvia, but it doesn’t work that way.”
“Yes. Foruvia only works if you know the specific memory you wish to recall.”
The Migaro book said, “She must sift through her memories to find the right one.”
“Are there any gems that do that—sift through my memories?”
“Minith and tabourstone,” answered the Entoran book. “Both are on my cover. One of my masters had a very bad memory, and he relied on those gems. You are welcome to use them. Touch the specific gems, rather than laying your hand on my cover. Minith is the deep red gem. Tabourstone is purple with gold veins.”
She had never heard of minith or tabourstone, much less used them. “Thank you,” she said, new hope rising within her. “If I find a way out, I’ll take you all with me.”
Chapter 8
Lana woke in complete darkness. She had extinguished her lightgems hours ago and fallen asleep on the stone floor, using an old leather boot as a pillow. She ached all over, and it reminded her of the day she had woken on a stone slab in the dungeon. Not one of her better memories.
She groped about, found a lightgem, and activated it. She was hungry enough to eat a brontskeller, and she’d trade a rare gem for a mug of coffee.
Still miserable, but in a better mood than last night, she got up and walked around to get her circulation going. Thanks to the Entoran book, she might have a way out. She needed three things: a rare gem from Elias’s office, a certain Fair Lands gem, and the alamaria pedestal. She could hardly wait to share her plan with Tyla and Franklin because, even though it sounded like a long shot, she was pretty sure it would work.
The gnomes had probably driven themselves crazy going through Elias’s notes all night. They’d had minimal gem training. No offense to the gnomes, but this problem was way over their heads.
At the sound of approaching carts, Lana stood still and listened. Help, or at least company, had arrived. There were a lot of voices. It sounded as if all of Shadowglade had come to see the iron-covered hill. She moved closer to the barrier so she could hear what they were saying and recognized a few voices: Raenihel, Franklin, Tyla, and Arenia.
Tyla called from just outside, “Lana, we’re here. Most of the staff came with us. We think we can get you out! I mean, we’re not positive, but we think it should work!”
Lana’s mouth dropped open. Her plan was based on an off-the-wall idea after using memory-enhancing gems. How had they come up with theirs? But no matter what it was, she had to let them try.
“Fantastic! What’s your plan?” she asked, trying not to sound skeptical.
“We pored over Elias’s notebooks but didn’t have much luck. Then Arenia mentioned something we’d seen you do, and the perfect solution came to me!”
Lana blinked. Was it possible? Tyla and Arenia had been there that day.
“Color change simbioryte and topaz!” Tyla announced triumphantly. She went on in a rush, “Elias made the simbioryte turn into a shovel. Then you tried it, and after the transformation, the real shovel disintegrated, and he said it was because of your topaz.”
“Little did we know you’d made a useful discovery,” Arenia broke in.
“Right!” Tyla exclaimed, bubbling over with excitement. “That bizarre reaction is just what we need. We think we can destroy part of the original iron barrier. Enough to get you out.”
“It’s a brilliant plan, if it works,” Franklin said.
Lana stood in stunned silence. She couldn’t believe it. They had come up with the same plan she had.
“We drove the pedestal closer,” Tyla went on, “and Arenia, Raenihel, and I will stand next to each other, holding simbiorytes against the iron over the doorway. The gems should turn into sections of iron. Then we draw topaz, and part of the real iron should disintegrate.”
Lana shook her head in amazement. She would never underestimate them again. There was a chance the iron dome was so large the gems wouldn’t replicate any of it, but with any luck it would work, and the gems would turn into sections of iron.
It would be wrong to spoil this moment by admitting she had thought of the same thing, so she swallowed her pride and said, “That’s an amazing plan!” She had forgotten Elias had more than one simbioryte. Using multiple gems should help.
“Stand back. We’ll get started in a minute.” The previously timid Tyla was all business now. “Come on Arenia! Raenihel!”
Soon, the iron began to vibrate. Lana held her breath, praying this would work.
Dust pattered down. Suddenly, a large hole appeared that let in a blinding swath of light.
A shout went up.
Lana blinked at the joyful faces staring back at her. She climbed through the opening and fell into Tyla’s outstretched arms.
&nbs
p; “Oh, Lana! What a relief! It worked!”
