When she went to retrieve her clothing, she wasn’t surprised to see that Sarina had taken it upon herself to make some substitutions—meaning that Taly had a completely new set of gear waiting for her outside her door. Not that she was going to complain. The leggings were a deep royal blue and lined with wool, and the ivory tunic was made of lightweight silk with sleeves that buttoned at her wrists. She had a new jacket too—black, waterproof canvas with a brindle fur trim around the hood.
She dressed quickly, admiring her reflection in the full-length mirror set against the wall as she tightened her belt holster. Even though her old wardrobe didn’t fit her nearly as well as it had only a year ago, she couldn’t help but preen—just a little bit. The coat pulled in at the waist, accentuating what was almost an hourglass figure, and even her hair had chosen to behave this morning, lying flat with only a very slight curl at the end. For the first time in months, her cheeks had color, and the circles under her eyes seemed a little less bruise-like.
“Not bad,” she murmured. It was remarkable how a single night of good food and even better company could transform a person.
Pulling herself away from the mirror, Taly dropped to the floor, groping underneath the bed for the brown parcel she’d hidden there before dinner last night. She really hoped this little project didn’t turn out to be a waste of coin. Eyeing the door warily, she stepped over and turned the lock before settling back onto the bed to unwrap the package. The paper came away easily, revealing two translucent hyaline pistols.
When the first firearms had started coming through the Aion Gate from the mortal realm, the shadow mages didn’t know what to make of them since even the smallest amount of aether could render human gunpowder completely inert. It had taken a few years, but eventually, a particularly industrious crafter managed to mimic the human firing mechanisms using fire crystals.
Unfortunately, the transition wasn’t completely seamless. The smaller handguns that Taly preferred just didn’t have enough room for both a shadow crystal large enough to power the circuit and the necessary focusing crystal required to transform the raw aether drawn from the power source into fire aether. Even under the best circumstances, the shadow crystals completely discharged after only a few shots, making the converted firearms impractical in combat scenarios.
With this new design, however, Taly was hoping to change that. Despite their drawbacks, she had always had a fondness for pistols. Guns felt solid, more so than a simple bow. And as a human, if she could avoid getting into close-range with a fey combatant, all the better.
She glanced in the mirror one last time, making sure that the illegal firearms were well hidden beneath the hem of her coat, before setting out.
Taly tiptoed through the house, easily navigating the familiar path out the back door and through the training yard to the workshop, a spacious single-story structure situated at the back edge of the main property.
The door to the shop was a great massive thing, old but sturdy. She hadn’t been able to open it on her own until she was fourteen, and even then, she had trouble. Setting down a steaming cup of coffee she had grabbed on her way through the kitchens, Taly leaned against the door and pushed hard. It groaned in protest but eventually slid to the side. A blast of cold air immediately rushed out of the open doorway, and she shivered as she stepped inside. She took a sip of coffee, relishing the warmth.
The inside of the dusty workshop was a welcoming sight. The forge in the back corner was unlit, so the air inside the main room was unusually crisp. An array of hammers, tongs, and files hung neatly to the side, and she could see the anvil and quench tank tucked into a corner.
She slowly made her way to the back of the room, trailing one hand across the various crystals, quills, and other enchanting tools that had been left strewn across the benches.
Skye’s personal workbench was chaos (nothing new there). Evidently, all the hard work she’d done trying to bring order to his crafting station had completely disintegrated in her absence. There were random piles of crystals, the odd piece of scrap metal, dirty inkwells, and discarded pieces of crumpled parchment littering every available surface.
In the middle of it all sat a polished longsword. The blade was made of a dull, gray metal that almost seemed to absorb the light around it, and blood-red crystals had been embedded in even intervals along the ornately swirled hilt and cross. Taly ran a finger along one of the gemstones set into the flourished sweepings. The rich color and startling clarity made the fire crystals shine like rubies in the dim light of the workshop.
