It might have worked if Zitora hadn’t been there. Hard to feel insecure with a Master-level magician on my side. I shouldn’t be worried, but here I was, even with sais hanging from my belt, relying on Zitora’s presence.
“I was serious about the magic.” To prove my point, I removed his vase from my bags and handed it to Zitora. “Can you feel anything?”
She sheathed her sword, and examined the delicate piece. “No. It feels like a regular glass vase. Although, I do like the swirl of bubbles.” She peered at the base. “What’s this?”
Ulrick stepped closer. Zitora pointed to the bottom and he reached to steady the vase. When his fingers closed on the top, Zitora cried out and almost dropped it.
“It...hummed,” she stammered.
“What did it sound like?” I asked.
“Contentment.”
I pressed my fingertips to the vase in Ulrick’s hand. A pleasant rumble rolled through my palm. When I pulled it from his grip the song died, but the vibrations remained. I brought it to the Master Magician. She touched the glass with me. Nothing. No song. No rumble. It only sang with Ulrick’s touch.
Zitora motioned for Ulrick to grab the vase. Her lips settled into a contemplative purse as they both held the glass. She let go and dug into her pack, uncovering her glass unicorn. “Ulrick, what do you see?”
He stared at the animal, then shrugged. “A rather ugly creature.”
“Anything special about it?”
“No.”
Zitora and I exchanged a glance.
“Opal, you feel the magic without Ulrick’s touch. Right?”
“Yes.”
“We don’t have time or the resources right now to investigate further. Ulrick, would you be willing to travel to the Keep and let Masters Bloodgood and Jewelrose test you?”
“Test me for magic?”
“Yes.”
He brightened with interest. “How will they know I’m coming?”
“I’ll send a message. Although, if you want to wait until Opal and I return to the Keep, that’s fine.”
“How long?”
“About fourteen to twenty days.”
“Where are you going?”
“To finish our mission.”
“Can I come with you?”
“No. We only have two horses and we’re in a hurry. I already delayed here long enough.”
Ulrick considered. “I’ll meet you at the Keep in fifteen days. That should give me enough time to tie up any loose ends.”
* * *
My thoughts returned to Ulrick as Zitora and I raced back to the Stormdance lands. He knew about Brittle Talc. Perhaps he had told one of the Krystal Clan members who had ambushed us. Although, anyone in his family could have passed along the information. We would have to investigate after we finished helping the Stormdancers.
Once again, Zitora set a hard pace, and soon my mind numbed with exhaustion. Thoughts reduced to the basic tasks of eating and staying in the saddle.
By the morning of the seventh day, we reached the coast. My bruised and stiff muscles turned my dismount from Quartz into an awkward tumble. The thought of being able to stretch out on one of the Stormdance cots propelled my feet down the tight trail of The Cliffs.
Kade met us at the halfway point. “The lime has been delivered. The kiln is ready to go. Indra has melted the ingredients.” He hustled us along, handing Quartz off to Raiden in the storm cave.
There were a few new people in the cave, but I didn’t have time to meet them before Kade pulled me outside. “We need orbs. Now.” He pointed to the sea. “A deadly storm is coming.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
10
I followed Kade back up The Cliffs and to the kiln’s cave high above. The need to hurry had given me a jolt of energy, and banished my aches from the long ride.
Along the horizon, greenish-black clouds, thick and menacing, blocked the sun’s rays. Only a dim light escaped, creating twilight in midmorning. The still air hung heavy with potential as if waiting for a signal to blow. The quiet caused my skin to tighten.
No waves crashed against the rocky shore. The flat water resembled a sheet of glass. I stared at the sea, surprised by the conflicting images of an advancing storm over calm water.
“The beast is sucking energy from the water,” Kade said. “Although far away, it’s moving fast. But no waves means the real danger will come when the center of the storm passes overhead. The winds will shift toward us, pushing all that seawater into The Cliffs.”
