The Crystal Curse

by Gin Hollan

  “I don't understand what they do.”

  “They do what most crystals do – resonate. These ones have a visible reaction and interaction. There aren't many who react to them, and those who do are regulated and 'owned' by the crown.”

  “You mean, they become slaves?”

  “No, it's not like that. I don't understand it, but everyone who has a true crystal reaction becomes almost irrationally loyal to the King. Most Lords or land owners plow the fields under every spring, so their locations have almost become legend. No one watches the patch by the cliff, because it's in such a poorly travelled spot.”

  The infirmary sat in the basement and seemed like a horrible choice of location. The lack of sunlight would encourage molds, and the reduced airflow would encourage exposure, not reduce it. Still, she only had sore heels.

  // Chapter 10 //

  Arabeth sat on the edge of a thick stone table as Carol tended her heels. The left heel was raw in spots, but both were worn. She wanted to pay more attention to what Carol was doing, but Grace's news... it was a true puzzle.

  "Wait, wait. Explain like I was a child."

  Grace chuckled. "Of course. Paragraph three of the Accord. The place where you live - you are all in exile for things your great grandparents did. Anyone who tested positive for crystal reactivity, based on a simple scratch test, was sent there. The others could stay."

  "But why? What happens in Transition?"

  "There are two outcomes. One is the ability to interact with the crystals, using your mind, you can communicate with others who use the crystals that way. The one that got your progenitors locked behind a mountain was the power of Reforming. They could change things, at the molecular level, but also make large changes, like changing the weather and making plants spontaneously grow at an exponential rate.”

  “Like magic.”

  “Yes, they gained powers they cannot control at first, and once they can... well, it's only those of the most moral upbringing that can be trusted with that much power. It would be magic, to you. It's magic to the non-transitioned. I'll have Sebastian demonstrate later, for your entire group."

  "How can this be our history when we know nothing of it," Arabeth scoffed. “Someone would have said something.”

  "Section seventeen - redefining history to protect the future. You've been told you're at war with us, right?"

  "Actually, we've been taught that the mountains keep out a terrible disease, and that the survivors are still blaming us for it. We thought the war was between you and the rest of our country, and that we'd been blessedly forgotten."

  Carol cleared her throat. "Your feet are done, Miss Barnes." She handed her a small metal container. "Put this on twice a day. Find a doctor if your heel starts to burn or ooze."

  "Thank you," she said, looking into the container. There was a greenish-blue gel filling the bottom half. She opened the lid and sniffed lightly. "This smells nice - what's in there?"

  "Just a few plants. Aloe and the like." Carol turned away, clearing her equipment away. Arabeth slid off the table, pleased with the lack of pain in her heels.

  "So, this Reforming power sounds like a Maker's dream come true. What happened?" She asked.

  "The same thing that always happens - a power struggle, if you'll pardon the pun. Lines were drawn, armies were raised. There was, in fact, a war. The land is still scarred," Carol said as she walked around putting equipment away.

  "Most Reforming people can only effect small changes, but now and then someone truly linked comes along. Sebastian is hoping you're one of those,” Grace sighed. “Let's get you back to the group. They've probably been assigned quarters and will worry if you're gone too long and you'll want to discuss amongst yourselves whether I'm completely off my rocker or not.”

  “When will Sebastian want to talk with us?” Arabeth's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to see Sebastian again. She wanted to hear him talk. The vocal resonance in his speech was mesmerizing.

  "I can see you're looking forward to rejoining them. I'm sure they're keen to have you back, as well," Grace said, misunderstanding her expression.

  "Are they with Sebastian?" she wondered.

  Grace stopped and looked at her. "I warned you not to stare. He isn't what he looks like at first, like a siren."

  "A mythological siren? Curious thought. I'm curious, that's all. I've never met a person like him."

  "I'd be surprised if you had, truth be told."

  Arabeth felt her face heat up. "I suppose he gets that reaction a lot."

