Sterling Lex unwrapped the silk to expose the dark stone and set it before him on the table. Closing the box lid, he set the silk just to the side. This stone could be the key to his plans. How fortuitous that it had fallen into his hands. It was as if the fates were aligning to bring him the victory stolen so many years before.
Reaching out with his thought, he probed the stone, seeking to understand it and its uses. It was so unlike the others, corrupted as it was from the use to which the Krenon had dedicated it for so many years. Yet it was that very corruption that suited it to his plans.
“What’s that?” the voice came from just outside the door to his chamber.
At the interruption, Sterling Lex flipped the silk cloth over the stone, hiding it from view. “Ah, Cenric,” he said, shifting toward the door. The boy had an insatiable curiosity. A curiosity that Lex would use, but had to be contained. “Nothing that need concern you.” He smiled in a grandfatherly way, gesturing to the boy. “Come in, we can continue your lessons.”
Walking into the room, Cenric sat down at the table across from Lex. The wizard could see that the spells binding the boy’s will to his own were strong. They had taken root and nothing, save perhaps one of the Eligium, could dislodge them. Cenric glanced down at the silk cloth and Lex folded it around the black stone, placing it back inside the box.
“Have you been practicing as I instructed?” This was a delicate task, but the boy was going down the road he had mapped out for him.
“I have. I’m getting really good at the spells you taught me. I think I’m ready to try them for real.”
“Good. We shall do that soon. What of the stone?”
“I did what you said, and I heard something, a name I think. Cadeyrn.”
Lex settled back. It was as he suspected. It was good he had not tried to link with the stone himself. “That is right, but it is not all. You must press in harder. Now, tell me more about your friend. The one called Sebastian. You said he used both the Sunstone and Moonstone?”
Cenric nodded, “He did. I don’t understand how though. Master Cormac taught me a little about the stones. He said the Eligium all had different characteristics. Wizards could use some and elves could use others because of the magic they had. No one should be able to use both the Sunstone and Moonstone.”
“Master Cormac taught you correctly. It is curious that Sebastian had the ability to use both stones. Almost as if he had elven blood in his ancestry.”
“I think he did,” said Cenric.
“How can that be? The elves are gone out of this world.”
“It's something the dwarf said when we were in the Ansetl-lea that makes me think that. Sebastian wasn’t very happy when he found out. But I guess it must have made him sad. He never talked about it very much.”
“What was it the dwarf said?” Lex felt an urgency to draw this story out. There was a key here to understanding the source of the young man’s power and abilities with the Elgium.
Cenric hesitated for a moment and Lex pulsed a suggestion through the threads connecting their minds. Cenric blinked twice and resumed talking, “He said Sebastian’s father was Gerlach Pwyll.”
Gerlach Pwyll was the father. That explained much. If only he could have gotten to this Sebastian earlier, he might have been a powerful ally. Lex supposed that not even Pwyll had known he had a son. The man would never have allowed Sebastian to grow up outside of his influence had he known of his birth. “I am glad you remembered that, Cenric. Knowing how important Sebastian is to you, I sent some of my men to seek him out. It seems the wizards have sent him off to Cale Uriasz.”
The words had their intended effect. Lex could see the pain and sense of betrayal in the tear that ran down Cenric’s face. “I thought he might come look for me,” said the boy.
“I’m afraid not. Perhaps he is not as good a friend as you thought? And the wizards, sending him off to the very place they should have taken you…”
That seed found fertile soil. Cenric’s head hung low, “I should have been the one to go. I always wanted to see the islands.”
“And see them you will. I promise you that.”
Cenric’s head swung up at that, “Really? Could I?”
Before he could answer, a release of power far to the east drew the sorcerer’s attention. He could not track Sebastian over the water so he had set himself a warning spell that would alert him to the use of magic out to sea. Seeking inward, he examined the signature of the magic being used. It was powerful, but unique. It had to be Sebastian. Not far enough away for the ship to have reached Cale Uriasz, which meant they would still be at sea. That gave him an idea. Here was a chance to remove Sebastian from the field.
