Broken (40 page)

“Don’t touch it.” Kira brushed her hand aside and picked up the ruby. “Sorry, I don’t know how it will react to you.” The black cord it hung from had been destroyed by the spilled Gyllrue so she slipped the ruby off and held the stone for Ussay to see. “This was Lydia’s.” Kira thought for a moment. She knew the heart pendent was very powerful and merely touching it could summon Shandira, but the ruby had been charmed for Lydia to communicate with Octavion—
without
Shandira hearing. She tightened her fist around the stone, closed her eyes and prayed it would work the same magic between her and her friend as it once had.

Lydia?

Her skin beneath the Crystor tingled, but she got no answer. She rubbed the ruby with her thumb.
Lydia!

Kira heard no words, but a dull ache began to radiate through her skull. Was Lydia trying to connect to her? She tried again, only this time she called out to Altaria.

Al?

Kira grabbed her head as the ache suddenly turned into a sharp pain that shot threw her head and down her spine. “Crap!” She didn’t want to try that again.

“What happened?” Ussay asked, scooting closer. She still knelt on the floor next to Kira.

“Nothing, I’m fine. Give me a second. I want to try something.” Kira opened her left hand and settled the ruby in her palm. She rubbed it again.

Lydia! I need you to connect with Altaria. We need you. Please, I need you.

For several seconds, nothing happened, and then Kira felt the cold metal of the Crystor warm against her skin—a complete contrast to the ice cold ruby. She closed her fingers around it to take away the chill. It warmed beneath her grasp. Kira stood and crossed to the bench. Running a finger across the Crystor, she summoned the good memories of healing to take over her mind—healing a little girl’s puppy, jogging through the park with newfound strength, the shine of her silken hair and seeing her touch heal the ones she loved. She let herself be lost in them, unaware of Ussay and her surroundings.

“Are you all right, Kira?” Ussay’s voice pulled Kira from her thoughts. Ussay had also stood and taken a seat next to her.

“I’m fine. I just miss it.”

“May I see the bracelet closer? It appears to be glowing slightly. I think it might be the way the candlelight is reflecting on it.”

Kira turned and put her wrist between them.

Ussay touched the Crystor with the tip of her finger. “Ouch,” she said, pulling her hand away quickly. “You did not tell me it would hurt.”

Her reaction startled Kira, making the ruby slip from her hand into her lap. “It shocked you?”

Ussay nodded. “It went right up my arm.”

Kira carefully examined the bracelet which had grown almost too hot to touch. She covered it with her other hand, pressing her palm to it, but nothing happened. She looked down at the ruby where it lay in her lap. Altaria said the heart pendent turned up the volume of their thoughts. Maybe the ruby did the same thing, increasing whatever powers the person had.

Kira picked up the ruby with her right hand and gripped it firmly, even though the pain in her broken finger made it difficult. A few seconds passed before heat began to radiate from the ruby and into her wrist. She watched as the glowing strand of silver came to life. It tightened around her wrist until the circulation in Kira’s fingers was lost, making her fingers tingle. Kira thought it would cut her hand off, so opened her palm, hoping less pressure on the stone would loosen the Crystor. Instead, the tiny strand of silver broke into a thin long line and coiled around the ruby like a snake, swirling around in her palm until the outside ends began to unravel. It circled the ruby several times, then wound itself around her broken finger, healing it instantly. As it slid back into her palm it found its brilliant silver sheen.

Ussay jumped to her feet and started backing out of the room. Ussay’s eyes widened with fear as she put a trembling hand over her mouth.

“Ussay, it’s all right.” Kira reached for her with her free hand, but Ussay didn’t stop. She kept backing away with a dazed look on her face.

“Ussay!” Kira yelled.

Ussay jumped at the sound of Kira’s voice, but it only hastened her escape. Kira clapped her fingers around the Crystor and ruby, then took off toward the stairs. By the time she reached Ussay she was half way to the back of the bookcase leading to Octavion’s chambers. Kira grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her to the ground.

