The sorceress raised her brow. “Ah! The poem—in the mature sycamore’s seed.”
“If only I knew as much about where to find the Staurolite.” Lyra wanted to race off to her childhood vacation spot to get her hands on at least one of the keystones. Traveling to the portal would be difficult without a squadron to protect her. Besides, there was work to be done here. Her thoughts returned to the Staurolite. She needed more information. Nareene’s book didn’t yield any clues, and the information from the Spheres of Sidus meant no more to her than before. She still held hope that Kessa might be able to help. Lyra rose abruptly, announcing, “I’m going to stretch my legs. I’ll take this tray back to the kitchen since we’re short on staff.”
Lyra scurried along the main corridor, frustrated that the teetering glasses on the tray limited her speed.
After passing under the archway to the kitchen, the head dragon chef reached her in two strides. “Thank you for your assistance.” He bowed gracefully even with the tray in his hands.
“Is Sire Kenzo here?” She quickly returned the gesture and scanned the room, noticing Nillea along the far wall with her back to them.
“I believe he’s keeping young Kessa company in the servants’ quarters. She apparently still has a stomach ache.”
“Thank you. I’ll find him there.” She spun on her heel before Nillea spotted her.
Down the short hall on the left, Lyra found rows of closely spaced doors. She walked along, until hearing Kenzo’s chortles mixed with Kessa’s giggles coming from an open room. Inside, the view made her smile.
The two sat on a hooked rug engrossed in some game with a small ball the size of a golf ball. The girl covered her eyes with her hands while the owl hid the ball in one wingtip or the other. His silver aura glittered across the feathers of both wings. After much motion back and forth, he stopped and called out, “Which wing?”
Kessa wiggled with delight but kept her fingers tight over her eyes. “Left!” In a flash, she lowered her hands and grabbed for the end of the owl’s left wing. “I was wrong. Do it again. Lyra threw me off. I’ve gotten so many right. Let me try again.”
They repeated the game, and she scrunched her face before selecting the correct one that time. “I know what I have to do. Think harder.” She poked her forehead with two fingers and stuck out her tongue at the owl.
“Lyra was a good test, a distraction. You must learn to focus in order to see through a cloak of magic.”
“Impressive game,” Lyra said, joining them on the rug.
He let out a hearty laugh. “It helps to have magical wings.”
She rubbed Kessa’s shoulder. “I’m so glad you’ve made friends with Kenzo. He’s special to all of us. And you are too.”
The girl beamed and scooted next to Lyra.
“Is your stomach ache better?”
Kessa giggled. “My maema’s funny. I never had a stomach ache. She wouldn’t let me play with Kenzo, but I begged so hard she gave up.” She turned to face Lyra. “I want to help you. What do you need me to do?”
“Kessa dear,” the voice of her mother called down the hall. “I’ve brought my little kinchin her favorite noodle soup for lunch.”
Kenzo snapped to attention and, with one wing, gave Lyra a push in the direction of a connecting door.
Once out of Nillea’s notice, they waited until her voice spoke in the next room before they hurried along the servant hall to the main corridor. Lyra motioned him to follow her into the study, which she knew would be empty with everyone on patrol.
“Great work with the training games. I’m impressed. You’re having an effect; Kessa seems more relaxed about her magic. She’s willing to help me. Did you learn any more?” She looked at the owl expectantly.
“I think this may be important. I was present when Kessa slept. When she rose, I saw her legs without the braces. There are long scars over her knees from some serious injury. I asked her what had happened. She tensed and didn’t want to talk about it, but after some kind pressing, she mentioned a name—Ashbine. She wouldn’t explain further.”
“Ashbine? Is that a person or a place?”
“It’s a male name. I only know one Ashbine, a kind elderly magical who has helped the flower fairies in the Meadow for as long as I can remember. He wouldn’t harm anyone.”
“Something very bad has happened to Kessa. Considering how overprotective Nillea is, I’m sure there is some connection between the injury and how she keeps the girl from her magical gift. Good work.’
