Storm Glass

23

“WHAT DO YOU mean none?” I asked.

Pazia dropped the fork onto the tray and fell back against her pillows. The effort of eating and talking was too much for her. I turned to Zitora. The Master Magician’s worry alarmed me.

“Her magic will come back, won’t it?” I asked.

“We don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Don’t do any more channeling until we know for sure.”

Ulrick and I left Pazia’s room. We returned to my quarters in the apprentice wing, but I had no memory of the trip. When Ulrick suggested we eat dinner, the thought of food soured my stomach. What if Pazia’s magic never returned? The possibility frightened me to the core.

“If you can strip a person’s magic with those orbs,” Ulrick said, “we don’t have to worry about Tricky anymore. I wonder if you could take Master Cowan’s power.”

“Ulrick, I don’t want to talk about it. I may have destroyed Pazia’s ability to use magic. There is no positive side.” I entered my bedroom and shut the door.

I lay on top of the bed and stared at the ceiling. Unable to stop my thoughts, I watched as they replayed the series of events over and over and over in my mind. Filling the orb with Pazia’s bees felt effortless and I had been fine when Tricky had attacked with the spiders.

What else had I done with the orbs? I had helped Kade with the storm. But then exhaustion claimed me as soon as we finished. In that case, Kade’s energy was depleted—he struggled to control the bubble of calm keeping him from the storm’s fury. I had given him my energy to use as he harvested the storm’s essence. If he had tried to attack me with wind, could I channel it? I shied away from the answer.

I must have fallen asleep, because Ulrick woke me in the morning. I picked at my breakfast, letting the drone of conversation flow around me. Mara joined us and we headed for the glass shop.

Excitement and pride used to bloom whenever I saw the new shop, but not this time. Mara and I helped Ulrick create his vases. Beautiful long-necked pieces with swirls of color. He had purchased a number of different colored crystals to dip the molten glass into. The crystals melted when heated, coloring the glass.

I couldn’t tell if he used magic while working with the pieces. Only when the vases cooled and I could touch them would I know if he had trapped magic inside.

“Opal, you haven’t said a word all day. You shouldn’t worry so much. I’m sure Pazia will be fine,” Mara said.

Cracking off Ulrick’s last vase, I transferred it to the annealing oven.

“No sense moping about it until you know for certain,” Ulrick said. “Come on.” He gathered a ball of molten glass. “I saved you some of my mix to play with.”

Outnumbered, I worked at the gaffer’s bench. The glass moved as if made of silk. It was easy to shape and fun to manipulate. It didn’t take long for my dark mood to lighten.

“Is the flexibility due to the Krystal Clan’s gold sand?” I asked him.

“Nice try, but I’m not telling you the mix ingredients.”

The next day the vases cooled down enough to handle. Popping in my hands, they held Ulrick’s magic within them. But Mara couldn’t “feel” the vibrations at all.

When Ulrick and I both held the vase, it sang a sad tune. Mara heard nothing when she tried holding it with him.

A few of our student helpers had arrived. We tested a vase on each of them. No one could feel the pops, but they heard a song with Ulrick’s touch. The song was different for each person. We puzzled over the discrepancy. After a few more tries with different vases, we discovered a person would hear his unique song no matter which vase he touched.

“Piecov, how are you feeling?” Mara asked him.

The first-year student frowned in confusion. “I feel fine.”

She shook her head. “Are you happy, sad, lonely?”

“Oh. I’m rather glad. I found out this morning I passed my history test.”

“Touch the vase with Ulrick again,” she instructed.

Piecov complied.

“Does the song you hear match your mood?”

He considered for a moment. “Yes.”

She asked the others and they agreed. We strolled around the Keep’s campus and tested the vases on the other students. Even going so far as to interrupt an argument. In each instance, the student’s song reflected his or her mood. We also couldn’t find any other magician who could feel the vase’s vibrations. Not even Ulrick felt it—only me. Even when I held the vase with another, I couldn’t hear a song and the vase remained inert. We returned to the shop.

“A mood indicator,” Ulrick said in disgust. “And not even my moods, but others. A useless parlor trick!”

