by Helen Savore
“You knew it’d be me?” Jamie pushed himself out of the chair and stood.
“Jamie, Moralynn would never trade me away.”
“Trade?” He touched the arm of Alexandrea’s chair and knelt. “I thought this was about some lessons, some sort of allegiance, pleading to be allies and all that.”
She leaned her head towards his and looked at him sadly, but did not touch him. “Jamie, they’d probably want you at Llehfin. They’re not coming here.”
Jamie smiled. “Unlike Adhomai?”
Her eyes rolled. “You can’t deny he was right about this.”
“So he knew more than us this one time.” Jamie leaned closer. “He does have a few years on us, you know.”
“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said about him.” She shifted back. “But that’s not the point right now.”
“So, going off into the fae. I could almost do that.”
“Almost?” Her eyebrows furrowed.
Jamie shifted and gripped both armrests, boxing Drea in as he looked her in the face. “I did promise you I wouldn’t leave you. But what if we left together?”
She stopped moving. Jamie’s gaze latched on to the beat of a vein in her slender neck. “Together?” she finally whispered.
“Why not?” He stood and offered her a hand.
She took it, but only for a moment.
Jamie walked to a different corner of the room, trying to figure out how to put it. “Drea, we’re more than this—this daily life. You’re not just a librarian, and I’m more than a medic.” He laughed. “Well, I could be. They call me a Smith, too.”
Her mouth twitched. “Jamie, do not discount your life sense.”
“I don’t.” He clapped and pointed. “If you felt so alone, why did you stay here?”
Her gaze wandered around the room. “This is my life, Jamie. I was born here, I was raised here. For as long as possible, I will live here.”
Jamie stroked his chin. “Drea, we’re some of the few humans who know there’s something else.” He stood in front of her again. “Just let it go.”
“I can’t.”
He stifled a groan. He didn’t understand. Why was she fighting? Jamie thrust out his hand. “Let this normal life go. You can be so much more, Drea. Take my hand. We’ll do it together.”
“I can’t.” Her eyes narrowed, and she shot up, knocking his hand aside. “But you will. You always run away.”
He interrupted her before she could continue. “Run? Maybe because I haven’t found where I’m supposed to be. What if this is it, Drea?”
Now her eyes opened wide. “What has this been to you?” She motioned between them. “I told you I couldn’t do this if I was going to lose my friend again.”
“Hey.” Jamie grabbed one of her hands and stroked it. “This is me and you. I’m not giving up on us.”
“You’re leaving.” She snatched her hand out of his.
“Okay.” It was hard to be tender when she was arguing like this. “Not that I’m saying yes, but what happens if I say no?” He pointed out the window. “Moralynn doesn’t get the location of the Phoenix Grail. What then?”
“We continue to search—”
“For the rest of our lives?”
She took a deep breath. “Adhomai saw—”
“Adhomai saw barely anything. He gives the Grail to Moralynn, right? That has nothing to do with either of us. Neither of them are dying anytime soon. It may not happen in our lifetimes.” She didn’t disagree. He breathed, “Unless… what if these are the very actions that led to what Adhomai saw?”
She blinked and shook her head. “No, no.” She turned away and ran into a bookcase. Jamie blocked her before she could retreat back to her favorite chair.
“Something has got to give, Alexandrea Lynn Morgan. Moralynn is getting reckless. We are getting attacked by fae.” He pounded a finger into his palm. “Shit is happening.”
Alexandrea put a hand out to him, not quite cupping his face. “I wish I could hold time still.”
He leaned into the hand. “Well, until you figure that out, dear Drea, we have to keep moving forward.”
“If you leave, I can’t—”
“Don’t finish it.”
She opened her mouth, but said nothing.
“Don’t say something you’ll regret.”
They both stared at each other and did not speak.
“Viviane is here,” Adhomai’s voice broke their plateau. Jamie refused to look. “She—”
“Jamie, don’t leave me alone.”
