Thinking hard, she tried to find some way around this. “Was there anyone that witnessed the phoenix being put in there?”
“Yes, of course. I witnessed it, the gods of this land witnessed it, and most of the village, for that matter.”
“Who had the best view of it?”
“The gods, of course.”
Of course. Then she knew who she needed to ask questions of.
“That’s a very interesting bed head you have going on,” Sevana observed. “Rather like a skunk. Or a drunk rooster.”
Aran glared at her blearily, one eye still not completely open. “You let me sleep this long?”
“I have very little to do until Master arrives,” she explained with a shrug. “He has most of the ingredients I need to work with.”
He thought about that for several seconds (it likely took that long to process in his sleep-fogged mind) and then grunted understanding.
“Bath,” Sevana ordered firmly, grabbing his hand and pulling him up to his feet. “Then I have an early dinner coming in for us. After that, it’s story time.”
Aran didn’t have the best of balance, but he kept his feet, all while staring at her in a perplexed manner. “Story time?”
“Yup, yup. I want the full story as well as a detailed description of our phoenix in the volcano. The gods who brought me here are going to supply it. I also need a breakdown of what their power levels are, if I’m to make any plans. I don’t want to put my ladder up against the wrong wall. Better to have facts to work off of rather than assumptions.”
“Sev.” Aran’s head canted a little to the side. “You already know a way to solve this, don’t you?”
“I do not. I do, however, have an idea of how to blend their powers together. And that might be the key to this whole debacle.” Stopping the volcano was another matter entirely, however. She wasn’t even guessing how to do that yet. She really hoped that Master had an idea that he could pull out of his sleeves. Sevana was currently running very low on inspiration.
Aran grabbed clothes from his pack, and Sevana showed him the way to the bathhouse, leaving him there. Now that he was awake, she wanted his help in setting up another measuring device. Until he had come and brought more of her tools, Sevana hadn’t the necessary equipment to measure the active lava in the volcano. But now she had two different tools that she should be able to cobble together. Measuring how much lava—if there was any—would help her determine just how much time they had to work with. The degassing wasn’t a scientific measurement at all.
The slope measurements weren’t changing much, so surely—
A rumble like a distant earthquake rolled through the ground. Sevana nearly pitched forward as her balance was upset. Awkwardly, she twisted sharply about and stared up at the volcano in alarm. Was it trying to blow now?!
From the top of the volcano a plume of thick, dark ash puffed out and spread in every direction. She became immediately covered in a fine layer from head to toe. Spitting ash out of her mouth, Sevana tried to look through it, but all that did was make her eyes sting.
All she could do was wait, nerves taut, and see if there was any sign of lava coming from the top.
From every direction, people came running, screaming to each other, snatching up baggage or children as they ran. Several times they knocked into her, but didn’t slow or even try to apologize, so intent they were in trying to escape.
Escape where, that was the question. They didn’t have enough boats to get everyone off the island in one fell swoop, and as soon as the lava touched the water, it would turn it acidic and eat through the wooden hulls. There was no escape for these people unless through magical or divine intervention. And Sevana had to know for certain at what speed the lava would travel to know what help to offer.
So she waited, watching intently even though her eyes stung and teared up.
“SEVANA!”
She intended to only glance over when she heard Aran, but her attention was snared completely. His hair was wet and full of suds, pants on, boots barely on, a shirt clutched in his hands. It was the first time she’d seen him shirtless and, my-oh-my were all Fae built like that? Or was it being a tracker that gave him such excellent musculature?
“Sevana.” Aran grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her once, gently.
Blinking, she forced her eyes up and focused on his face. “Muscles.”
“What?” he asked in confusion.
Mentally, she kicked herself. What had just come out of her mouth? “Your eyes are better than mine, can you see lava coming out of the top of the volcano?”
Still with that odd look on his face, he obediently turned and peered ahead. A Fae’s vision could put an eagle’s to shame, almost better than her far-see glasses or box lens. He stared hard for several seconds before shaking his head. “No. No lava. In fact, I think the ash has stopped pouring out of it too.”
“The ash stopped too?” Sevana raised a hand to protect her eyes and tried to study it. Even though her vision was better now, being Fae-enhanced, she still couldn’t see what he was describing. “That is very, very strange.”
“How strange?”
“When a volcano discharges ash clouds like this, it’s generally a sign of eruption. And by generally, I mean about ninety-five percent of the time. It’s even more odd because in the days I’ve been here, it’s altered a little in chemistry and slope but nothing significant enough to indicate that it would do something like this.”
Why, why, why? She had far too many questions and not enough answers.
Aran’s eyes narrowed as he studied the volcano again. “It’ll dissipate completely within the space of an hour. I think you’re right, Sev. I don’t think the phoenix in there is as deeply asleep and sealed as everyone assumes she is.”
“You think she’s responsible for this volcanic hiccup?”
“I’m almost certain of it. I wonder if the volcano reacts to her presence itself or if it’s an indicator of her mood?”
Sevana growled a choice word under her breath. “So it’s not just reacting to her physical motions, like if she turns over in her sleep? Lovely.”
“Just a theory on my part.”
