Natalie crossed her arms and stared at the sky, avoiding Onlo’s eyes as her own started to burn with tears. “I know. But he’s so busy with her, he barely talks to me. And when he does … he won’t let me in. There’s no place for me in his life anymore. Aldworth took him away and we got him back … but what was between us is lost.”
Onlo nodded in the near-darkness. “It could be time for you to let him go. I am not certain yet. But nothing can help him recover from torture except time. And, as a Healer, I’m sure you know this is a demon that plagues some people forever.”
“I know,” she whispered. Aching to be hugged and told everything was going to be okay, she nearly fell forward to put her head on Onlo’s shoulder. Despite all the times they’d butted heads, his support and protection of her had never wavered. He’d kept her safe and been there through some of the worst times in her life. It’s not an exaggeration to say I would not have survived without him. Goddess, I’ve been so concerned about Onlo’s feelings toward me. What are my own feelings doing?
She stared at Onlo in the near-dark, trying to ascertain whether her feelings toward him had changed. But all she could feel was the desperate need for comfort.
She groaned and buried her head in her hands. What does this mean?
“Don’t give up hope yet,” Onlo said, misinterpreting her actions. “Perhaps Jyrenn can help him control his mage powers. I do not know how it works, a mage’s memories being preserved in a stone.” Glancing over his shoulder at the ethereal yellow glow behind him, he added, “I suppose we are about to find out.”
Ystrelle stood next to her Isle’s megalith, which loomed in the eldritch light. Everyone surrounded the sunstone in a large, square area covered in gray slate, surrounded by a low stone wall with seats built in in various places. Ancient sculptures dotted the space, their features worn by time. “In a few minutes, I will ask the stone to access Jyrenn’s memories. Is someone ready to take notes?”
Natalie waved a quill back and forth, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes. That’s me. Healer of Ismereld Isle, Curer of Epidemics, and Chief Note-Taker.
“Good. Be aware, this is a one-way conversation; these are only Jyrenn’s memories; you can’t ask him questions. It will take you a month or more to get through the whole of his legacy. And this entire area is fireproof, so don’t worry, Princess. Practice your lessons all you like.”
Jules cocked his head. “Do you do this often? Access Jyrenn’s memories, I mean.”
“I am the Secret Keeper for Solerin,” Ystrelle said as if this answered the question.
“But there’s been no mages for two thousand years. You—well, Jyrenn—has had no mage students until now.”
“Yes, you are the first students of Jyrenn in his current form. However, I saw it as my duty to keep myself informed about his lessons so that I could be of utmost assistance if and when a mage student came along.” A small smile played on her lips. “I’m glad I did. After all, you are here.”
Natalie nodded, grateful for the Secret Keeper’s preparations. She held the quill over the paper ready to take notes.
“All right, here we go.” Ystrelle placed a hand lovingly on the stone, closed her eyes and hummed a phrase in a language Natalie didn’t recognize. Onlo crossed his arms, leaning against a stone fountain, as Anli and Em conversed in low tones with Jake at their feet. Natalie waited. Now they would find out if it was all worth it.
A baritone voice echoed throughout the clearing. “Hello, I am Jyrenn.”
Everyone jumped except Ystrelle. “Come find me when you’re ready to stop for the evening.” Her eyes gleaming, she left them alone to their work.
Natalie stared after her and then back at the megalith. It’s talking. The stone is talking. Oh, Goddess, Jules and Charlotte are listening, I should write down what it’s—what he is saying.
For several hours, the princess and Jules listened to Jyrenn and practiced his exercises, while Natalie scribbled, rubbing at the crick in her neck and stretching her ink-stained fingers.
The moon was high overhead when they summoned Ystrelle to cease the lessons for the night, and they all clambered back into the rowboats and rowed across Lake Jyrenn to the main Isle. Natalie took a turn at the oars this time, the exercise relieving every muscle cramped from writing for so long. In the other boat, Jules and Charlotte gushed about everything they’d learned so far. The excitement palpable in their voices, Natalie was glad for Mysha’s advice to bring them here so they could get the training they needed. After all, it must be difficult to go through life always setting things on fire. Or only being able to touch one other person. She was glad for the princess. And Jules. Truly.
