Beyond the Sapphire Gate: Epic Fantasy-Some Magic Should Remain Untouched (The Flow of Power Book 1) (20 page)

GLIMMER SHARD

Garn found the pulsating effect of the room disconcerting. The room flooded with pale amber light one moment then plummeted to darkness the next. It switched with a synchronous precision, as if every shard synchronized to an alien heartbeat somewhere. His excitement rose. The room sported many crystals. The obelisks the Dragon Lady had booted him through appeared crafted from crystal. With luck, he’d stumbled on the right place.

Four counters, overseen by attendant
s
—
two on each side of the roo
m
—
assisted with perusing the shards. A small crowd milled around the back of the store. He shouldered his way there. After he pushed past the first few, the rest moved aside; his height and weight outmatched anyone else in the room.

The crowd gathered around an entrance to a small back room where a white-robed, gray-bearded man appeared in the doorway during the bright peak of a pulse. “Here you go, Diera,” the man said, handing a leather-wrapped bundle to a robust woman in a red lace dress as darkness swallowed the room. “Who’s next?” the man’s disembodied voice asked drifting out of the darkness.

No one spoke up, so Garn did. “I will be.”

The white robe’s hooded face turned toward him, shadowed in the quickening light. “Where’s your shard, outlander?”

“I would like to discuss the matter with you in private, if I may,” Garn said.

The old man hesitated. The light brightened. His deep gray eyes regarded Garn from within the white cowl. “Very well, follow me.” Turning, he shuffled into the room.

Garn scrambled to stay near the man. Behind him the room plunged into darkness again, but not before he made out Corteezsha following.

The robe the old man wore stood out in the dim amber glow from somewhere unseen. The low light made it hard to make out details other than some dim thresholds indicating side rooms. He was grateful for stable light, however dim. The pulsating light in the shard room would be hard to take.

Stepping into a large, windowed room, his gratefulness grew for the light of midday. The robed man stood at the doorway, waiting to close it behind Garn. The old man hesitated when his escort followed him inside. A deep frown furrowed his wrinkled brow. “What in the name of Great Onan are you doing here?”

Corteezsha’s smile was smug. “You may close the door, Jard. I’m with the outlander.”

Jard looked at Garn, one bushy eyebrow raised. “The young lady has been gracious enough to offer aid.”

“So it would seem. Yet it would behoove one to be wary of assistance unsought,” Jard said. Closing the wooden door, he crossed the room to stand before a small, low table. Two porcelain pitchers and four plain cups resided on an ornate tray there. Several cushions surrounded the table. “Please, sit.”

Garn sat on the largest cushion with some struggle. Placing his hands on the floor, he shifted his girth as close to center of the overstuffed thing as he could but still had the pressure of his weight on his back and knees. He wouldn’t be able to sit this way for long. Why had he let himself get so far out of shape? He knew the answer. It had been easy to quit worrying about his own health after Sureen’s disappearance. The only thing keeping him going was his girls.

Once his escort settled in beside him, knees placed firmly together, Jard settled on a cushion across the table with practiced ease. “Would either of you care for a taste of Surbon White or a cup of chilled water?”

Corteezsha’s reply was quick. “The Surbon White, if you please.”

Garn didn’t know what the Surbon White was, but it sounded like something made from grapes. It’d be too easy to fall into that trap again, and he needed to keep his head clear. “Chilled water will suffice, thank you.”

Jard poured Garn’s water first, then half-filled two cups of Surbon White for himself and Corteezsha, his hands steady and true. Garn took a sip from his cup, pleasantly surprised. Chilled to perfection, the water provided a small burst of energy to his overtaxed body and sleep-deprived mind. Searching a deadly and unfamiliar town the whole night through was beginning to catch up to him. He was getting too old for trials like this, soon what hair he had left would turn as gray as Jard’s, or worse, fade to pure white. Upending the cup, he tossed every drop down his throat.