Over the past few months he had been cut, bruised, beaten, and wrecked in ways he could not imagine, and he had bounced back. But Drea’s eyes in that moment hurt him, and his healing could do nothing to fix it.
He grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “I am not leaving you. You’re not following.”
Jamie stormed out. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t hold back either. Why was she refusing to see there was a way for both of them in this? He was willing to walk away from everything, didn’t that count for something? His hands curled into fists, and he held them to his side, lest they stray to where they should not go.
“Viviane!” he yelled as he burst into the courtyard. Thinking better of his behavior, he gave a slight bow. “I accept.”
“I must have a look at you first.”
Jamie turned. The voice had come from somewhere behind Viviane. His gaze dropped. This fae was much shorter. A dwarf? He was taller than the squats Jamie had faced at Harlech, but was undeniably shorter than everyone else. He was covered in coarse brown hair, underneath a plate armor. Jamie would almost have mistaken him for an animal if not for his eyes. Black, but more lively than Viviane’s. Something glinted within.
Jamie curled his fingers. “And now that you’ve had a look at me?”
The dwarf shuffled away from the fountain, towards the corner of the garden with the flowers. He used his hammer haft as a walking stick.
Viviane’s fin pointed to the dwarf. “This is Master Gasperion, Ascendant of the Llehfin.”
Jamie sensed he had already acted poorly, but had no idea what he should actually do. Moralynn’s eyes were stone. Viviane’s did that weird sideways blink.
A thump on the ground returned his attention to Gasperion.
“I understand you do not know the craft, Jamie, but you have demonstrated the potential. Show me.”
He lifted the hammer into the air.
“Me?” Jamie frowned. “I’m not sure what to do. I’ve never really thought about it.”
Viviane titled her head and spoke, “Remove your earth foci. He needs to see.”
Jamie felt a chill that had little to do with lifting his shirt. Just what had Viviane seen when he commanded the dagger? First the arm ring came off, and then a bracelet he hid on his wrist beneath a sports band. He had to dig into the shin guards he had taken to wearing full-time, removing the earth plate. “Okay, what now?”
“Take my hammer.”
Jamie studied it. Gasperion stood three meters away. It wasn’t far, but it might as well have been kilometers with no earth foci to move it. He tried breathing deeply. He wasn’t sure how he had called that foci back at Harlech. It was different, though, something about that moment. He looked to the hammer. It must be something similar to earth shaping. He could almost sense it. It made sense for Smiths to have an affinity for metal if they were expected to work it. He couldn’t grasp it or shove it away. He couldn’t use the earth sense itself. No, he stared deeper at the hammer, more directly this time.
And who was more direct than Jamie?
“Come,” he said.
He offered a cupped hand to the air as he commanded the hammer. Then it was there.
Now in his hand, Jamie could not stop gazing at it. The detail was fine, though he did not understand what it was telling him. He couldn’t fully appreciate the craftsmanship, so it would teach him that. He was admiring the matrix of scroll work when Gasperion appea
red by his side.
“Well, there are still formalities to observe.” He tapped the hammer.
Jamie looked down, loath to let it go.
Their eyes met.
Jamie still did not understand, but he recognized a kind of camaraderie in Gasperion, and something he could respect. This alien creature had somehow become familiar to him in a moment. Or was it Jamie himself who had changed?
He gave up the hammer and felt a wave of relief. How did he come to relate to an inanimate object?
“Ah, my thanks,” Jamie said aloud. It was strange to hear his voice in the air after sensing it through the eyes and metal. Jamie planted the head into the ground and leaned against it.
“Jamie, I look forward to calling you child.” He reached out and clasped Jamie’s leg. “The Llehfin have a different understanding of Smiths than most.” His dark eyes shifted to the others; Adhomai and Alexandrea had come into the courtyard. He spoke softly. “The way you have come to it could help, but it will not be easy.”
Jamie ducked. He didn’t like looking down on Gasperion, it didn’t feel right. “I’ve never been a fan of easy.”
“I see that, boy.” He thumped Jamie’s shoulder. “Take your time with your goodbyes. We are in no rush.”