  Grace paused. "He has an interesting talent... he can make himself look like anyone. Rather, he causes your mind to see him in your ideal form. Until he is comfortable with you, he'll alter your perception of him."

  Arabeth blinked, pondering the concept. "That's possible? Psychic manipulation, I mean."

  "Well, I'll describe his true form, and you tell me if it matches the image in your mind."

  "No, we're not here long. If he wants to conceal his true identity, I'll respect that."

  Again, Grace stared at her a moment. Her cheek twitched and she shook her head.

  "You are unusual, in a lot of ways, Miss Barnes."

  Arabeth shrugged. "In my experience, you get the respect you give. I expect that's a generally universal truth." In truth, she was enjoying the illusion. As unsettling as that news was, she'd never met anyone so compelling. He made a strong first impression by hiding his true self behind mental manipulation. Arabeth, forearmed, wanted to see past the illusion, but she wouldn't be upset by the ruse.

  Back in the entrance area, Grace turned down a narrow passage and they entered a comfortable common room. Tapestries lined each wall and warm air was blowing in from somewhere. Any hint of dampness was gone. That hallway opened into another less expansive yet open area.

  Three doors sat in the center of each wall, totalling nine. "These are the guest sleeping quarters. Your friends should be along that wall." She pointed straight ahead.

  "Is Melanie here, too?"

  "We thought she'd be more comfortable here than out in the infirmary, and comfort will ease her transition. We want you all comfortable while you're here."

  "A man with no face and his loyal followers sit in a hidden castle, encouraging the use of a forbidden substance that forces unpredictable change... I doubt comfort is what we'll feel, but at least it'll be interesting." Arabeth said.

  Grace stared a moment then laughed. "I understand." She walked up to each door and knocked.

  Sam came out the first one, looking relieved when he saw Arabeth. "You're back?"

  "It doesn't take long to dress a wound," she smiled, holding up the jar of salve.

  "Nice. Melanie and you share the room next door. Graham and I are in this one. I'm not sure where Heather and Mabel are. Heather woke up within minutes of your departure and Mabel started crying. It was chaos after that." He looked to Grace for an explanation.

  "I'll find out where they are for you," she said. "Dinner will be in less than an hour. I suggest you clean up, relax a bit, and when you hear five chimes, come back out here. Someone will be here to guide you to the dining hall. The lavatories are that way." Grace pointed to a pair of doors marked "WC - Ladies" and "WC - Gentlemen".

  "Thank you," Arabeth smiled.

  No sooner had Grace left than Sam pulled Arabeth into a hug and whispered. “Are they as crazy as they seem?”

  “Maybe,” she whispered back. “We don't have to stay, but there are a few inventions I'd like to look at before we go.”

  “Nothing is free. The longer we stay, the more indebted we'll be to them.”

  “I'm a quick study.”

  Someone cleared their throat behind them and they stepped apart.

  “Dinner will be served momentarily,” said a young boy as he went and knocked on the other doors.

  // Chapter 11 //

  Dinner was set buffet style, in a single line down the centre of a series of tables. The room was devoid of other diners at this p
oint. Arabeth stared, waiting.

  "You should eat while it's warm," Sam suggested.

  "No one else is here. It feels wrong," she said, still wanting to go find Sebastian. "Where is our host? I have a lot of questions, not the least of which is, does our he know who Tanner Stein is and why he was attacking us?"

  "Yes, I do," Sebastian said as he walked in to the room. "But you aren't ready to hunt down his cohorts just yet. Let's talk over food."

  "Oh," Arabeth said, feeling her face flush. They all walked over to the buffet table and grabbed a plate.

  "Tell me about your crystal field. Why are you taking the risk of growing one when the government is still against it?"

  "Our king is dead and the child taking his place later this year is guided by idiots. My crystal study is in part academic, but more than that, the lack of open fields in killing us all. To placate the masses, your kin were divided. It poisons the soil when the crystal fields are plowed under, and the air can't be cleaned by them. The trees are slow when compared to the speed of our industrial growth and change. Long speeches aside, I believe it is your moral obligation to return and heal this land. Your blood demands it. You are the only true voice for the crystals."

