A Sea of Broken Glass

by Sonya M Black

  I grabbed a pillow and held it to my face to muffle my scream of frustration. Why wouldn’t he believe me?

  A woman opened the door, a tray perched on her hip. “Don’t mind Michel, he’ll come around.”

  “I can’t give him an answer,” I replied.

  The delicious scent of bacon wafted from the tray, and my stomach growled in response.

  The woman’s dark hair was streaked with grey. Her cheerful smile soothed my frustration. My magic hummed in recognition to hers, creating harmony between us.

  “I’m Emmy.” She came around the bed and deposited the tray on my lap, taking the pillow from my hands and arranging it behind me. “Eat up.”

  “How much did you hear?” I asked.

  “Everything, but don’t worry. I know when to keep my mouth shut.”

  Her response worried me. How much did she know about me? How much had Michel told her? A lifetime of keeping my true nature a secret made me wary.

  I spooned several heaps of sugar into the creamy bowl of porridge. My empty stomach grumbled as I took a bite. I barely tasted the first spoonful before I filled my mouth with a second.

  “Give him time,” Emmy said again as she patted my arm. “If there’s one thing I know about Michel, it’s that he always does what’s right.”

  I gave a noncommittal grunt as I inhaled another spoonful of porridge. Was going after the Heart right? Maybe I was letting the fear of becoming tainted like Ruin push me into action. But, if I didn’t act, and the Darkness found the Heart…. I pushed the tray away as my breakfast threatened to come back up.

  “Not so fast, missy.” Emmy pushed the tray back toward me. “Eat, take a bath, and then get dressed.”

  I recognized her tone. It was the same one I used on stubborn patients. There’d be no arguing with her. I buried thoughts of the Heart and tucked into the food, polishing off the bowl of porridge, three sweet rolls, a heap of scrambled eggs, and several pieces of bacon and sausage. The sooner I finished eating, the sooner I would recover and could be on my way.

  Emmy puttered around the room, humming quietly. She took the tray when I was finished. “Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

  The door closed behind her with a soft click. I breathed deeply, keenly aware that this was the first time since my arrest that I had been in a safe place by myself. I ran my fingers over the polished cherry wood dresser. It reminded me of home, of better times. Laughter around the dining table as my father told silly jokes. Bran scowling as I took the stairs two at a time. Aeron teasing me as I did my chores.

  All the good things in my life were in danger. Happiness. Wonder. The people I cherished. The Darkness threatened to taint and corrupt it all.

  The horror and degradation of the past weeks punched me in the chest. I wrapped my arms around my waist and sank to my knees in an attempt to soothe the silent sobs that wracked my body. Mixed with my memories were images from Aris. I pressed my hands over my mouth to keep from crying out.

  The memories Aris had left in my head showed me that Ruin had arranged everything. She had used her influence to have Aeron recalled to the Bastion. She’d been the one to lure Bran away so Tolbert could capture me. She’d ordered him to break me so she could corrupt me. All of it had been carefully orchestrated.

  Could I risk my safety and sanity to look for an object lost in a place that might destroy me? Was I walking blindly into a trap?

  Tears dripped down my cheeks, a river of terror and anxiety. I let myself cry it out, lancing my emotions like a festering wound.

  I was the last of the Lady’s vessels. Meant to hold the Lady’s Light or the Darkness if he found me. I hadn’t let Tolbert break me. I refused to let the fear of becoming like Ruin frighten me into doing nothing. Deep in my bones, just as I knew that the sun would rise each morning, I knew that I had to find the Heart.

  My tears slowed, and hiccups replaced them. I shuffled into the bathroom. The mirror over the wash basin revealed red-rimmed eyes in a thin face. My blotchy cheeks were hollower than they had been before my arrest.

  I scrubbed my face. A hot bath and clean clothes would set me to rights.

  As I undressed, I took the time to look at my body in the mirror, tracing my hand over the new scars on my ribs and stomach. The marks on my skin would fade. The ones on my soul… I doubted I would ever be free from them.