Natalie’s rowboat made it to shore well ahead of the others’.
Chapter 14
N
atalie woke at dawn. Was it Anli’s turn to row the boat today? She hoped so. Wincing as she got out of bed, she took Jake outside as orange and yellow rays streaked the sky overhead.
Everyone had agreed on a grueling routine to maximize their time on Solerin. They rowed out to the megalith each day after sunrise, and Ystrelle began the mage lessons for the day. Natalie took notes in the morning. After lunch, she trained with Onlo and Anli, honing her reiqata and practicing with her short staff while Em took notes for the mages. They returned to shore at sunset, everyone nearly falling face first into their dinners.
During these past three weeks, Natalie’s stomach burned every time she spotted the princess and Jules, his dark head bent toward her silver one, listening to Jyrenn and conferring about some magical technique they’d learned. This usually earned her several extra bruises from Onlo’s short staff.
She’d had no success identifying her feelings for Onlo. Surreptitiously glancing at him from time to time as she went through her day, her heart didn’t race as it did when she saw Jules, but it did feel like a sense of home, and as the weeks went on, quite often the simple need for his proximity. She remembered Onlo comforting her after her nightmare soon after arriving at Ebenos Point Keep, and wished she hadn’t turned aside. Being away from the places and many of the people she grew up with made the lack of close human comfort more painful. She hadn’t worked up to the courage to talk to Em about it. No doubt her friend would have wise words for her. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to hear them.
As she fastened her leather bodice and twirled her green cape over her shoulder every morning, frustration often made her lace her clothing too tight. The night she had received this armor, she had looked in the mirror and seen someone—someone she could be. She was no longer the Natalie Desmond who had worked as a Healer at the Abbey and worked to save the Isles from the epidemic. Yet she also hadn’t become the woman she sensed she could be, whoever that was. Living in a state of unknowing in between, like a chrysalis waiting to become a butterfly, required a patience she didn’t have.
Fortunately, Jules and the princess, both skilled learners, sped through Jyrenn’s lessons at an incredible rate. There was certainly a lot of trial and error, and Natalie often said prayers of thanks that the megalith was surrounded by gray slate; it absorbed its fair share of wayward fireballs and electric shocks.
But even Natalie couldn’t stop herself from rushing over, grinning, the day both mages stood calmly next to the megalith, Jules holding a snapping blue ball of energy above his hand and Charlotte an orange ball of flame above hers.
Jules grinned. “I think we’re on to something here.”
She hadn’t slept well. Her body ached all over from training with Onlo. The unusually warm night made it hard to sleep, and once she did, she had nightmares. They usually did haunt her when it was too hot to sleep. Near dawn, unable to stay in bed any longer, she got dressed and headed for the communal cottage where they took meals. Stumbling through the door, she stopped short when she saw Jules alone at the table, eating.
“Um, hello,” she swallowed and walked through the door.
“Good morn
ing.” His voice was soft and tentative.
Natalie fixed her breakfast, then sat a careful distance from Jules at the table, but ultimately could no longer stand the tense silence.
“So has Jyrenn told you what mage powers are used for?”
Jules eyed her warily. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you create energy. Charlotte can conjure flame. Why? To what end? Do you use it to Heal people? Build things? Attack? Has Jyrenn said anything relevant while I’ve been training with Onlo?”
“I guess we haven’t reached that part of the lessons yet.”
“You mean he hasn’t told you? Goddess, why are we here, then?”
“Nat, come on.”
“No, I’m serious, Jules. What did the mages do two thousand years ago besides create magical islands? We know they healed people, assisted with farming, crafting, creativity and the like. What did they do with fire and energy?”
“I have no idea. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. But you won’t believe what I found out yesterday. Guess what killed the mages in Jyrenn’s time?”