  She glanced at Sam. Her blood? That was a little... oddly phrased. He wasn't planning a blood sacrifice, she hoped, and had to stifle a laugh at the thought.

  "And this all hinges on what happens in the field?" Graham asked, seeming to have appeared from nowhere. "I think I'll pass. I want a way home, and I'll send people who are better suited to heroics."

  "Even if it makes your tinkering amazing and easier to do?" Arabeth said.

  He shook his head. "Surviving is more my style. I'm allergic to pain."

  "I understand. I will arrange your transport," Sebastian said to him. "The lack of crystal fields to clean our air would be hard on you, although I won't deny I'm disappointed. I have a workshop I'd love to turn you loose in. Your work with explosives is legendary."

  “How do you know so much about us?” Sam snapped.

  “It's hard to explain,” Sebastian leaned back in his chair, seeming unconcerned. “And time will fix that. Stay curious. You'll figure it out.”

  One of the doors to a bedroom opened and Melanie shuffled out. "There's food? I'm starved." She walked a straight line to the buffet table and started eating, hand to mouth.

  Arabeth jumped up and went over.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "Good. Hungry. Tired. In that order. I'm sorry to worry you. It's the heat – and don't say it's a dry heat. Hot is hot."

  "We need to talk about that, actually." Arabeth wondered if she should say anything until later, but that might be too late. "You aren't ill. The lack of crystal fields is creating a toxic level here that we aren't used to. And...” she paused. “Your exposure to one of the only active fields is changing you."

  "That's a relief, to be honest. I feel different. My mind works faster, and my senses are sharper, but it all wipes me out," Melanie said as she started piling food onto a plate.

  "I'm glad you're eating again. When you need the lavatory, it's over there," she pointed. "Grab a plate and join us?"

  "Uh uh," Melanie mumbled. "I need food then sleep. Sorry."

  "All right. I'll bring you another plate later, before they clear it away."

  She watched as Melanie shuffled back to her room and disappeared inside. Heightened senses would be useful in gadgeteering, but the cost was altering her base physiology. It gave her stomach butterflies to think about.

  Back at the table, she looked at Sebastian. Others had come to eat, including Grace, and Arabeth hesitated to ask, but if these crystals were linked to something in her, she wanted to know.

  “How do you know Tanner Stein?” she asked.

  “He's travelled this way. He was hard to miss, actually. You see, the field resonates and tells me things. I know that sounds irrational, but all the same, I know things I couldn't otherwise know. I knew what he was attempting, but I knew your blood would defend you.”

  “Again with the blood,” Sam said. “What do you mean?”

  “Stay curious-”

  “Don't dodge the question,” Sam snapped.

  “It's hard to explain,” Sebastian shrugged.

  “And how do we know this isn't some elaborate confidence game?” Graham asked.

  It almost seemed he'd appeared out of nowhere when Sebastian looked at him.

  “This is all way too serious, all of a sudden,” Arabeth smiled, not wanting the situation to escalate. “Can I go out there tonight?"

  “Arabeth, wait," Sam said. "Are you sure about this?"

  Graham simply stared at her, mouth open.

  "Indeed, but your friend's caution is warranted. As the first person to walk through them after they rested a full year, you will get the highest possible exposure. There is a chance... or rather, there is a higher chance that your reaction will be extreme – stronger than your friend, Melanie's reaction,” he returned her smile.

  "It won't kill me though, or change who I am, right? My personality and core values will remain intact?" Melanie had gone through a field this man said was basically untouched. “Give me one good reason to expose myself to that kind of change.”

  "You will live and be yourself. You will be a Truer version of yourself. If it were not a moral obligation, it would be a personal one. This is the double-sided edge to your status. It is like any form of power - an abundance of it will make you more of what you already are.”

