Cultwick: The Science of Faith

by J. Stone

  After witnessing what the fusion chamber could do with the shell that Pearl had imbued with hekta, Erynn suggested that they should seek out the help of someone who knew more about nexomancy and hekta in general, the empress herself. Whatever she had done to Fiona’s infected dead, she had clearly been powerful, and it had presumably been some form of hekta. The citizens of Cultwick had even started to call her the Pale Witch. Depending on who she heard say it, it had either been insulting or adoring. Whatever Viola was capable of, she was the only one that Pearl knew who had an insight into the magic of the world.

  “You ready, Pearl?” Erynn asked, throwing on a coat and joining her at the bench.

  “Yeah,” Pearl replied, looking up from the tube and smiling at her companion. “Yer not bringin’ the gun, right?”

  “Nah, I figure we should probably go unarmed to meet the most powerful woman in the empire,” she replied.

  “That’s probably for the best,” Pearl agreed.

  “That shell should be enough, I’d think,” Erynn said.

  “Yeah, hopefully she’ll know what it is,” she agreed.

  Pearl stood, stuffed the tube in her pocket, and joined Erynn, as they headed out of the mansion.

  “We’re leaving, Max!” she shouted. “Don’t blow the place up.”

  No response from the professor.

  “I give it a fifty percent chance that it’s standing when we get back,” Erynn joked.

  “Funny. Those are the same odds I give when I hear something explode in your workshop,” Pearl replied with a smile.

  “Watch it,” Erynn said playfully.

  They set off toward the center of the town, in the direction of the Sovereign Tower. Along the way, Erynn grabbed Pearl’s hand, clasping it in her own. Her companion had never been the most affectionate partner in public, but it came at a nice time. Pearl was rather worried about all that was going on in recent days. She had gone through much, discovering that she was capable of performing magic, seeing Rowland spiraling downward in an attempt to save Germ, and she had even heard that Vincent had run into a trouble with the authorities. Nothing had been easy since Erynn showed up in the dance hall, but with the lovely woman at her side, anything bad could be made easier.

  They soon arrived at the Sovereign Tower, where people were swarming about in a hurry. Pearl had never been in the capital building, and it was nothing like she had imagined it would be. The people all seemed to be set on some task, and no one seemed to give them too much pause. The ceiling was high above them, with gaudy lights dangling down from overhead. The tall walls looked to be made of some expensive white material, and there were columns throughout the area supporting the second level. There were corridors leading off into other areas of the tower and at least two separate sets of elevators, one of which was guarded by a pair of corpsmen. At the center of the room was a sort of reception desk, and assuming it to be a decent spot to start, they approached the attendant there.

  “Maybe this is a weird thing to say, but I’m here to see the empress…” Pearl said.

  The attendant indeed looked at her a bit strangely, but nevertheless asked, “Name?”

  “Pearl Hicks,” she replied. Motioning to her companion, she added, “And Erynn Clover.”

  The woman’s ears seemed to perk up a bit at the mention of Erynn’s name, and she looked over the chromesmith at Pearl’s side. Her expression indicated that she was not impressed, but it didn’t seem to phase Erynn. She’d had enough people looking at her strangely since being called a heretic and subsequently pardoned. The attendant picked up a clipboard and perused a list of names. She seemed somewhat surprised when she must have found both their names.

  “Yeah, you’re on the list,” she explained. “Wait over there, and someone will come and get you in a few minutes.” She gestured to a seating area near the guarded elevators leading up into the tower.

  As promised, another attendant soon came to collect them. “Pearl Hicks and Erynn Clover?” the young woman ascertained.

  “Yes,” Pearl replied, as they both stood.

  “Please follow me,” she said.

  She guided them toward the private elevator system that was guarded by the pair of corpsmen. Once inside, the attendant pressed a button labeled, ‘21.’ With a jolt, the doors closed and began to raise upward into the tower. After stopping on the designated floor, the attendant escorted them through the corridors, eventually arriving at a large wooden door. Opening it for the pair, they saw one of the biggest private libraries in all of Cultwick. Once Pearl and Erynn had both walked inside, the attendant closed it behind them, leaving them there alone.

  They separately wandered down the aisles of books, looking at what all had been collected there. Rows upon rows of books and newspapers filled the room. Seeing it reminded her of the library she had seen in Owen Sloan’s home, but this completely dwarfed that room. Walking down a particular aisle, Pearl found a great number of books that looked similar to the one Viola had given her. Continuing down the shelf, she eventually found more by the same author, Katrina Mason. Though the one that Pearl had read through was about magic on a very general and introductory level, there were continuations of that first book. There was even one on nexomancy, titled Nexomancy: The Power that Binds.

  Pearl grabbed the book off the shelf and took it over to one of the tables around the room. Flipping it open and quickly perusing the contents, she started to see things she recognized. The same type of runes that had shown up on the shell were recorded within these pages. She pulled the enchanted tube back out from her pocket and began comparing what she had somehow accidentally inscribed into the metal in the glowing, spectral ink.

