Sky Jewel Legacy- Heritage

by Gregory Heal

  Malcolm’s throat clenched shut. He shook his head.

  “Don’t try to deny it, boy. The brain never lies. If I had known you were this weak and impressionable, I wouldn’t have chosen you for the mission—but this is good.” He released Malcolm from his boot. “We can cauterize it from your soul now that I have pinpointed the root of your problem.”

  Malcolm felt his chest to make sure his ribs weren’t broken again. With all of his resolve, he fought the urge to yell. Instead, he said, “I’m sorry, My Lord.”

  Draconex let the side of his mouth twitch—his version of a spiteful grin. “That was the first time you haven’t talked back to me. You must be learning.”

  “I’ve learned that I have unresolved feelings for Jen. Help me,” Malcolm admitted. He stood up and faced Draconex with a tired but determined gaze.

  The leader of the Dark Watchers grinned insidiously. “You’re ready for your next lesson. But first I have some pressing business to which I must attend. Wait for me in my antechamber. Madame Diaema is expecting you.” Draconex spun, pulling his cape around his body, and deftly walked out of the chamber.

  Malcolm, still shaking off the daze he woke up in, shook his head and trudged like a zombie toward Draconex’s antechamber, hoping that he would revert back to normal while he waited for his master to beckon him once again.

  It was a good thing Richard Smith wasn’t standing, because he would have crumbled to the ground after he heard his friend say that he was Charles Lancaster.

  Charles Lancaster.

  The man who had visited Richard and Beth two decades ago at their home in Arizona. The man who had saved his life from a home invader who’d turned out to be a Dark Watcher. The man who trusted him and his wife enough to raise their only daughter, Jennifer.

  Thoughts and questions swirled around in his head too quickly to comprehend. He took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, “You’re Charles Lancaster?”

  His friend—Charles—rubbed his knuckles on one of the bars that separated them. “Or so I’m told. I don’t remember much before waking up here in this hole.”

  Richard slid closer to the bars and found Charles’s hand. At first, he felt his friend’s hand tighten around the bar, but his grip relaxed. “You’re Jen’s biological father!” he whispered. “You asked my wife and me twenty years ago to raise your infant daughter. You don’t even remember that?”

  “I’m sorry, friend. I’ve only known life here on Feralot.” Charles withdrew his hand from Richard’s.

  Disheartened, but unwilling to give up, Richard promised, “My wife and I will help you remember. You saved my life years ago and gave me a precious girl to raise. It’s the least I can do for you.”

  “Thank you, but don’t expect much. Draconex has tried to make me remember in every inhumanly way possible—and a few utterly inhuman ways—and has only failed in all these years.”

  “Maybe he hasn’t been taking the right approach.” Richard’s voice held hope for the first time in days since he’d arrived in the steely darkness of the Lair of Despair.

  Then, a chill ran down his spine when he heard the sound that had begun to bring him anguish ever since he woke up in Feralot: metal keys.

  Richard opened his eyes—again for the first time in days. “Stay strong, Charles,” he said, tightening his grip on the other’s hand. “We’ll get through this.”

  Charles didn’t say anything as the guards stopped at his cell and unlocked his door. Richard heard shuffling as the intruders tried to drag his old friend out of his cell, but he held firmly onto the metal bar. The guards grunted, trying to break his hold, but Charles’s strength surprised them—and Richard. Finally, one of the guards had had enough of this game of tug-of-war and blasted Charles with a spell that knocked him unconscious. It was so bright that it left an after image on Richard’s retinas: Charles stoically staring at him, as if he knew exactly where to look, even though it was pitch-black.

  Richard felt Charles’s grip go slack, and the guards forcefully dragged him away, down the cold corridor, to an unknown room where Draconex was waiting.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  With budding excitement, Jen was on Victor’s heels as she stepped into the terramancy section of Camelore’s Pentarena, ready for her training to finally begin. Separated by glass-like walls from the animancy section on their right and the telemancy section on their left, they were given an abundant space to train without putting other sorcerers in harm’s way of stray spells.