Gray eyes bright, Jard set his cup on the tray, pulled his cowl back and leaned forward, his silvery hair dully accented from the late afternoon window light. “Now tell me, what merits disrupting my flourishing business at his hour? Do you seek an infusion from one of the exotic glimmer shards? Where is it?”

Garn slipped forward on the cushion. The pressure alleviated, a little. “Nothing as involved as that, I’m afraid. I simply require information.”

Jard frowned, sitting up straight. “Anyone can give you information. Corteezsha should be able to supply you with whatever you require from her…chosen profession. What malice is this, outlander?”

Garn held up a placating hand. “None, I assure you, Master Jard. Please, allow me to explain.” The old man’s frown lessened considerably. Why had he used the word master? He didn’t know, but for some reason, it had seemed like the right thing to say. “You have many of these crystal shards on display, Master Jard. However, I would venture to say not all are out front. Is this correct?”

Jard sat back on his cushion. “I may have others.”

Corteezsha snorted with laughter. “By others, Jard means he keeps his best stock in the back, does it not,
Master
Jardy?”

Jard looked at the blonde woman sidelong. “Do you think I’d be so foolish to tell you, Corteezsha?”

Corteezsha laughed. “You don’t have to, my dear sweet Master Infuser. I’ve suspected for some time. You have confirmed it.”

Jard’s face reddened.

Garn didn’t care whatever history was between the two, if he didn’t control the conversation from the start, he’d lose any hope of eliciting the old man’s help. “Do not let her get to you, Master Jard. You’re not doing business with her. You
are
with me, however.”

Jard regarded him in rigid silence for long enough Garn began to think about trying a different tack. Finally, Jard stirred, by standing.

Garn fought to his feet. Corteezsha beat him there.

Jard pointedly avoided looking in Corteezsha’s direction, and she laughed. “What shard are you after outlander?” Jard asked, his face flushing deeper from the woman’s laughter, though he refrained from saying anything to her.

“Not just one. I’m looking for a pair of shards, a hand taller than my own height, of a particular color.”

Corteezsha’s laughter ended abruptly.

Jard’s eyes widened. “Would that I had such a pair, outlander, I’d want for little. Nothing I carry will reach beyond your hand to mid-forearm.”

Garn’s heart sank, his trepidation rising. What if there wasn’t anything comparable to the obelisks on this world? What would he do then? He shied from thinking about it. “Do you stock anything shaped like an obelisk, perhaps blue in color?”

Jard spoke softly. “Blue, you say? Sapphire is one of the rarer shards. The Circle of Light in Surbo, the Brown Recluse monks, or members of the Obsidian Table in the Dark Citadel may have a little, but that is only a guess. I’ve never actually seen them. Perhaps you can enlighten me, outlander. Is sapphire crystal common to your area? Where do you hail from?”

Garn didn’t like the change in subject, Corteezsha’s russet eyes focused on him as much as Jard’s gray ones. “Where I hail from is irrelevant. I am at this place at this moment, searching for two young women. Have you seen any other outlanders, Master Jard?”

“I can’t say that I have. I am sorry…what are you called?”

Jard’s question indicated the man didn’t have additional information he could use, it was best to take their leave. “Excuse me for not mentioning it earlier, Master Jard. My full name is Garnet Creek; call me Garn. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Shall we finalize our business? I would like to purchase one of your best shards…from the back.”

Jard beamed. “Shall I infuse it with glimmer light, Master Garn?”

Corteezsha suddenly spoke. “Address him as My Lord,
Master
Jard,”

“Oh? He must be of high station then. Did you want it infused, My Lord, Garn?”

“Are you going to include it with the purchase of the shard?”

Jard frowned. “That is not normally done. Infusion is always an extra cost. It requires greater skill manipulating the Flow the less flawed the crystal is. A high quality shard could drain an adept User for a week, perhaps longer.”

“Show us your wares, Jard, then we shall decide,” Corteezsha said.

Garn nodded when Jard looked to him, wondering what the man meant by User and the Flow, though he suspected it didn’t matter. One positive thing at least, he’d have a crystal of some sort to compare against the sapphire obelisks.