“I’ll see what I can learn about anyone else by that name in the Alliance…and keep up the fun games to train a seer.” He raised one eyebrow, then the other, and smacked his beak. “I think I deserve double pay. This job of training a seer is hard work.”
Lyra laughed and ruffled the feathers along the top of his neck. It felt good to trust in his friendship.
Chapter Thirteen: Evil Waters
Lyra hoped the clues for finding the Pearl of Pendola from the third Scribe would be as easy to follow as those left by Nareene. Lyra prepared her notes with the basics. The pearl keystone, corresponding to the water element, connected in some way to the Sea of Cogadh that lies on one border between Alliance and Dark Realm territories. The opal in her invisibility ring was a secondary water gem. She smiled, thinking of Gea, the golden dragon who’d given Lyra that ring during her first quest as a Scribe. She hoped Gea and her son, Yasqu, stayed safe during the battles.
The third Scribe used a different writing style, one Lyra struggled with. Unlike Nareene’s choppiness, Sorcha’s sentences were long and flowery, hiding important facts. Lyra wondered how those women in her family, all born under birthmate stars of fire, could have such different personalities. Many had told her she resembled Elisabeth—a fact confirmed by the Spheres of Sidus. As a literature professor, getting the chance to sample the writing of the others made that point more than clear. After several minutes of paging back and forth, she located the beginning of an important scene.
Impatient to get these studies finished and go out and find the actual keystones, she started reading aloud when only the Tortoise sat with her. Mimio rustled in the upper level archives for something.
“Ready?” She glanced up at the Guardian.
He nodded. “Please.” He waved his front foot.
“This looks like it will be difficult to determine the magic underneath all the descriptions. Bear with me if I pause to grasp meanings.”
The inky waters of the churning Sea of Cogadh lay at my feet. Although not peaceful and serene, the surface held a special beauty with its myriad undulations I likened to the millions of snowflake designs in winter, which always left me in awe despite the harshness of surrounding conditions. A bitter wind wound under my clothing and caused me to shiver.
A tremendous sea monster, drooling slime and seaweed from extended fangs, rose to the surface to examine who invaded its territory.
I fell backward along the coarse sand, which itself seemed hostile, shredding the skin of my palms. I was grateful that the beast took no liking to my guide—the great seer, Heilia. She brought me constant wonder. Every part of her being: the infallible nature of her seeing magic; her gentleness with those who needed help; her resolution to solve wrongs; her unique sense of individuality and style. I aspired to be like her.
She held the monster with the steady gaze of her jade green eyes, then positioned her hand parallel to the sea and pushed downward.
The beast descended back from where it came.
When indigo waters covered the last of its rising bubbles, I glanced at her. I felt safe in her company despite the evil that permeated both air and water in this tormented environ.
“This way.” She led me for a distance, traversing nearly the entirety of the western shoreline. “We walk the perimeter for you to experience with your own senses the dread and vile magic that fills this sea.” She raised her arms wide across the body of water, her silky long blond hair flowing in the wind. Fingers sprea
d wide against the ominous sky, she collected readings in the center of her open palms, and, in turn, emitted electrical power that sizzled through the air. “It once was a place of rapturous beauty. No longer.” She stopped at what appeared to be a shallow catch basin. “This is the enchanted tidal pool. Your task may seem deceptively simple.”
“The Imperial Dragon appealed to me to find the Pearl of Pendola within this exact pool and use my scribal magic to dislodge the evil enchantment which holds it. The pearl is to be placed in the hands of whatever goodness I find remaining in this sea.”
“Correct. Can you see the pearl?”
I shook my head and knelt for a closer examination. Even at that shallow depth, the murkiness hindered my sight of the bottom, which was glutted with a dense, matted network of reeds and floating seaweeds. Water snakes, dark as the black evil-stained rushes, coiled and hissed more the closer I leaned down, grimacing when my pale braid fell into the miasma.
