by Tina Hunter
It was just a luxuriously furnished as downstairs, and the bed looked like heaven. She remembered her parents having one like it, so fluffy. Lynn saw her eyeing it and gestured for her to test it out.
“Really?” Dorjee asked.
“Yes. I wanna see if you bounce off or sink before I get on there.”
Dorjee giggled and then, with a running start, leaped onto the bed.
Turned out she sank. Like a rock. And had trouble crawling out of it.
Lynn was doubled over trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard when Dorjee finally pulled herself out of the sinking mess.
Dorjee walked over and shut the door. No point in letting Mr. Robe finding them like this.
“Oh, let me help,” Lynn said, finally breathing normally. She pushed the dresser in front of the door. No one would come through there, but then...
“How are we going to leave?”
Lynn pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the window. The second-floor window?
“You’re joking, right?” Dorjee walked over to the window. There was no balcony or anything she could see that would allow them to climb up or down. “We aren’t jumping, are we?”
“No,” Lynn came up behind her and put her hand on Dorjee’s shoulder. “Trust me. But first, we need a wardrobe change.”
“Why?” Dorjee turned to see Lynn throwing open the broken suitcase and tossing her a black shirt.
“You need to blend in with the shadows if you plan to steal in this city.”
Dorjee held out the shirt. Dressing like the Black Shadow. This was going to be amazing.
“Oh,” Lynn said tossing her something else, “You might need this too.”
Dorjee looked at what she held in her hand. A beaded crystal bracelet, like the one Lynn had. Her own balance beads? Dorothy snatched them out of Lynn’s hand just as her stomach rumbled again.
“Hmm...,” said Lynn. “Maybe we’ll get something to eat first.”
Lynn sat beside Dorothy on the roof of Darkan’s magic shop. The lights of main street wouldn’t penetrate far enough to reveal them as more than shadows. They were lumps on his Aguarian style building, complete with a window in the roof to let light in. It was near this window they sat and waited.
Darkan’s more lucrative business dealings would happen in the basement, but he still preferred to spend his evenings up in the main building. It was his home most days, and he lived in luxury that would put Archibald to shame.
Right now, the room below the window was empty and Lynn had to keep an ear out for people coming out of the basement. From where they were perched, if someone looked directly up from that door they would likely see them. Even though she knew the chances of that were slim, she wanted nothing to jeopardize her “death”.
Dorothy was leaning against the wooden support beam that ran across the top of the building and had begun to doze off. Lynn could feel the weariness in her bones as well. It had been a long two days, and the longer she spent in this city, the more she came to look forward to returning to the mountains. It wouldn’t be like the farmstead, but maybe it could be similar, being surrounded by family and people she might actually be able to trust. She might even let Gregorio into her head before the snow fell in earnest.
A door slammed below them and Dorothy jumped. Lynn was certain that without the spare set of balance beads she had given her, Dorothy would have slipped off the roof.
Lynn peered down and felt a rush of satisfaction run through her veins. Below her was Teodor, wearing a ridiculous top hat on his head and looking miserable. His hands were balled into fists and he looked like he was itching for a fight. She wondered if that meant Darkan had found out that the crates of crystal she had sent him were fakes. She grinned, imagining his reaction.
Suddenly the lights turned on in the room below her, light spilling out onto the roof, casting their lumpy shadows onto the building across the alley.
Teodor was walking down the alley, but the light and shadows caught his attention. Don’t turn around. Just keep walking.
He turned around. It was possible he wouldn’t know who it was on the roof of his employer’s building but Lynn was close enough that he could make a pretty good guess.
At first, he appeared shocked, and Lynn wasn’t sure if he would yell out or not. She prepared herself to jump down and deal with him if she had to, but already the illusion of her death was broken.
Then Teodor grinned.
She heard a hearty chuckle which turned into a full-blown belly laugh. As he doubled over clutching his stomach, Lynn and Dorothy exchanged a confused look. Lynn prepared for the worst and slid down toward the edge of the roof. She was ready to jump down and make him silent, at least until Dorothy finished stealing from Darkan.
Just as quickly as he had started laughing, he gained control of himself and straightened up, wiping his face.
Then he bowed to her, low and formal, removing the top hat from his head. When he put that hat back on and stood there was a twinkle in his eye that made her stop in surprise. He wasn’t going to tell Darkan.
With a final tip of his hat, he walked away without a backward glance.
It was the strangest experience of her life but she was incredibly grateful for it.
She watched until he was fully lost in the dark, then she climbed back up with Dorothy. With a few mimed signals she could tell Dorothy to change their positions slightly so they wouldn’t cast any more shadows on the buildings. It was harder to balance, but there were no shadows. And it gave them a wonderful view of Darkan’s tantrum in the room below.
In the few minutes since the lights came on, he had broken almost everything in the room. Vases, statues, chairs, pictures, nothing was safe from his fit. After he threw all the pillows off the couch in the center of the room, he actually tried to pick up a couch that was larger than his massive size. He could not lift it, but he tried in vain for a few minutes. Lynn signaled that Dorothy should use this as a distraction for her work.