Natalie raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“It was a virus. It started with a headache, and then gastrointestinal symptoms. Next, the mage started sweating.” Jules sat back and crossed his arms. “Sound familiar?”
Natalie swore. “Em must have been taking notes that day. I’ve got to read them. Goddess, Jules. If all the symptoms are there, we could infer that the same, or at least a very similar virus to the one we faced last spring, killed the mages two thousand years ago.”
Jules winked at her. “Good thing you stopped it, Ms. Desmond’s Fever.”
“Oh, shut up.” Natalie hid her smile with a bite of food.
“Still,” Jules continued, “with research, could we determine if there’s some correlation between viruses killing off mages and reawakening the powers two thousand years later?”
“This is one hell of a leap. We need proof, Jules.”
“But think about it, Nat. I didn’t show any mage powers until I had the sweating sickness. Same with Charlotte; she told me she was sick and, once she recovered, she discovered she had powers. That’s when she ran away from her parents to seek out Abbey training.”
Natalie’s mind recalled the dark alcove where she watched over Jules’s sick body and the Princess saying, “Things have been … much harder since I had a mild bout with the sweating fever,” and unfurling her fingers to reveal a white-blue light hovering above her palm. She ran away from home and found me. And I was teaching her. I miss that. I miss her. Another bout of queasiness spun out from her stomach toward her head, which throbbed in response.
“Please, Nat? Can you do some research into this while I train? I need your knowledge to put this puzzle together.”
Natalie leaned forward, interlacing her fingers and placing her hands on the table. “Why don’t you and Charlotte help me? Why don’t you take a break from Jyrenn while we research this together? More minds will make it go faster. You are both learned, both Healers, and you’re no longer a danger to those around you; let’s research it together, the three of us, and see what we find.”
Jules shook his head. “We need to finish our training as soon as possible. I want to be the best mage I can be.”
Natalie leaned backward. “Well, which are you, Juliers Rayvenwood, a Healer or a mage?”
“I’m both,” he growled. “Like Bridhe.”
“Then act like her. Be both. Don’t abandon being a Healer for being a mage. Bridhe didn’t.”
Natalie pushed off the table and stalked out.
Fuming, Natalie strode to the boats to wait for everyone else. So it was up to her to be the Healer while Jules and Charlotte became amazing mages, was it? Why hadn’t he asked Em to help, too? She was a Healer. Granted, her specialties didn’t lie where Natalie’s did, but still.
She drew back her leg to kick a rock into the lake when something caught her eye. Natalie backtracked and hid behind the nearest tree. Grasping the coarse bark, she peered around the trunk at a couple passionately kissing under a grove of trees. One member of the couple had their head covered in a delicate white cloth. Em. Her scirpa, the lovely fabric she always wore as part of her Goddess religion, made her easy to identify. Feeling like an intruder, but unable to look away, Natalie squinted, desperate to know the recipient of Em's affection. Em's lover pulled her closer, one hand clasping the back of her head and the other sliding under the cloth knotted at the base of her neck and draping about her shoulders. Who was Em having a whirlwind romance with on Solerin?
The couple turned a bit and Natalie spotted a familiar short curtain of shiny jet-black hair. Natalie clapped a hand over her mouth and slipped behind her tree. Anli? Anli hated everyone except Jules and Onlo. That same Anli was kissing her best friend. A giggle bubbled up and Natalie trapped it with her fingers. Em and Anli? Natalie grinned. How long has this been going on?
Pressing her palm to her forehead, she nearly groaned out loud. At least since before they left for Solerin. It was so unlike Em to transfer her patients to someone else and come with us. And then I thanked Onlo for letting her come along when she hadn’t even asked. He looked at me like I was so dense. No wonder—Em came because of Anli.
But why didn’t she tell me?
Ystrelle, Onlo, Jules, and Charlotte appeared at the top of the hill, ready to leave. Natalie wiped the grin off her face.