“Follow the course I set for you. Apply the calming magic I gave you to settle the turmoil.”
I reached into my pocket for the talisman, gritting my teeth as my hand carried it toward the slimy surface. Upon impact with the surface, the water cleared and the growth parted from my hand. “It’s working. I can see through to the bottom.”
Lyra broke away from her reading. “The swampy murk is confusing my interpretation. Sorcha’s descriptions include as much magic as the action.” She rubbed a hand along her opposite forearm. “I can actually feel the slime on my skin.” She shivered, looked down at the book, and continued.
“Circle the pool’s perimeter until you locate the pearl. Once you do, reach for it with your other hand. It should release from the bottom for your scribal powers.” Her voice remained calm and clear, reassuring.
I followed her guidance, and the Pearl of Pendola came to rest in my left hand. No sooner had I raised it past the surface but the waters of main sea lifted into fierce waves thrashing and pounding the shore. Their force toppled us both.
Heilia ran higher on the shore. Her hands splayed open, palms alternately reading the skies and waters. “Sorcha, our path out is closing soon,” she shouted to me. “You must not allow the pearl to be returned to the way of evil in the enchanted pool. Find a goodly creature and permit it to take possession. Then leave the talisman in the pool to secure the trade. Once that is completed, goodness will hold a rank equal to evil. No creature will be able to steal away the pearl.”
A dozen russet and vermillion hued sea beasts, larger than the first, rose from the main waters of the sea. Their necks coiled and sprung forward, jaws snapping all around me. Icy storm surges washed the feet from under me over and over. The evil in the waters of the sea worked against my purpose, stinging my eyes with its spray, preventing me from scanning for a goodly recipient. At length, I noticed a small sea nymph, whose long blue hair with a halo of similarly colored aura told me with certainty she was of the Alliance.
She thrashed to remove herself from the area of the monsters, and I followed along the shoreline to a rocky outcropping.
I crawled over the craggy surface, my fingers clawing any available crevice. Repeatedly my feet slipped from under my weight, the leather of my soles providing little traction. I glanced up, praying that Heilia held the monsters at bay.
A knock at the library door made Lyra jump. The guard poked his head inside. “Sire Kenzo has urgent need to speak with Scribe Lyra.”
Lyra pulled her feet under her and quickly stepped outside the library. She studied the owl’s face. “What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?”
“No. Be calm. No one is hurt. This won’t take long.”
Lyra let out a sigh. Realizing her tension came, in part, from her current reading, she clasped her amulet and took a deep breath. “We can talk for a moment in that conference room across the hall.”
In the other room, as soon as she shut the door behind them, he blurted out, “Ashbine is a boy of thirteen, a villager who is rumored to be the bastard son of Eburscon.”
Lyra thought her eyes would pop out of her skull. “Eburscon? No!” She clenched her hands into fists. “You’re telling me that Eburscon’s son injured Kessa so badly she must forever wear braces to walk?”
“Yes. Somehow. With the greens now attacking, I can’t get back to where the villagers are secured, or I’d find out for sure what happened.”
“This is serious. That means Eburscon, through communication with his son, probably knew the girl was a seer…and that I’d need her to solve the clues. That vile rat!”
“Most of the lair’s workers, including the gossips, were sent to be in hiding with their families. Let me try the female cook. I think I can charm her enough.”
Lyra’s brow dropped low over her eyes. “You do that and try to get Kessa to talk more openly about her injury. Do not go back to the Village. I worry enough about Yasqu and Cullen. I try to trust that Noba is safe.” She looked him square in the eye. “Promise me.”
“I promise I will stay here in the lair.”
“I have to get back to the others and my studies. I’m glad you interrupted. It was the right thing to do. As soon as the Imperial Dragon returns, I’ll discuss this with him. Until then, keep things quiet.”
“Agreed.” He flew through the door as she opened it.
Now three times as flustered, Lyra returned across the hall.
Mimio stared at her. “You’re flushed. Is anyone hurt?”
