Storm Glass (11 page)

  Zitora stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her pants. “I wish I could stay and investigate more, but we need to go. And-” she smiled “-it seems I can’t leave Opal alone without her getting into trouble.”

  Her words reminded me. “Did the city guards find Blue Eyes in the alley?”

  Zitora sobered. “When we returned, he was gone. And they haven’t found any trace of him.”

  My skin crawled with the feeling of being watched by Blue Eyes. I crossed my arms and rubbed my hands along my upper arms. The pain reminded me of how close I had come to being captured and of my inexperience with fighting. “All the more reason to practice with my sais.”

  “And more reason for me to ask around. See if I can discover any helpful information,” Kade said. “I’m sure Varun will be fine for another day.”

  “Be careful,” Zitora said. “He’s armed.”

  “I’m a Stormdancer! Mere metal is nothing compared with the power of a storm.” Kade made his voice boom and spread his arms wide. His eyes sparked with humor. “I. Am. Invincible.”

  “Until a happy wind blows,” I said.

  “Curse those sunny days.”

  “The bane of your existence.”

  “The scourge of society.”

  “The downfall of decency.”

  “And boring, too. Nothing like a good gale to put a spring in your step.” Kade grinned.

  It was the first real smile I’d seen from him. His stern demeanor disappeared; replaced by a carefree mischievousness. There was an inner fire in his soul. Muted by grief and loss, but there all the same.

  “All right, that’s enough,” Zitora said. “Kade, send us a message if you learn anything.”

  “Yes, sir,” he snapped and probably would have saluted if Zitora hadn’t pushed him out the door.

  Zitora and I raced to Booruby. She was determined to get there as quickly as possible without exhausting the horses. At different times during the five-day journey, I wished I were a horse, wished I was back at the Keep and even wished for a day of rain to slow our brutal pace. The Barbasco yams only helped with aches and pains, not bone-deep fatigue.

  On the afternoon of the fifth day, I caught sight of the brick smokestack from my family’s glass factory. I cried out and urged Quartz faster through the busy streets of Booruby. Located on the far east side of the city, our buildings were the last ones before the Avibian Plains. Funny how I never considered the flat grasslands of the Plains to be so welcoming before.

  The commotion from our arrival was loud enough to draw Ahir from the factory. I never thought I would be so happy to see my brother. I slid off Quartz in time to be knocked over by Ahir.

  “Ugh…you’re heavy. Do you have sand in your pockets?” I asked.

  “You wish,
big
sister.” Ahir helped me to my feet.

  The top of my head reached his nose. He had grown at least six inches since I had visited during the hot season, towering over my own five-foot seven-inch height.

  “Now you can’t call me your
little
brother anymore.” He smirked.

  “Sure I can, Ahir. No matter how big and fat you get, you’ll always have a
little
brain.”

  “You wish, snake spit,” he countered.

  “I know, fly breath.”

  “Opal, that’s enough. We’re on a time schedule,” Zitora said in exasperation. “Ahir, where is your father?”

  His eyes lit up. “Is Opal in trouble?”

  Ahir ignored her annoyed frown, relishing the possibility that I might be in trouble.

  “Ahir, you don’t want to keep
Master
Cowan waiting,” I said.

  “Oh boy! You must be in
big
trouble.” He rubbed his hands together. “He’s in the factory, working with Mara.”

  Ahir trailed behind us like a dog hoping for treats. Zitora hesitated on the threshold of the building. The heat and roar from the eight kilns presented a physical force, but she pushed through. To me, the thick air and pulsing growl wrapped around me like a favorite blanket. Home.

  My father worked at a gaffer’s bench with my sister assisting him. His wide, adept hands pulled and plucked at the molten glass with ease. Hunching over his work, he didn’t notice us. The familiar sight of his broad shoulders and strong back tugged at my bruised body. I wanted to hop into his embrace so he could make everything all right again.

