Or did he think he was so powerful that he didn’t care?
Jolene’s tone turned . . . silky. She all but purred her next words. Anna shuddered, without quite knowing why.
“Before I fetch the girl for you, I would like confirmation of some things,” she murmured. “After all, it is going to take a strong man to handle the job of mine boss, don’t you think? If I arrange for that, arrange for you to have a position where you will be completely in charge of the entire mine and smelting operation, answerable only to the owners, how do you plan to handle problems of discipline? The smelter workers don’t know you; they might defy your orders.”
“Then I’ll lay ’em out on the ground, jest like I do th’ miners thet sass me!” McDaran roared. “Woman, this is a-wastin’ my time!”
“And another thing,” Jolene continued. “The girl is a delicate creature, and she might not be able to take your attentions night after night; I’m concerned you might find yourself frustrated with her, and I would hate for you to be deprived of your very important needs because she might be indisposed—”
McDaran interrupted her with an angry guffaw. “Then I’ll plow one’a my two hoors,” he said crudely. “I ain’t a-gonna break her. Not when I c’n siphon off her power t’add t’mine as long as I keep her breathin’. Y’all watch, Jolene. Purt’ soon I’m a-gonna rule this here valley! There ain’t nothin’ an’ no one thet’s gonna git in my way. Now y’all fetch her! Give her to me like y’all promised! Right now!”
“I promised you nothing,” Jolene spat. “You heard what you wanted to hear, you fool. And you are in no position to make demands of me!”
“Why, you furrin hoor—” McDaran snarled. And then, suddenly, he gave a yelp of surprise. “Wait—what? What y’all doin’? Jolene! Jolene!” He began to howl inarticulately, and Anna peeked around the side of the throne, arms full of lizards, who were trembling faintly.
Jolene stood where Anna had left her, arms crossed over her chest, haloed with power. McDaran writhed where he stood, bellowing—
And he seemed oddly—shorter.
A moment after that he seemed shorter still.
And that was when Anna saw that Billie McDaran was knees-deep in the stone of the floor, and sinking.
Her hands flew to her lips, holding back a gasp of horror as she watched him flail and sink, his movements and inarticulate, animal-like shrieks growing louder and more frantic with every passing moment. Slowly, the stone engulfed him, giving him plenty of time to understand what was happening, and plenty of time to suffer as it did. Hip-deep. Chest-deep. Shoulder-deep, and his hands scrabbled uselessly at the rock.
Then his howls were cut off as his head was engulfed by stone.
His hands spasmed wildly on the surface of the stone.
Then they, too, were engulfed. The surface of the stone was as smooth as it had been before, with no sign of what had just happened. He was gone.
20
ANNA remained where she was, crouching on the cold stone of the floor, hands crammed up to her mouth, staring at the place where Billie McDaran had been.
Jolene turned and looked down at her.
Anna stared back up at her, but the perfect lips no longer frowned, and the eyes had lightened again to a pure emerald green. The Queen of Copper Mountain gazed at her thoughtfully. Anna decided that discretion was in order, and went to her knees, bowing her head, cuddling lizards against her chest. A moment later, and the lizards slid away from her, returning to their mistress.
Jolene made a slight sound of amusement. “Oh, get to your feet,” she said. “Now you need not concern yourself about McDaran. You can go home and go back to what you were doing before. I’m sure your aunt has plenty for you to do. You can tell her that everything will be fine.”
She thought about telling the Great Elemental that no, she couldn’t, because there was still that Company debt hanging over her, and that she was going to have to flee—
In fact, she had opened her mouth to say just that. But the words that came out were, “Not without Josh.”
Jolene blinked at her and tilted her head to the side, inviting more.