Kade escorted me into the cave where the glassmakers waited. “Which means, I need to be out there before the center hits. And I’ll need orbs.”
Sand and the other glass ingredients littered the floor of the cave. Indra sat at a gaffer’s bench and her two brothers, Varun and Nodin held blowpipes ready to gather slugs for their sister.
“Come get me when they’re ready. I need to conserve my energy.” Kade left.
“Did you test the new batch of lime?” I asked Varun.
“No purple color and we already melted enough sand to make six orbs,” Varun said.
“Our expert’s here,” Indra said with genuine pleasure. “Let’s get to work.” She ordered a slug and Nodin hurried to gather a molten ball of glass on the end of his blowpipe.
He placed the pipe on the bench’s holders and passed tools to Indra as she shaped the slug into an orb.
In the tight cave, I tried to stay out of their way. I checked the ingredients piled on the floor. The soda ash and sands looked free of contaminates, but without testing them in a lab, there would still remain a lingering feeling of doubt. After all, someone had tried to sabotage the orbs before.
Indra made six orbs. Although they were similar in appearance and size, each orb held a distinctive shape. While they cooled, Nodin mixed more sand to melt and Varun regaled me with his adventures with the lime merchant.
“...he couldn’t understand why we needed more lime, and he almost had heart failure when Kade dumped a bucket of water onto his stockpile.” Varun chuckled. “The merchant threatened to cut off our supplies until Kade created a swirling wind. Sand flew everywhere. And the look on the guy’s face when Kade speculated out loud about how much stock could be lost in a hard gale was comical. Our order was filled in record time.”
“We almost lost the load over The Cliffs,” Nodin said. “Where did you find that old rope?”
“Tal brought it up from the stables,” Varun said.
“The boy probably didn’t take the time to check it over. If the rope had broken two seconds sooner, Tal would have been squashed on the beach.” Nodin slapped his palms together.
“Better he’s killed by his own sloppy work, than someone else’s. I, for one, would not miss him.”
“Indra!” Varun scowled at his sister. “That’s not nice.”
“While you were getting the lime, he’s been driving everyone crazy with his whining and moping and pouting. And it’s gotten worse since the other Stormdancers arrived.”
“Other Stormdancers?” I asked Indra, remembering the new people in the storm cave.
“Raiden sent a message to them once Kade returned with the new lime. If these orbs work, they’ll be needed to help harvest the energy from the storms.”
Sour nervousness turned in my stomach. If they work.
Near midnight the orbs had cooled to room temperature. I inspected them in the lantern light. No flaws marred the surface and the glass felt solid in my hands. But there was only one way to test them for brittleness. I flung one to the cave’s floor.
The orb broke into multiple pieces with a blood-chilling crack. It hadn’t shattered. A good sign. I examined the broken sections.
“Better?” Nodin asked. He ho
vered over my shoulder.
“Yes. Denser than the ones you made before.”
“Strong enough to hold a storm?”
“It better,” Raiden said from the entrance. “If we don’t bleed energy from the monster brewing out there, we’ll be sleeping with the fish tonight.”
Raiden moved inside and Kade followed him, holding a torch.
“How many did you make?” Raiden asked.
Nodin glanced at the broken orb. “Five.”
“Good enough. Kade can fill two and that will leave one each for Heli, Wick and Prin.”
“No,” Kade said.
Raiden frowned. “But we’ll need all the orbs filled.”
“I’m going alone. If the orbs are flawed, then we’ll only lose one Stormdancer.”
“Two orbs’ worth of energy won’t be enough to calm—”
“I’ll bring all five with me.”
“But—”
“I’m not risking the others. Here.” Kade handed Raiden his torch. He pulled a netted bag from his pocket, and placed the orbs inside the sack. “You’d better get down to the storm cave before it hits.” He wrapped the handles of the bag over his shoulders. The weight of the orbs rested on his back.