“I wouldn’t say useless,” I said. “You might be able to use the vases to interrogate criminals, find out if they feel guilty or are lying.”

“Not the job I hoped for.” He snatched a broom and swept the floor with hard strokes.

“We might still discover other uses for your pieces.” I straightened the workbenches, replacing the tools.

He didn’t comment as we finished cleaning up the shop. I understood his disappointment. Four years in the Keep had been one letdown after another for me. But the Keep’s instructors had been trying to teach me to use magic in the traditional ways. Only when I had been in dire situations did my other abilities manifest themselves. While I wouldn’t recommend that method, perhaps Ulrick would have other opportunities to find out more.

Before dinner, Ulrick, Mara and I stopped at the infirmary to ask Healer Hayes about Pazia. She was only slightly better. In the hallway, we encountered Zitora. The magician sent Ulrick and Mara on to dinner and asked me to accompany her to her office. Usually Ulrick would fuss about leaving me alone, but he shuffled after Mara without saying a word.

“What’s wrong with him?” Zitora asked as we climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

“Difficult day.” I explained about his power.

“When I first met him, I didn’t think he had any. His magic may include only one trick, but it’s better than nothing.”

I kept quiet, remembering my own frustrations. Once you get a taste, sometimes it’s hard not to crave more.

“How’s Pazia’s progress with magic?” I asked instead.

“She’s regaining her strength little by little, but it’ll be a good week before we know about her magic.” Zitora stared at me with a pained expression. “Opal, if you have truly taken her ability to access the power source, the Sitian Council will view you as a threat.”

Her words failed to sink in. I expected her to tell me the Council was livid, upset, horrified or all three. Pazia had the potential to become another Master Magician. “A threat?”

“Think about it. You can strip magicians of their powers. What if you decide Master Bloodgood should not be First Magician anymore? Or you don’t want the Council to be in charge anymore. You can take everyone’s powers and build an army of glass creatures.”

It sounded like a fairy tale. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Really? What if Bain Bloodgood attacks you and you suspect he is working with Sir?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No, it isn’t. The most powerful magician in Sitia attacks you with his magic. Will you die or use your magic to save yourself? Or if he attacks Mara or Ulrick? Will you save them?”

“What’s the reason?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“So now you get to decide if the reason is good or bad? What if he has a very good reason, but you don’t know about it?”

“I…”

“See? With this new power, you could be a danger to Sitia.”

I bristled. “I could be an asset, if anyone would trust me.”

“Aha! But what have you done to earn this trust? You already robbed Sitia of Pazia’s considerable talent just by experimenting with your own.”

“We don’t know that for sure. Besides, she attacked me with an illusion. It might not work against another type of attack. And it was a genuine accident.”

“Could you drain a person’s power who isn’t attacking you?” Zitora asked.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s why the Council would consider you a threat.”

And I wouldn’t want to try another experiment and risk losing another magician. I had wished to do more with my magic, but this wasn’t what I desired.

“Is this why you wanted me to come to your office? Another lesson?”

“Part of the reason. And not quite a lesson. I want you to be prepared for the ramifications if Pazia doesn’t recover. The Council could incarcerate you in the Keep’s cells while they decide what to do with you. You remember how long the Council needed before they trusted Yelena and she saved them from the Daviian Warpers.”

I had thought I felt terrible before talking with Zitora. The air in the room pressed on my body, stuck in my throat and pounded in my ears, matching the tight compressions in my chest.

Locked in the Keep’s cells would be horrible. The special magical barrier wasn’t needed for me, unless someone wanted to rescue me. I imagined Kade trying to blow the door down and the loop of protective magic, channeling his energy to trap him.

All the Council needed to do was keep me away from glass orbs and Sitia should be safe. The thought of not being able to work with glass terrified me more than spending time in the Keep’s prison.

“But what about my messengers? If I’m in a cell, I can’t make them for the Council or for you.”

“The Council would have to decide how important they are. The magicians are used to having them so we would be the most…inconvenienced.” A slight smile touched her lips.

“Inconvenienced? So good to know how heartbroken you’d be.”

“And the Council would have to disband the messenger committee. Another inconvenience,” she teased.

