The Fae Artifactor

by Honor Raconteur

  “Not on the inside—” he objected, then paused before looking carefully around them. The damp coolness of the tunnels washed over their bare skin as they walked and Sevana could see the wheels turning. “If the tunnels compressed inwards, shrinking the passage as you suspect, it wouldn’t show cracks along the interior. It would more than likely develop on the exterior, where there’s room to expand.”

  Sevana grinned at him. Now he got the picture. “Quite. And we saw cracks on the exterior. Of course, at the time, we assumed them to be because of the slope. And some of them might still be because of the slope. I’ll wager any odds you care to name that not all of them are because of that.”

  “It would explain why the effect is random.” Aran’s tone indicated he now spoke more rhetorically, half to himself. “Why it doesn’t affect every tunnel, and why the area up until the reef is passable.”

  “And it wouldn’t take much.” When Sevana glanced up at him, she could see the calculations racing through his mind as he looked overhead. “An inch any direction, that’s all it would take.”

  Silence fell for a while as they quickly walked. Sevana was personally thankful that the area to the reef wasn’t that far away. She’d been grateful for that yesterday too, while waiting on a rescue, and just as much now. She rarely needed to walk anywhere these days, what with all of the vehicles that she had at her disposal.

  Halfway there, she heard a shout from the other end. Stopping, they both turned, but could barely see more than a silhouette. “Is that Loman?”

  “I think so. Stay here,” Aran urged her. “I’ll go tell him what we’re doing and have him catch up with us.”

  She nodded agreement (truly, she didn’t want to do any unnecessary hiking, as she still tired easily these days) and watched as he ran back at a ground-eating lope. For all that he complained at her pace, Sevana suspected he was mostly trying to keep her from overdoing it. Aran could run all day and not tire. Which, come to think of it, might be a Tracker’s trick more than a Fae’s. Or did she only feel that way because of her half-Fae body?

  Standing about seemed useless so Sevana used the time to her advantage as Aran fetched the engineer. Cheating a might with Fae magic, she requested that a touch of basalt ease around the measuring tape to hold it steady as she measured the width. The answer to her early morning revelation stared right back at her as she beamed at the tape. Tunnel used to be six feet and two inches wide. Now it was an inch shy. Pods were exactly six feet wide.

  Sevana cackled to herself. She did love her brain. Even if it did choose to share things at inconvenient times.

  Now, the question was, did this warped section continue all the way through? She wasn’t actually to the troublesome spot yet, so did this get worse further ahead?

  Something made her pause. Instinct, perhaps, or…no, her Fae ears had picked up something. It was faint, a grinding noise, something like two sharp edges of rock grating against each other. It brought her head up sharply, as she’d heard that sound exactly once before in her life. When Big was being attacked by that evil magician, and chunks of rock had fallen out of him, collapsing the tunnels.

  Swearing viciously to herself, she spun on a heel and raced for the entrance. Even as she moved, she heard more and more cracking noises, ominous and chilling, but worse, she could see the tunnel ceiling buckling under the pressure. A glance up confirmed a huge crack developing along the top, water squeezing through in a high-pressure spray that wet her head and shoulders as she passed under it.

  The movement of the tunnel hadn’t gone unnoticed by those at the other end. Aran screamed out a warning to her and she realized that he was heading back inside. That terrified her, as there was a slim chance he could reach her, and even if he did, what then? “NO!” she screamed, still running. “Don’t come here!”

  Loman saw sense in that, as he caught Aran’s arm, pulling him sharply back. Aran fought the engineer off, or at least, Sevana thought he did. She lost the thread of what the men were doing as the rumbling crack around her became sharper, more water pouring through in a cold gusher.

  The realization sent a raw wave of panic spiking through her: She wouldn’t make it.

  In reflex, Sevana’s hands went to her belt, her pouch, reaching for a wand. A tool. But she was not a traditional Artifactor anymore, and she had nothing on her to aid herself. Heart thumping, she swallowed hard, looking about herself in terror. Either the water would drown her, or the tunnel would collapse and crush her, and Sevana didn’t like either option.