  “Sure, sure. What's the downside?” Graham asked.

  Sebastian smirked as he continued. “There is always a chance that things will go badly, in extreme cases, gravely. You should know that at the offset. The odds are less than 2% that would lose the keenness currently in your senses. In fact, you could have fingers that barely feel, ears that barely hear, and so-forth."

  Arabeth chuckled nervously. "I can always go into banking, to the endless joy of my father. He has wanted that for years now."

  "Since you are duly warned, when the meal is complete, meet me at the back gate."

  "Are you sure you don't want to sleep on this?" Graham asked, his voice hushed. “Would you be alright if you had to stop Making?”

  "The odds aren't bad. I've worked with much worse." She turned to look at Sam. "Aren't you going to oppose me as well?"

  "Once you've made your mind up to do something, it would take an act of God to change it."

  "You could try too, Sam. Imagine what heightened senses and quicker thinking would mean for your police work."

  "That's what Melanie has now?” Graham stared. “Who would resist that outcome? Send me in, too.”

  “It will be better for only one of us at a time doing this," Sam said.

  "It's decided then," Sebastian clapped his hands together once. Standing, he picked up his dishes. "Let us meet at the back gate in 20 minutes."

  Arabeth stole a look at Grace's direction, noting an unexpected nonchalance in her expression. She was suddenly too nervous to eat and stood to clear her dishes.

  When Sebastian left, it was as though his people were cued to leave as well. Too bad, Arabeth thought. She wanted to hear their perspective on what the field was capable of.

  “You're going to trust him?” Sam asked.

  “I think so. He's been open about his objective, and the risks. Moral obligation aside, the reality is that we don't know what's going on. This may feel like a shortcut, but it may also be the only way to understand our history, and our future.”

  The silence at the table was thick. She could see protest in both Sam and Graham's eyes.

  “I'm doing this, but neither of you are obligated to assist or watch.”

  “I'll be going with you,” Sam said.

  “Not me. I'm not having any more to do with this witchcraft.”

  Arabeth rolled her eyes. “That is your prerogative.”

  She turned and walked away, putting her dishes in a bin sitting on a small table near
the buffet.

  Sam dropped his in as well.

  “Thank you, Sam. You're a good friend.”

  “I'm more than a simple friend, you know.”

  “Of course you are, but... you know what I mean.”

  He smiled. “I'm messing with you. Relax. You need to be clear-headed and rational. I won't get in the way of that.”

  Impulsively, Arabeth turned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  // Chapter 12 //

  The sun was starting to set as they walked out through the back of the castle. Graham refused to come with them, saying he'd seen it once and that was plenty. Grace had also bowed out, citing chores that should not be delayed. Sam hovered inches away, silent. Sebastian hummed as they walked, carrying a small brown journal and a small ink bottle. Arabeth presumed the pen was in his pocket.

  They stopped at the edge of the field. The entire patch was over-grown with grass and wild flowers, nearly obscuring the crystals until the wind shifted.

  “These crystals are much smaller that the ones in the other field. Will that matter?"

  “Their strength in not determined by their size," Sebastian explained.

  "Oh," Arabeth shivered, suddenly nervous. She took Sam's hand and smiled. "I guess I'll see you on the other side."

  He nodded. His face was calm, but she checked his eyes. Yes, he was worried. He wouldn't be the Sam she knew if he wasn't.

  "Stay to the middle of the path. We don't want you getting impaled on the way down, even if you will quickly heal from it," Sebastian said.

  "Is there anything you haven't told me that I should know before I go in?" she asked. Yes, she was stalling, but why hadn't she asked that one sooner?

  "I am learning as we go, too." He opened the notebook and withdrew a pen quill. "Whenever you're ready, Arabeth. Sam, you'll be the one to retrieve her. Let her fully collapse and lay for about five minutes. We may need to give these crystals a bit of time, because they're young. I'm not sure if being surrounded by trees, as they are here, instead of out in the open will have bearing."