“They put together a committee?”

“Yes.”

I imagined the endless political wrangling and debate that would occur and was glad all I would have to do is supply the messengers. That I could do without hurting anyone. “Is there another reason you wanted to talk to me?”

“I’ve received a message from Kade via Yelena. He’s made a few interesting discoveries in the Moon Clan lands and she would like you to join them.”

“Me? Why?”

“I don’t know the full details, but it has to do with the fake diamond merchant, Chun.”

“What about Mr. Lune? Did your magician track him?”

“Yes, but lost him at the border of Ixia.”

“At the Moon’s border?”

“No. At the Krystal Clan’s border.” Zitora slouched in her chair. “It seems the people selling the fakes and the real diamonds are not working together. I want you to follow the fake lead and I’ll have another magician watch the border, see where Mr. Lune goes when he comes back.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I also think it’s a good idea for you to get away from the Citadel for a while.”

“Are you coming with me?”

“No. Irys and Yelena will both be there.”

“What about Ulrick? He’ll want to come.”

“That’s fine. Do you want me to assign a few soldiers to go with you?”

I hadn’t seen a sign of Tricky or Sir in weeks, but Ulrick’s warning about getting complacent echoed in my mind. I really didn’t want to travel with an armed escort. “How about Leif?”

“I can check his schedule. What if he can’t make it?”

“Then I guess we should have another guard along just in case.”

“Only one?”

“I’ve been practicing with my sais. Besides…”

Zitora waited.

“I can bring a handful of my glass spiders and bees along. Keep them in my pocket in case we’re ambushed.”

“Now you’re thinking.” Zitora moved a few papers on her desk. “You should leave in the morning. I’ll contact Leif.”

“More secret magician stuff,” Ulrick said.

“It’s not…” I sighed, no sense arguing. “It’s not—”

“Important because I’m allowed to go?” His joke was weak, and he couldn’t maintain a light tone.

“We leave in the morning. You’ll need a horse. This time you might want to ask Stable Master about borrowing one.”

He rubbed his hands in anticipation. “If he won’t let me, I can steal Moonlight again and then placate the Stable Master with Avibian honey. Mara told me he loves the stuff.” He seemed determined to keep upbeat, but I knew by the tension in his body he still wasn’t happy.

I didn’t know how to make him feel better. No matter what I said, I knew it wouldn’t be right and could upset him further. He needed time to adapt, and to be content with what he could do.

Funny. I almost huffed. Funny because I was never content with my one trick, but now with the spiders and with Pazia still recovering, I wished for simpler times.

We packed for the trip, securing supplies and food. Hardly a word was spoken between us. I debated over taking Kade’s orb. It would be perfectly safe under my bed, but I had grown used to its humming presence at night, and the thought of leaving it behind caused my stomach to tighten.

It was late when I slipped into bed. I tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable spot. Strange dreams filled my brief snatches of sleep. Images of Pazia and Tricky, staring at me with dead and accusing eyes. I woke from one nightmare convinced Tricky stood over my bed. But no one was there.

Unable to return to sleep, I crept past Ulrick’s prone form on the couch and slipped outside. No sense waking him, I rationalized. My cloak’s pockets were filled with glass spiders and bees. I clutched a spider in my palm as I walked through the silent campus.

The glass shop’s welcoming hum greeted me. I entered into the dry warmth and relaxed. Piecov sat at the table, studying from a huge text. He jumped to his feet when he saw me.

“I just filled the kiln,” he said.

“Then why aren’t you back in bed?”

He shrugged and looked around. “I like it here. The first year’s barracks are crowded and noisy.”

I remembered the night sounds of so many people in one room. The snores, the homesick crying, the whispered conversations, giggles and sighs. The steady roar of the kiln would be considered peaceful in comparison.

“Maybe we should install a cot for those who have overnight shifts.”

“Great idea.” He peered at me for a moment. “Why are you here? The next feeding isn’t until dawn.”

“Feeding?”

He gave me a sheepish grin. “The kiln’s like a baby. Instead of giving it milk, we feed it coal.”

“Appropriate.”

