by Kay L Moody
She pushed open her bedroom door and peeked out. Empty. With the bulging pillowcase over her shoulder, she crept into the hallway as silently as she could.
If she was caught off academy grounds and in the Crown without an ID card or pass of some sort, she would get arrested. Since she was under eighteen, she didn’t have a card yet, but she didn’t have a pass either.
Her only hope was to sneak off academy grounds, go through the palace graveyard to Ridgerock Lake, and then she’d swim through the river that ran through the Crown to the Gate.
Once she made it to the Gate, things would be easier. Security was more lax, and she had a little money. Just enough to get her to the Storm. She didn’t remember exactly where their cottage had been in the Storm, but it would easier to find than Marmie’s grave after she was buried.
Talise had been tiptoeing for the last two hallways. Now, she held her breath as she pressed her back into the wall. Two guards whispered just around the corner from her and all she could do was pray they weren’t about to walk right into her.
One minute passed.
Then two.
The muscles in her leg began to cramp. She adjusted her feet and tried to think relaxing thoughts. Her flesh shivered at the prompting of her fever.
Her legs started cramping again.
Just when she was ready to give up, the guards stopped whispering and their footsteps sounded through the hall. Were they coming her way?
She let out a breath of relief when their footsteps got progressively quieter with each step. The guard’s hallway was just around the next corner, and then she’d be off toward the graveyard.
Once outside, Talise used her pillowcase to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Fevers had always been her least favorite way to be sick. Her body began pulsing with anticipation as she walked. The closer she came to the edge of academy grounds, the more her stomach roiled.
She’d stopped looking over her shoulder now. This was happening whether her brain liked it or not. With one final glance back at the grounds, she hoisted her leg up on the gate and prepared to climb over it.
The sound of crunching gravel made her heart stop in her chest. Her eyelids dropped while the rest of her body froze.
Her only option now was to run. Whatever guard stood behind her would soon sound the alarm. Hopefully she’d have at least a few seconds to get to the lake. Maybe she could shape a fire onto the academy grounds to keep the guards from following her.
Just as she was about to thrust herself over the gate, a small voice froze her muscles again.
“Wait,” the voice said. “Just wait, please.”
Wendy. Not a guard.
Relief spread through Talise almost as completely as her fever. But no matter how relieved she was, her determination hadn’t wavered. When she turned to face her friend, she didn’t relax her grip on the gate. “You can’t stop me,” Talise said.
Wendy scrambled toward her, clutching her side and panting. “I’m not here to stop you.” Wendy’s voice was breathless yet resolute all the same.
It might have worried Talise if Wendy’s previous words weren’t busy needling through her mind. She tried to find sense in them, but none could be found. Not there to stop her? Maybe it was a trap. It didn’t seem likely from someone like her gentle friend, but she didn’t have the luxury of taking any chances. Clutching the gate even harder, Talise asked, “Why are you here?”
Wendy lugged a bag off her shoulder that seemed much heavier than Talise’s. Tossing the bag toward her, Wendy said, “Did you even think to pack food? Isn’t food scarce in the Storm? Like dangerously scarce?”
Talise caught the bag with her mouth half open. After fiddling with the knot, she peeked inside and saw her favorite fruits, breads, and a large pouch of dried meat.
Wendy shook her head and let out a sigh. “I would have packed some pastries, but I ate the last of mine a few nights ago. I haven’t had time to get more.”
Talise was still gaping at the bag of food. It was heavy but invaluable. The bread wouldn’t survive her swim in the river, but the fruit and meat would. This supply could last her weeks. It could mean the difference between death and survival. She wanted to be grateful for Wendy’s generosity, but apparently, she was still too stunned to speak. At last, she managed a quiet, “You’re not going to stop me?”
Wendy ignored the question while she dug through her pockets. When her eyes lit up, she pulled a few paper packets from them. Each was labeled with painted pictures of vegetables. Suddenly sheepish, Wendy bit her lip as she handed the packets to her friend. “I thought you might need some seeds too. I don’t know if the ground is rich enough in the Storm to grow vegetables, but some people live there, and they have to eat something, right? I figured it was worth a chance.”
Now the emotion came. Talise’s throat choked up as her eyes stung with tears. She opened her mouth to say thank you, but no words escaped. It took all her effort just to take the packets and hold them close to her heart.
They shared a glance, and it spoke more than all the words Talise had ever said in her life.
Wendy’s eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around Talise. They didn’t speak, but they didn’t have to. There was nothing to say except goodbye and goodbye was a horrible thing to say.
When Wendy pulled away, the finality of the decision started catching up to Talise.
Wendy grabbed a piece of her hair and twirled it around her finger. She always did that when she was nervous. Clearing her voice, Wendy said, “You know you can’t come back, right?”
Talise’s throat swelled.
Wendy’s voice rose up a notch. “The competition will be over by the time you get to the Storm.”
“I know,” Talise said, but the surety in her voice was as much for her own benefit as it was for Wendy’s.
“You know? Are you sure you know? Do you really understand what you’re giving up?”
“I have to be there.” This time, Talise’s words weren’t for anyone in particular. They were simply the words from her heart. The things her soul whispered into her bones.