  Looking around her, Jen was reminded of the Chimera Course back at Watercress. She saw a man-made pond the size of an Olympic diving well; an outgrowth of craggy rocks; a translucent tunnel with a vertical chimney stack, which looked like an enormous, upside-down letter T; and a large, charred patch of lava-cracked earth and coals, which held a tiled platform in its center, holding a basin that crackled with dancing flames. Lingering on the last spectacle, Jen noticed the heat rising from the superheated ground, causing the air to waver.

  “What you see around you are representations of the four basic elements: water, earth, air, and fire,” Victor began. Jen noticed a shift in his demeanor. His soothing, gentle tone of a friend was replaced by the firm, determined tone of an instructor. “These four elements create harmony and balance on every life-based planet, but there are sub-elements such as lightning, metal, blood, and chemistry. Mystra terramancers can conjure these sub-elements on command, making them extensions of their mind and body.” He raised a finger, pausing. “But that comes with practice as your nexus grows stronger, and knowledge of how each element compliments and contrasts with one another. Having said that, it is easier for tenderfeet to learn by first controlling the basic elements.”

  Jen nodded, taking it all in.

  Victor continued, waving Jen over to the clear tunnel. “We’ll start with the element that is the most abundant and easiest to control: air.” He placed a hand on its curved outer wall and motioned Jen to enter.

  “Inside? How far would you like me to go?” Jen asked, unsure about how this was going to play out.

  “To the other side. I want you to get a feel of the space before we start anything else,” Victor answered, peeking into the tunnel.

  “Got it.” The tunnel’s opening was a little over three yards in diameter, so Jen had no problem fitting inside, but she felt claustrophobia begin to tug at her throat and twist her stomach into knots as she started toward the other end, which was fifty yards away.

  Jen’s steps echoed as she walked the entirety of the tunnel, glancing up into the chimney stack as she passed it. Once she got to the other side, Jen let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in. Feeling more at ease, she turned around and looked at Victor’s miniature form at the other end of the tunnel.

  “How did it feel?” Victor’s voice rushed toward her, sounding as if he were right in front of her instead of fifty yards away.

  “Tight,” Jen replied, then added, “and echoey.” She smiled when she heard Victor’s disarming chuckle.

  “Okay, now we are going to make this tunnel sing like a train whistle.”

  “How?” Jen asked, squinting into the tunnel.

  “That chimney pipe will produce a high-pitched sound if air rises through it, and the only way to make that happen is if you and I shoot air into this tunnel at the same time,” Victor explained.

  Jen tapped her teeth together as she thought. “Seems simple enough.” She remembered how she’d whipped up a strong breeze in the Chimera Course.

  “Just focus and you’ll be fine,” Victor reassured her. He held his staff firmly in both hands and pointed its tip inside the tunnel. “On my mark. Three . . .”

  Jen took a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air.

  “. . . two . . .”

  She moved into a walking stance, with her left foot forward and right foot back.

  “. . . one . . .”

  She wiggled her fingers in anticipation.

  “Now!�
��

  WHOOSHHHHH!

  Victor sent a wall of air into the tunnel at thirty miles per hour, hoping that it would be met with an equal gust by Jen.

  Jen cupped her hands and thrust them in Victor’s direction, expecting a sensation of swirling wind on her fingertips, but nothing happened. She tried again, but to no avail. Disappointed, she looked at her open palms just as she was buffeted by a strong wind, almost taking her feet out from under her. Jen’s hair stuck straight back and her loose blouse whipped behind her as she staggered back a few paces, trying desperately to remain upright.

  Victor lowered his staff once he noticed that Jen was fighting against his spell. The gust turned into a breeze, which faded into nothing. Jen put her hands on her knees, her labored breathing carrying through the tunnel.

  “Did you feel mine?” Jen asked, with a hint of jest.

  “A little,” Victor joked back. “Did you feel my gust?”

