Storm Glass (22 page)

  Only here a few days at most, Ulrick had managed to do what I couldn’t accomplish in four years.

  My appetite gone, I fled the hall.

15

I KNEW
I shouldn’t care Ulrick had already made friends. Most of my life had been lived in my sister Mara’s shadow. She had all the friends and attention from every young man in the Cowan lands. I had Tula.

  When Tula had been alive, I didn’t need anyone else. We were inseparable. Until the night Ferde stole her. She’d sent me to bed early. I was supposed to help her keep the kilns hot, but I was sick with a fever. She dragged me to bed, tucked me in, and the next morning she had been gone.

  Dark memories threatened to push up from the depths of my mind. I squashed them down. No reason to suffer the heart-shredding guilt again. No relief in playing the “I should have” game.

  I glanced around my empty living area as I crossed to my bedroom. The glass owl Tula had made for me on my fourteenth birthday rested on my nightstand. The statue fit neatly in the palm of my hand. I examined the exquisite detail of each feather and the perfect shape of the talons. She had a finer hand with the molten glass. The tweezers in her expert fingers would blur in motion, resulting in a lifelike animal.

  My hopes of finding a true friend like Tula at the Keep hadn’t lasted long. With my involvement in imprisoning the Fire Warper and his partners, the other students either were jealous of my “fame” or afraid. And my propensity for classroom accidents didn’t help my popularity.

  Our classes were small-three to five students and an instructor. I remembered a session with Professor Greenblade, learning the history of Rodknee Bloodgood, the first magician to use magic to move objects. After the lecture, I had been paired with Pazia to recreate Rodknee’s original experiment. Pazia had no trouble moving the lead weight off the table and high into the air with her magic. All my efforts resulted in nothing. I couldn’t move the weight past the mark on the table, let alone off the surface. When the professor leaned on the table to check his mark, it collapsed under him.

  Professor Greenblade laughed it off and continued his lesson, but Pazia and the others had spread rumors that I was a jinx to all magicians.

  A knock pulled me from my musings. Going into the other room, I peered through the window. Ulrick.

  Surprised, I opened the door.

  “I thought I saw you in the dining hall,” he said. “Welcome back.”

  I sputtered for a moment before words formed. “Come in.” Moving back, I berated myself for my bumbling. If Ulrick noticed, he didn’t say anything.

  He walked around the room. On the left side, there was a couch in front of the hearth. Table and chairs occupied the right side, and a desk rested along the back wall and next to my bedroom door.

  “This is nice. They have me in the guest quarters for now, but if they see any potential I might get a more permanent spot.” Ulrick peeked into my bedroom.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “Two days. I already met with Master Bloodgood, but he thought we should wait for you and Master Cowan before doing more formal testing.” He scanned the papers on my desk, and fiddled with my quill.

  “I saw you already made friends.” I tried to keep my voice even as if commenting on the weather.

  He shrugged. “The kids are sweet and they’ve been very helpful in showing me the Keep.” Moving over to my table, he picked up one of my sais. He hefted the weapon and jabbed the air with the shaft.

  “You’re bored.”

  He stopped in midsweep. “Is it that obvious?”

  “You’re fighting an invisible opponent.”

  Ulrick laughed and set the sais back down. “I was on the road for six days and here for two. I’m used to working in the factory every day. I need…” He made a vague gesture with his hands.

  “I know what you need.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I need it, too. Follow me.”

  “Where’ve you been?” Aydan demanded. Never one to waste time on pleasantries, he went straight to the point.

  I smiled at the old glassmaker. “I’ve been on a mission for the Masters.”

  “Mission?” He glanced at Ulrick.

  I introduced him to Aydan. “Another glass magician?”

  “Maybe,” Ulrick amended before shaking Aydan’s hand.

  The glassmaker snorted. “Another with confidence problems. At least Opal admits she’s a magician.” He handed me a blowpipe. “Gather me a slug.”

  I scanned the small shop. No signs of an assistant. Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Aydan.

  “I can’t find anybody good. They’re all lazy. All whine about the heat and noise.”

  I exchanged a smile with Ulrick. We were probably the only two people in the Citadel who would seek out the glass shop for comfort. “Perhaps you need to hire someone from Booruby.”

  “Pah. I don’t have the time. Besides, I can do it myself.”

  Why did men get so stubborn when they grew older? I sighed. “If I find you an assistant from Booruby, will you let them stay?”

  He gave me a grudging nod. My thoughts turned to my sister, Mara. If she came here to work with Aydan, she would be closer to her beau, Leif. And to me. Selfish, I knew, but I would send her a message.

  “Good. In the mean time, I’ll help you.” I hefted the iron rod.

  Ulrick pulled the pipe from my hands. “
We’ll
help.”

  Aydan chuckled. “Now we’re talking. Gather me a two-inch slug, boy.” He settled on his bench and arranged his tools. “Opal, make me a domed punty and tell me about this mission.”

  The two of us worked together as Aydan crafted a variety of vases and bowls. I filled them in on what I had been doing for the Stormdancers, skipping a few details. Uncertain about my ability to channel another magician’s magic into glass, I decided not to divulge my role in helping Kade or mention the spider incident. I also failed to tell them about Devlen’s attack in Thunder Valley, although I didn’t know why.

  At one point Ulrick interrupted. “They made a glass studio out of wood? That’s idiotic.”

  “It’s cheaper and faster to build,” Aydan said.

  “And it worked to my advantage.” I continued the story of my escape.

  “Damn. All that equipment burned.” The glassmaker clucked his tongue.