“I’m a-beggin’ y’all, don’t take him from me, Jolene. There ain’t nothin’ under th’ earth or ’bove it that’s purtier than y’all,” she continued, trying desperately to find the right words. “Y’all know thet, I seed it in yore face in Ducktown, when th’ fellers there looked at y’all, an’ y’all knew what y’all was makin’ ’em feel. They ain’t no way I c’n challenge y’all, not even iffen God His Own Self come down an’ made me as purty as an angel.” Now the tears started, not the horrible sobs that had wracked her before, but slow, painful tears that burned their way down her cheeks. “I found Josh, up where y’all left him. He was sleepin’. He called out y’all’s name in his sleep, did y’all know thet?” she continued. “Y’all c’n take him, easy. ’Tween yore looks an’ yore magic, I ain’t got a chance. But y’all don’ know what he means ter me.”
“He’s just the first boy that happened to take notice of you,” Jolene said dismissively. “You’ll—” But then she stopped and peered more closely at Anna’s face, and her brows furrowed. “Go on,” she said, and motioned to Anna to continue.
“Y’all’s gonna live as long as th’ mountains. By yore reckoning, I ain’t gonna be aroun’ but a couple’a seasons. Y’all c’n hev yore pick o’ men, an’ I reckon they don’ mean too much t’ a Queen like y’all. But I’m different from y’all. I c’n niver love agin . . .” She sobbed, once, and got control of herself. “I know it. I know it, like I know th’ grass’s green an’ summer comes arter spring. I ain’t niver gonna love agin, an’ I ain’t niver gonna be happy agin iffen y’all take him. But fer y’all—he’s a-gonna jest be one more y’all collected. An’ thet ain’t no good reason t’part us. Please don’ take him jest ’cause y’all can.”
Jolene crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her right finger on her cheek. Anna held her breath. At least Jolene didn’t look offended.
“Would you say he feels the same?” she asked finally. “After all, if I can take him so easily, wouldn’t that mean he doesn’t really ‘love’ you?”
She shook her head. “He tol’ me he did. I b’lieve him. But . . .”
“But iffen he don’t feel thet way, then yore better shuck of him,” she heard in her memory. And was Aunt Jinny so wrong?
“Well. Let’s just go find out, shall we?” Jolene asked, and before Anna could say anything in reply, she waved her hand.
There was a flash of light—and they were no longer in the cavern with the throne. They were in the cavern where Josh’s workbench stood, and where that bed had been created for him.
He wasn’t sleeping now, he was awake, one hand on the malachite pillar, the other on the workbench, frowning in concentration.
Anna didn’t even get a chance to move; Jolene stopped her by gripping her shoulder. “He can’t see or hear us,” Jolene said calmly. “But just to be sure that you don’t interfere—” For the first time in Anna’s experience, Jolene sketched an actual glyph in the air, the lines of the sign glowing and pulsing with power before they faded. And when they had faded, Anna found herself completely unable to move.
“I can make him famous,” Jolene said conversationally. “Or, if it’s creation that he is interested in, and not fame, I can give him everything he could possibly need to execute the images in his mind. Never again will he have to work with inferior tools and material. I can even teach him how to shape the stone with his fingers alone, as easily as molding clay, and I can give him the power to make that possible. What can you possibly offer him?”
Her head dropped, as she understood that she really had nothing to compare to that to offer. Life sharing Jinny’s cabin? Dividing his time between farming and his carving? Working with whatever he could get his hands on?
Oh, she could say that s
he could take care of him, but really, could she do that any better than the magical servants that Jolene surely already possessed could do? Down here in the depths of the caverns, life was very comfortable; it was neither blistering hot in the summer, nor freezing cold in the winter, and Jolene could surely give him a life of luxury surpassing Anna’s wildest imaginings. She finally lifted her head again, tears trickling from her eyes.
Jolene nodded, as if reading her mind. “So, you agree that he would be better off with me than with you?”
She wanted to wail out her denial, but there was no arguing with facts. She could give him so little compared to what Jolene could.
If I was Ma and he was Pa . . . Ma would’a scratched an’ bit an’ fought an’ lied through her teeth. But I cain’t do thet. It’d be a lie, Jolene’d know ’twas a lie, an’ I know it’s a lie.