“Stop,” Kira pleaded. “Let me explain. It won’t hurt you.”

Ussay tried to push her away. “It is evil,” she cried. “I have never seen such magic. Objects do not have a life of their own, they must have a Jayde to control them.”

“Ussay, please trust me. I promise it won’t hurt you.”

Ussay pulled away and climbed two more steps before sitting with her back against the wall. “You can explain, but do not touch me.”

“All right. Just don’t run, okay?”

Ussay nodded.

“Remember how bruised and swollen my hand was where I broke my finger?”

“Yes,” Ussay said cautiously.

Kira still had the Crystor securely gripped in her fist, so she turned her hand over so Ussay could see her knuckles. The swelling had completely gone and so had the bruise.

Ussay gasped, moving up one more step.

“It’s okay. Octavion gave me this bracelet so I could save Lydia’s life. It gives me the power to heal. It has no evil in it, only good.”

Ussay seemed to relax, but the fear in her face remained. “Why did it move by itself?”

“It’s okay. It did that before. It’s just . . . not supposed to work anymore.” Kira stood and offered her free hand. “You can leave if you want, but if you stay I have to warn you, I want to try something and you won’t like it.”

“Will it hurt?”

Kira smiled. “It won’t hurt
you
,” she teased.

Ussay took Kira’s hand and followed her down the stairs and back to the bench. Kira sat, but Ussay remained standing.

“You’re not gonna run again are you?” Kira asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“No.” Ussay wrapped her arms around herself and looked like she might take off any second.

Kira tried to remember the level of concentration it took to heal and put all that energy into the palm of her hand. If she could somehow connect with it—connect with Lydia—maybe it would find its place around her wrist and give her powers back. The feeling it left inside her when it released her was like sucking an egg from its shell, leaving her hollow and empty. She took one last look at the ruby and silver thread in her hand, pressed her fingers firmly around them and closed her eyes.

The instant she channeled her energy toward her hand, the Crystor began to shift. Kira moved her fingers out of the way to give it more room, but continued willing it to live. As the coldness faded and it started to burn, she opened her eyes. She watched as it changed from red to blue, finally radiating a celestial white glow that spilled out into the room. The end eagerly searched for its mate. First it went around her thumb, but didn’t stay there. When it slid across her palm and brushed the inside of her wrist, the entire chain rose up out of her hand, wrapped itself around her wrist and sealed its ends together.

Ussay took a step back, but didn’t run. “Did it hurt?” she whispered.

Kira felt the rush of its power creep up her arm—much stronger and more intense than the first time.

“Not yet, but it’s coming.”

Kira stopped concentrating on giving it life and tried to stay focused on the changes in her body. What took days to bring her to her maximum stature in her world, happened so quickly it sent her to her knees. The pain was excruciating. Every muscle in her body swelled and her joints burned. Even the pores of her skin seemed to breathe new life into her flesh. She’d seen Octavion transform, watching his back and arms explode into bulging muscles, but she never gave a moment’s thought to it causing him pain.

Ussay dropped to her knees beside Kira and tried to help her up, but she pushed her away.

“Not yet,” Kira managed. She looked up to find Ussay’s face, contorted in fear.

“Kira, your eyes . . . and your face.” Ussay scooted back and stood.

“I know, Ussay. Please, don’t . . . run.”

Kira’s eyes burned cold and she felt the broken and damaged tissues from the cut on her cheek heal. Before, the Crystor took its time exploring her inner strengths, using it to provide her what she needed to survive. Now it knew her. It recognized every minute detail of her body, spirit and mind, and she welcomed it.

When the pain began to diminish, a rush of extreme euphoria took its place. Its attack on her senses lifted her to her feet. The smells and sounds in the room surrounded her, tormenting her sanity. She couldn’t take in enough air to satisfy her craving for more. She’d never felt more alive.