  Her only chance of hope was her Fae magic. Untried, unpracticed though it was. Instinctively, she called to the basalt rock around her as she had to the quartz the day before. She struggled to remember what Aran had taught her the day before: to not command, but explain what she needed, to visualize it, and let the rock do her bidding. It was strangely harder than she realized, not having to dictate every single thing, trusting the magic and the elements to respond.

  There was a moment in which Sevana learned what it was like to have heart palpitations. It was not pleasant. The whole world seemed to falling apart around her, and she didn’t know whether to scream or—

  Then the basalt raced to her, answering the summons, wrapping around her in a hard, rocky cocoon. She folded up with her knees in her chest, eyes darting about as the rock formed. Some of the water was trapped in with her, no helping that, but the rock went solid and sank with a hard thunk to the sea floor. Outside and around her, she could hear the screams and groan as the tunnel collapsed, tearing itself apart.

  Sevana held her breath, heart beating a wardrum in her ears, staying still and taut to see how this would play out. Would her round ball of rock be enough to protect her? Would the tunnel collapse on top of her, making it impossible to retrieve her out from under the mess? No, calm down, these were Fae and Unda outside. The elements would obey them, this wasn’t like a human rescue, where they would need some sort of leverage to get her back out. Even now, the rock would likely be getting a scolding for daring to collapse in the first place.

  “It’s because of all the work they’ve been doing on adjusting the slope,” she muttered to herself crossly. “That’s why the tunnel collapsed as it did, they didn’t take into account the pressure this area is already under. They just forced it back into shape without considering the consequences. It’s a miracle this didn’t happen days ago. Well, maybe not a miracle. A miracle wouldn’t involve me getting stuck in the middle of it.”

  Feeling like she shouldn’t just complain, Sevana tentatively patted the section of basalt under her hand. “You’re a good rock. Thank you for helping me.”

  Was it her imagination, or did the basalt just glow for a moment, as if preening?

  Peering down at that section, her mind went off on a brief flight of fancy. What if she took this chunk of basalt home with her? Would Big be jealous that she was playing with another rock that wasn’t him?

  Shaking the image off, her mind returned to logical, sensible worries. She’d planned on practicing magic again today, after measuring the tubes and getting an answer, but this was not how she and Aran had planned for the day to go. Oh mercy, Aran was likely going insane out there. For once, he couldn’t come to the rescue; the water would be the perfect barrier to keep him out. He must be tearing his hair out.

  Sevana sat back with a groan. For a split second, she hadn’t known if she could pull herself through this disaster without being squished to death. If she made it through this—no, no, don’t be foolish. She’d make it fine. When she made it through this, she was going to ask Aran straight out if he would like to court.

  Near-death experiences were handy like that. They showed her exactly what her priorities should be. Dying with regrets was not in the plans.

  The basalt rock about her moved, just a little, but forward. Had someone already uncovered her? That would be remarkable, actually, as she couldn’t have been trapped down there for more than five minutes. Although the way the air turned steadily
stagnant indicated that a timely rescue was indeed in order. Her cocoon shifted again, this time rolling, and she barely had time to brace her hands above her head before the whole thing rolled and turned her upside down.

  Sevana’s knee banged against the rock, no doubt forming a bruise, and the half-gallon of water trapped with her sloshed as she rolled. Grimacing, she braced herself better and kept her mouth and eyes firmly closed to avoid getting sea water splashed in it as she was unceremoniously rolled, gaining momentum. Yes, good, let’s get this quickly over with.

  The outside gave no indication of where she was in relation to the station, only the dim sounds of grating rock as she crossed over the broken tunnel. In a blink, however, she must have crossed into the air bubble near the station, as she could hear the basalt around her hit the street, and a burst of voices chattering, muted as it was through the rock.