Jolene turned her back on Anna and paced gracefully toward the circle of light cast by her magic above Josh’s workbench. Her footsteps rang crisp and clear on the stone, and he looked up and smiled to see her. That smile felt like a dagger in Anna’s heart.
“And what are you thinking, running your hands over that lovely piece of stone?” Jolene asked. There was nothing arch in her tone; it was just an honest question.
“Thet I reckon I know what I’d like ter carve,” Josh said. “I’d like t’carve y’all, with your hair a-swirlin’ round y’all.” Those words were more daggers in her heart. He would never want to carve her. “But I dunno as I got th’ skill. I ain’t niver worked from life. An’ I really oughter git back home, an’ I dunno what my Pa’d hev t’say ’bout y’all hangin’ about when I’m s’pposed t’be courtin’ Anna.” His smile made a joke out of that, but Jolene treated it as serious.
“And what if you didn’t go back?” she asked.
“What now?” he replied, bewildered.
“What if you didn’t go back home?” she repeated. “What if you stayed with me? I can teach you every skill in carving you need. I can give you skills you cannot imagine. I can supply you with tools you don’t even know exist, and every material you could ever want. And if you want to become famous, I can arrange for that too.” With every word Jolene spoke, Anna dropped deeper into despair, until it was no longer the spell keeping her from moving, it was the sheer weight of black despondence.
Because surely he would accept that offer. He’d be a fool not to. It was more than everything he had ever wanted, was everything he had ever dared dream of, and more.
He blinked at her, perplexed. “But I hev ter stay down here? Away from my fambly? Away from Anna May?”
“Yes to both,” Jolene told him. “My craftsmen and artists are required to live here, with me, in my realm.” She curved her lips in a sweet smile. “Think of what you could make! And you would never lack for tools or material, never need concern yourself for your daily needs, never be pulled away from creating in order to milk a cow again!”
He chuckled. “Y’all mus’ be some kinda magical creature t’ offer all thet,” he said, skepticism tinging his tone.
She sketched a glyph in the air in front of his eyes. “Then look and see what is truly here, not what you think should be.”
He gasped and looked around himself wildly. “Where am I?” he stammered.
“You are in my realm now, and I am the Queen of Copper Mountain,” she said proudly. “And I can give you all these things. I can give you your heart’s desire.”
He pulled himself together. “Beg pardon, Miz Jolene, but y’all cain’t do thet. Not ’lessen y’all c’n give me Anna May, too.”
Anna’s heart spasmed, and she gasped.
Jolene shook her head imperiously. “That is not possible. My craftsmen and artists must devote themselves entirely to their work. There is no place here for distractions.”
“But she ain’t a distraction,” he contradicted her. “She he’ps me thank. She rests me up. An’,” he ended simply, “I love her, an’ she loves me. Feller c’n make all the purdy thangs in the world, but iffen he ain’t got love, they got no heart in ’em.” He laughed. “Truth is, I druther make my own way an’ do it all th’ hard way with her, than git ever’thang y’all promised an’ do it th’ easy way without her.”
With every word the weight of despair that had been crushing Anna to the ground was lifted. By the time he finished speaking she was light-headed with joy.
But Jolene wasn’t done.
“What if I said—Anna May can come here, but to do so, she would have to give up her aunt, and her magic?” Jolene asked slyly. “After all, this would be a tremendous concession on my part just to allow her here at all. I have never offered this to another.”
Josh paled, but he stood straighter. “Then I’d tell y’all I ain’t niver gonna arst her t’give up nothin’. It ain’t fair. It ain’t fair t’ make her do all the sacrificin’, an’ I won’t do it.”
“What if I said she would keep her magic, but it would all have to go to you, in the service of your art?” Jolene persisted.
“Then I’ll say agin, I ain’t gonna arst her t’give up somethin’ thet important jest fer me. It ain’t fair. Not only ain’t it fair t’ her, it ain’t fair t’ all the folks thet are gonna depend on her healin’ ways and potions when Miz Jinny’s gone.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest, but his expression was apologetic. “I’m right sorry, Miz Jolene, but I reckon I’ll hev t’do thangs th’ hard way. I don’t even blame y’all iffen y’all take back yore tools an’ thet stone.”
