by B. T. Narro
To answer his questions about the wood within the castle, she explained that it was ironbark, stronger than stone and just as incapable of catching fire, cut from the ironbark trees in southern Kyrro. The small forest of the precious, black trees was managed by a division under the king—illegal to cut by anyone else, making the wood extremely expensive. The remaining sections of stone in the castle would be replaced by ironbark in time. Basen realized the mage recruiter’s wand at the training center was made of the same wood, but he hadn’t known it was so valuable.
Alabell brought Basen by the throne room, but her great-uncle wasn’t there. Basen didn’t mind skipping his opportunity to meet the king when it would eat into his time with Alabell. By then, their conversation about the Academy had jumped to a lively pace, but he had yet to tell her about Nick’s murder. Hopefully, someone of her position would know already. But that still didn’t make it easy to address.
She brought him to her lavish quarters on the third floor, where lunch awaited them. They had just finished sharing their experiences with Sanya when Alabell sat down.
“Do you mind if I shut your door?” he asked.
“I don’t mind.”
“Something happened during the week that I’ve left out,” he said as he sat down across from her. “I don’t know who else to ask about it.”
“I’m happy to help as best I can.”
He showed her a grin. “I’ve realized that about you. Can I also trust you not to speak to others about this?”
“Yes. Now I’m even more intrigued. What is it?”
“Do you remember that the last time we met I asked if you’d ever heard of—”
“A ring of fire within a cluster of bastial energy, yet the energy didn’t light,” she interrupted. “I’ve wondered what it could’ve been but came to no conclusions.”
“I’m flattered you’ve taken time to think about it. So, I’ve been able to reproduce the spell, and it looks to be some sort of portal.”
She stopped eating as she blinked at him.
“I swear I’m not insane,” he said.
“Could you show me this spell?” She sounded a little skeptical.
“There’s a problem. It has only worked in two of the places I’ve tried: the training center and Nick’s room. I’m not sure if it will work in here, but even if it did, I wouldn’t want to cast it.”
“Why not?”
“I think it’s why Nick was killed.” He felt a shiver down his back at saying it aloud.
Alabell’s thin eyebrows moved close together in confusion. Basen gave her a moment, partly because the words were hard to speak, but mostly because he knew she was smart and could figure it out.
The realization seemed to force out a gasp. “Because you cast the spell in his room not long before he was killed?”
Basen nodded. “It was the first and only time I cast it within the Academy, and he died hours later.”
“My stars…” She seemed to be finished eating, staring at her plate instead.
“I should’ve waited until after lunch.”
“No, it’s fine. I just…wish I knew what to tell you. Could it be a coincidence?”
“It could be. But what if it wasn’t?”
“Then you’re saying someone saw your spell and thought Nick had cast it?”
“Or they felt it coming from his room and assumed it was him.”
The features of her face squished together. “I don’t think that’s possible.” She gasped and put her hands on the table. “Unless you really were making a portal and they were connected to it.”
“Connected to it? It sounds like you know something about portals.”
“Only a little, and it’s all theory.”
“That’s better than nothing.”
“The only talk of portals I’ve heard is related to akorell stones. Have you heard of them?” Alabell took a few quick bites of her food.
“I haven’t.”
She swallowed quickly. “Akorell is the name of a metal that absorbs bastial energy. It pulls BE into it, making the metal warm in seconds. But it takes days for it to reach its capacity. By then, it’ll glow white and be too hot to touch. An akorell stone is a small sphere of akorell metal with a barrier of rock around it to allow its wielder to hold it without getting burned.”
“So it’s extra energy waiting to be used,” Basen realized.
“Yes, a tremendous amount of it. Mages who are powerful enough can pull the energy out of the akorell metal to use in their spells.”
“How large of a fireball could someone make with an akorell stone?
“Large enough to kill many people in a single shot. Fortunately, the metal is very rare. There are only two stones that I know of: one here in the castle, and one in the Academy. Chemist Master Jack Rose has it in his safe, but don’t tell anyone. I only know because I’m slowly learning everything my mother knows. I think Jack is the one you should talk to about portals.”
Basen gave himself a moment of thought. “But I don’t understand how the akorell stones are related to portals.”
“He can explain it better than I can, but my understanding is that it has to do with bastial energy. As you know, psychics can change the way we feel by making subtle changes to the BE we produce. Mages can use BE to make fire. Chemists can create potions with it. From this, we know BE holds enormous power, and some believe there’s potential to use the energy in ways we haven’t yet discovered, like creating a portal. The theory states that by forcing enough BE onto a single point, our world must compensate to support the pressure of the energy. So a hole is created where the energy can go—an entranceway.”
Basen was thankful he’d finished his food, for his nerves had begun to tingle in excitement. “That would make sense considering what it felt like to make one. So I’m just pouring bastial energy on top of itself until I open a hole. The only way I can make it bigger is to feed more and more energy into it so it must expand to hold the BE. But where does it take the energy? Where does the portal lead?”