  “No,” Jen said unconvincingly. “Barely a breath.” She waited a few seconds, then said, “Okay, you got me . . . I couldn’t make any wind.”

  “Did you focus?” Victor asked.

  “Yes! I don’t get it, Vic. It was so easy for me to whip up a breeze in the Chimera Course. Now I feel like I’m powerless.”

  “You’re everything but powerless, Jenny,” Victor consoled. “You’re still getting used to channeling your nexus through your totem bracelet instead of the Ring of Lancaster, which you’ve had a chance to connect with over the twenty years you’ve worn it. And remember—you drank the elixir before starting the Chimera Course, which temporarily heightened your powers. For now, focus on your new totem, and let your will flow through it.” He tapped the end of his staff on the ground twice, getting ready for another attempt. “On my mark again.”

  Jen slid into a walking stance once more, holding her hands up and keeping them open. She glanced at her totem bracelet and focused on its only charm.

  “Come on . . .” Jen said to herself.

  Suddenly, she felt a slight electrical pulse travel through her body as she heard Victor count down. She was still looking at her totem and saw her teardrop charm start to glow and lift away from the bracelet. Her palms felt cold as an invisible force put pressure on her hands, causing her to push back. Wind brushed into her, but it wasn’t as forceful as before, letting her know that she was shooting air back into the tunnel. Her arms started to ache from the pressure and she grew more tired. Jen eventually let her arms drop—

  And Victor’s spell rammed into her, knocking her over. She remained on her back, trying to catch her breath and wait for the wind to cease.

  Victor ran across the tunnel and stopped at Jen’s side. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just resting.” Jen tried to keep the disappointment from her voice, but her mentor picked up on it.

  “That was much better than your first attempt. You’re getting the hang of it,” Victor said.

  Jen couldn’t look Victor in the eye. “I couldn’t hang on to it, though.”

  “But you will. That’s why we practice.” He held out a hand. Jen finally nodded and took his hand, standing up. She brushed dirt from her blouse and jeans as Victor said, “I noticed that you used your totem this time. Now try to focus on the molecules in the air. We take the oxygen in the air to breathe, but it’s also made up of copious amounts of nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, and methane. Try to control all of them. We’ll go on your mark this time.”

  In a blink of an eye, Victor was back at the other end of the tunnel, waiting. Jen centered herself and closed her eyes. Feeling her nexus awaken, she reached out all around her and took a deep breath. As air filled her lungs, she could pick out all the types of gas molecules around her as easily as though they were wearing name tags. There were too many to count, but she felt them respond to her touch, one by one. Jen smirked and opened her eyes, imbued with the rich powers of her nexus.

  “Three . . .” Jen started the countdown. She lifted her arms and willed the charm on her totem bracelet to glow. “. . . two . . . one . . . NOW!”

  The young omnimancer felt a blast of wind shoot from her palms and into the tunnel. She dug her feet into the ground for added balance and waited for Victor’s gust to slam into her—but it never came. Continuing to let the power of her nexus flow through her single charm, Jen squinted across the tunnel to see Victor stumble backward a couple steps, his cloak flapping straight behind him.

  I’m doing it! I think . . .

  Jen suddenly flinched as a high-pitched whine drowned out her inner thoughts. Before her concentration could break, she realized it was from the air passing through the chimney. Beaming with pride, Jen felt a drop in air pressure and assumed Victor was finished with the exercise, so she also decreased her spell until the whistling stopped.

  She looked silently at Victor with a big smile plastered on her face. Amazingly, she felt completely rejuvenated, unlike a few minutes ago when she had been on the ground, exhausted and with deflated spirits.

  “You did it!” Victor yelled through the tunnel.

  Jen squealed, raising her arms and jumping up and down in delight. She had never felt such control before. Disregarding her claustrophobia, she sprinted through the tunnel to embrace Victor at the other end.

  “What a rush!” Jen exclaimed.

  “I knew you had it in you,” Victor said proudly. “We’ll work on tighter control as we progress—like your hug.”