  The hot bath washed away the last of my tears, and I lingered in the water, trying to find the words to convince Michel that this journey was necessary. The futility of it drew a half-hearted laugh from me, and the water grew cold as I debated my options. Finally, I crawled out of the tub, ready to face whatever came next.

  Once I was dressed, I followed Emmy’s light laughter down the stairs to a bright kitchen.

  Michel glanced up from the dough he was throttling. He wore an apron covered in lace and frills, and it was all I could do to hide my smile. I would have never pictured him happy in a domestic setting.

  “You call that kneading, dearest?” Emmy elbowed him. “You’re supposed to be pushing it gently, not trying to choke it.”

  Michel wiped his hands on his colorful apron as he crossed the kitchen to me. “You look better.”

  “I feel better,” I replied.

  His magic brushed against mine in a warm ripple that danced across my skin.

  “Can we talk?” I asked.

  Michel glanced away. “You’re going to try to convince me to go after the Heart.”

  “No fighting in my kitchen,” Emmy warned.

  I grabbed Michel by the arm and dragged him into the hallway.

  “What happened to the Heart after the Lady’s fall?” I asked.

  Michel gave me a wary look. “We’ve never been able to get far enough into the Bonelands to find out.”

  “What would happen if the Darkness used the Heart?”

  Michel’s jaw took on a stubborn set. “Who’s to say the Darkness hasn’t found it already?”

  I crossed my arms. “We’d be dead.”

  Michel rubbed a hand over his chin. “I’ll concede that point.”

  “The Darkness is close to finding it.”

  “Did Aris’s memories tell you that?”

  “Yes,” I lied. Guilt over the deception niggled at me, but I had to convince Michel. I didn’t know how close the Darkness was to finding the Heart, but I’d do whatever it took to get there first. However, I couldn’t do this alone. “Will you help me?”

  Michel pressed his lips together. “Let me think about it.” He returned to the kitchen, accepted a knife from Emmy, and started chopping carrots.

  I joined them, losing myself in the simple chore of preparing a meal.

  Emmy pinched some spices from a canister and dropped them into a bowl. “I ran into Mistress Colby in the market.”

  Michel paused in his chopping. “What did she have to say?”

  Emmy nudged him with her elbow. “Keep working. Her brother is stationed at the Mining Outpost. There’s been a surge of demon activity there.”

  “That’s interesting.” Michel passed Emmy the chopped carrots.

  She scooped them up and dropped them into her bowl. “Once you leave here, how far will you make it before you’re attacked by demons again?”

  Michel gave Emmy a wry smile. “You’re taking Ris’s side.”

  “I don’t take sides, dearest.” She gave him a pointed look.

  Michel groaned. “You’re not going to let up, are you?”

  “Do you want Ris to run off on her own like Ollie did?” Emmy pointed her spoon at Michel’s chest. “You have a choice, dearest. Help her or walk away.”

  “That’s a low blow,” Michel muttered.

  Emmy shrugged. She was a force to be reckoned with.

  Michel ground his teeth together so hard I could almost hear it. He opened his mouth, then closed it before he slammed a fist onto the table and left the room.

  “That went about as well a
s I expected,” Emmy murmured.

  “He’s not going to agree,” I said.

  Emmy rolled out the dough and laid it in a pie tin. “He will. He blames himself for Ollie’s death.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s his story to tell.” Tears formed in the corners of Emmy’s eyes. She blinked a few times and cleared her throat. “He’s right. It was a low blow, but you’re a lot like my Ollie. It would kill Michel if you went off on your own and something happened.”

  “You care for him.” I helped her press the crust into the pan.

  Emmy smiled gently. “We’ve known each other for a very long time.”

  “I still don’t understand why he bound himself to me.”

  Emmy dumped the bowl of vegetables into the crust, adding chicken and spices to it before she rolled out another piece of dough. “A Sword doesn’t choose who they bond too. Their magic decides for them.”