Lana stepped back, smiling. “You’re a genius. I owe you!” She glanced over her shoulder. “You’ll never believe what I found inside. It’s better than weapons! I’ll show you in a few minutes if the opening remains stable.”
Raenihel said, “Welcome back! What did you find?”
Gnomes and breghlin gathered around, anxious to hear.
“Nine sentient spell books,” she announced and smiled at their stunned expressions.
“Really!” Raenihel said, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “I can hardly wait to see them. How long before it’s safe to go in?”
“I wish I knew. If the dome doesn’t repair itself in a few minutes, we’ll risk it.”
“Patience is a virtue,” Franklin said from behind her.
She turned and gave him a quick hug. “I suppose you stayed up all night with the gnomes.”
“How did you know? They put me in charge of raaka and coffee.”
“We did,” Tyla said with a laugh. “And it was a good thing he was there. He reminded us that Elias had more than one simbioryte. One might not have been powerful enough or made a large enough opening.”
Lana thought of something and looked around. There he was, standing near the maraku cart. “Excuse me,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
Xenon smiled self-consciously as she approached.
“None of that false modesty now,” she told him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it with genuine affection. “You did a brave thing yesterday, and I won’t forget it.”
He stared at his feet. “Glad to help.”
“Come with me. It may not be my place to do this, but I’m doing it anyway. I’m giving you first pick of the weapons. A sword, spear—anything you want.” She towed him toward the armory.
“Do we dare go in now?” one of the gnomes asked her.
“I think so. Sooner or later the dome will probably revert to energy, and there’s no telling when, so let’s get everything out as fast as we can.”
She and Xenon went in first, and he ran off to find a weapon.
When Franklin came in, she asked if he’d look at the piles of lesser quality goods in the second room and decide what was worth bringing back. With that out of the way, she took Tyla, Arenia, and Raenihel to see the spell books, and the others started taking weapons off the wall brackets.
“The books told me about an important gem used during the Battle of Last Hope. The militia hid it in a cave after the battle, and there’s a chance it might help us break through the Amulet barrier. It’s called a Focal Gem. It focuses multiple users’ gem powers.”
“Focal Gem,” Raenihel repeated thoughtfully. “I suppose it’s very rare. If we can’t find that particular one, it would be wonderful if we could find another.”
“We’d better get the books out,” Lana said, casting a nervous glance at the temporary doorway. “The sooner they’re safely in the castle, the happier I’ll be.”
They returned all of the books to their wooden boxes and started carrying them out to the carts.
Franklin came up behind her as they were loading the last of the boxes and laid a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “Take the books back to the castle and go have breakfast. We’ll finish up here. You were right—a lot of the stuff isn’t worth taking.”
“Thanks, Franklin. To tell you the truth, I’m starved.”
Gnomes and breghlin, struggling under armloads of spears and maces, continued to emerge from the armory.
“Some of the weapons have gems. I’m particularly interested in those. Can you bring a few to Elias’s office?”
“Sure. We’ll look at them together.”
Raenihel drove, and Lana and Tyla rode in back with the spell books. Lana breathed deeply, savoring the fresh air. What an ordeal, but it was over and the gnomes had more weapons, spell books, and relics. More importantly, they had used gem powers to solve a problem, and they had done it without human assistance. That was a real milestone. Now, if only they could find a way to repair the Amulet and reunite their world.
Chapter 9
Jules opened his notebook and began his morning journal.
Day 5, Saturday.
He paused. Had it really been five days? In some ways, it seemed they had left only yesterday; in other ways, it seemed like weeks. Writing in his journal was comforting, though he couldn’t say why. Was it because it marked the passage of time? With every new entry, they were one day closer to going home.
It seemed odd that despite this being such an historic journey, he was the only one keeping a journal. Every morning he recorded the weather and then studied the map and noted places they would pass during the day. In the evening, he wrote observations about the trip and his companions, and he was candid about their silly rivalries and petty grievances, so it was a good thing they weren’t reading any of this.
It rained briefly overnight, but today promises to be fair and bright. Today, we head for Last Hope, one of the few historic areas we plan to explore. We should reach it by early afternoon.
“I’ll get that,” said an exasperated voice, breaking Jules’s concentration. “Just get the tent poles.” A moment later, something heavy crashed onto the cart, and Parcune shouted, “Careful!”