Jolene sketched a different glyph in the air, and Josh froze.
The Queen of Copper Mountain turned back to Anna. “Now you have that debt hanging over you. It is true that you do not have to worry about McDaran buying it, but the Coal Company in Soddy will still wish to collect it from you.”
She felt the blood drain from her face, and felt faint. “It’s true,” she whispered. “I purely cain’t saddle Josh with thet. It ain’t fair! But if I was t’marry him, he’d be responsible fer it.” Tears filled her eyes again. “I gotter do what me’n Aunt Jinny planned. I gotter high-tail it outa here, leastwise until th’ Company decides they ain’t gonna find me nohow.”
Jolene regarded her thoughtfully. “Would you give over your magic to me if I allowed you and Josh to stay with me? I cannot have one of your kind living in my realm unless you are properly . . . neutered,” she added haughtily. Anna had no idea what she meant by that, but the prospect of escape from the Company and staying with Josh was worth any sacrifice.
“Please, Jolene!” she pleaded. “I’d even cook an’ clean an’ all fer y’all—” Then she realized that Jolene surely had any number of servant creatures to do that sort of thing for her, and stumbled to a halt.
And Jolene unexpectedly laughed, and snapped her fingers. Josh blinked his eyes and shook his head at the same time that Anna realized she could move again. And just as she shifted her feet experimentally, Josh cried out her name joyfully and rushed to her, picking her up in his arms and twirling her until she was dizzy.
“Now, Joshua,” Jolene said mildly. “Do behave.”
Josh stopped abruptly and put Anna down, blushing mightily. “Sorry, Miz Jolene,” he said, shuffling his feet.
Jolene looked from one to the other. “Well,” she said, a very real smile on her face. “You two have given me a very pleasant surprise. You are both faithful and true, you are both willing to sacrifice your own advantages to protect the other, and you are not merely saying this; when very real advantage presents itself, and when very real danger is present, you are still expressing the same determination. Such things need to be rewarded, as they so seldom are.”
She turned to Anna. “Anna, you need to tell Josh what has happened to you, starting with the letter you received last evening.”
When she had finished, Josh had been in turns alarmed, enraged, astonished, enraged all over again, and finally was left ope
n-mouthed with amazement. “Wall, I swan, Anna May Jones,” he said finally. “Iffen I weren’t a-standin’ here with magic lights an’ lizards an’ Miz Jolene a-lookin’ like the Queen a’ Sheba, I reckon I’d’a thought y’all was tellin’ me tales.”
Jolene gestured that Anna should hold out her hand. Obediently she did so as Jolene extended her own, and one of the little green lizards ran down from her shoulder to her hand and across to Anna’s. “Follow my pet, and he will bring you out onto the lane,” she said. “I leave it to the two of you to decide what you are going to tell your respective guardians. Josh, you may take the roll of tools. They will never break, and never need sharpening. Anna, this is for you.” She suddenly was holding a box that looked as if it must have been carved from malachite. Anna would have sworn it had not been in her hand a moment before. “You need not flee to Kansas—wherever that is. Remain with your aunt. And any time you are in great need—but only when you are in great need—open that box, and use what you find in it.”
Josh’s eyes flitted momentarily—and with great longing—to the block of malachite on the worktable. Jolene saw the glance, and smiled again. “You will find that stone under your workbench when you return home. And from time to time you will find other materials worthy of your skill in the same place.” Then she straightened and became every inch a queen. “Go now,” she said imperiously. “I am saddened to lose such a fine artist—but we will see what you can become on your own. Perhaps you will be even greater without my teaching than you would have been with it.”
The lizard scrambled down Anna’s skirt and onto the ground, where it scuttled forward a few feet, then looked back at them. Obediently, they followed.
And when they looked back over their shoulders, there was nothing there but blackness.
The Queen of Copper Mountain was gone.
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