  Her cocoon split roughly in half, spilling her out of it like a chick hatching from an egg. Two strong hands that she’d know anywhere caught her by the shoulders, then she blinked up into the much brighter light and blew out a breath of relief from the fresh air.

  Aran looked her over frantically before catching her up in his arms, pulling her not only free but off the ground altogether. “Thank you. Thank you for being quick on your feet and brilliant.”

  Bemused on how she should answer that, she hugged him back, arms around his neck and shoulders. It was an awkward angle like this, half-caught up against his chest, but Sevana had no intention of telling him so just yet. She needed a minute herself, and the grip that Aran maintained told her without words that he wasn’t going to let go of her anytime soon. “Breathe, Aran. I’m alright. And look, my first real use of Fae magic went off without a hitch. It’s nice basalt, really, I want to thank it. How do you thank a rock?”

  A watery chuckle escaped his mouth but he didn’t lift his head from where he’d hidden it in the crook of her neck. “No idea.”

  Another person’s hand touched her shoulders and Sevana reluctantly lifted her head to glance over her shoulder. Loman looked up at her with a worried frown pulling his brows together. “You’re alright?”

  “Barely bruised,” Sevana assured him. She patted Aran, gesturing that she wanted down, and he set her slowly on her feet but didn’t let her budge an inch further. So it was going to be like that, was it? Well, alright. She could stay near him for a while longer. She could use the reassurance too, truth tell. “Loman. Did you just shove the slope back into position without considering the torque effect that would have on the tunnel?”

  Loman winced. His expression said it all.

  Rolling her eyes, she prayed for patience. “I’m sure that it’s going to take you the rest of the day to clean that tunnel up. How about I come back out here tomorrow, help you do some stress tests, and then we can re-do the slope properly before rebuilding the tubes.”

  Hangdog, Loman nodded and gave her a sheepish smile. “We’ll look forward to your guidance.”

  Almost as an afterthought, she tacked on, “And before that tunnel so rudely collapsed on me, I’d measured far enough in to get an answer. The rock had compressed on all sides and shrunk the interior. I’ll wager it’s the same case with all of the tunnels were the pods get stuck.”

  Enlightened, Loman turned and regarded the remaining two tubes. “Interesting. I’ll measure them as well.”

  Aran grinned on some internal level, his eyes danced with it, but he tried to keep a straight face. “So, in other words, you’re going to be perfectly insufferable the rest of the day.”

  “Pretty much,” she agreed, still bouncing. “I do so adore it when I’m right. Which, you must admit, is most of the time.”

  Shaking his head, he wisely let that one pass.

  Frown deepening, Loman said in a rhetorical tone, “Although considering what happened with this one, the other two have likely sustained damage.”

  “I honestly believe that it would easier to dismantle all of the tubes and reconstruct them,” Sevana informed him factually. “With Fae magic, it shouldn’t take you more than a few weeks. This station might even be up and running by the time I leave you.”

  “It likely will,” Loman agreed, still staring thoughtfully at his tunnels. “Still, to answer the academic question, I’ll examine them. Thank you, Artifactor. Our sincere apologies that you were in danger.”

  “It’s fine,” she assured him.

  Aran grumbled in a hiss, “It’s not.”

  Loman’s shoulders hunched in and wisely did not address Aran’s ire. “Will you update our queen and king? I have no doubt they’ve received the report on this and are on their way.”

  Sevana grimaced. Did she have to? As much as she’d like to skip that part of the process, she unfortunately couldn’t. Rane had assigned her the job personally, which meant she had to report in person when she finally had the solution. Growling, she shrugged. “Fine. I’ll head back and report it. I’m likely due for another treatment anyway. I’ll be at the guest house the rest of the day, you can reach me there.”

  Loman waved her on, his attention already turning back to the project at hand.

  Sevana left him to it. She needed to settle Aran first, before he worked himself up into a fine state. Catching his face with both hands, she focused his attention solely on her. “I’m fine.”

