by K. C. May
“What does he say?” Jaesh asked.
Edan startled, having all but forgotten the boy was still in the room. “It seems Queen Feanna is on her way home. Do me a favor, will you, Jaesh? Gather your brothers and cousins and your mother in the family room. I’ve more news to share with the family.”
Chapter 5
As they approached the top of the mountain where the path leveled out, Cirang, leading the way, slowed to a stop. Gavin could only see her rigid posture from behind. He guided Golam past her. Her eyes were open wide and fixed ahead of her in a terrified stare.
“What’s wrong? What do you see?” Daia asked.
“I—I don’t—nothing, but... What if there’s something up there?”
Gavin smiled. He could tell her the Guardians used illusion to drive people away, but it would be more amusing to watch her squirm. “What do you see in the Well of the Damned?”
“Please don’t go any farther, my liege,” Cirang begged. “The demon is there. In the water. Perhaps the water is a door or gateway of sorts.”
“What demon?”
“The one Ravenkind released from the palace. The one that... that killed us.” Her voice trembled. Gavin’s playful smile fell away. Every muscle in her face was taut, her breathing shallow and rapid, and her hands gripped her horse’s reins as if to let go meant death. She was truly terrified. Whoever she might have been a couple days earlier was not the person he saw now. She wasn’t even a Viragon Sister anymore.
He took pity on her. “Cirang, relax,” he said. “Ritol isn’t here. The Guardians know what you’re most afeared of, and they use that to create illusions to scare you off.”
“It’s true,” Daia said. “I saw... something else. When Gavin asked them to stop, the illusion vanished. Let’s wait here while he greets the Guardians, and perhaps they’ll spare us the terror this time.”
Gavin left them near the path and dismounted a few yards from the water’s edge, just as bubbles appeared on its surface. It looked like the well was starting to boil before the spinning, glassy forms of the two Guardians broke the surface. Gavin thought the sight beautiful and wished he could share it with his companions, but the Guardians revealed themselves and spoke only to him. As their ascent slowed, so did their spinning, until he could make out the forms of the two Elyle standing back-to-back. It was a fascinating view and beautiful in its way. He didn’t think he would grow tired of watching it anytime soon.
“Wayfarer,” they said. Their two voices were spoken as one within his mind. Though their true language consisted of whistles and clicks, King Arek’s magic translated it into words he understood. “It is fortunate you have come. We have need of your assistance.”
His help? What did they need from a man who made nothing but bad decisions? They knew he was the Wayfarer, but they must not have known about all the people he’d let down. “I came to ask for your aid. What do you need my help with?”
“The constant rain in your land loosened the earth, and a leak formed deep within the wellspring. The water that has been infused with our essence trickles out, but we are trapped here. We ask you to use your magic power to staunch the flow of our essence from the wound in the earth.”
“I tried that with putty,” Gavin said, “and only made it worse. I was hoping you had another idea for how to stop it.”
“There is another way. A crystal rests on a ledge beneath the surface, thrown there by our contemporaries. The minerals in the water have been drawing our essence out of the crystal like tiny sponges, but this can be reversed.”
A spark of excitement ran up the backs of his arms. “How?”
An image appeared in his mind of a white crystal in the cold, dark water.
“This is the Nal Disi,” the Guardians said. “If you remove it from the wellspring, our essence will no longer infuse the minerals in the water.”
“Awright, but the spring water already has your essence in it,” Gavin said. “This water’ll keep leaking out until the wellspring is dry.”
“The same magic you use to pull the Nal Disi from the wellspring can be used to pull our essence from the water back into the crystal.”
He knew mages could store magic within gemstones. The gemsmith who’d created Gavin’s and Daia’s rings had done it, storing a spell of binding. He’d also done it by creating a rain canopy to keep himself and his companions dry during their journey to Ambryce. It hadn’t occurred to him that the same technique could be used to store something other than magic spells, but if the Nal Disi contained their essence, then that made perfect sense.
Excitement began to burn brighter in his thoughts. He had Daia’s gift to empower him. He had the gems in his sword to focus his efforts. If pulling the essence back into the crystal could solve the problem, it was worth a try, though the idea of tampering with the essence made Gavin ill at ease. “Won’t that throw off my khozhi balance?”
“The essence itself won’t affect your khozhi balance. Only the water presents a danger, and then, only if you ingest it. In doing so, you take our essence into your body, where it gets absorbed by your own essence. Make certain that none of it goes down your throat. A few droplets on your body won’t hurt you.”
“My companions are here to help me. You won’t try to scare them away with illusion, will you?”
“We will tolerate their presence.” They sounded disgusted by the request, but Gavin wasn’t going to complain.
He turned to Daia. “The Guardians had an idea.” He repeated what they’d told him and reassured her that he would be safe.
“How deep is this crystal?” Daia asked. “That mud, er, water is surely too cold to withstand for more than a minute.”
Gavin gave her an impatient look and then used his magic to pull the dagger from the sheath strapped to her calf. The hilt slapped into his palm hard enough to sting. He winked as he handed it back hilt first.
“All right,” she said with a grin as she resheathed it. “No need to swash. After you pull the crystal out, what then? What will you do with it?”