  Jen laughed, releasing him. “Sorry, Vic,” she said as she mock-punched his shoulder. “So, what’s next?”

  He jokingly rubbed the spot where she’d hit him, mouthing the word “Ouch,” then said, “Well, if you’re up for it, we’ll see how you do with the element that is the opposite of air: earth.”

  “I’m always game,” Jen said, feeling energized.

  He led Jen to the rocky outgrowth near the back wall. As she stepped onto the rocky plateau, she was reminded of her family trip to the Grand Canyon. Of course, what she stood on was minuscule compared to one of the US’s natural wonders, but the colors and shapes of its rocks were very similar.

  “Where air is fluid and transitional, earth is solid and durable,” Victor explained, then smiled, adding, “but only to the untrained.”

  He walked over to a large boulder and put a palm on its side. Focusing on his hand, he applied pressure. Jen’s jaw dropped as his whole hand disappeared into the boulder like quicksand. Victor smiled at Jen and took his hand out of the solid boulder just as easily as he had put it in.

  “That’s—that’s . . .”

  “Magic?” Victor laughed. “Some say it is. Terramancers say that it’s an understanding of the properties of the mineral and developing a symbiosis with it.”

  “That’s what you did the night of my birthday!” Pieces were falling into place for Jen. “When you walked through my locked door.”

  “Exactly,” Victor said. “Now you try.”

  Jen stepped closer and put a hand on the boulder. It felt surprisingly smooth, but very dense. Decidedly solid. Hesitation dampened her confidence, but she persevered and tried to identify the boulder’s properties. Unlike the air molecules, which floated all around her, the boulder’s molecules were stacked in tight rows and columns, much like a lattice fence. She tried separating them, but they wouldn’t budge. Jen pushed the boulder, willing her hand to sift through, but all she did was make her palm hurt from the pressure.

  “Jen.” Victor lifted her hand from the rock. “You’re trying to control the boulder like you did the air. This is an entirely different element, so you must change your approach. Instead of trying to move the boulder’s molecules, move your own.” Victor tapped the boulder and its surface cracked like sugar glass.

  Jen followed the cracks to where Victor tapped his finger, now showing a small hole. “What did you do that time?”

  “I made my finger more dense than the boulder,” Victor explained. “Most people think that earth is immovable and they are not, when in reality it’s
the opposite. Learn to adapt your molecules to fit your needs.”

  Jen tilted her head and put her hand back on the boulder.

  “Adapt,” she told herself.

  She felt the structured molecules again, but instead of forcing them to move, she focused on her hand. A slight tingle shot through her fingertips and traveled over her knuckles and palm. Jen opened her eyes in surprise to see the charm on her totem bracelet come to life and glow. Her hand began to feel squishy and she watched it meld into the boulder; before long the only thing showing was her arm, up to her wrist. Jen let out a breath of amazement.

  “Now slowly retract it,” Victor instructed. “Don’t lose your focus.”

  Nodding, Jen did as she was instructed; concentrating on keeping her hand porous, she slowly brought it out of the boulder.

  Victor was visibly relieved. “Well done. Once you understand the earth and its minerals, it lets you in and becomes a part of you.”

  “Okay, that felt really weird.” Jen wiggled her fingers as feeling rushed back into them.

  “Now try and crack the boulder.”

  Without saying a word, Jen focused on the tip of her left index finger, feeling it warm up as she tapped into her nexus. When she was ready, she touched the boulder and pushed.

  CRACKKKKK!

  Stone crumbled underneath her fingertip. “Whoa,” Jen said, impressed at the result. She took her finger away and clenched her fist, focusing on her knuckles. With determination, Jen hit the boulder with a strong jab. It splintered like balsa wood as she drove her fist deep into the massive rock.

  Convinced that the impromptu rain of rock shards had stopped, Victor lowered his arms from his face to reveal a look of disbelief. “You’re even stronger than I thought.”

  “Ditto,” Jen agreed, amazed. She pulled her fist out and inspected her knuckles. “Not even a scratch,” she pointed out.