His eyes still held a question.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I said.

He nodded as if he understood completely. “This place has a certain draw. Know what I mean?” Piecov gestured to the kiln.

“I do. There is such potential contained within the cauldron. A whole vat of melted glass just waiting to be gathered and spun into something…wonderful.”

“Yes!” He looked surprised by his outburst then ducked his head in embarrassment. “Well…I only made a lumpy paperweight so far.”

“I still have my very first paperweight.”

“You do?”

“I had to stand on a box to reach in with the punty rod. But I did everything myself. It resembled a squashed apple, but my parents were so proud of my creation I thought it was the best paperweight in the world.”

“I guess I’ll keep mine.”

“It’ll be a good gauge of how much you improve. When you become frustrated when a piece cracks or turns out wrong, you can look back at that paperweight and see just how far you’ve come.”

He brightened at the idea and I suggested we work the glass together. He made another paperweight and I helped him craft a swan. The items in the annealing oven had finished cooling. I removed them and put his new creations inside, marking the date and time on the door as I moved the oven next to the kiln.

Inspecting the finished pieces, I lined them along the table. Two of Ulrick’s vases popped in my hands. One of Mara’s bowls had cracked so I tossed it in the cullet barrel. The contents of the barrel would be added to the cauldron and remelted. Four of my glass animals survived the cooling process.

Among the four was a little dog sitting on his haunches. His ears perked forward as if he hoped for a treat. He glowed with magic and promise, reminding me of Piecov.

At dawn, another student arrived to feed the kilns. Piecov and I left. I brought the animals with me. Zitora needed them and I planned to drop them at her office before going back to my rooms. On the way, I stopped at the infirmary.

Healer Hayes was just leaving Pazia’s room.

“She’s regaining strength. We won’t know about her magic for a while,” he said.

“Can I visit?”

“As long as you don’t wake her.”

A lantern burned on the night table in her room. Turned down to the lowest setting, the feeble flame cast a weak light. She didn’t stir at the sound of my arrival. Nor when I sat in the chair beside her bed.

I remembered watching my brother, Ahir, sleep. Relaxed and innocent, masking the high energy, annoying and smart-assed boy underneath. Asleep, Pazia’s smooth beauty held a regal quality. Easy for me to imagine her a queen of the Cloud Mist Clan, needing no gems to augment her loveliness.

Underneath was another story. While she plagued me over the years, working the diamond mission had given me another perspective. Perhaps she was right. Maybe I was the one with the attitude and big chip on my shoulder. Maybe I nursed it. Clung to it and refused to see the positive. Maybe I had kept everyone at a distance, afraid to make a new friend. Afraid to care about someone, because I might lose them the way I had lost my sister, Tula. I probably had acted as Kade does now. Cold and aloof.

The realization shot through me like a crack zigzagging through glass. My loneliness had been my own fault. The blame rested solely within me. I gazed at the sleeping girl, wishing I could help her.

I left the little dog by her bedside. His hopeful demeanor might brighten the room. Before I left, she said my name. I braced for her recriminations, determined to listen to her.

She held the statue, examining it in the dim light. “For me?” she asked.

“Yes. Can you see the glow inside?” I waited. If she couldn’t then she had lost all her magic.

“Purple fire.”

I knelt beside her bed with relief. “Pazia, I’m so—”

“Shut up,” she said. “Don’t apologize.”

“But—”

“Didn’t you hear me? Are you a simpleton as well as talentless?”

I clamped my lips together. Her anger and hatred were justifiable.

“Don’t say another word. I had a lot of time to think about this. Losing my powers was my fault. Opal,” she warned, correctly reading my desire to contradict her, “I was sure I could beat you. I wanted to make your experiment a failure. You only stole what I offered. And I offered you everything.” She placed the dog on the nightstand. “My current state is the price for my conceit. Now we’re even.”

A few moments passed as I tried to comprehend her words. “Even?”

She closed her eyes. “Those accidents over the years weren’t due to your clumsiness or lack of magic. I am…was…responsible for all of them. I did it to torment you, and to prove to everyone that you didn’t deserve to be here.”

I laughed long and hard.