  He leaned in, head tilting just so, catching her mouth in a very firm and demanding kiss. Sevana, initially startled, relaxed after a moment and leaned into it. This second time kissing Aran was better than the first, likely because she knew what to expect this time, and it was hard not to smile as their lips slid and caressed each other’s. Aran pulled back after several long, quite pleasant moments, resting their foreheads together. “I love you, Sevana, so please. I’m begging you. No more near-death experiences. My heart can’t take it.”

  Loved her? She blinked, then pulled back enough to study his face, searching, although she wasn’t sure for what. Aran loved her. Sevana had always known he loved her, but she didn’t suspect it to be this kind of love, not until this moment. The knowledge lit her up, the force of her joy so intense that she felt as if she had a second sun trying to burst out of her chest. And it was such an amazing relief, as well, that he felt the same for her. Sevana really had no idea how she would have seduced him; seeing that it was no longer necessary was vastly reassuring.

  Perhaps the relief made her giddy, as she didn’t think anything of popping up on her toes in a public place and kissing him again, lips lingering. She felt shy saying it, and strangely awkward, as sentiment always made her feel out of joint. But still, she owed him the words. She owed them both the words. “I love you too.”

  A blinding smile crossed over his face, and he closed in the distance to kiss her again, tenderly this time. Sevana really did like this kissing business.

  They might have kept going in this vein except someone passing by wolf-whistled, and someone else snickered, which brought Sevana sharply back to reality. Right, they were standing outside of the station, weren’t they? Heat flooded her cheeks as she drew back, settling onto her heels once more.

  Aran took the teasing in stride and shooed people on their way. “Yes, yes, show’s over. Off with you.”

  “Well.” Clearing her throat, Sevana looked carefully elsewhere, trying to yank the blush off her face with limited success. When that failed, she caught his arm and started towing them for the guest house. “That let the cat out of the bag.”

  Matching her pace, he inquired, “What do you mean?”

  “Well, after that sort of display, people will think we’re…” she trailed off, belatedly realizing that she hadn’t properly asked if they could court. Although with their mutual declaration of affections, surely that was a given?

  “Courting, yes. I don’t think it’s news to anyone.” Aran stopped short and frowned down at her. “Did you want to keep that secret?”

  “What?” Sevana stared back at him dumbly, striving to ignore the pounding in her ches
t and the swooping butterflies swarming about in her stomach. “I—I thought—” actually, voicing what she had thought seemed so spectacularly stupid that she couldn’t manage to spit out the words. “We’re courting?”

  He stared at her hard, as if she had become this enigmatic puzzle to solve. “How could you possibly ask that after…wait. Were you not paying any attention while I was talking to you that first day I kissed you?”

  “What? When?” Sevana looked up, narrowing her eyes and searching her memory. She’d been studying the schematics and reading the history log, and Aran had been going on about something that he seemed to think was serious, and she’d made the right noises at the appropriate intervals, all while thinking about the problem at hand. And then the kissing started, and Sevana had genuinely paid attention for that part.

  “Great magic, you weren’t. You really weren’t listening to a word I said.” Aran rubbed a hand over his forehead and huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “For gods’ sake, Sevana, you carried on a conversation! I told you that I was completely, utterly in love with you and asked if we could court, and you said that was alright, fine, and you very sweetly kissed me!”

  Sevana stared, wide-eyed, as this new piece of information fell into place. She was aware that she was probably expected to say something, but her brain and mouth seemed not to be cooperating with each other just then.

  “Wait a minute. I know what I was doing, but what were you doing?”

  “I was trying not to do anything that would make you want to stop doing, you know,” she flapped her hands in irritation, not knowing words to use, “things!” Sevana blurted. She shuffled her weight from one foot to the other. “You’re not going to stop, are you? I’d prefer things to keep going as they have been.”

  Aran stared at her, perfectly incredulous for what seemed like a small eternity, before dissolving into an undignified fit of snickering. “For someone so brilliant, you can be such an idiot.”