Moralynn’s voice cut the moment. “But I am.”
Gasperion circled around to take on Moralynn’s glare. “Has it not been years yourself, Phoenix Sparked?” He thrust the hammer haft into the ground again. “There is virtue in patience.”
Viviane looked to Moralynn and caught Jamie’s eye. “If you are committed, then I will not wait.”
Jamie looked to Alexandrea. She had gotten herself together, but still he felt that hurt again, like his insides were bottoming out.
He gritted his teeth. He was not wrong. “I will go.”
Viviane nodded. She turned and tapped Moralynn. “Then I have a story to tell.” She led her away from the rest.
Jamie walked to Drea, his arms hanging loose at his sides. This time, though, she didn’t hold back. A moment later she was in his arms, holding him tight. “Jamie…”
“Drea, I have to do this.”
She lifted her head from his chest. “I know. Still, it hurts. It hurts a lot.”
“Don’t worry, Drea.” He patted her shoulders. She could just join him, but he knew it wasn’t the time to repeat it. “It hurts me, too. We’ll figure it out.”
Moralynn’s shriek interrupted them. “Volcano?”
44
“Mount Etna. Hidden in Oberon’s Wrath.” Adhomai raised arms towards the volcano’s mouth. “Who said you have no poetry left in your soul, Moralynn?”
A rare smile pulled at Moralynn’s lips, but she shook her head.
He nodded to Alexandrea instead. “Is the turn of the phrase your work, Phoenix Sparked heir?”
Alexandrea exhaled. “I wish. I believe it was Viviane’s.”
Jamie touched her shoulder. “You shouldn’t encourage him.”
She tilted her head. “And your sparring does nothing of the sort?”
Her tone was sharp, and she knew it. It was petty to be mad about Jamie’s willingness to walk away, but it tied in to so many other things. To some extent she still couldn’t believe there was someone else, even after all these months, with a part he could play, that did not diminish her own role.
But he was right, and this was the way. She would do her part. No reason to sulk with the time they had left. Strangely enough Moralynn hadn’t wanted to proceed immediately after learning this potential location from Viviane. She took Adhomai back to the fae realms briefly—with Viviane’s help—in order to pilfer a few more fire foci from his family. Alexandrea didn't know the particulars, but she was surprised Adhomai had their support. Most did not respect Moralynn properly. What had he said to his folk?
Jamie raised an eyebrow. “That’s practice.”
“And this was a compliment.” Alexandrea nodded.
Moralynn passed all three, and glanced back. “Your playful words do not help us to find the workshop.” She smiled and trudged on through the rock and soot.
Alexandrea giggled. It was a reprimand, but the way Moralynn said it made it sound almost merry. She hadn’t had a reason to be pleased in a long time. The Grail truly was here, wasn’t it? Maybe the return of hope would make the transition easier. It was hard to believe not even a year ago they were waiting on Boderien's experiments to create a replica. But, now, they would have the Grail in hand, and it would be time for her to summon the Phoenix.
“We need to look for fissures or caverns that have a view from the ocean.” Moralynn pointed to the Mediterranean Sea east of the isle.
Jamie’s gaze swung back and forth. “Look, I’m loving the more positive hope, but seriously, how far could Viviane see from the ocean? Why didn’t she come and check for herself?”
Alexandrea crouched down to the soil and trickled some of it through her fingers. It wasn’t just dirt. It was more fine rock than anything, reflecting a rainbow of colors when it hit by the light.
Jamie’s point was a good one, but she didn’t think Viviane purposefully lied to them. “The sea level was likely different back then, but not enough so to put the mountain directly on the coastline.” Alexandrea frowned. “Moralynn, what exactly did Viviane say again?”
“She found Morgana making several trips to Sicily. Instead of crossing nearer to the mainland, she came here, to the volcano.”
Adhomai kicked at the dirt. “I do sincerely hope there is more to it than that.”
“Get off my side, Adhomai.” Jamie kicked a large stone. “That story doesn’t explain why Viviane didn’t check herself.”