A cup extended below the sweeping curls of metal encircling the guard, and an intricately carved relief of House Ghislain’s crest, a dragon surrounded by violet tendrils of coiling shadow magic, had been etched into the surface of the metal. Black leather cord enveloped the grip, parting in even intervals to reveal three deep violet shadow crystals.
The artistry of the blade came as no surprise to Taly. Skye had always had a special talent for etchings and carvings. When they were younger, he used to practice by whittling little animals out of wood that he would then present to her whenever she needed cheering up. No, what truly made this sword unique was the row of glittering air crystals embedded along the length of the blade.
Taly remembered when Skye had first shown her the plans for the sword. She thought he was crazy at the time, but it seemed he had gone and done it anyway.
Tucked beneath the weapon, Taly spied a small slip of paper, the edge of what looked like a glamograph. Glamographs were pictures created with aether-infused paper and a glamera—a small device programmed with a simple water enchantment. The humans had created something similar called a camera, undoubtedly copied from the fey device after its inventor had accidentally stumbled through the Aion Gate.
Taly immediately recognized the picture as she pulled it out from beneath the clutter. She had an identical copy hidden away in her room at the tavern. It was from her 18th birthday, and Skye’s arm was slung around her as they sat on the front steps of the manor, laughing. Though she had been reticent at first, he had convinced her to let him take her into town that night, insisting that he should have the honor of buying her the first beer she would drink as an “adult.” Sarina had made them stop as they were leaving, and they had sat down on the steps, waiting for the older fey noblewoman to return with the glamera. Skye had been telling her some stupid joke, and Sarina had snapped the picture when they weren’t looking.
“I see you found it already,” a voice drawled from behind her.
Taly hastily tucked the picture back underneath the sword. She hadn’t expected Skye to get up before early afternoon. “What? The sword? Yeah. It’s beautiful. How did you keep the fire crystal from overheating the circuit? With the enchantment diagram you showed me originally, you would’ve had to route the aether flow through the fire crystal first. Air focusing crystals are so finicky when it comes to internal temperature.”
Reaching for the sword, Skye hefted it and gave it an experimental swing. “That’s my little secret. Although, I did break a lot of crystals in the process. Ivain threatened to disown me on more than one occasion.”
Taly snorted. “I can imagine.” Then, with an appreciative smile, she said, “But you did it. So, I will gladly concede that I was wrong. In this case, at least.”
Skye grabbed his chest in mock horror. “Now, I’ve seen just about everything. Princess Tink can be wrong?” He held up a hand to her forehead. “Are you sure you’re alright? I think we need to get you back to bed immediately.”
“I’m not that bad,” Taly muttered, shoving him away. It seemed some of the familiarity they had recovered the previous night hadn’t completely disappeared. She probably had Sarina to thank for that. She had kept their champagne glasses quite full. “I’m usually quite agreeable. You’re just an ass.”
Chuckling to himself, Skye turned to sheathe the sword in a scuffed, leather scabbard while Taly started absentmindedly tidying the bench. She was just finishing sortin
g the crystals by type when she jumped back and said, “Oh! I almost forgot.” She reached for her dagger. “Since you were complicit in trapping me here—"
“Yes—trapping you. In a place with hot water, ample food, and soft beds among people who care about you, your well-being, and your safety. I’m a truly awful person, I know.” Skye made no attempt to hide the sarcastic edge to his voice as he turned to glare at her. “But go on.”
“Yes, all of those things,” she replied, unaffected by his teasing. “I was hoping you could repay me by repairing my dagger.” She held out the weapon for his inspection. It was a plain little thing. There was a single, dull air crystal embedded in the blade and a shadow crystal mounted on the hilt. When he continued to stare at her blankly, she added, “Please? It stopped firing last week.”
With a beleaguered sigh, he took the dagger and held it up to the window behind his bench. “I can’t believe you still have this thing. It’s so awful.”
“Hey! Don’t talk about Zephyr that way. She’s sensitive.” Taly punched him in the arm for emphasis.