“At her funeral?” Wendy asked. Her voice had risen again, and her lip trembled with each word. “You have to be at her funeral when she’s already dead? You have to trap yourself back in the life she wanted you to escape?”
Talise gulped. Her soul had stopped whispering. Now it was listening to Wendy and Talise didn’t like it one bit. “What about her grave? She won’t have a single mark without mine. They don’t keep grave records in the Storm. If I’m not at the funeral, I might never find her grave, and it will be bare forever.”
“If you go,” Wendy said. “You’ll give up everything Marmie wanted for you. That’s not what she would want. She wants you to have a life outside the Storm.”
“Well, that’s impossible now.” Talise turned away as she said it, pulling her arms over her stomach. The frog in her throat made it difficult to speak, but somehow, she managed. “Aaden beat me. He’s going to beat me again in front of the emperor. Why should I stay when I don’t even have a chance?”
Now the truth came out. The truth she’d been hiding even from herself. She pulled her arms tighter over her stomach, wishing she could curl into them the way she used to curl into Marmie when she was scared. A single tear began trickling down her cheek.
“So, find a way to beat Aaden.” Wendy didn’t seem to have any sympathy for Talise’s tear. “You still have three days. Make your demonstration more detailed or dangerous or something. Beat him like Marmie knew you could.”
The words sounded nice. Inspiring even. But they weren’t enough. Talise had made her decision. “I’m leaving,” she said as she wiped away the tear.
Wendy tugged at Talise’s elbow until they were facing each other. Wendy wore a frown as she stared at her friend. It seemed like she intended to change Talise’s mind with her look alone. It wouldn’t work. After a few seconds, Wendy seemed to understand. Her face slackened as a tremble shook through he
r bottom lip.
Wendy turned away and reached for another piece of her hair. In a whisper she said, “I won’t stop you.”
Talise’s heart seemed to freeze. She breathed in and out just to make sure she still could. It was so much easier being defiant. But now Wendy gave her the responsibility of the decision. It was a heavy weight to bear.
Wendy was right. Talise knew she was right. A mark on a grave wasn’t worth what she would have to give up.
But how could she leave Marmie’s grave bare? Completely and utterly bare without one single mark. The idea slashed through her like a sword and her heart bled through her bones. It didn’t matter what Marmie would have wanted. Talise couldn’t live with herself if she knew Marmie’s grave was bare.
She hoisted her leg onto the gate and ignored how her stomach sank. She ignored how her body shivered from a fever. She had to ignore it because she knew she wouldn’t last long in the Storm with a fever.
But that didn’t matter. Even if she only lived another week, it was worth it because Marmie would have a mark on her grave.
And then her own grave would be bare. Not Marmie’s.
Talise’s breath hitched as the thought of death shook through her. Fear, cold and tight pressed through her skin and gripped her.
Why couldn’t she give her life for a mark on Marmie’s grave? Marmie deserved it. Why did the survival instinct have to be so strong? Reality laid itself bare in front of Talise.
She didn’t want to die. Not yet.
She fell from the gate when she let go. Her body smarted against the gravel, but she didn’t bother breaking her fall. She just fell into a heap and pulled her knees up to her chest.
Her body shook and shivered with each sob. She didn’t know crying could hurt so much. Her muscles jumbled and her bones shattered, but it only acted as fuel for her tears. The arms in her muscles strained as she clutched her knees closer to her chest. They couldn’t come any closer, but that didn’t stop her from pulling.
She clung to them like she clung to the past. To Marmie. But the past was gone, and she had to accept that. She had to let go, or her future would crumble.
That was the truth, no matter how much she hated it.
Steeling herself against the storm inside, Talise pulled herself off the ground. She brushed away the gravel that had stuck to her. When she rolled her shoulders back, Wendy smiled.
“I know you can beat him,” Wendy said as she wiped the tears off her cheeks.
“I can’t.” Talise’s voice no longer shook with fear. Indecision had plagued her before, but now she was filled with certainty. “Not unless I change my demonstration.”
“Again? But the competition is in three days. Can’t you adjust your demonstration?”
Talise threw the bags over her shoulder as she began walking toward the academy living quarters. “No. You were right. I need something dangerous to catch the emperor’s attention. But the fire ribbons aren’t dangerous enough. I have to do something no one has ever attempted. Something no one could forget.”
THIRTEEN
WHILE RECOVERING FROM HER FEVER, TALISE THREW herself into research. After three days, her body had healed but she was getting nowhere with her demonstration. The stacks of books surrounding her were so high, she could barely see past the library table.
Flipping through the pages of her current book, she let out a groan. “There has to be someone who’s shaped ice before.”
Wendy sat across the table, pursing her lips together. Talise didn’t have to guess the thoughts running through her friend’s mind since she’d already spoken them aloud several times. Ice is too dangerous, Wendy had said. It’s impossible. You’ll regret it.
It didn’t matter how many times Wendy protested, Talise knew what she had to do. She slammed the book shut and added it to the stack on her right.
“Here’s something,” Wendy said, though she seemed to regret having to let those words out of her mouth. “It’s from Master Shaper Luca. The one who discovered internal shaping.”