  Instead, I signaled to Mara. She paused in her duties and sent me a welcoming smile. Her perfectly shaped features and wide tawny-colored eyes attracted men to her like snakes to the heat. She had gotten Tula’s and my share of beauty. With her long golden curls and curvy figure, she had the complete opposite of my, with my straight hair and athletic build. While all of us had brown eyes, hers were light and interesting; Tula’s and mine were dark brown and ordinary. Ahir’s were almost black, which matched the color of his short moppy hair.

  I let Mara know we would wait for Father outside. Ahir tried to come with us, but Mara snapped her fingers at him and pointed to another kiln. He hung his head and slouched back to work.

  “It’s an oven in there,” Zitora exclaimed. “How do you stand it?”

  I shrugged. “Growing up, I spent more time in the factory than the house. Probably the reason I hate the cold.” I rubbed my arms. “It gets really hot when all eight kilns are fired. Eight is too many for my family to handle, so we hired a few locals, two uncles and a bunch of cousins to work the kilns. Shifts help with heat exhaustion. My father makes us take a break after each piece we make.”

  When my father came outside, his shoulders brushed the doorway. He squinted. In the sunlight, his resemblance to Ahir was unmistakable. Although only a few black strands remained in his short gray hair and Ahir still had a couple more inches to grow before catching up with Father’s height.

  “Opal.” Father crushed me in a bear hug.

  I suppressed a wince. Five days of hard riding had not been conducive to healing. My injuries remained tender to the touch. He released me.

  “Father, I would like to introduce you to Master Cowan, Second Magician. Master Cowan, this is my father, Jaymes Cowan.”

  He shook her hand, and invited us inside the house for refreshments. Heat and the smell of molten glass radiated off his body.

  Zitora declined. “It’s an urgent matter. Is there a private place we can talk?”

  He shot me a look of alarmed concern. A familiar situation. If I had been guilty of any misdeed, I would have burst into tears and confessed upon seeing his ire. I quickly shook my head lest he suspect me of being in trouble.

  “We can talk in my lab,” he said.

  We followed him to a small one-story building tucked behind the factory. He led us into his laboratory, where he experimented with various sand mixtures and chemicals to produce glass of different colors and consistencies. Metal tables lined the room. Tools and various measuring equipment hung from neat rows of hooks, and stainless steel bowls had been stacked in precise piles.

  The countertops gleamed in the light. Not a speck of errant sand marred the tables or crunched under a boot. Mother used to complain of Father’s messy armoire, and would wonder out loud how he could keep his lab pristine, yet fail to hang up his clothes.

  His reply had always been one word. Contamination. He didn’t want any of his experiments being contaminated by spilled ingredients. It would throw off all his results, he claimed. Contamination also included children with sticky hands and dirty clothes, but his rules hadn’t stopped Tula and me from sneaking in here on occasion. I remembered the one time we hid under his desk, shaking in fear of being discovered, which inevitably happened. Our punishment had been to clean his lab for a season. After that season, we never ventured in here again.

  Father sat at his desk and gestured for us to sit in the two other chairs. “What’s so important?”

  Zitora explained about the Stormdance sand and fragile orbs. We placed the samples onto his desk.

  “You think one of these ingredients is bad?” my father asked, staring at me. “How did you come to this conclusion?”

  I told him about the old orbs and the differences I noticed. “The new orbs aren’t as sturdy. Same thickness, just not as dense.” I handed him a shard of Indra’s orb.

  He examined the glass and tapped it on his fingernails, listening to the clinking sound. “All right. I’ll work on these. See what I can find.” He sorted through his bowls. “Why don’t you go into the house? Mother will be thrilled to see you both.”

  I stood. “Can I help?”

  He looked at me in surprise. “It’s better if I do it myself.” He must have seen my disappointment, because he added, “Would you like to learn what I do here?”

  “Yes.” I had always wanted to know more about glass, but I knew he preferred to work alone.