  There was one repeated over and over again in the metal that looked nearly like a lightning bolt. The design came down at an angle, straight across, and then back down at the same angle. Flipping through the pages of the book, she eventually found a picture of the same rune. Below the image, were some details about what that particular rune was known for. According to the text, it roughly translated as increased strength and depending on translations might have some relation to lightning or electricity. The description of the rune’s power did seem to correspond to what she had witnessed when Erynn fired the gun in her workshop.

  “What’d you find?” Erynn asked, joining her at the table.

  “Book on nexomancy,” Pearl replied. “Pretty much exactly the kinda stuff I was lookin’ fer.”

  Another door from the one they had come in creaked, followed by its closing. Both women looked up and then stood up, when they saw that it was the empress, Viola.

  “Apologies for keeping you waiting, ladies,” she said. “Please, sit back down.”

  They did as she suggested, and Viola joined them as well, sitting across from Erynn and Pearl.

  “Thank ya for seeing us, empress,” Pearl said.

  “Again, please call me Viola,” she insisted. “Now, how may I help you today?”

  Still holding the tube from the fusion chamber, Pearl extended her hand toward the empress and opened her palm. “I guess I did this somehow.”

  “May I?” Viola asked, reaching her hand toward the piece of glowing metal.

  Pearl nodded and allowed her to take the tube. She looked closely at the glowing runes inscribed into the metal, twisting it around and holding it close to her eyes. Finally, she smiled and handed the tube back to Pearl.

  “This is indeed nexomancy,” Viola stated.

  “Like what Cordelia was able to do?” Pearl asked.

  “Indeed,” the empress answered. “Clearly the fusion chamber is in the right hands now. A chromesmith and a nexomancer, just like when it was created by the Burton sisters.”

  Erynn, who had stayed quiet so far, spoke up. “It seems odd, you givin’ me the chamber and Pearl the book on hekta.”

  “When you gave me the book, you knew I had a gift?” Pearl asked more specifically.

  “Not exactly,” Viola answered. “I had an inclination though
. When I learned about what had happened to you, I looked into your family. Tracing back generations, you come from a bloodline of sorcerers. I thought with a small nudge, we might find out if you had been born with it as well.”

  “My parents had this?” Pearl asked. “Why didn’t they ever tell me?”

  “They, just like you, more than likely didn’t know,” Viola answered. “Historically speaking, Cultwick has not been kind to those capable of using hekta. Long before any of us were born, the empire attempted to cleanse the city of all hekta users during the Purification. They did an alarmingly good job at it.”

  “How was it that ya learned about it for yerself?” Pearl inquired.

  “My personal attendant as a child,” the empress replied. “She was a sorcerer from Targeaux, where such things are still practiced and known of. I insisted she teach me, and luckily I too, was capable of performing spells like you.”

  “From what I’ve read, nexomancy is s’posed to be pretty rare, is that right?” Pearl asked.

  “The kind you are capable of, yes,” Viola answered. “Quite rare indeed. For instance, if I were to try casting something, it would be much weaker than what you can do. Would you like to see?”

  “I guess,” she said. “If it’s not a bother.”

  Viola pulled the book that Pearl had been perusing toward her and twisted it around to face her. She then flipped quickly through some of the pages, until she found something of her liking. “Let’s try this one,” Viola suggested, pointing to a specific rune in the book.

  According to the text, it was a symbol for sustenance, energy, or possibly even life depending on the context. The rune was a simple vertical line with a short diagonal segment protruding downward from its right side.

  Viola pulled a ring from one of her fingers and placed it flat down on the table. “Is there something you can use?”

  Pearl nodded and unclasped the bracelet that Erynn had made for her and set it on the table in front of her as well. Viola closed her eyes and hovered her hand over her ring, clearly concentrating a great deal on the task. When her hand had completely passed over the small object, it was glowing with mild yellow runes. Pearl was amazed to see firsthand someone else performing the things she now found herself capable of doing.

  “Now, you try,” Viola said.

  “How?” Pearl asked.

  “Just focus on your bracelet, the rune, and what you want it to do,” the empress instructed. “But wait one moment, actually.” Viola stood up and walked to a window, where a small potted plant was getting sunlight. She brought the plant over and sat it down on the table in front of Pearl and took her seat again.

  “What’s that fer?” Pearl asked.

  “You’ll see in a moment,” Viola said. “Now, go ahead and try to cast the spell just like you did last time.”

  Pearl shrugged and closed her eyes. She pictured the rune in her mind and then reached out for the bracelet. Even though her eyes were closed, she could tell that a bright light had illuminated the room in front of her. Opening them, the bracelet in her hand was aglow in runes of a similar yellow light, but the radiance was much stronger than on the ring Viola had been able to produce. She also looked at the plant that the empress had placed on the table. Since casting the spell, it had withered and died rather abruptly. Its petals were shriveled, and its stem had toppled over and lay crumpled along the side of the pot.

  “That is why I brought the plant,” Viola explained.

  “What happened to it?” Pearl asked.

  “Each sorcerer has a specific school of magic that they perform best in,” Viola began. “Commonly referred to as a focus. Yours appears to be nexomancy. When one performs such a spell, it can conjure something quite impressive, but that extra effort requires vast amounts of energy. That can come from within or from another source. You instinctively used the life force of this plant. Was there something that you consumed last time?”