Gavin chewed the inside of his cheek. It was a good question for which he had no answer. “I’ll let the Guardians guide me on that. Whatever I got to do to keep it safe until I find a permanent place to put it. I’ll need your help to pull it out.”
She straightened and set her shoulders. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 6
The children were chattering in the family room when Edan arrived. Because Liera was just then coming down the hallway, pale yellow skirts lifted to speed her gait, he waited outside the room for her to join him.
She wore her curly brown hair pulled away from her face, making her blue eyes appear brighter. She had a natural, wholesome beauty undiminished by the freckles on her nose and cheeks or the small, hook-shaped scar beside her left eye.
“Good afternoon, my lady. I hope I haven’t interrupted anything important.”
“Lord Edan. No, I was rather bored, actually.” She chuckled softly. “Life in the palace isn’t as rich as life on a farm. We were never short of chores to do. I can understand now why Feanna spends so much time ministering to orphan children. As well as being her passion, it gives her something to occupy her time. I ought to find a cause of my own to take up. Shall we go in?”
“I’ve a bit of bad news, you see, and I’d like to share it with you first. You have a softer deportment than I. Perhaps you can help me deliver it to the children in a way that won’t be frightening.” He handed her the message. “How is your reading skill?”
“It needs improvement, but I can manage most letters and the like.” Liera took the message and unrolled it. Her gaze crept down the page while her brow pulled taut and her lips parted into an O. “Oh, dear. Do you know anything about this water and what kind of...” She glanced at the children and lowered her voice. “...corruption he writes about?”
He admitted that his understanding was incomplete, but he told her what he knew of the Well of the Enlightened, warning her that he could
very well be wrong. “I want to warn the children to keep their distance from Queen Feanna. I know they’ve missed her and will want to greet her, but I don’t think that’s wise. There’s no telling what she would say to them.”
“I agree,” Liera said. “It’s best that we assess her for ourselves before we let the children near.”
Edan thought it best to talk to Feanna alone first to judge her disposition for himself before subjecting her to anyone else. He looked at the children, who’d begun to settle down and were watching them expectantly. “Shall we?” He put a hand gently on Liera’s back to guide her into the room before him.
He hadn’t spent much time there, as it was a special place where the Kinshield family gathered in the evenings after supper. Now Liera and her three sons sat quietly with Feanna’s four adopted children, watching him, waiting for the news he wished he didn’t have to deliver.
“Is Mama coming home?” asked six-year-old Tansa. She and five-year-old Jilly sat together in a chair, holding hands.
“Yes,” Edan said cheerfully. “Yes, she is. She should be home in a few days, but there’s a bit of bad news I must share with you.”
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What kind o’bad news?”
“Is she dead?”
The questions came at him all at once. He put his hands up, trying to quiet and calm the children.
“Miss Feanna has fallen ill,” Liera said. “We’ll have a healer look after her, but she’s going to need to be confined to her apartment for a time. You won’t be able to spend time with her until she’s better, I’m afraid.”
“Is she going to die?” the eldest girl, Iriel, asked.
At her question, Jilly began to cry.
“Oh, honey, no,” Liera said, pulling Jilly into her lap. “Hush now. She isn’t going to die.”
“No,” Edan said. “Nobody’s going to die. It’s not that kind of illness, I promise. She’ll be irritable and tired and prefer to be left alone.”
“If King Gavin couldn’t cure her,” Trevick said, “what good is bringing more healers?”
“We don’t know that King Gavin couldn’t cure her,” Edan said. The boy was a step ahead of him, and he had to get in front of this. “He has an urgent matter to attend to and had to send her home where she could be looked after properly. We’ll do everything we can to make her comfortable so she can rest and get well. King Gavin wouldn’t have sent her home if she was too ill to travel, and if King Gavin isn’t worried, then we shouldn’t be either.”
“Can we see her?” Jilly asked in a small voice.
“Of course you can,” Edan answered, “but let’s arrange for you to look out onto the courtyard from the upstairs library window. I’ll direct her to look up, and you can wave to her.”
“And blow her kisses,” Tansa said.
“Yes,” Liera said, “and blow her kisses. Well, thank you, Lord Edan, for letting us know. We’ll pray for her speedy recovery. Let’s get back to our lessons, children.” She stood, prompting the children to stand as well.
“When’s Uncle Gavin coming home?” GJ asked.
Edan smiled and put a hand on the blond boy’s shoulder. GJ had always shared a special bond with his namesake, Gavin. “He didn’t say, but I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as he can.”
He watched them file out, somber and quiet. If he knew more about her affliction, he could properly prepare for Feanna’s arrival and perhaps reassure the children that it wasn’t permanent. At least, he hoped it wasn’t permanent. “My lady, I think I should assess the queen myself. Alone. I’ll report to you immediately what I observe of her mood.”
“Why?” Liera asked. “She and I have been close friends for almost seven years.”
“Yes,” he said, “that is precisely why I implore you to keep your distance from her and let me assess her first. An unkind word from her would be much more devastating to you than to me. I’ve only known her for the four months since Gavin vanquished Ritol. Nothing she says will hurt my feelings.”