Pazia stared at me in disbelief. “You’re not upset?”

“This morning, I would have been. But I realized you were right about me. I kept my distance from everyone because I was afraid of getting too close. Plus I’m happy I didn’t cause all those accidents.”

“I still think you don’t belong here.”

“Even now?”

“Yes.”

“Guess I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”

Of course, Ulrick wasn’t happy I left without him. He thought my new abilities made me reckless. No sense contradicting him. Maybe having the spiders and bees with me added to my confidence.

We carried our saddlebags to the barn. Mara helped Leif saddle Rusalka.

“How’s my favorite glass wizard today?” Leif asked.

“Better now that you’re here.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. Besides, I haven’t seen my sister in a while. I need my danger fix.”

“You don’t really think Yelena’s in danger?” I asked.

“No. She’ll just use me as bait and cast me aside.” Leif sighed dramatically. “I’m so deprived of attention, I’ll take any little bit.”

“Leif, you’re being melodramatic. You’re very important,” Mara said.

She continued to fawn over him. Mara would be staying behind to run the glass shop. Ulrick searched for the Stable Master.

After several minutes of listening to Mara’s annoying praise, I said, “For sand’s sake, we won’t be gone long.”

“Oh hush!” Mara said. “I’ve had to work with you and Ulrick as you make moon eyes at each other all day. You can handle a few minutes of goodbyes.”

“Moon eyes! We kept a professional attitude in the shop at all times.”

Mara’s humor faded. “I know. Actually I would like to see more mooning with you two.”

“Spare me the advice. Please.”

But she wouldn’t listen.

“He’s gorgeous, Opal. Relax. Have fun. On your trip to the Moon lands take him into the woods one night and make him forget about all his troubles. Do you want a few pointers?”

“Mara!” I said.

Leif turned every shade of red. “Milk oats…ah…I’ll see if I can get…” He disappeared in a hurry.

“What?” Mara asked. “If you don’t need pointers, what’s stopping you?” When I didn’t answer she said, “It’s that Stormdancer, isn’t it?”

“His name is Kade, and it has nothing to do with him. We’re taking it slow.”

“Slow? I’ve seen turtles mate faster.”

“Mara, what’s gotten into you?”

She slid her foot forward. Just below the hem of her skirt, two red scabs still marked the snake’s bite on her ankle. “I had seconds to live. You know how people will say their life flashed in front of their eyes?”

“Yes.”

“Not for me. My future hopes and dreams played in my mind. All the things I would never experience, and I had only one regret. That I hadn’t shown Leif how much I cared for him. After you saved me, I decided I would stop hoping and dreaming, and start acting. So when the snake finally catches up to me, I won’t have any regrets.” She stared at me as if seeking an answer. “You’ve been in a few bad situations. Who did you think of? What did you regret? Have you changed anything?”

There was no quick reply to her questions.

“Think about it.”

Ulrick returned smiling. “Stable Master said I could take Moonlight.”

“He’s still here?” Leif asked. His hands were full of milk oats. Rusalka charged toward him. “Whoa, girl! These are for later.” He danced back, trying to avoid the horse’s determined lunge for the treats. “Now we can cut through the Avibian Plains and reach Fulgor faster. Although we’re not going anywhere if you two don’t get your horses saddled.” Leif shooed us into motion.

Quartz nickered at me and Moonlight’s head poked over his stall door. Ulrick and I brought the horses out and saddled them.

“Did I hear Leif right?” Ulrick asked. “Cut through the Avibian Plains?”

“Yes.”

“Won’t the Sandseed’s protective magic confuse us?”

“Leif is a distant cousin of the Sandseeds so he’s welcome in the plains. And…”

“And, what?”

I was reluctant to mention magic to Ulrick and destroy his good mood.

“Opal?”

“And Leif mentioned how fast the Sandseed horses can run in the plains, but I’ve never been there before even though the border abuts my family’s glass factory. Have you?”

“Are you kidding? Growing up, going into the plains was the dare with my friends. The way to prove to everyone you’re a man.”

“Did you prove yourself?”

He laughed. “I guess I’ll find out.”