The glass spheres resembled oversize seashells. They appeared fragile and inadequate to handle the storm’s fury. Anxiety gnawed and chewed up my throat.
“At least stay on the beach,” Raiden said. “With the amount of water being pushed toward us, you’d be ten feet under out on the rocks. You’ll waste your energy keeping the water away from you. And...” The older man looked as if he wanted to say more.
“And if the orb kills me, you’ll be able to recover my body?” Kade finished Raiden’s sentence with a flippant tone.
Raiden pressed his lips together.
The Stormdancer sighed. “Sorry, Ray. But you always see the worst in a situation.”
“Part of my job. Someone has to make sure you hotshots don’t get yourselves killed. If only Kaya had listened.”
He rested a hand on Raiden’s shoulder. “You had a better chance of a storm listening to you than Kaya.”
“When she was determined, that girl made a hurricane seem tame. I miss her.”
“Me, too.” Kade headed out.
“Kade, wait,” I said.
He paused.
“What if—”
“Nothing I can do about it now.” He continued down to the beach.
Raiden ushered me to the storm cave. He muttered under his breath about Kade’s actions. The glassmakers would stay with the kiln and keep the fire hot. Their cave was high enough that even a rogue wave would not reach them, and the entrance was protected from the wind. Once the second batch of sand melted, they would make more orbs.
Out on the trail, the wind sucked at my body, tugging me toward the swirling mass of clouds. Flashes of lightning lit the sky, illuminating an agitated sea boiling under the tempest. With each flicker of light, waves jumped in size and advanced in leaps toward the shore.
* * *
Once we ducked inside, the entrance to the storm cave was blocked with sheets of bamboo rods lashed together. They were anchored to the cave walls.
“The curtains let the air in, and filter out the sea spray,” Raiden explained. “Bamboo is flexible so they won’t crack under the wind’s pressure.” He paused and sniffed the air. “Although this storm might tear them up. At least we have a few Stormdancers to keep the water out.”
“How do you know what the storm will do?” I asked.
A wide grin spread. “Experience. Years and years of being out here during the storm season. I’ve learned to look for certain signs—the air smells different for each type of gale and the Stormdancers will let me know what to expect. They’re connected to the storm’s consciousness, and they’re seldom wrong.”
The fire and lanterns filled the large cavern with a warm yellow light. Exhausted from our travels, Zitora slept on a cot next to Sudi’s stall along the back wall. Tal pried open oyster shells over a cook pot. He scowled, but I couldn’t tell if his ire was aimed at the oysters or at the others sitting around the fire.
Raiden introduced me to the three Stormdancers. Heli jumped to her feet and shook my hand with a big smile. With her skinny arms and short stature, she looked as if she was twelve years old, but she moved with confidence and grace. Wick grunted by way of a greeting. He hunched over the fire and complained of the cold, even though he wore a thick woolen sweater and sported a full beard.
Prin matched my height and age. She appraised me with her silver-colored eyes, giving me a tepid smile. “The glass expert?” she asked Raiden. When he nodded, her attention returned to me. “Are the orbs ready?”
“I think so,” I said.
“Think?” She glanced at Raiden.
“Kade has them.”
“Should we go down to the beach?”
“No. He doesn’t want to endanger you. He’ll fill the orbs.”
“Can he do all five?” I asked.
Raiden considered. “Probably at least four. His power has grown immensely since Kaya died. Four or even three should be enough to tame this typhoon.”
“Unless the storm takes a turn for the worse,” Prin said.
“Do you think it will?” Raiden asked with alarm.
Prin peered past us as if scanning the wind. “It is unsettled. Angry and restless. It could blow harder—the sea is warm enough and with the cold air sinking down from The Flats, the potential is there.”
“What happens if the storm intensifies?” I asked.
“Four orbs will not be enough, and we will be needed to help evacuate you and the horses to higher ground.” Prin frowned.
“What about Kade?” I clasped my hands together to keep them still.