As the boats journeyed across the lake, Natalie mulled over the theories Jules discussed at breakfast. Unsure if she was asking out of happiness for her best friend, or a growing sense of curiosity of her own, Natalie turned to Ystrelle. “Is there a library or any place nearby where I could research viruses and why the mages died out?”
“There are. However, I suggest you talk to Manuel first. He is a scientist here who studies trait inheritance in plants. He’s applied his studies to the inheritance of Isle Attunement.”
Natalie knitted her eyebrows.
Ystrelle nodded. “I know, it doesn’t sound related, but he’s done significant research on the mages two thousand years ago and has some sound theories on how their powers got inherited and why mages were so susceptible to the virus that killed them.”
“Could you arrange a meeting? I’d love to talk to him.”
“Absolutely. But I think Jules and the Princess should come along. They should hear firsthand what he has to say.”
Natalie worked hard to keep a triumphant grin off her face. “Well, let’s inform Their Royal Mage-esties when we get to the megalith, shall we?”
Natalie stood agape in the largest greenhouse she’d ever beheld, envying the man bent over a delicate plant specimen with every fiber of her being. Manuel was a slight, bespectacled man with tan skin and shoulder length ink-black hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. His nimble, green-stained fingers traveled from flower to flower, and Natalie longed to stay here instead of taking notes from a voice in a stone and getting beat up by Onlo every day.
Ystrelle announced their presence. “Good afternoon, Manuel, I do apologize for interrupting.”
Manuel glanced at them, gave them a curt nod, and then returned to his work. Having spent hours pleasantly engrossed in her own greenhouse, Natalie empathized. He must not get many visitors.
Ystrelle introduced her, Jules, Charlotte, and Onlo.
Natalie stepped forward first, exchanging pleasantries and asking questions and exchanging knowledge about the plant on which he currently focused his attentions. Despite the man’s obviously reclusive nature, she nonetheless felt she’d found a kindred spirit and longed for the opportunity to spend days learning from him. But, there was a mission to accomplish. “Would you mind answering some questions for us about the virus that killed off the mages two thousand years ago?”
“Yes, absolutely. It’s a subject that’s rather a hobby of mine. You’re Healer Natalie Desmond of Desmond’s Fever, aren’t you?”
Don’t. Call. It.
That. She heard Jules and Charlotte stifling chuckles behind her.
She pursed her lips together. “I am.”
“Please let me congratulate you on your extraordinary work.”
“Uh, thank you. So what can you tell us about the mages in Bridhe and Jyrenn’s time?”
“I believe the knowledge you seek starts with these plants here.”
She listened eagerly to his explanations of how he’d bred and crossbred generations of flowers, observing how they passed their traits to their offspring. Natalie often asked questions, which Manuel answered in great detail.
By the end, she asked the most pertinent question. “So how does this apply to the death of the mages in Bridhe and Jyrenn’s time?” She glanced at Charlotte and Jules for their thoughts. Jules’s eyes were glazed over, and Charlotte pushed at the quicks of her fingernails. Onlo had nodded off to sleep, his shoulder resting against a pillar. She cleared her throat loudly, causing Jules and Charlotte to jump.
Smothering a grin, Natalie had an idea. “Manuel, my fellow Healers don’t share my love of plants. Could you give us an example of your theory, using human traits?”
Removing his spectacles, the scientist carefully folded them and pointed one end at Jules. “Certainly. To understand the virus, you must first understand how powers are passed on to offspring. If you, Healer Rayvenwood, had children with the Princess Heir, your children would be more likely to be Attuned to an Isle and have mage abilities, because you are both Attuned and mages. It’s not a guarantee, but it is more probable. Whereas if you and Healer Desmond had children, it’s more likely your children would be Attuned but less likely to be mages. Although the possibility still exists because you, a mage, would be their father.”
Jules shifted and looked intently at the ceiling, and Charlotte’s face turned an amazing shade of red. Hell in a kettle. That’s what I get for asking. Heat radiated off Natalie’s cheeks and she ran her fingers along one of the plant stems as if her life depended upon it. “But none of us have children. And both Charlotte and Jules had the virus.”
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