Moralynn halted and frowned. “When Viviane determined Morgana was not using the Grail for ill, she let it lie. She didn’t want to lead others to it and figured it was better lost. No one remained who could wield it.”
Alexandrea stepped beside Moralynn and patted her mentor on her thick-chained shoulder. “You were still asleep?”
She nodded. “Raebyn may not have sent me to my death, but I lay injured and struggling for many, many years.”
“He tried to kill you, too?” asked Jamie. “Does he just muck everyone up?”
Alexandrea waved off Jamie. “It’s a long story. But I’m more curious about this one. Moralynn, how did Viviane know Morgana wasn’t abusing the Grail?”
“Her absence,” Adhomai interrupted while walking past a peculiar pile of rocks that resembled dull coral. “She made no plays, no demands. At some point, she presumably died.”
“Correct. There came a time when she stopped visiting the island.” Moralynn looked to the horizon. “It is possible that Viviane lost her, but what are the chances Morgana found a way to continue to live, yet stay away from all water beds?”
“Unlikely.” Alexandrea’s gaze drifted to the horizon, too. They weren’t quite to the top, though Alexandrea wasn’t sure that was the best way to search. The view was certainly more spectacular the higher they climbed. Alexandrea’s heart leapt. The earth itself held a lot of wonders for a small hometown girl. She didn’t need to seek the fae realms for that.
But, if they found the Grail, there would be little time for leisure.
Jamie sank to the ground, putting a hand to the blackened dirt.
“Jamie, what’re you doing?” She hoped that didn’t sound too critical. Maybe he’d spotted something? She dropped next to him to take a closer look.
“I know Moralynn likes a hands-on approach, but this place is too big. We could trample all over the surface and not find anything. Because we won’t.” He winked at her. “If someone was stashing something hundreds of years ago, it’s in a chamber inside, right?”
“A fair point.” Moralynn crossed her arms. “I do not understand how sitting on the ground will help. We should remain mobile to cover more space.”
“I need contact to help with sensing through earth. At least with deep searching like this.”
Moralynn raised an e
yebrow. “I do not believe you have the sensory acuity to search an entire mountain.”
Jamie nodded. “You’re right.” He shifted to put both hands on the ground. “So help me.”
“Wide searches haven’t help in the past,” Adhomai said.
“No,” Jamie said, shaking his head, catching Alexandrea’s eye. “Except this time we’re not looking for a thing, we’re looking for caverns.”
“Actually…” Alexandrea fingered her cymbal bracelet. Funny how she drew strength from it even when she wasn’t trying to magically influence people. “Moralynn and Adhomai, you should still help search for caverns, but Jamie, could you find foci with your Smith senses?”
“I don’t know. I can certainly try.” He crinkled his forehead. “Still haven’t quite figured it out, it’s kinda like a command, but one time it was desperation and the other time…” He shrugged, then looked from Moralynn to Adhomai. “Are we doing this?”
Moralynn shed her gauntlets and dropped to the ground.
Adhomai muttered as he knelt, too. “I had thought to touch the Grail with my hands, not my senses, but I shall assist as well.”
Alexandrea considered reaching out as well, feeling left out. But she knew her strengths, and this was not one of them.
She instead watched and ensured their safety. Luckily nobody trudged through this section of the slopes at this time of day, so she had less to worry about from people spotting weird activity.
Moralynn fell into a slow, steady pattern of breathing, and Adhomai was so still he could have been dead.
Jamie was not having an easy time of it. His eyes blinked rapidly and his breathing slowed. “There are many pockets. Many bubbles.” He brought his hand up from the ground. “There have probably been a lot of eruptions since then.”
He took in a deeper breath and plunged his arms deep into the soil, burying them to the elbow. Ash swirled about him. His eyes closed, and Alexandrea thought she could hear the hint of a roar passing through his mind as he searched farther through the mountain.
Something nudged her feet, and she jumped.
It wasn’t an animal. A glittering crystal radiated out from where Jamie’s arms entered the earth, and it was growing.