The girl leaned closer to the glass and concentrated. Lynn watched for any sign of what was happening but there was nothing she could see.
Dorothy waved to get her attention. Lynn looked over and saw Dorothy miming that her neck—no, Darkan’s neck. There was nothing on it.
No.
Where would that monster put it?
Once Darkan finished trying to lift the couch, he flopped down onto it and cried. Full on sobbing. Lynn was just happy that she couldn’t hear it. She had to think.
This had been the easiest option. Just wait for Darkan to come up here at night and steal the necklace off his neck. Why did he take it off? Was it still down in the basement? If she had to break in there, she would have to plan carefully. She would need a distraction, and an inside man would help. Maybe Teodor...
A woman walked into the room and sat down on the couch beside Darkan. Oh yes, his new secretary. She put her hand on Darkan’s sobbing shoulder and he leaned into her. Resting his head on her chest. It made Lynn a little sick to be honest, watching her stroke his head while he cried into her bosom.
Dorothy, however, was staring at them with concentration. She even had a little grin on her face. What did she see that Lynn didn’t?
Lynn peered harder through the glass. Still, she couldn’t see anything beyond the cuddling couple on the couch. The woman pushed his head up to look him in the eyes, telling him something of importance. Then she saw something move. She looked over at Dorothy and her smile was a grin, and she was watching something beside Darkan. Something on the floor, perhaps? Lynn didn’t know what to look for, and whenever she thought she saw something it moved too quickly for her to know for sure. But it might just be her locket.
Over on the far side of the room, above the pillows that Darkan had thrown, was a row of windows that could open to let air in. Lynn split her attention between trying to watch Dorothy open the window and making sure that Darkan and his lady didn’t notice.
The woman was still talking to him,
his head in her hands, but he seemed to have stopped sobbing. He must have really needed those crystals. Perhaps if he hadn’t tried to kill the woman hired to do the job, she would have done it correctly.
She heard a faint clink of metal on metal from the side of the building, but instead of looking at it she watched Darkan. Moving the locket was Dorothy’s job.
If either of them had heard it, they didn't show it. The woman just kept talking and talking. Now that the window on the side of the building was open, she heard the occasional word. “Promise,” “action,” “never.” But it wasn’t enough to piece together a conversation.
Suddenly, Darkan sat up straight. He fixed his shirt collar and straightened his hair. Her little talk had restored him, apparently. It was a shame, really. She had quite enjoyed seeing him brought to his knees.
He stood up and said something to her. The Secretary responded with something and put her hand on her chest... and noticed something was missing.
“Time to go,” she whispered at Dorothy. Dorothy held up a necklace beside her face. Her mother’s locket. She longed to reach out and grab it, but not here.
They scuttled across the top of the building to the far side where it was an easy jump to the next roof over. And then they were running across the rooftops towards to the lower end of town. When they reached the last roof before having to cross on the ground to get to Archibald’s building, Lynn stopped for a breather.
There was always a chance that Teodor would tell Darkan that she was alive, especially once Darkan let on that the necklace was missing. But then again, he may not let anyone know. If you want people to fear you, you don’t advertise that someone stole from you. They’d be safer once they made it out of town tomorrow.
“So, do you want it now?” Dorothy asked, pulling the necklace out of her pocket.
Lynn still felt hesitant. After everything she had gone through to get it, she still wasn’t completely sure she was ready for magic in her life, and this was definitely a magical necklace, voice or not. Would it still be there? She took a deep breath. At this point it was best to just go for it.
Lynn removed her glove and took the necklace out of Dorothy’s hand, grabbing it by the stone pendant. A tingle spread from her hand up her arm and into her chest. Then all over her body. It was like warmth and happiness, and.... wholeness, that was what her uncle had said. She understood now.
Oh, thank goodness, a voice in her head said. I thought you’d never find me.
“Oh. Um...” she said out loud. “Sorry, it took so long?”
“Huh?” Dorothy asked.
“Not you,” Lynn clarified, “The locket is... um... talking. I think.”
Oh, I’m talking but I am not the locket, the voice said. I’m inside it.
Lynn studied the locket and felt for the seem. The tiny clasp held tightly but gave way with the proper pressure.
Inside the stone of the locket had been hallowed away to allow enough room for a round purple Vollonite crystal to sit inside. It was a shape Lynn had never seen before, and there didn’t seem to be any sigil or sharp edge to fed it. Even the glow of it was odd, it swirled and moved.
“What are you?” she asked with awe.
Not what my silly girl, who! the voice said. It’s me. Your grandmother.
“Grandma?”
“Wait, your grandma is a purple crystal?” Dorothy jumped in.
Ha, Grandma said. Tell your young friend that I am. And can you find a mirror? I’d like to see what you look like all grown up.
“Wait. No, this isn’t happening,” Lynn said, slamming the locket shut. “This locket was supposed to unlock my Inborn ability, not hold the... the voice of my grandmother.”
Well, I can explain it to you if you’d like, but since I was just around the neck of an awful woman, I suggest get somewhere safe first. It is a long story.