“Cenric, would you like to learn how to manipulate the weather?” The boy nodded, eagerly. “Good. Come with me to the tower.”
As they climbed the steps leading to the highest point of the Cinaeth, Cenric quizzed Lex. “I thought you weren’t supposed to cast weather spells because they can get out of hand so fast?”
Sterling Lex clucked his tongue. “Just another example of those old wizards holding things back from you.” Of course, Lex knew those old wizards were quite correct. In fact, he was counting on whatever they did spiraling out of control.
Reaching the top of the tower, the two of them looked out over the sea towards the setting sun. “Now Cenric, I want you to repeat after me.” Holding up his hands, Lex began the incantation, Cenric echoing him with every phrase. He could feel the boy’s power. He had the potential to be a powerful wizard one day. Lex coveted that power and intended to harness it for his own ends. Reaching the end of the spell, both lowered their arms, considering the effect of their spell.
Lex could feel the winds shifting. It would not be long before a storm came crashing down on Sebastian and his friends. “That’s it?” asked Cenric. “What did we do?”
“Feel that shifting of the wind?”
Cenric cocked his head to the side. “I guess so…” he said.
“That small shift will create a storm far out to sea.”
Cenric looked out toward the horizon, “But isn’t that dangerous.”
The boy had a strong moral compass. That would have to be dealt with, or at least reoriented. A task for another day. “Not at all,” said Lex. “The storm will be far out to sea and this time of year there will be no ships to be caught up in it.”
“Oh. Ok.”
“I think that’s enough for today.” Lex led the boy back down from the tower to a chamber next to his own. “Cenric, it is time for you to move down from the tower. This will be your room going forward. I want you close to me if you have questions in your studies. Make yourself comfortable and resume your study of the stone. You must learn the rest of the name you heard.” Leaving him there, Lex returned to his study of the obsidian stone. Outside, he could feel the forces they had set in motion building up and sweeping out over the ocean to the small ship carrying Sebastian Pwyll and his companions.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sebastian hadn’t moved far when Krystelle returned to the deck. Storming up to him, she pulled him as far forward, and away from the crew, as she could. “What were you thinking?” she growled in a low voice, “You could have killed us all!”
“I…what? What are you talking about?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you?” She gripped his arm, holding tight to be sure she had his attention. “After everything we’ve been through, you still don’t understand! Didn’t you hear what the Captain said about the fire?”
Sebastian scratched his head in confusion. “He just said he didn’t see how the fire started. I don’t see how that has anything to do with me.”
“You dolt!” It was all she could do not to cuff him on the back of his head like the raw recruit he was. “Did you not listen? He said the fire seemed to come from nothing. How can something just come from nothing?”
“It can’t…” he paused, thinking. It came to him then, and he practically shouted, “U
nless it was some kind of magic!”
Krystelle grimaced and motioned for him to keep his voice down. “Of course it was magic. Quietly now, we can’t have the crew realizing it. Especially since Gerhard believes you caused it!”
He gulped. “Me?”
She released his arm. “Yes, you. You and your daydreaming!”
“But I was just sitting there, I wasn’t doing anything, and I certainly didn’t cast any spell to start a fire. I wouldn’t know where to begin!”
Heaving a sigh, Krystelle counseled herself to find patience. “Normal spell casters have to focus and chant and all the rest, but you never have, had you?” He shook his head in the negative. “I’m surprised you haven’t worked it out by now. All the breadcrumbs were there, you just had to follow them. Sebastian, you use Elven magic. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but there it is. I suspect that Gerhard doesn’t know either. That’s why you don’t have to cast spells. Magic comes instinctively to you and you bend the world around to your will through partnership and thought rather than through spells and mental focus. You don’t have to cast spells to do magic, you do magic because it's part of who you are. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this now, except that you have to be careful with your thoughts! A stray thought can wreak havoc and that’s almost what happened here.”