“Terribly sorry. I forgot that Princess Tink’s special power is granting sentience to inanimate objects,” he responded drolly. The crystal in the hilt flashed as he used his magic to push a small amount of aether into the circuit. “The shadow crystal is fine—shitty but fine. Here,” he said, handing the dagger back to her, “show me what it’s doing.”
Skye tossed a wadded-up piece of parchment into the air, and Taly held up the dagger, depressing the tiny toggle mounted beneath the guard. She tensed as the blade lurched in her grip, and a pitiful gust of wind sputtered out of the tip. It didn’t even reach the little ball of paper as it landed and rolled off into a corner.
Skye looked at her with a smirk. “Wow, Tink. I used to be jealous of your aim, but now? I don’t know.”
Taly pursed her lips and threw the dagger on his workbench. “You watch your mouth, Em.” She didn’t miss the small smile that tugged at his lips at her use of his old nickname. She was only six years old when she came to the manor, and she hadn’t been able to pronounce his last name—Emrys. So, she had taken to calling him Em. “This has nothing to do with my aim, and you know it.”
Skye laughed as he turned and started to rifle through a stack of parchment. Finding a page that had a series of crimson runes inscribed down the side, he sat down on the bench and set to work. “You know, I’m much better at setting air crystals now. I could make you a new dagger. This thing—it’s just a stain on my reputation at this point.”
Taly shrugged noncommittally as she leaned against the table. She had always liked watching him work. Skye might be arrogant, but no one could deny that he had the skills to back up the ego.
Choosing a quill, he pricked his index finger and held it over the page. A single drop of blood dripped onto the surface. Before the wound managed to heal itself, he held his hand over a clean inkwell and let the remaining fluid trickle out. Since shadow mages didn’t need to refine the aether they absorbed from the air into a specialized form, they had raw aether dissolved in their blood. That meant the more traditional uses of their magic tended to be tied up with bloodletting. As a child, Taly had been surprised to learn about this little quirk in their magic, but she had become accustomed to it over the years. She only felt a little squeamish now whenever she saw Ivain and Skye slice open their hands with ceremonial daggers.
Skye gave her a knowing look as he placed the dagger directly over the crimson stain and touched the quill to the shadow crystal inlaid at the base of the blade. The script on the edge of the page began to glow as it pulled aether out of the surrounding air.
“The rune on your air crystal is starting to fade. At the very least, it needs to be re-inscribed, but I’m thinking the entire crystal is probably going to need to be replaced eventually. From what I can tell, you’re still getting aether feeding in from the shadow crystal, but the air crystal just isn’t converting it to air aether efficiently enough. For now, I can increase the amount of aether that’s getting pulled for each shot—overload the circuit—but that’s going to drain your shadow crystal pretty quickly.” Skye glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to the dagger. Dipping his quill into the inkwell, he penned a few additional crimson runes around the base of the grip before setting down his quill. “While I’m at it, do you need anything else looked at?”
“Let me check,” Taly replied, pulling out her new pistols from the holsters hidden beneath her coat and placing them on the bench for his inspection. She also retrieved a small drawstring pouch from her pack and dumped its contents out on the table. “I think that’s it. I just had the fire crystals for my lamp re-inscribed, so they should be fine, but it can’t hurt to check.”
He began picking through the little pile of crystals, occasionally holding one up to the light and running a finger over the runes carved into the surface. As he finished examining each one, he carefully placed it back in the bag. “These are fine—for now. They won’t last long, though. Whoever inscribed these runes did a piss-poor job. I’d try to fix these for you, but this is beyond my ability to patch. I’d need to get a fire mage here to look at these.” He handed the pouch back to her and then moved his attention to the pistols. “Is this what was in that package last night?” he asked, picking up one of the crystalline handguns and turning it over in his hands.
“Yup.” Taly shifted her weight nervously. “I’m testing a new theory.”
“Is this what I think it is?” he asked, scowling. He tapped the crystal frame and looked at her pointedly.