The passage was only a few paragraphs, but it gave Talise the courage to hope. It came from Master Shaper Luca’s personal journal. He had lived many years ago and worked for Emperor Flarius’s grandfather.
Water shaping comes from the eyes. Everyone knows this as easily as they know earth shaping comes from the feet and fire shaping comes from the heart. Lately, I have experimented with shaping elements inside of the body. It seems they all appear in different places while inside. Air travels through the muscles and bones. Fire seems to travel through the veins. Water, which I had guessed would travel through the veins, actually seems to travel just under the surface of the skin.
I discovered something else that deserves to be taught to all shapers everywhere. A warning no one should forget. After a fair bit of fire shaping, my insides were too hot for comfort. I thought I might cool myself by doing internal water shaping, and then freezing the water. I gave myself frostbite, and one of my fingers will have to be removed. Luckily, it’s only the pinky.
I’d heard ice shaping was dangerous, but I thought because I was cooling a part of my body that was already hot, it would be fine. I was wrong. I can irrevocably say, only a fool should ever attempt ice shaping.
“Are you sure you can’t adjust your fire ribbon demonstration?” Wendy asked while twirling her typical bit of hair. Her face was all pinched up.
None of that mattered to Talise because she finally had an idea. Master Shaper Luca had attempted to cool the heat inside his body, and it still led to frostbite. She had the same thought when she practiced her fire ribbon demonstration. What if she used ice to cool the heat?
Sitting here now, she could see it was all wrong. It would never work because ice was so much colder than the normal body temperature of a human. No wonder Master Shaper Luca had gotten frostbite.
But she had another thought. A magical thought. What if she tried it the other way around?
What if she didn’t use ice to cool the heat from a fire? What if she used fire to warm her body while she shaped ice?
That was the trick. She would have to use them both at the same time. That was the skill everyone else had always missed. Both she and Master Shaper Luca originally thought they could cool parts of the body that were only slightly higher than body temperature.
But what if she froze her skin and shaped a fire through her veins at the exact same time?
Simultaneously shaping two elements was difficult. For many shapers, it was impossible. But she wasn’t just any shaper. Ten years ago, she had promised Marmie she would be the best shaper Kamdaria had ever known. Now it was time to make good on that promise.
“I need some water,” Talise said. She knocked a stack of books over as she jumped from her seat. Not bothering to right them, she scurried to the back of the library where the containers of elements were kept. Just past the nearest bookshelf, she nearly toppled over Aaden.
His eyes went wide as he scrambled to grab a book off the shelf. He was suddenly pouring over the book with a little too much enthusiasm.
“Spying on me?” Talise asked.
He slapped the book shut, dropping all pretense that he cared about the words inside. “You’ll never be able to do it. No one has ever shaped ice without regretting it.”
She lifted her chin and stepped past him coolly. Of course it had never been done, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. It was the only way she could beat him.
When she got to the back of the library, she took a bowl of water and a bowl of dirt. Before she attempted ice shaping, she needed to practice simultaneously shaping two elements. She’d start with earth and air since they were easiest for her. Maybe she’d make dirt rings and blow bursts of air through them.
Aaden was gone by the time she made her way back to the table. Why did he care so much about becoming Master Shaper anyway? He didn’t need it like she did. Then again, he was from the Crown. This was probably the first time in his life he didn’t immediately g
et the thing he wanted on a silver platter. Whatever his reason, he’d just have to live without the victory.
She bowed unconsciously to the portrait of Emperor Flarius as she passed it. His rich fire orange robes were made of silk, but he also wore a brown cloak of speckled fur. His clothes were different in some of his portraits, but the crown was always the same.
Gold with rubies embedded around the middle. Each of the tines grew up to equal height so the crown looked the same from every angle. That crown was almost as old as Kamdaria itself, and Emperor Flarius loved it.
It was only a portrait, but his eyes seemed to watch her as she walked back to the table. What would he think of her plan? If she succeeded, she’d easily become Master Shaper. But if she failed? He’d think her a fool.
Her heart pattered as she sat at the table. The thought of seeing the emperor in person always made her nervous. All she could do now was practice.
Claye had joined Wendy at the table. They both stopped talking the moment Talise appeared, giving her the impression they had been talking about her. Claye raised an eyebrow when Talise began shaping dirt rings. Both he and Wendy were surprised when Talise shaped bursts of air through the dirt. Wendy let out a breath of relief.
Talise sighed. “I’m just practicing simultaneous shaping so it will be easier when I start shaping ice.”
“You’re still going to do it?” Claye asked. He and Wendy shared a look that told her everything she needed to know about what they’d been saying behind her back.
She ignored them and kept shaping. It didn’t take long to learn two things. One, simultaneous shaping was easier when she could focus one half of her body on one element and the other half of her body on the other element. And two, that method wouldn’t work when she started shaping ice.
Hour after hour she practiced in the library. Wendy and Claye had long since left. Wendy begged her to take a break so she could come to dinner, but Talise refused. The muscles around her eyes were starting to tire from all the strain she put on them when she narrowed her eyes.