Jules didn’t look up. Ben and Parcune had their own system of loading and unloading, and it was best to ignore them. If they needed help, they could ask Kaff—assuming they could pry him away from Elias.
Kaff monopolized Elias’s attention, both while on the road and in camp. At every opportunity, he followed Elias worshipfully. Jules knew Elias found this annoying but was too polite to say so. Fortunately, Jules was spared this sycophantic treatment since Kaff considered him an underling. And anyone without gem powers was completely beneath Kaff’s notice. Kaff spoke to Parcune only when necessary, and breghlin merited no more than an occasional grunt.
Ben and Tina Ann weren’t easily offended, thank goodness. They tended to stay to themselves, but they weren’t averse to socializing. A little encouragement to join the group, especially if there was beer involved, was all it took.
After a few days on the road, Jules knew what to expect from each of his team members, and he did his best to take it all in stride.
He glanced over yesterday’s entry and realized he had omitted something important. After dinner, Ben had gone for a walk, taking a crossbow with him, and returned with a turkey-sized bird, which Tina Ann cleaned and butchered. Then, Elias used a gem called manissic to chill the air inside a wooden box, and they placed the meat inside and wrapped the box with blankets. Jules wrote all of this down, and then turning to the front of his journal, skimmed through his entries, smiling at the highlights.
Tuesday, the day they left, Tina Ann found several pieces of gemstone rough in a stream, and one of them was a dangerous stone that Elias left behind. There had been no lasting ill effects from Jules’s embarrassing encounter with the gem, and he had learned an important lesson about trusting Tina Ann’s judgment when it came to Dark gems.
Wednesday, they traveled till dark. Tempers flared while setting up camp, and Ben and Parcune got into a shoving match which threatened to become a fistfight until Jules intervened. Parcune was generally an even-tempered fellow, but everyone was exhausted and touchy. Elias promised not to drive that many hours again.
The group slept soundly, and unbeknown to them, a panther-like cat wandered into camp during the night, attracted by the smell of food. Kaff got up to relieve himself, opened the tent flap, and let out a shriek when he saw it. The cat, nearly as surprised, snarled. Elias grabbed his renth gem for protection, Jules shone the lightgem toward the cat, and the cat gave a final snarl and bounded into the woods. They vowed after that to be more careful about leaving food about.
Thursday, Elias consulted the map and decided to camp near Bloody Knoll and Traitor’s Ridge. On the way, a maraku cart approached, and one of the two occupants proved to be the elderly gnome, Morodin, who had come to Shad
owglade not long ago—the one with the huge, bushy white eyebrows. Morodin and Greyloff lived in the area and had been to visit a clan that lived a day’s ride west. Elias talked them into staying the night to share news.
Friday, Morodin and Greyloff led the team to Bloody Knoll and Traitor’s Ridge. Morodin said his ancestors had dug up weapons and relics in the area—everything from metal buttons to broken pottery. Traitor’s Ridge was a high, nondescript stretch of barren, rocky land, and Bloody Knoll was a hill identical to a hundred others. There was nothing to see at these sites, but they held historic significance. Morodin promised Last Hope would be more interesting.
The battle of Last Hope had taken place near a town called Corrustown, which got its name from corrustone, mined in that region. Morodin said the team would find the remains of the village’s stone and timber dwellings, and several large caves.
Just then, Jules heard voices and looked up from his journal. Elias was coming toward him, Kaff predictably a few steps behind. Today, Kaff had foregone his usual brown tunic and pants in favor of a green robe, just like Elias’s.
“We’re ready to go,” Elias said.
Jules closed the journal, stood, and scooped up the blanket he’d been sitting on.
“I can hardly wait to reach Last Hope,” Kaff said. “I bet we find overlooked artifacts in the ruins.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Jules said. “Generations of gnomes have picked through the debris.”
Kaff frowned. “But they didn’t have gem powers, so they probably missed things.”
“You have a point, I suppose,” Elias said. “We can’t spend a long time there, but we’ll take a look around.”
Kaff shot Jules a triumphant look as he always did when Elias agreed with him. “Elias and I will find something—hidden documents, old books—maybe even rare gems.”
Elias gave Jules a furtive wink.
Parcune came over, wiping his hands on his gray pants. “Everything’s loaded.” He looked at Kaff and his eyes twinkled with mischief. “Nice robe. Looks sort of familiar.”