“Without an akorell stone? I have no idea. But I have heard that using a stone to make a portal will link the portal to another stone. It probably has to do with the world wanting to relieve pressure where it’s most gathered, but I’m sure Jack would know more.”
“Wouldn’t a mage know more than a chemist?”
She smirked. “An average mage would know more about BE than an average chemist, but no one knows more about the way BE works than Jack Rose.”
Then, doesn’t that make him the most likely person to have detected the portal?
“What is it?” Alabell asked.
“How long has Jack been at the Academy?”
“Since its creation twenty-five years ago.” She tilted her head, her auburn hair spilling down from her shoulder. “Why?” As he thought of how to answer, her eyes widened to show disbelief. “You can’t think he killed Nick?”
“I’m just not sure I can trust him.”
She leaned forward. “You can. I know the man, and so does my great-uncle, who has worked with him for decades.”
“But who else besides a chemist could change the bastial energy in the air so that a mage couldn’t use it?”
“What do you mean?”
“As Nick was being killed, I felt no BE around me. I couldn’t even cast light. I’ve been wondering who could do something like that, and I’m beginning to believe a master chemist might be the answer. Aren’t there potions powerful enough to do such a thing?”
She pushed out her hand. “Even if there are, it wouldn’t be Jack.”
Basen rubbed his brow as he thought.
“Do you trust me?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “Completely.”
“Good, because I’m certain it wasn’t Jack. You can go to him with what you know, and he’ll help. You owe it to Nick and his family and everyone at the Academy, because this might be the only way to catch the murderer.” She left the table to clean her hands in a wate
r bowl. “Will you speak to him?”
“I will.”
She paused to smile and then hurried to finish washing. Basen wondered if he’d made her late for an appointment. Her next words confirmed it.
“Unfortunately, I need to meet my mother, and I’m going to be busy the entire afternoon.” She froze and then looked at him. “But you’re welcome to stay if you would like…and…well, since you’re already here.” She stammered as she dried her hands. “We could have supper together?”
He stood and already regretted what he had to say. “I would like that, but if I’m going to speak to Jack Rose, I think it would be best to do it today.”
“Yes, of course.” She seemed partly panicked, rushing to the other side of her room to grab what looked to be a medical bag. “It was silly to offer when you clearly need to return to the Academy.”
At his approach, she stopped to give him her attention. He hadn’t been sure after their first meal, but by now he’d seen enough twinkles in her glances to know that there was a spark between them. If Basen had learned anything from his failures and successes with women at Tenred’s castle, it was to be confident and direct.
“I’m glad you offered. I wish I could’ve accepted.” He watched in delight as an adorable half smile broke through her nervous expression.
“I understand. “
“I’ll write to you, and we’ll find another time.” He planted a kiss on her cheek. As if by reflex, she gave one to him before he pulled away.
“I look forward to it. Now if you don’t mind, I need to change before meeting my mother.”
She had chosen the elegant dress for him. He had to suppress a massive smile as he said goodbye and headed for the door.
Something came to mind that caused him to stop. “Alabell, are you able to check on the akorell stone here in the castle?”
“Yes, why?”
“Can you ensure it hasn’t been moved in the last week?”
With a nod and a cute wink, she acknowledged she understood what he was suggesting. “I’ll make sure.”
He began to open the door.
“Basen,” she called.
“Yes?”
“Do you realize what it would mean if you really were making portals?”
“I suppose I haven’t thought about it in much detail.” He’d been too caught up in what his casting had caused to even think about celebrating it.
“It would mean your control over bastial energy surpasses legendary mages.” She flashed a grin and propped her hands on her hips. “I had a feeling there was something special about you when you first came to me in rags with a burned hand. I’m glad I was right.”
“I still need to repay you for everything you’ve done for me and my father.”
“I’m sure one day you will.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It was night when Basen returned to the Academy. He used a simple spell of pushing condensed bastial energy through his wand to light a sign on the path to the faculty housing area. Most of the sign consisted of a map with the houses numbered. Listed on the side was the name of each instructor in alphabetical order and his or her house number.
It was somewhat of a surprise to see that the highest number was only fifty-seven, but what surprised him more was that some of the instructors had the same number and shared a surname. He’d never thought of his instructors being married and living at the Academy together. This really was their home, like it was Basen’s. Though, no one shared a number with Jack Rose.
Basen expected to find no light coming out of Jack’s windows, as was the case with the other houses he passed on the way there. But he was pleasantly proven wrong when he arrived.
He knocked and a man with kind features answered. “I was just about to retire for the night,” the master chemist said apologetically.
“I’m sorry to come by so late, but I believe it’s important I speak to you tonight.”
Jack looked reluctant to let him in. “Who are you?”
“I’m Basen Hiller, Nick’s roommate. I would like to talk to you about him and something else.”
Jack stuck his head out from the doorway and looked around. It saddened Basen to see such plain suspicion. No doubt Jack wouldn’t have taken the same precautions before Nick’s murder.
Satisfied, Jack waved him in. “Very well, come and have a seat.”