“She wouldn’t be unkind to me. We’ve never disagreed about anything.”
Edan had to convince her. Gavin had told Feanna of Rogan’s bastard daughter, and if she was intent on making mischief, it was a likely place to start. “It’s impossible to know what’s in her heart or what lies she could dream up to strike at yours. She makes no secret of the fact that she was very fond of Rogan. Perhaps she’ll claim there was more to her relationship with him than you knew. Let me be the one to take the first blow. If she’s her usual pleasant self, I’ll let you know, and then you can approach her more comfortably and confidently.”
Liera eyed him thoughtfully. “All right, Lord Edan. I suppose that will do.”
Chapter 7
Gavin approached the water’s edge, hoping to hell this would work. Fixing the wellspring would prevent the people of Ambryce—and the residents of towns and cities downstream—from becoming like Feanna. Removing the crystal would also avoid any potential obsession like the one that drove Sevae to commit the atrocities he had. Once this task was done, he could focus his efforts on fixing his wife and the people who’d drunk the wellspring water.
“Show me the crystal again,” he told the Guardians. Again, the image of Nal Disi appeared in his mind.
“It is lodged between two rocks on the west side of the wellspring,” they said. “It must be pulled from directly above.”
“How far down?”
“Roughly seventeen meters.”
That figure meant nothing to Gavin. He’d never heard of a meter. “Can you say in feet?”
“Using the average length of your stride, that is approximately nineteen paces.”
Briefly, Gavin wondered how they knew that. He identified a rock at his feet, measured off twenty paces and judged the distance from his starting point. “Awright, I got it.” He went around the wellspring’s perimeter to the western edge and climbed carefully onto the rocks. On his right was a long drop to the rubble below. Ahead was the eagle-shaped boulder he’d spotted on the way up, and on the right, the cloudy, blue-green water.
“Gavin, no,” Daia said. “What are you doing? Can’t you pull it from this side?”
“It’s trapped between two rocks over here. I got to get above it and pull it straight up.”
“Be careful!” Daia said, holding her arms out instinctively as if she could steady him from where she was standing.
“Don’t worry. I’m not much for falling.” He stepped carefully from one boulder to the next, neither wanting to plummet to his death nor get a soaking, though if he lost his balance, getting wet would be his preference. He reached the eagle rock and braced his arse against it, his feet spread wide. He leaned his torso over the water and stretched one hand out. “About here?”
“That is near enough,” the Guardians answered.
Daia’s blue-white, egg-shaped haze hovered nearby with its unique, orange tendril in the center, a conduit with which he could access his full potential for power. He reached for it with his own haze, and she grasped it and fed his magic.
When he gazed at the water, the first thing he saw was a glittering mix of all the colors moving through it like fireflies. Then he saw that the Guardians had no separate haze. In fact, they were their haze. A thread as thin as spider silk stretched from each of their torsos to a spot in the water below Gavin, perhaps a few inches to the right of his right foot. As he followed the threads below the surface, he found himself holding his breath and chuckled. Using his hidden eye was still so unnatural and new that he had to remind himself that its sight was not limited by his physical body.
Soon, he spotted the radiance of the crystal, almost pulsing with the combined essences tethered to it. With his hidden eye marking its location, he gripped Daia’s orange tendril of power more firmly and began to pull the crystal using the same power he’d used to move the putty. It shifted on its perch and then began to rise. It seemed heavier than it should have b
een, especially considering the natural buoyancy of water. When at last he’d brought it up to the surface, it felt suddenly lighter rather than heavier. The force of his pulling slammed the crystal into his waiting hands and knocked him off balance. He flailed, dropping the gem to the rocks at his feet in order to catch himself.
“Gavin!” Daia cried.
One boot slipped off the boulder and into the water, wetting his leg to the knee. He went to the other knee and clutched the eagle boulder to steady himself. “I’m fine,” he called as he rose. “Just slipped.”
He used magic to pull most of the water out of his trouser leg and boot before picking up the Nal Disi. About the size of a bread loaf, it was a translucent grayish white crystal, its once-hard angles smoothed from the water’s eroding power over the years. Holding it in his hands felt like holding a beating heart. He felt a connection with it that made him want to laugh with joy. It made him feel stronger in both mind and body, like connecting with Daia’s gift a hundred times. With this one gem, he felt as if he could pull the sun right out of the sky with the power of his will.
“Don’t pull our essence from the crystal, Wayfarer. You must resist it.” The Guardians’ voices snapped his attention back to the present. Daia and Cirang were cheering. The muscles in his legs quivered, and his knees had begun to ache.
Resist. Right. But, oh, the allure was powerful.
He made his way around the wellspring to join his companions standing on the opposite bank. “What do you think?” he asked, turning the crystal over in his hands for them to inspect.
Both women reached to touch it, and both snapped their hands back as if they’d received a shock.
“It’s beautiful,” Cirang said, “though it apparently doesn’t want anyone but you to touch it.”
“So this is the source of all Thendylath’s troubles,” Daia said. “I’m no gemsmith, but it looks rather like calcite.”