Sebastian shook his head in denial. “I don’t understand how this can be. I could heal Cenric in Ha’vehl’on because of the Moonstone…and the same getting back into the Aodhan Bret. Even back at Cinaeth, it was all the stones, not me. If it were me, why wouldn’t Gerhard or Lord Darden have said something before now?”
Exasperated, Krystelle paced across the deck. “Who knows why the wizards do what they do or say what they say. All I know is what I see. And what I see is that it is too dangerous to let you go about tapping into these forces, albeit unknowingly. I’m sure that’s why you’re here now on this boat rather than back at the Dazhberg where you belong, training. You must keep your thoughts under control from now on Sebastian. No more daydreaming!”
She stormed back to the ladder, leaving Sebastian to marvel at what she had told him. It made a certain sense, and it answered a lot of questions Sebastian had tried to not to think about. In a world where magic was anathema by law, admitting to one’s self that not only could you use magic, but Elven magic, was not an easy prospect to consider. Perhaps the stories were true that his father, Gerlach Pwyll, had Elvish blood in his ancestry. Not that Sebastian could ask him. He had killed Pwyll in cold blood at Cinaeth before he knew the man was his father.
Before he realized it, Sebastian was ruminating on that night so many months ago. He could still hear the ring of steel in the courtyard like it was yesterday. He could see the flaring of light from the Sunstone and the scent of freshly spilled blood filled his nostrils. He watched Pwyll’s body…he snapped himself back to reality before the vision could proceed further. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked about the deck to ground himself. Once again the crew was raising the sails and he could see that the Gull would be underway in minutes. A work gang swabbed the deck where the fire had raged, sweeping debris over the side.
Making his way below deck, Sebastian realized that at least one good thing had come out of this day. He was not seasick anymore.
The Gull’s crew spent the afternoon cleaning the deck and making repairs until the bos’n gave the order to return to stations and restore the watch. Additional repairs would have to wait for the facilities at Cale Uriasz. All hands had rallied to fight the fire and deal with the aftermath, and the night watch wearily manned their posts, trimming the sails to maintain a steady course through the long night ahead.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the steady eastern winds that had been propelling the ship forward since their departure from Cale Conall fluttered away. Captain Cyrillus paused on his way to his quarters to evaluate the change in the winds, having left the ship to the first dog watch. Casting an experienced eye on the masthead fly, he didn’t like what he was seeing. The fly twirled about from a competing wind opposing their moderate eastern gale.
He called out, “Bos’n! Flatten the sheets and clear the decks. We’ve a storm coming and it looks to be quite a blow.” With those orders, the bos’n moved into action, relaying them to the deck crew. Within moments, the sails were tightened up, and the crew moved to stow the remaining gear from the day’s efforts.
As they worked, the wind finished shifting and began to build. The captain resumed his station near the wheel, taking his oilskin from the deckhand. “Turn her towards the wind,” he ordered the helmsman. Watching his ship react to the change in course, he could see it wouldn’t be enough to take the pressure off if the wind continued building. “Reef the mainsail!” he called out.
The Gull’s crew was well-disciplined, and it didn’t take long for them to reduce the sail presented to this new wind. For a time, the storm leveled out and Cyrillus relaxed. There’d been no sign of a storm before the winds had shifted, so he thought perhaps this would blow over soon. Leaving the deck in the hands of the dog watch he went below, removing his slicker and making his way to the galley where he found a handful of the crew taking their repast.
Ladling himself a bowl, he could see that Cook had outdone himself with the stew that day. With the smooth passage they’d had and knowing they were close to port he’d eased up on the rations the day before and Cook took full advantage. Chunks of meat and root vegetables floated in a rich broth. He spooned it into his mouth, savoring the array of flavors. “Cook! I don’t know how you do it. This stew is better than any I’ve had in port.”