  “Okay. When we have time, I’ll teach you.”

  “Really?” My turn to be surprised.

  He smiled. “I’ve been waiting for one of my children to show an interest. Ahir doesn’t have the patience and Mara…Mara is more interested in Leif than glass right now.”

  We shared a laugh. Even though Mara had been pursued by every young man in the Cowan lands, only Yelena’s brother, Leif, had caught her attention. But since he was a powerful magician and worked at the Keep, they hardly had any time together. I wondered if Aydan still needed an apprentice. Mara could move to the Citadel and live near the Keep. She would be closer to Leif. And to me.

  My humor leaked away. Back at the Keep, I knew no one missed me.

  My mother worked in the kitchen. The delightful smell of bread stew permeated the air. Following the scent, I found my mother stirring a large pot. She greeted me with a peck on the cheek.

  “Mara told me you were here. What took you so long? Your mother isn’t important enough to say hello to?”

  I rushed to apologize. “We had-”

  “Urgent business with Jaymes,” Zitora said.

  Before she could lay on the guilt about not introducing her, I said, “Master Cowan, this is my mother, Vyncenza.”

  My mother perked up at hearing Zitora’s title and launched into gracious host mode. “Opal, go get the good dishes from the cupboard and set the table. Use the fancy Jewelrose tablecloth, and make sure to put out enough silverware.” She clucked over my appearance. “Better get washed first and put on decent clothes!” She shooed me from the kitchen.

  Her offers of every liquid beverage to Zitora reached me as I ascended the stairs. My mother wouldn’t be happy until the magician was seated with a drink and snack in hand.

  The house had four bedrooms. Tula and I had shared a room. Only seven seasons apart in age, most who met us for the first time had thought we were twins. I entered the room. Tula’s grief flag hung suspended over her bed and I wondered how long Mother would keep it there.

  Zitora and Yelena had sewn the white silk banner. They decorated it with animal shapes surrounding a single blade of grass with a drop of dew hanging from the tip. Honeysuckles were sewn along the border of the flag. It was a representation of Tula’s life and personality. A customary endeavor, making a flag for the deceased and flying it from the highest pole, to release the person’s soul to the sky. Then the flag was used to cover the soul’s most precious possessions in order to keep them from returning to earth to retrieve them. After a few years, most people removed the flag and gifted the items.

  I had missed Tula’s flag-raising ceremony while a prisoner of Alea. Sitting on her bed, I ran my hand over the quilt. Last time I had seen my sister, she was in the Keep’s infirmary, recovering from being raped and tortured by Ferde Daviian. Alea-another one of those cursed Daviians-had promised Tula would live if I cooperated with her.

  Curling up on Tula’s bed, I shuddered as a fresh wave of grief crashed into me. Alea had taken me to the Daviian Plateau, pricked me with Curare and left me paralyzed and alone for hours in her tent. And then
he
came.

  No. I would not think about him.

  I concentrated on Tula. My ordeal was nothing compared to hers. When I had finally been freed, I learned Ferde strangled her to death and stole her soul. Two weeks gone before I even knew about it. Two weeks a captive for nothing. She died anyway.

  “Opal, are you done? The table won’t set itself,” my mother’s voice called.

  I wiped tears from my cheeks as I hurried to wash and change. My thoughts turned to Kade’s grief over his sister, and I remembered thinking about how time would dull his pain. Which was true, but I had forgotten about the occasional knife of grief that stabbed you without warning.

  I was mortified during most of dinner. Ahir and my mother were intent on telling embarrassing stories about me to Zitora. The Magician seemed to enjoy them and laughed, but I wanted to hide under the table.

  “…naked and soapy from a bath, Opal goes streaking toward the factory, intent on telling her father about her toy duck. Well…” Mother paused for maximum impact. “She crashes right into him and he spills a bowlful of sand on her head! I cleaned sand from every nook and cranny in her body. For months!”