  “My lunch,” Erynn chimed in.

  “I see,” Viola said with a light smile. “As long as there is something around for you to use, you can consume its life force rather than your own. This can be any simple living creature or even a substance capable of providing energy, like food or water. The less energy it contains, the more likely it will completely consume it, like you did this plant.”

  “Does that mean I could accidentally consume a person when I cast a spell?” Pearl asked.

  “Certainly possible, but unlikely,” she answered. “To use a person as an energy source they would have to be receptive of such a transaction. Willing. You couldn’t, for instance, force someone to give you their energy, but you could ask for their permission.”

  “Would it kill them?” Pearl questioned the empress.

  “People have a great deal more energy inside them than this plant,” Viola said. “It would take quite a few spells for that to happen.”

  Before Pearl could ask further questions, a dark skinned attendant entered the room and leaned down to Viola’s ear, whispering something. Viola nodded and stood from the table.

  “I’m sorry, but it looks like there are things I must attend to,” Viola said. “I hope this has been helpful at least.”

  “Yes,” Pearl replied. “Thank ya for giving me yer time.”

  “Of course. Why don’t you take the book home with you,” Viola suggested. “Perhaps you will find it of further use.”

  “Ya already gave me the other,” Pearl replied.

  “I insist,” the young empress said with a warm smile. “You might need what’s in there some day.”

  “Well, thank ya, then, Viola,” she said.

  “Kyra here will show you out,” the empress told them. “Good luck to you Pearl.”

  Pearl grabbed her bracelet, slinging it back around her wrist, and picked up the book. Viola left the library the way she had come in, while Kyra escorted them back toward the elevator. Before long, they were back on the ground floor and leaving the tower.

  “Did you get what you needed?” Erynn asked her.

  “I think so,” she replied. “It’s good to know I’m not just crazy and seein’ lights if nothing else.”

  Erynn smiled and said, “Let’s go home.”

  They headed back through the twisting streets of Cultwick toward the mansion. The day was getting late, as the sun was beginning to die down behind some of the taller buildings in town. The wind screeched through the narrow alleyway, biting at them along their path.

  As they walked, they heard a woman’s voice ask from behind them, “Erynn Clover?”

  They both turned to see a young woman that Pearl instantly knew was a chromesmith like Erynn. She had the typical tools of the trade hanging from a leather belt around her waist. Unlike most of the people in the city, however, the woman was clearly not local. Pearl could tell that she was an Ankalaran by her olive skin and dark black hair that was tied in a long, intricate braid behind her. In her hand, she held a lit cigarette, but Pearl wasn’t familiar with the smell. She assumed it was one of the herbs that the Ankalaran people were known to grow and smoke. The young woman wore an open burgundy overcoat with shiny black buttons over a white shirt and black vest, a pair of loose, black slacks, and comfortable looking black shoes.

  “Ryn,” Erynn answered the young woman.

  “Sorry for bothering you... Ryn,” she said. “I just wanted to thank you."

  “Thank me?” Erynn repeated.

  “Yeah, you're kinda my hero now,” she explained. “After all you've done... You've made it okay to be a chromesmith in this place.”

  “So you're a chromesmith?” Erynn asked, surely already knowing based on the tools at her belt.

  “Yeah, but I'm not as good at it as I hear you are,” the young Ankalaran woman replied.

  “What's your name?” Erynn asked.

  “Charlie,” she answered, holding out her hand. “Charlie Black.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.”

  “Well, I don’t want to keep you and
your friend,” the young woman said.

  “Oh, right. This is Pearl,” Erynn said.

  “Hello, Pearl,” Charlie said, holding her arm out to shake hands.

  “Hi, Charlie,” she replied, accepting the gesture.

  “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how nice it is to see you come out alright from all this,” Charlie said.

  “I appreciate your kind words,” Erynn replied. “Good luck to you, Charlie.”

  “And you, Ryn.”

  Charlie turned and went her own way, while Erynn and Pearl continued back toward the mansion.

  “Yer a folk hero,” Pearl joked.

  “As long as they don’t sing songs about me, I guess that’s okay,” Erynn replied.

  “Oh, I’m gonna make sure they do, kitten,” she said.

  “You would do that,” her companion said, once again grabbing Pearl’s hand and clasping it in her own.

  Before the sun had set, they arrived back at the mansion, which was indeed still standing. They went inside and took off their coats. When Pearl removed hers, she experienced a strange sensation. Something was absent, and she paused a moment to realize what it was.

  “My bracelet’s missin’,” Pearl said, holding her wrist with her other hand.

  “What do you think happened to it?” Erynn asked.

  “I had it with me when we left the tower,” she answered. After a momentary pause, she added, “That girl, Charlie. Do ya think she could’ve stolen it?”

  “She seemed so nice,” Erynn replied. “But I guess it’s possible.”

  “That thing might be dangerous,” Pearl said. “We have to get it back.”

  “How?” her companion asked. “Not easy to find someone in this city. Might be able to get something from Ichabod. He helped me find you.”