  Light, help me, I didn’t know what to do with a Sword. A Shield defended. A Cloak hid secrets. But, Swords fought where they were ordered to.

  Did Bran know this would happen? Is that why he asked Michel to help me?

  I could use the bond to command Michel, but that felt like a betrayal. He had carried me to Easton. Had stood beside me and faced demons. Rescued me from torture. I’d command him if I had too, but the thought of doing it made my stomach hurt.

  I followed the braided bond of blue and orange magic to a small garden at the back of the house. Michel sat on a bench, head buried in his hands.

  I sat on the opposite end, next to a rosemary bush with its spicy, warm scent. “I’m sorry.”

  Michel stared into the distance. When he spoke, the words were barely a whisper, and I had to lean in to hear them. “Ollie was my partner. I trained him. Taught him everything he knew. Introduced him to Emmy. The Bastion ordered us to hunt a pack of pestilence demons causing problems in the Western Wilds.” He scuffed the toe of his shoe in the dirt. “Two paladins against a hundred demons.”

  “Light, why would they only send two of you?”

  Michel gave me a bitter smile. “The Bastion has changed. It’s no longer a haven against the Darkness. I’ve lost so many friends to bad orders given by greedy men looking to diminish the power of the original paladins and the Lords of Light. I refused the order. Ollie decided to go alone.”

  “Why?” The thought of facing that many demons at once horrified me.

  “He thought he could handle it. Thought he was strong enough. Even a Lord of Light would think twice about taking a pack that large.” Michel leaned back and stared into the distance. “Emmy is right. You’ll go off on your own.”

  “You’ll be able to find me, no matter where I go.”

  Michel snorted. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’d be running straight into danger.”

  “I’ve never met a Sword. I didn’t realize you didn’t have a choice in who you bonded.” I picked a sprig of rosemary, held it to my nose, and inhaled. “Do you regret bonding yourself to me?”

  Michel was silent for a long moment. “No, but, I worry about losing myself.”

  His magic brushed against my own and created an echo within the harmony of cellos and saxophones that vibrated between us.

  “The magic of opposites,” I replied. Working with magic opposite my own could create intense feelings. A bonded pair with opposite magic were in danger of losing control, resulting in the death of one or both people. “Our bond is so different from what I have with Aeron and Bran.” I passed him the sprig I held. “Rosemary for remembrance.”

  He held it to his nose and inhaled, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Is the Darkness really looking for the Heart?”

  I pressed my lips together, watching the breeze brush over the lush garden. “Yes.”

  “You’re sure?”

  I nodded.

  Michel took my hand in his. “Then I guess I don’t have a choice.”

  “Does that mean you’ll go with me?”

  Silence stretched between us as the spring sunshine warmed the air and butterflies flitted between flowers. I barely knew Michel, but through the bond, I sensed that he was a man who wouldn’t waiver in the face of adversity. I could trust him.

  Michel turned toward me, our hands still joined. “It means that we’ll meet up with Aeron. If you can convince him to go with us, then we’ll go. I can’t protect you by myself, especially in the Bonelands. We’ll face more than demons there, and if we find the Heart, I can guarantee that War or Plague will try to take it from us.”

  I picked at a spot on my pants. The thought of facing the other two tainted vessels scared me, but I had to do this. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, yet. You still have to convince Aeron.”

  “Aeron’s a pushover.” He was most of the time, anyway. Convincing him to follow me into the Bonelands would be a different matter. “When do we leave?”

  “As soon as Emmy says you’re well enough to travel.”

  I leaned back and closed my eyes, enjoying the sunshine and companionship. It filled the empty places left by Tolbert. The thought of leaving the safety of Emmy’s home was frightening, but I had no desire to bring trouble to her door. It was only a matter of time before the demons found me again. A day or two was all I needed to recover, and then we would journey back into danger.

  I was safe and cared for. I needed to learn to live in the moment, to enjoy what I had because it would disappear the second I set foot beyond Emmy’s sanctuary.