“It’s a theory we need to verify one way or another,” Sevana said grimly. “Otherwise every time something like this happens, the whole village is going to panic, like it’s doing now, and I’m going to have heart failure before this job is out.”
“I have a notion or two on how to go about that, but…” he ran an illustrative hand through his hair, “I think I’ll finish my bath first.”
“Shame.”
“What?” he asked her, perplexed.
“Ah, I mean, sure, go ahead. I’ll deal with these panicking idiots while you do that.” Sevana turned immediately on her heel and struck off blindly. For the sake of her dignity, Aran really could not appear shirtless around her ever again. The most absurd things came out of her mouth when he did.
Da-Chin. That was what she needed to think about. She needed to track the man down and settle the villagers so that she could have the peace and quiet she needed to think about the problem at hand.
“Artifactor Warren!” Chi-lin appeared with both Da-Yu and Cheng-Huang in flanking position. The flaming tail lashed from side to side, snapping in irritation. “What is the meaning of this? You told us that the volcano would not erupt in the next two weeks at least!”
“It’s not erupting now, either,” Sevana snapped. Her recent embarrassment with Aran lit her temper, as it was easier to be angry than to recall those stupid things she had said. “That is an ash cloud, nothing more. Calm your people down. I can’t work if they’re panicking and tripping over me.”
Cheng-Huang asked uncertainly, “Just an ash cloud? Are you sure?”
“No lava, so yes, I’m sure.” Sevana pointed an authoritative finger. “Go.”
Perhaps because he had more experience with her than the rest, Cheng-Huang took her words at face value and immediately went, goin
g to the nearest people and calming them down with softly spoken words.
Chi-lin was more in a fighting mood, as his tail was still lashing. “Doesn’t the ash cloud signify that you were wrong in your calculations, Artifactor?”
“No, it signifies that what you told me is wrong,” she growled. Squaring her shoulders, she faced off with him, nose to nose. “Let’s get this straight, you fake unicorn. You’re one of the idiots that thought it would be fine to stick a phoenix on top of a dormant volcano. Sealed or not, this is what’s going to happen!”
Said fake unicorn bristled so that every horn stood up and his entire back lit in a hazy fire trail.
Before he could lose his temper completely, Da-Yu stepped smoothly in between them, forcing Chi-lin to step back several steps. “Artifactor, are you saying that Feng-Huang is directly responsible for this?”
“I can’t be sure of that until I hear exactly how she was sealed in there, but that’s my and my partner’s guess. We think that the volcano is reacting to her—her moods, her movements, something.”
“She’s asleep,” Chi-lin snarled, the flames becoming nearly white in anger.
Sevana could feel the intense heat from here and only pride kept her from backing up a step or two. “And you don’t toss or turn in your sleep? Have bad dreams? You think she’s just lying there like a breathing corpse?”
Da-Yu, at least, understood and made a silent ‘ah’ with his mouth. “Your point is well taken, Artifactor. It is not something we considered, but surely with the Jade Emperor’s seal, such a thing—”
“You thought that the Jade Emperor’s seal would keep her from having any influence on the volcano at all,” Sevana cut through what he was about to say with a firm tone. “You are obviously wrong. I’m not going to make a single plan or theory until I find out from you exactly how’s she sealed in there, what her power levels are, and what her physical makeup is. Every assumption you’ve made is in error. I need facts, gentlemen, and no more guesses.”
Da-Yu spread his hands in a placating manner. “We will tell you the facts as we know them, I assure you.”
He’d better. Sevana would start beating answers out of him soon otherwise. “Right now, I can’t think with all of this noise. Get your people settled, get this ash out of here, then we’ll sit and talk.”
As there was not enough space for everyone in her temporary workroom, they located their meeting on the top of Da-Chin’s home. Due to the flat roof architecture of Nanashi, everyone had little gardens and sitting places on their roofs. Everything was in pots and long trough planters, but it was green and growing.
At least for now. Any more ash plumes like that one, and the plants would choke on it and die off. For a fishing village this poor, that would mean a great deal of short term hardship.
Da-Chin and his wife were equally nervous about having a Fae, an Artifactor, and three gods convening on the top of their house. Aran, all charm, took them aside and explained what it was that they were going to discuss, and extended an invitation to sit next to them so that they could hear and contribute as necessary. With wide eyes, clutching tightly onto each other’s hands, the couple settled tentatively on cushions next to him.
Sevana watched this play out and wondered to herself: was there anyone in this wide, green world that Aran couldn’t charm? She was beginning to think that he’d gotten the job of Tracker not because of his woodland skills but because of that lethal charm of his. It wasn’t the same as Kip’s, who used his looks to smooth things out; instead it seemed more like he put himself on the same level as the person he spoke to. He tried to empathize with how they felt, which formed a connection between them, and then talked them around to what he wanted done. It was so simply executed that most people didn’t realize that it wasn’t their idea to begin with.
No, this wasn’t surprising to her, to see him in action with the old couple. After all, Aran had charmed his way into her life, and that took considerable doing.
With people settled, Sevana focused on the deities. “Alright. You told me why she’s in there. What I want to know is how she was put in that volcano.”