“It depends on where he is and how much energy he has,” Raiden said. “We can’t risk any Stormdancers. We’ve lost too many already.”
His words reminded me of the brittle orbs. “How will you know if the new orbs work?”
“The storm will tell us,” Prin snapped.
Raiden joined Tal and helped with dinner as Prin returned to her seat by the fire.
Heli had listened to our conversation and now she leaned close to me and whispered, “He won’t take the risk, but I will.”
I smiled my relief.
“Besides,” she said a little louder. “It won’t intensify. Those two see gloom and doom in every storm. Prin won’t be happy until she’s made everyone sick with worry.”
“Everyone but you.”
Heli’s green eyes glowed with amusement. “I love storms. The raw wild power gives me a charge.”
“I’ll give you a charge,” Raiden called. “Go fetch Kade’s orb. If the storm gets worse, I don’t want the damn thing to break.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Heli saluted and slipped through the bamboo curtains.
“What happens if it breaks?” I asked.
“It will release energy back into the storm. Not a good thing.” Raiden placed the pot in the fire. Sparks flew into the air.
His comment reminded me of another question. “You said Kade’s power had grown since Kaya’s death. Is that typical for Stormdancers?”
“Not really. As Stormdancers age, they do become stronger and better at harvesting the storm’s power. They learn by experience how much energy to expend on keeping calm around them. But Kade’s powers doubled when Kaya died. It’s unheard of and almost seems like her magic was transferred to him, which is impossible.”
My thoughts lingered on the word impossible. Zitora had said nothing was impossible, and I believed her to a degree. But why wouldn’t Kade’s newfound strength be from Kaya? The Soulstealer, Ferde, had performed the Efe ritual to steal his victim’s magic.
The Daviian Warpers used blood magic and the Kirakawa ritual to increase their powers. Did a magician really need these rituals and blood to capture another’s magic? Each method involved death. Perhaps Kaya’s death released her magical energy and it was absorbed by Kade, making the impossible possible.
I wandered to the rear of the cavern to check on Quartz. She munched on grain, content despite the whistle of the wind. I stroked her long neck and fretted about what the horses would do when the full fury of the wind hit.
Quartz cocked her right ear back. She rubbed my sleeve with her muzzle as if comforting me. I jumped when thunder cracked, and stepped closer to Quartz.
Whenever a thunderstorm had raged over Booruby, my sisters and I would huddle together under the blankets of Mara’s bed and scare ourselves by telling silly ghost stories. I hugged Quartz. After helping Yelena to imprison those souls in glass, I had learned ghosts were real. Those old stories didn’t sound so silly now.
Yelena had said ghosts were lost souls. Being a Soulfinder, she gathered them to her and guided them either to the sky or the fire world.
Quartz huffed at me and I released her. Intelligence lit her brown eyes, and I wished I could communicate with her. Yelena also possessed the ability to mentally “talk” with horses. All I could do was trap magic in glass, which I couldn’t even use. Worthless.
“Ow!” The side of my face stung where Quartz’s tail had flicked me.
My horse snorted as if to say “snap out of it” before going back to eating her grain.
Heli returned with Kade’s orb. The energy trapped inside pounded in my head with insistence. All the Stormdancers winced when Heli walked past the fire. I showed her the pile of blankets near the horse stalls, and we covered the sphere.
The last of my energy faded as I sat with the others around the fire. They talked among themselves about past storms. After our late dinner of oyster stew, I arranged a cot near Quartz and fell into an exhausted sleep.
Unfortunately, my oblivion didn’t last long. The keening of the wind and the roar of thunder kept intruding. The bamboo curtains clattered and waves pounded the shore. My head ached. Unable to return to sleep, I sat on my cot and looked around. Zitora, Raiden and Tal slept nearby. The Stormdancers dozed by the glowing embers of the fire. Heli sat cross-legged next to the bamboo curtains. Her arms were spread out to each side and her eyes were closed.