  09

  Aeron hated Hader’s Junction. It wasn’t much of a town. Oil lamps lit the single street, as well as the train platform, creating pools of light in the otherwise pitch-dark place. Few people and even fewer buildings. Dusty and ugly, it smelled of coal smoke and metal.

  Four days filled with nothing but the comings and goings of strangers. Aeron had memorized the train schedule and the layout of the area while he waited for Ris and Michel. Across the tracks from the station was a switchyard filled with box cars and freight. The single street that ran on the backside of the platform led to several brick boarding houses, a bathhouse, a small general store, and a restaurant. A few homes with weathered picket fences were scattered around. There weren’t many places to hide. The only real place to take cover should he need it was the switchyard, and it wasn’t promising.

  Aeron punched his thigh. Void take it, still no sign of them! Something had happened and there was no way to contact Michel to find out what. Aeron had tried contacting Bran, but there’d been no response. He was probably in his raven form, which meant he wouldn’t be able to reach his seerstone.

  The scent of fried meat drifted to Aeron from the food cart on the other side of the empty platform. His stomach rumbled, a reminder he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The evening train was due to arrive soon, and with it would come a bevy of miners on their way home from the mining settlements deeper in the hills. He prayed that Ris and Michel would be on it as well.

  Aeron’s knee bounced in place as he sat on the bench next to the ticket counter. The seerstone around his neck chimed, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. He fumbled it out from beneath his shirt and used a bit of magic to activate it.

  Llyr’s face drifted into view, his eyes lined with shadows. “Are you still in Hader’s Junction?”

  “Yes.” Aeron took a deep breath to settle his nerves. “Any sign of them?”

  “They’re on their way. They just left Easton. There were… complications.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  Llyr gave a weary sigh. “There were demons on the train.”

  “Well, it’s been so quiet here that I’m likely to go mad.”

  “We can’t have that.” Llyr offered a tired smile. “Things are getting dangerous here, too. The Council has put writs out for—” Llyr turned toward something, his expression darkening for a moment before his voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ve got to go. I’ll try to
contact you later. Be careful and whatever you do, don’t come back to the Bastion.”

  The seerstone darkened, and Aeron shoved it under his shirt. What had Llyr been about to tell him? The only time the Council issued writs was for an arrest or execution. Light, what was happening?

  Aeron chewed on a fingernail. What mattered was getting Ris to safety. If they had just left Easton, then they wouldn’t arrive until late morning. There were two trains due before then.

  Llyr’s final words echoed in his mind. Don’t come back to the Bastion. That didn’t bode well.

  When the Lady fell, the remaining Lords of Light had created the Bastion as a means to defend against the threat of demons and Darkness. They had served as the Lady’s inner circle, helping her to govern, so it seemed only right that they take up the role of leadership. As the number of original paladins and Lords of Light dwindled, they created the Council to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Bastion so that the Lords of Light could focus on finding a way to end the demon threat and send the Darkness back to the Void. As time passed, the belief that the Darkness was truly a threat diminished until the Lords of Light were relics of the past and no longer needed to protect the world.

  Whatever the Council was up to meant trouble. Sitting on a bench and worrying wouldn’t do Aeron any good. He wandered out of sight of the platform. Magic surrounded him in a flurry of drumbeats that molded and compressed his form until his skin changed to fur and he shrank into his fox form.

  His senses heightened with the shift. Sounds that had been muffled became crystal clear and his nose filled with a mish-mash of odors. He lowered his nose to the ground, taking his time to collect and sift through the various scents. A mouse moved several paces to his right. Humans. Metal and coal. Oil. He wandered through the switchyard and into the hills. Mice. Coyotes. A handful of humans. More mice. But no demons, thank the Light.

  An hour or two passed as he scouted the area and found nothing new. Boredom led him to chase rodents, hopping from one burrow to another while the critters scurried to safety. He trotted back to the station. The midnight train had arrived, steam rising around it. Travelers lined up waiting to board, subdued by the late hour and the chilly air.