The three of us left the Citadel and headed east toward the Moon Clan lands. Farm fields spotted with houses and barns spread before us as we traveled though Featherstone country. The Citadel was located in the southwest corner of the Featherstone Clan at a point bordering the Krystal and Stormdance lands and the Avibian Plains.

It was a couple of weeks into the cold season. The air smelled damp. Dark clouds in the west threatened to dump the rain and sleet mix so common this time of year. I peered at the sky, hoping the weather would hold off a few days. Snow would even be welcome. Better than having the road turn into a mushy mess.

I wondered if Kade could turn rain into snow. My knowledge of Stormdancers’ powers was limited to what I had learned in school. I had been surprised when Kade told me storms had moods. What else didn’t I know about the storms or Kade? And why was I so curious?

Mara’s encouragement to consider my regrets came to mind. In order for me to answer her questions, I would have to review difficult events. Not a pleasant task.

“It’s four days to Fulgor, but if we cross into the northern hump of the plains, we can make it there in three,” Leif said.

“Wouldn’t that be a few miles out of the way?” Ulrick asked.

“Yep. We’ll head straight east then turn north instead of going northeast.”

“Then—”

“Don’t worry.” Leif grinned widely. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

We stopped for the night in a travelers’ shelter, still within the Featherstone boundaries. No other travelers were inside. When Leif set a watch schedule, I asked for the last shift. My lack of sleep the previous night had caught up with me and I couldn’t even follow the conversation at dinner. I headed straight for bed. Ulrick volunteered for the first shift and Leif brought me my pack.

“Ugh. What’s in here? Rocks?” Leif asked.

“Glass.”

He raised his thick eyebrows, prompting me to continue.

“A bunch of spiders and bees. An empty orb.” It also contained Kade’s orb, but I was reluctant to tell him.

“Empty?”

“For an emergency only.”

“Scary.”

“Believe me, I know.” If attacked, would I use the orb to drain another’s power? Maybe, if there was no other option. One thing I did know, if Tricky lost his power when I had channeled his magic, I would not regret that.

The night remained quiet. Leif woke me a few hours before dawn.

“Your turn. Try not to wake everyone this time,” he said, yawning.

I swatted him and headed outside to check on the horses.

The darkness pressed down. Moist air blew through the trees, rattling the dead leaves. The wind had extinguished three of the lanterns. Flames clutched the other lamps in desperation, flapping in resistance with each gust. Clouds blocked the moon. Once my eyes adjusted, I checked the stable. Quartz dozed, leaning against Rusalka. Moonlight came over and nuzzled my hand, looking for a treat. The three horses shared one large stall.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to cause concern. So why did I feel watched? I circled the two buildings. An icy splat hit my forehead. I cried out in alarm and yanked my sais from my cloak. Another cold drop struck my cheek. Chagrined, I replaced my sais as the drizzle turned into a soaking rain fueled by the wind. I found a calm spot next to the shelter and pulled my hood over my head.

For the next two hours, I kept a diligent watch. The storm would be a great cover for anyone sneaking up. The wind swirled and diluted smells, moaning in sorrow. Why sorrow? The sound almost matched the keening emanating from Kade’s orb. As the storm approached, the orb’s song grew louder to me. No one else heard it, but Leif had remarked on sensing magic.

Kade told me the energy trapped inside the orb would get agitated when another storm came near. But the mournful sounds of the orb held no distress, just a lonely ache to be free.

My imagination no doubt. It tended to exaggerate emotions and see things that weren’t there. Just like the black shape slinking between shadows. Or the brief movement to my left—pure imagination. Right? I gripped the handles of my sais.

The storm raged for a moment, blocking out all sense of my surroundings. A sudden blast of wind extinguished the remaining lantern light.

Something struck me behind my knees. I fell forward as pain flared. Arms wrapped around me and a hand clamped over my mouth. Lifted off the ground, I yanked my sais from my cloak and blindly struck out. I was rewarded by one yelp before my arms were pinned.

I struggled. There had to be three or four of them. A sharp point jabbed the skin below my left ear.

“Quit fighting or I’ll shove my knife into your throat,” a man’s voice growled.