“Aye Captain, ‘tis an art to a good stew. Just don’t you go snooping into the larder to see what’s in my broth.”
“Oh-ho! Do you hear that men? Cook would like to give orders to the captain. Maybe he should take a turn at the helm?”
“Cook couldn’t steer his way across a muddy pond!” shouted one of the sailors. The others began catcalling and throwing jabs in the cook’s direction, suggesting various tasks on the ship he could muck up. While Cook’s skills in the galley were unparalleled, he was no sailor. It was only his magic in the kitchen that earned him a berth on the ship at all. Nevertheless, the crew loved him and loved harassing him about his lack of seamanship all the more.
Cook put on an injured face, playing along with the good-natured ribbing. “You scurvy rats! Put you in the kitchen and see how well you do. Not that I’d let a one of you near enough even to scrub one of my good pots.” Captain Cyrillus smiled at the much-needed camaraderie; it had been a trying day, and the levity was good for the men. He went back to his stew, allowing the wave of banter to wash over him.
Finishing his meal, he was just rising to return to his quarters when the deck tilted under him. Dishware went sliding across the galley as the Gull listed to starboard and the men grabbed hold of the table to steady themselves. “On deck,” he commanded the men. “That was a heavy swell, the storm must be getting worse.” Pulling his oilskin back on, he hurried to the deck, confident that the men from the galley would be close behind.
A wave of briny seawater drenched him as Cyrillus emerged onto the deck. He grabbed the rail to keep from being washed overboard and took stock of the situation. In the few moments he had been enjoying his meal in the galley, the storm’s ferocity had increased tenfold. The high seas threatened to inundate the deck, and the crew had dropped the mainsail, replacing it with the try-sail. He’d not seen a storm build to this level of intensity so quickly in all his years at sea. The Gull was in trouble.
CHAPTER FIVE
Upon reflection, Sebastian realized he might have been premature in celebrating his relief from the unending nausea that had plagued him since boarding the ship. Laying in his bunk in the cramped passenger quarters, he could feel the abrupt rising and falling of the Gull with the bucking waves. As bad as things had been until now, these conditions made all of that seem like a lazy day spent sailing on a calm mountain lake.
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br /> In the bunk just across from Sebastian, Gerhard sorted through a small wooden trunk. Throughout the voyage, he had kept it locked and there was something in his air that brooked no questions about what it might contain. It was obviously important to the old wizard. He pulled an ebony statuette from the case, scrutinizing it, bushy white eyebrows dancing about. Dissatisfied, he grunted and tossed it to the side, rooting around in the trunk for the next item. He’d been doing that ever since rushing into the cabin after the ship had dropped, ushering in this incessant rising and falling.
Out came a cobalt porcelain figurine in the shape of a dolphin. “There you are,” said the old wizard, sweeping the discarded items back into the case and pulling it shut. Gerhard waved hand at the case and its metal straps folded in, latching themselves while Gerhard studied the dolphin.
Sebastian levered himself onto one arm, hoping to take his mind off the somersaults in his belly. “What is that?”
Before Gerhard could respond, Krystelle burst into the cabin. Sebastian could see fear in her eyes, a sight he’d not seen before. “Lord Gerhard! I saw Captain Cyrillus go back onto the deck and he looked worried. I have known the man for many years and been on many voyages with him. I’ve never seen him look like that over a storm.”
The old man closed his hand over the figurine and rose to face her, “I think he has cause to worry. This storm has an unnatural feel to it. I fear someone doesn’t want us to reach Cale Uriasz.”
“Sterling Lex?” A chill came over Sebastian hearing Krystelle name the sorcerer. He could still remember a time when the name had meant nothing to him, and now it seemed his life revolved around Lex’s machinations and the quest to recover the two Eligium.
“Most likely, my dear. Most likely.”
Sebastian panicked inside a bit at that, “But how could he know where to send the storm? You said he wouldn’t be able to locate us over the ocean!”
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