Finally her breathing and heart rate slowed. She examined her arms to find the scars on her wrists completely gone. She assumed the ones on her back were gone as well. She kissed the ruby, then slipped it into her pocket. If she survived, she’d give it back to Altaria when she returned.

Kira took in another deep breath, found Ussay’s bewildered face and slowly let the air out of her lungs. “I think I’m done now. Are you okay?”

Ussay nodded, letting some of the tension out of her shoulders. “Can I . . . touch you now?”

“Yes.”

Ussay threw her arms around Kira’s neck. “I was so afraid you would die.”

“I told you I would be fine. You should have trusted me.” Kira took Ussay’s arms from around her shoulders and urged her to sit on the bench, kneeling in front of her.

“May I?” Kira asked, as she motioned to Ussay’s bandaged finger.

Ussay hesitated before answering, “Yes.”

Kira unwrapped the bandage around Ussay’s finger, which began to bleed instantly. Kira simply touched it with the tip of her finger and the wound disappeared. Her wrist didn’t burn and there was no pain in her heart.

Ussay pulled her finger close to her face and examined it carefully. Then she smiled and let the rest of the tension out of her body.

“One more thing,” Kira requested. She ran her finger across the scar on Ussays wrist where Octavion scratched her, and it melted away.

Ussay smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Kira stood, grabbed her quiver of arrows and began saturating the tips with one of the poisons. Ussay quickly joined her, gently folding pieces of parchment over the ends to keep them from accidentally piercing Kira’s skin and then helped place them back into the quiver.

Kira strapped on her healing pack and put another bottle of poison inside in case she needed it. She had done all she could to prepare, but she needed to do one more thing before she left to meet Shandira. It was time to pay back her hero for saving her life. Cade and Ussay were getting an early wedding present. There was just one problem—Cade was a Royal and the pain from healing his injury would cause him to transform and possibly attack Kira.

“Do you know of a white powder that will cause paralyses?” Kira asked.

“There is V’Larian. Octavion used it on you when I took out the stitches in your face. Is that what you want?”

Kira hadn’t remembered that, but it didn’t surprise her. “Yes, I think that’s what he called it. When he used it before, I couldn’t move, but I was awake and could feel everything.”

“That is V’Larian.” Ussay searched the shelves again, grabbed a small glass cylinder and handed it to Kira. “Will you also use this on Shandira?”

Kira smiled. “No. I have a stop to make before I leave.”

Ussay looked confused, but didn’t question Kira’s intentions.

Kira bent over to pick up her bow and her increased muscle tone caused the seam on the side of her pants to give way, exposing her thigh. She quickly changed into something that would accommodate her new muscles, and switched the ruby to the new pants pocket. The clothes that had been too big for her before were a perfect fit.

Ussay sat on the bench with Kira’s dress draped across her lap, her fingers nervously twisting the fabric.

“What’s wrong?” Kira asked.

“What if someone sees you dressed like that? I am not concerned about the villagers, but if we pass Mara or Nestor in the hallway, they will know you are up to something. Even one of the staff would be suspicious and tell someone.”

She had a point. Kira threw the dress over her clothes, loosened the ribbon in front to accommodate the clothes she wore beneath, and made her way up the stairs with Ussay on her heels. When they arrived in Octavion’s sleeping chambers, Kira had one more favor to ask of her friend before she was on her way.

“Ussay, I have something I need to do. Will you go to the stables? Tell them Octavion is returning and he wants to go riding. Have them saddle the same horse he rode yesterday. It seemed gentle enough.” Kira gave Ussay her bow and quiver. “Tell them he’s going out to practice with this and be convincing. Make sure they hurry.”

Ussay gave her a quick hug and scurried out of the room.

Now, what to do with Cade? Kira made sure no one was in the hall, then made her way past the staircase to the last door on the left, directly across from Mara’s. She took extra care to be quiet as she gently tapped on the door.