Basen chose a chair with the least amount of scrolls and papers on the table in front of it. Jack sat across from him and regarded him sleepily.
“I just came from the castle, where I spoke with Alabell Kerr. She convinced me I needed to tell you as soon as possible what I told her.”
At the mention of her name, Jack lifted himself to sit straight in his chair. Although his short hair was completely gray, there was a youthfulness to his face now that he seemed to be more alert. Basen placed him in his early fifties and figured he couldn’t have fought in the latest war.
He told Jack everything he’d mentioned to Alabell, frequently giving pause to allow the master chemist to interject. However, Jack remained silent except to urge Basen to go on.
Eventually he’d shared everything he knew and only had questions remaining. As he thought of which one to ask, Jack posed a question first.
“Are you certain what you think is a portal couldn’t actually be dense sartious energy too thick to burn?”
“I’m certain. The first time I cast the spell was in Worender Training Center, and I had no sartious pellets in my wand. I don’t have the skill to draw in SE without them. It had to be something besides sartious energy.”
“My bastial stars.” A thrill came to his blinking eyes. “This is incredible news. You must show me the spell.”
“But sir, I think someone felt the portal I’d made in Nick’s room and killed him because of it.” He watched the excitement drain from Jack’s face. “Is such a thing possible?”
“I should warn you that I believe many things are possible that others don’t. So yes, that could be the case. But no one in history has wielded the power to detect portals because we know of no one who’s been able to make them.” He cleared his throat and lowered his eyebrows as if about to lecture. “Whoever sensed the massive amount of bastial energy you used to make the portal would have had to have enough control over BE to do the following: feel when your portal was made, disrupt the BE in the air so that a mage like yourself could not use it, and possess enough skill with psyche to disable Nick completely before killing him. I’ve never heard of anyone strong enough to do even one out of the first two of those abilities.”
“So there’s no potion that could alter BE so much that a mage couldn’t use it, producing an odor in the process?”
“Certainly none that are potent enough to alter all of the BE that’s in your reach.”
“What about with an akorell stone?” Basen asked. “Could someone with the right talents use it to detect the portal or alter the BE near them?”
“Yes to the former, no to the latter.”
They fell silent. Jack lifted a finger, looking as if he had an idea. But he held the position without speaking and then let his hand down.
They remained silent for a while longer, until Jack finally stood. “I believe what you’ve told me does help,” he said with a gleam of hope. “But it’s also caused me to think of more questions that neither of us can answer no matter how long we think about it. Previously, I assumed the murderer lived outside our walls and wanted Nick dead for issues relating to his life outside the Academy. Now, I’m beginning to agree with what you’ve implied. I believe it’s someone here—no, we used psychics to question everyone.” He fell into his chair and put up a hand. “Let me think.”
Suddenly, he slapped his hand on the table. “Unless!” His voice rose with his excitement. “This person is somehow strong enough to keep their BE from being read accurately. Then they could lie without detection. That would make sense, because they would need to be immensely powerful with BE to do everything y
ou’re reporting to me.” He pushed himself to his feet. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. In the meantime, don’t tell anyone about casting portals and don’t make any more. Write down your house number for me, and we’ll speak again.”
“Mister Rose,” Basen said as he took the quill and paper offered to him, “can you check on your akorell stone?”
“I just checked it recently, but I suppose it won’t hurt to check again. Please wait outside until I call you in.”
Basen complied. He figured Jack had the key to his lockbox hidden and didn’t want to give Basen any clues to where it might be.
After Jack called him back in, Basen found the master chemist to be peering with concern at a very dull looking bracelet. As Basen came closer, he saw the bracelet seemed to be like any other except for what looked to be a rock the diameter of the head of a spoon attached at its center. Inside must’ve been the akorell stone, though there was no evidence of such.
“It should be hot and glowing,” Jack said as he pinched the rock. “But there’s no heat at all.”
Basen put his hand over it. “There’s no energy within it that I can feel.”
Jack put it on the table. “Aim light onto it.”
Basen did, and the chemist squinted as he peered closely. “My bastial stars, this is not the same bracelet. It must be a fake!”
He hurried to retrieve a hammer. Basen jumped back before Jack angrily and confidently struck the stone. A small piece shot off and skipped across the floor.
“More light,” Jack demanded, and Basen obliged. The chemist scraped off more stone and leaned in close again. “There’s no metal in here! It’s just a rock.”
“So someone has the original.”
“Let me think…the last time I checked was the third day of evaluation week.”
Basen’s chest became tight. “The day Nick was killed.”
Jack lifted a finger. “Yes, and the real stone was undoubtedly still in my lockbox because it glowed orange when I checked on it. That was in the morning. Someone must’ve come in, found my key, switched the bracelets, and put the key back. But no one knows where the key is, and I keep my door and windows locked with a separate key that never leaves my pocket.” He gasped. “But my door was unlocked when I came back later that day!” A look of horror came across his face as he turned to Basen. “I thought it was strange that I’d forget to lock the door. I’d never done that before. But now I know why: Someone made me forget.”