Lynn looked around at their rooftop perch. It would be best to get indoors soon, not just because the locket had suggested it.
“Fine, we’ll go inside and hear your story,” Lynn said with a heavy sigh. Dorothy just raised her eyebrows. Lynn was about to put the locket away when she got an idea.
“You wouldn’t happen to know what my Inborn ability is, would you?”
Sorry, child. You’ll have to find it the regular way of trial and error. Grandmother’s voice said. But do hurry inside, Dear. I’m excited to start.
Start what, Lynn wanted to ask, but the more her grandmother spoke the more she came to believe it really was her. Which not only meant that Gregorio had a lot of explaining to do, but that she was holding unknown magic. Magic that Darkan would have sold to the highest bidder had he known what he had. That the Emperor himself would have killed to get a hold of.
It was a good thing she was going into hiding. Something told her that things were about to get very complicated.
Epilogue
~ Monday Evening On The Mountain Pass
To Thressel Mining Prison ~
IT WAS A bumpy ride in a carriage built for cargo instead of people. But prisoners were considered little more than that. The narrow road wound up the side of the mountain towards the mine they were being brought to. Mining the very crystals they had destroyed, though Benjamin doubted very much they would make them do any actual mining. He knew enough about how the military worked to know the men in these carriages would never be trusted near a crystal again.
And personally, he had no intention of ever arriving there.
James caught his eye and gave him the signal. Ice had begun to form on the outside of the carriage, meaning they were finally high up enough for his plan to work. The two guards on the front of the carriage would be of little concern if things went according to plan. Benjamin looked around the cramped carriage one more time. It had surprised him how many of his distraction group had survived their encounter at the fort. He’d hoped to never see any of them again, but he might as well use them one more time for his benefit. Besides, he’d need some muscle to break into the other carriage behind them to save the rest of his actual team.
He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, then continued in a whisper. “My friends we did what we set out to do. We have destroyed a huge cache of crystals, but I’m afraid our troubles are not over.” He looked them all in the eyes. People responded better when they felt special. “Do not think for a moment they will let us near a crystal again. Not in the mine, not ever.” He let the hint hang in the air for a moment, measuring who might be useful or at the least, who was smart enough to understand. Too few for his liking.
“They mean to kill us, mark my words.” He hated having to spell things out but simple minds required simple instructions. “My friends, we must escape before we reach the mine. I already have a plan in action but I will need your help. So many of us have already perished on this mission. Will you help me ensure that they do not take another life?”
There were nodding heads throughout the carriage, even a few gave a hearty “Yeah,” causing the driver to kick on the wall from his seat in the front.
Very good. They may as well get this over with.
He wiggled his way closer to the door on the inside wall of the mountain pass. The pass they were traveling on was little more than a ledge that ran along the side of a mountain, but every so often it would open up into a small meadow or forested area. That was where he was aiming for.
A quick shake of the door found it still secured tightly with chains around the handles and a lock strong enough to withstand the kick of an angry horse. Fortunately, Benjamin had understood where they were taking them and gathered water molecules from the air while they were still near the river and condensed it inside the lock. Already it was freezing and weakening the lock thanks to the cold mountain air. If ice was forming on the outside of the carriage, then it should freeze inside the lock by now.
He concentrated lightly on the lock, feeling the ice in his mind. He couldn’t control it once it was ice, not completely, but he could make mor
e by pushing the water molecules in the ice closer together. He had found his science background had helped immensely when it came to manipulating his abilities. When he felt the lock was full to bursting with ice, he stopped. Time for some muscle power.
“The lock has been compromised by an associate, I can hear it cracking. It’s time to push our way out.” He had said it over his shoulder, expecting someone to come to his aid. But aside from James he only heard shuffling feet. If he remembered the map correctly, and he was sure he was, then they would come upon an opening in the cliff wall soon. They needed to break this door open by the time they got there. He rammed into the door himself eliciting a shout from the driver.
“Now would be a good time to help,” he grunted out. The men around him finally lent their shoulders to the door, hitting it with a rhythm that caused the carriage to rock back and forth.
Soon the top of the carriage scraped on the rocks of the inner wall and some men looked worriedly out the other side windows at the long drop to the valley below.
“Stand on this side,” he shouted, hoping to keep their center of gravity closer to the wall than the drop for just a few moments more. The cliff face gave way to an opening, and the driver steered over into it, to prevent the carriage from falling down to the valley.
Crack.
The sound of metal being broken caused a cheer of joy from the men, and they heartily gave the final few shoulder-bruising rams needed to burst the door open.
“Jump,” he commanded, though a few men didn’t wait for his signal to leap. He wanted most of the magic-hating men out of the carriage before it stopped, going so far as to push some of them out under the guise of helping them get out faster. Still, he was left with several when the driver called the horses to stop and dove off to cower behind his horses.
Benjamin knew the guards would use deadly force on escaping prisoners. Thankfully, there were only two guards against many prisoners. The other carriage was stopping sideways behind them to block the road back down the mountain, and the two guards from there were coming toward them. The guards had managed to keep all of the prisoners trapped in this little opening. So be it.