Jard left the room through a door at the rear, returning a short while later bearing a wooden tray. Corteezsha removed the pitcher tray and cups, setting them aside. Jard set the new tray in its place.

Covered with a golden velvet-like material, the tray was soft to the touch when Garn rubbed it between his fingers.

Four amber-colored shards lay in separate cushioned partitions. Each glowed with a dim light that faded to its natural amber color at the same time. The largest, slightly bigger than a large tankard of ale, cut in the shape of a triangle, took up most of the tray’s center. A hand-sized rectangle, circle, and a cone shard filled up the rest, similar in dimensions’. The rectangle had something about it, something he couldn’t quite fathom. Picking it up, Garn stared at its multi-faceted features. Being careful not to drop it to the hardwood floor, he flipped it over in both hands. Both sides were identical. Glowing bright, and then dimming, the shard felt powerful and oddly alive.

“I see you have a good eye, My Lord, Garn,” Jard said. “You are holding my best crystal.”

“What is your price?” Corteezsha asked. Garn looked up at the sound of her voice. He’d almost forgotten she was there.

“Two gold marks,” Jard said without hesitation.

“Infused?” Corteezsha asked.

Jard sighed. “Yes, I’ll include the infusion for two gold marks.”

Garn looked at his beautiful companion. Corteezsha nodded. “It is a fair price. He’ll have to turn the rest of his customers away for the remainder of the sun’s golden light. Is this not so, Master Jard?”

“Longer, I’d say. I shall be drained until tomorrow evening, at least,” he said, his aging face morose.

Garn tossed Corteezsha the leather purse he found on the assassins victim. The last thing he wanted was for them to see him fumble around with the wrong coins, raising their suspicions further. Corteezsha’s eyes widened when she loosened the drawstrings and glanced inside. Deftly fishing out two gold, finger-sized rectangles, she placed them on the cloth where the shard had lain. “Give him two of the silver, as well,” Garn said, seeing them in the bag.

Jard made a strangled noise, sputtering. “What? No need, no need...” he trailed off. His words said no, but his gray eyes were wistful.

Corteezsha glanced at him sharply. “Why would you give him twenty times the amount he asked for? Are you attempting to impress me, My Lord?”

Garn smiled, trying to hide his discomfiture. “Am I so transparent? Give him the appropriate amount as you will, then.”

Corteezsha’s smile was wide, brightening her blue eyes. She placed two lead squares beside the gold without comment, keeping her eyes on Jard.

Sweeping the coins from the table, the older man smiled. “I thank you both. After the process is complete, I would ask you both leave by the rear door. My assistants will inform those inside of our early close. Are you ready?” He stretched his hand out.

Garn looked at the proffered hand. With reluctance, he placed the rectangle shard in it.

Jard clamped his hand around it. At first, nothing happened. The pulsating light leaking from around his hand remained the same. After a time, the light dimmed and stayed dark. Garn’s chest tightened. He’d never wanted the shard’s light to go out, that wasn’t what he sought, at all. What had he done in his ignorance? He reached for it.

The shard burst into blazing brilliance, painful to look at.

Jard slumped on the cushion. “Here, take it,” he said, his voice weak.

Garn took it, hands shaky. He hated when his body betrayed him. Seemed like he only shook when he was trying his best not to. Pleasant warmth emanated from the crystal.

Corteezsha tossed him the soft material that had originally covered the crystals. “Wrap it snugly, the light will stay brighter the longer you keep it covered. How long will the infusion last, Master Jard?”

“I am uncertain. Lesser amber shards have lasted over a year, even with extreme use,” Jard said his voice weaker. “Now if you please, the back door there leads to a hallway, then to an exterior door that will lock behind you.” Shaking with the effort, he pointed to an unadorned door in the rear. “I’m too drained to escort you.”

“Thank you for your service,” Garn said. Stuffing the covered crystal in the front pocket of his slacks, he strode to the door, waiting for his guide. If she found even a hint of his daughters, he would tip her well.