“No. Kenzo is working on something for me since it’s more important for me to be here. If either of you leave the library and see that the Imperial Dragon is back, please let me know. I need to speak with him as soon as possible.” She poured herself a glass of water and took her seat. “Let’s keep going. I need to be finding these stones rather than talking about them.” She pointed to the page. “I left off just as the monsters were chasing Sorcha for the pearl.”
A gigantic bubble of blue vapor surrounded and protected me. “My aura will care for us,” the nymph said as she climbed with agility up the opposite side of the rocks, meeting me at the apex.
Trusting the vibrations of her power, I handed her the pearl. “Keep this secure for the Alliance.” The moment it passed, the waves dropped, the surface settled into a glasslike calm.
“That I can do. Get to shore quickly. My aura will not reach far.”
The sea monsters heads hung directly above us, hissing and moaning as though in pain.
My every limb trembled. I darted high onto the beach, not looking backward for an instant. My stride widened and I increased my pace, turning parallel to the shore, then cutting out to the tide pool. I submerged my entire arm up to the shoulder into the chill water, not paying any mind to the tangle of snakes and rushes sliding over my skin while I lodged the talisman in a deep crevice beneath a rock.
With the act completed, the monsters gnashed their teeth in a final show of angst, then slowly submerged.
A film of oil drifted across the surfaces of both the sea and pool. The water below, where I could see through, appeared ultramarine while the oily layer a deep sanguine red as though something had bled to death. I shuddered and looked for Heilia.
She motioned me to join her. “Come. You have satisfied the Imperial request. The pearly essence of the surface reveals how good and evil now fairly coexist in this environ.”
The outcome of fair representation at the boundary between good and evil seemed just. As we walked, the reddish film lapped at the shore, staining the sand black. Yet, when the tide receded, the sunlight picked out tiny particles of silvery-blue mica and set them ablaze to signal the heavens.
Lyra leaned back with a big sigh. “Phew! That sounded and felt terrifying.”
“It did,” replied the Tortoise. “I had no idea.”
Mimio stretched her back and poured a cup of tea. “We learned more about the great seer, Heilia. Quite an amazing lady.”
“Yes. I wanted to know more about her. I wonder if there are connections between her and the P
earl of Pendola, maybe the other keystones as well.” Lyra scribbled random thoughts from the reading into her notebook. “Do journals exist that tell about her—how she used her powers?”
The Tortoise pushed back from the table. “I can find that information within an hour at the most. We can discuss that topic over dinner and save this evening to study the last of the books, the one written by Brigid. Is that agreeable to you both?”
“Fine with me,” Lyra replied, on her feet and walking around the tables.
“Me too.” The sorceress followed him. “Let me assist you.”
Lyra moved her shoulders in wide circles to release stress. The Tortoise didn’t seem to suspect anything from her question, but then she knew he’d take any historical research seriously. She paced in front of the windows, watching for any sign of the squadrons led by Yord and Cullen or the Imperial Dragon.
Chapter Fourteen: Sibyls and Seers
Lyra picked at the chicken pot pie, swirling a fork through her mashed potatoes.
Between mouthfuls, the Tortoise peered at the journal beside his plate. “This entry states that star readers, the sibyls of the Qumeli tribe, were used to train Heilia.”
“That makes sense with the report in this reference,” Mimio replied. “Sibyls and seers are related. It says that seers do utilize energies of nature to guide them in connecting clues from their own auras. Sibyls read nature directly, stars as their primary information source, but use all facets of nature to make predictions.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. What is the difference between a seer and a sibyl?” Lyra asked, glancing out the window again.
“Sibyls are much more common. They begin with signs they find in nature and then guess at a story which connects them. The process a seer experiences is the opposite. They begin with their natural seeing ability, which presents disconnected bits or threads. Nature can be one of the tools a seer uses to connect his or her intuitive information. Weaving the information into a logical sequence that can help people, requires training for both seers and sibyls.” Mimio raised her eyes above the book to look at Lyra. “Does that help?”
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