“If you were thinking hyaline, then yes,” Taly said shakily, fidgeting with one of the stray crystals on the bench. She knew Skye would have a small conniption once he found out she had been meddling in a few harmless, illegal activities, but she was hoping his curiosity would win out in the end. She really wanted his feedback on her latest idea. “And before you freak out, I only used hyaline for the frame. And the magazine. And the slide. And the barrel. Okay, it’s mostly hyaline.”
“Talya Caro!” Skye exclaimed, running an anxious hand through his hair. “What the hell were you thinking?! Hyaline? Are you crazy?”
Taly rocked back on her heels. “I know you’re mad, but you’re also curious, right?”
“Shards.” He placed the gun back on the bench with a thud. “Yes. Yes, I am. So, go on. You have one minute.”
“I can work with that,” Taly said enthusiastically, shoving him over as she sat on the bench beside him. There was barely enough room for both of them, so she had to lean into him to keep from sliding off the edge. “So, you already know that the problem with guns is the same problem with any other enchanted weapon. Once the shadow crystals expend their aether, there’s no way to charge them back up quickly unless there just happens to be a shadow mage hanging around. On top of that, any shadow crystal small enough to fit into the circuit for a handgun is only going to be able to store enough aether to fire off a few rounds—meaning that after seven or eight shots, the gun is useless. I figured out a way to fix that problem.”
Smiling, Taly depressed a small button below the barrel. A hidden compartment in the frame slid out. Carefully removing the capsule inside, she held out the rectangular piece of metal for him to see.
“What is this?” Skye held up the metal object to the window, running a finger along the surfaces of the embedded shadow and fire crystals.
“It’s a cartridge,” she explained. “This piece and the inner spring are made from an aether-conducting metal—viridian. With these, instead of installing the crystals in the gun itself, both the shadow crystal and the fire crystal for the firing mechanism get set into the cartridge. That way, when the shadow crystal runs out of power, the cartridge just pops out, and you can replace it.” Reaching into her pack, Taly pulled out a handful of identical cartridges.
Skye took the cartridges and laid them side-by-side on the bench, studying each one with rapt interest.
Resting her chin on her
hand, she continued, “This way, the gun keeps firing. And then when you drag your still-alive ass back into town, your resident shadow mage can do all the necessary handwaving and such” —she paused to demonstrate, earning a snort from Skye— “and the newly charged cartridge fits back into the chamber. The viridian still conducts aether the same way any enchanted weapon would, but the cartridge makes it interchangeable. Carry enough cartridges around, and suddenly you have a weapon that’s good for more than a few cheap shots.”
“So why use hyaline then? Why not use a metal that conducts aether?” Skye started disassembling the handgun, turning each piece over in his hands before he laid it on the bench in front of him.
Taly shrugged. “Because you don’t really need to use a conducting metal for every piece of the gun. The first firearms were made from metals because that’s just how traditional enchanted weapons are made. But this is different from, say, a sword or an ax. The entire pistol doesn’t need to conduct aether—just the firing mechanism. And since aether can’t move through hyaline, I thought it might make the aether transfer from the shadow crystal to the fire crystal more efficient. Plus, hyaline is harder than the metals used in the vast majority of weapons, and it doesn’t conduct heat.”
Skye sat stunned for a moment. “Taly, I…” He stopped, unsure how to go on. “Where did you get the idea for this?”
Taly reassembled the handgun with a few practiced motions before placing it back on the table. “Remember when Sarina taught us how humans had figured out a way to store energy in these little metal cylinders and use them as interchangeable power sources? Kinda like shadow mages and shadow crystals? It was an interesting idea, so I tried to replicate it with our materials. If there had been more interest in guns when the first enchanted firearms hit the market, I’d be willing to bet good coin the crafters in the Shadow Guild would’ve come up with something similar—eventually. But everybody just sort of lost interest in guns small enough to be carried.”
Shardless Page 9