“It’s very simple,” Da-Yu answered, his tone and expression indicating that she had just asked an obvious question. “The Jade Emperor opened a hole in the side of the mountain, sealed Feng-Huang with his own power, and placed her inside. Then he sealed the hole shut again to make sure she would remain undisturbed.”
Sevana gave him a weary look. The problem with asking questions from someone outside of her chosen field was that they usually didn’t know how to answer her and give the information she needed. They always seemed to think a basic summary would answer every question she had. “Let’s try this again. The Jade Emperor’s power. What type is it? Purely divine, elemental, mystical, what?”
All of them now looked at her as if she had just sprouted horns out of her head.
“He is the supreme sovereign,” Cheng-Huang explained, slowly, as if to a child. “He is light and kindness itself.”
Sevana resisted the urge to go and start knocking heads together.
Aran put a restraining hand on her wrist. “Wait, Sev. They don’t understand what you’re asking. Let me try, mmm?”
She waved him forward.
“All beings, all elements, all gods in this world have an energy level and type,” Arandur explained, his patience as deep as a mountain’s. “Even the Jade Emperor is not an exclusion to this. Artifactors do not see the world as purely this, or purely that. They calculate power in terms of its strength, its type, and how it can be blended with other powers. What she needs to know is what type the Jade Emperor’s power is, how strong it is, so that she can calculate what’s happening inside that mountain.”
Cheng-Huang, builder that he was, grasped the concept first. “Ah. Ah, yes, I see, I should have realized what she meant. Artifactor, the Jade Emperor’s power is purely divine. He emitted pure light when he was born, such that it filled the whole kingdom in the Majestic Heavenly Lights.”
Sevana latched onto this. “Light. Divine light. Alright, good, that answers part of my question. Now, compared to you, how powerful is he? Exponentially, just a little more?”
“Twice my strength,” Chi-Lin answered promptly. “Perhaps a touch more, but I would guess twice my power.”
Oh? Now that was interesting. Sevana hadn’t measured them properly yet, but she had a guess as to what they were each like, power-wise. Taking her box lens from her pocket, she studied each of them in turn. “You’re remarkably equal in terms of power. I would say about an eight each.”
Aran let out a soft whistle in surprise. “That’s very powerful.”
For a mystic being, only the strongest came near that rating, and those were the dragons and the Fae. Minor deities like this were more powerful because of their divinity, but still, they were a little more than she had expected too. “And the Jade Emperor is twice this?” She let out a low whistle. “A sixteen, at least, huh. Heavens, he’s more powerful than an anti-spell.”
No one around her but Aran knew what she was referring to, but they liked her surprise and reaction, and beamed at her. It made them more open to her, which Sevana took full advantage of. “Now, your phoenix, Feng-Huang. How powerful is she?”
“A touch more powerful than we are.” Chi-Lin pondered for a moment before adding, “If you say that I am an eight? I would think she would be somewhere around a ten.”
Oh. “That would explain it,” she breathed to herself.
Aran’s eyes cut to her. “What?”
She blew out a breath, leaning back and looking toward the sky, her eyes blind to it as her mind whirled with numbers and science. “When you seal something, it’s not just a matter of power. Say I was trying to bottle a spark from the eternal flame. I wouldn’t use fire, or light, or any mystical power that related to them to do it. Even though they might be more powerful, it wouldn’t work long-term. The powers would be too alike, so they would be attracted to each other and s
tart to blend, which would eventually lead to sparks going off. Given enough time, the shield would fail on its own.”
Cheng-Huang scooted up on his cushion, leaning toward her, eyes intense. “But the Jade Emperor is more powerful than she is.”
“That’s actually detrimental in this case, not helpful. Because of his power, it made the situation that much worse, as it magnified hers. If he really wanted to seal her long-term, then he should have had a powerful river god do it, like you, Da-Yu. Because your power is the complete opposite of hers, it would have lasted.” Well, that was neither here nor there, she wasn’t interested in keeping the phoenix sealed. It was better to break the seal and get her out, actually, although Sevana wasn’t sure if that was possible.
“You think we should have me re-seal her?” Da-Yu asked doubtfully.
“No, we’re far past that point. The volcano is too volatile; sealing her inside it all over again would just delay the inevitable, especially since you don’t have the overwhelming power difference you need to properly seal her.” Sevana twisted her head from side to side, trying to work out some of the kinks in her neck. She could feel the tension building in her shoulders. “What we need right now is to think of a way to buy time until I can figure out a proper solution to this mess. We can’t have the volcano threatening to blow every time she fidgets.”
“As to that,” Aran pointed toward his own nose, “I do have an idea.”
Sevana twisted to face him. “I’m all ears.”
“I think our best option is to explain to the phoenix what is happening when she moves and ask her to be very still. Also, to perhaps ask if she can do anything about limiting her own power so that she doesn’t affect the volcano as much.” Aran looked straight at her as he said this, his words calm and unhurried.
“She’s asleep!” Chi-Lin objected.
“Dragons can talk to anyone in their dreams.” Aran’s mouth stretched into a small grin.
The Canard Case (The Artifactor Series Book 4) Page 7