  Ulrick, though, appeared horrified. “How can you say that when Opal could have been killed?”

  “She’s here, ain’t she? Shovel more coal into the kiln, will ya.”

  Muttering under his breath, Ulrick grabbed a shovel.

  When Aydan finished his last bowl, he stood and stretched his arms and back. “There’s some melt left, refill it when you’re done.” Without another word, he left the workshop, heading next door to his home.

  Ulrick stopped shoveling. “What is it with older glassmakers? They order you around and go off without a thank-you or goodbye. My mother’s the same way.”

  “When you have a limited time left to live, would you want to waste it on small talk?” My brush with disaster had caused me to realize again how precious life was. Interesting how after Alea had released me over four years ago, I had felt the same way, intending to enjoy every free moment of life. Yet I had lapsed back into a daily routine, wishing my time away.

  Ulrick looked at me. Strands of black hair clung to his sweaty forehead. The urge to wipe the dirt off his strong chin pulsed in my chest. I wished I could render his proportioned features in glass so I could stare at him without blushing, and I reconsidered sending the note about Aydan to my sister. Ulrick certainly wouldn’t be paying attention to me if Mara was here.

  I squirmed under his continued scrutiny. “Aydan mentioned melt. Would you like to work the glass?”

  “Could you show me how to make animal shapes? My mother always thought it was a waste of time.” He shrugged. “No money in it. But I’d like to learn.”

  We worked together and, with my guidance, he made a swan. The piece didn’t resemble a first effort. Ulrick’s skills with the glass were impressive.

  With the second animal, I gathered the molten glass onto the end of a blowpipe. When he finished shaping the legs and tail of a pig, I instructed him to blow through the pipe. The creature’s body expanded as it should. Although well crafted, the pig didn’t glow with magic. I didn’t mention the lack of power. What worked for me didn’t have to work for him, but my curiosity about how he inserted the magic into his pieces grew.

  “Can you make one of your vases? One that sings?” I asked.

  “No. I need a special sand mix. It’s your turn. I’d like to see you work your magic.”

  Remembering his failure to see the inner glow in Zitora’s unicorn, I said, “You probably won’t be able to see it.”

  “Maybe I just need to be here. What are you going to make?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He huffed. “You sound just like my sister. How can you
not
know?”

  I shrugged.

  “I have to have the image of my finished piece firmly in mind before I sit down at the bench. Otherwise I end up with a cold slug of glass.”

  When I couldn’t provide the exact reason my method worked for me, he gathered the last of the melt. All distractions disappeared as I focused on rolling the pipe and shaping the glass. My mind open to the slight nuances in the glass, I used my tweezers and tugged until a shape formed. Then I blew magic into the piece. The core glowed as if on fire.

  “I thought you said your speciality was animals,” Ulrick said.

  “It is.” I considered the finished sculpture. Technically it was a living thing, but I had never made a seashell before. It twisted around a center point like a conch shell. “Interesting.”

  “Crazy,” he teased. “Crack it off. I’ll put it next to mine in the annealing oven to cool.”

  “Do you see the inner light?”

  He hesitated for a heartbeat. “No.”

  “So to you this is…”

  “A lump of dull glass shaped like a shell. Sorry. Perhaps you should stick to animals.”

  I waited to see if he would remember seeing Zitora’s unicorn. He frowned but didn’t mention it. I said the words for him. “Or perhaps not.”

  “I didn’t say-”

  “Don’t worry about it. My ego can handle it.”

  “I know my ego wouldn’t. Otherwise I would have agreed with my mother and found another occupation instead of trying to prove her wrong.”

  We cleaned up the work area and filled the kilns with Aydan’s special sand. Ulrick added enough coal to keep the fire hot for most of the night. Aydan would need to check on it overnight. By then, the sand mixture should melt and be ready in the morning.

  When we finished, we headed toward the Keep. The lanterns along the main Citadel road cast a yellow softness on the hard marble walls of the buildings. Our footsteps echoed through the deserted street. I marveled over how much time had passed while Ulrick and I had worked.

  Nighttime fears and apprehensions crawled along my skin. I checked Ulrick’s shadow, sighing with relief to see the shape matched my companion’s broad shoulders. I wondered if he knew how to defend himself. Like an idiot, I had left my sais back in my rooms. The need to protect myself still wasn’t instinctive in spite of my recent kidnapping. I had assumed Ulrick’s company was all I needed to stay safe.

  “Why is seeing the inner glow so important?” Ulrick asked.

  I explained about the magic trapped inside.

  “If I can’t see it, then I’m not a magician.”

  “I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. The Masters are just realizing there are a number of unusual magical abilities. If it hadn’t been for Yelena, my magic never would have been discovered and I wouldn’t be here.”

  Ulrick looked at me in surprise. “You know Yelena Zaltana?”

  “Yes.” I waited.

  “What’s she like? Is she as powerful as the rumors say? As beautiful?”

  I suppressed my annoyance. At least he wasn’t pumping me for information about my sister, and he hadn’t heard about my involvement with trapping the evil souls. I confirmed the rumors and told Ulrick a few details, including her commitment to Valek, the Ixian Chief of Intelligence.

  “The most hated man in Sitia in love with the hero of Sitia. Wow. I’d bet the story of how they met would be fascinating.”

  “It is.” Before he could ask for more information, I changed the subject. We discussed the best way to explore his magic glass until we reached the Keep.

  The gates were locked, and the guards suspicious until I explained who we were. We didn’t see anyone walking around the Keep’s campus, but Ulrick insisted on escorting me to my quarters.

  “You really don’t need-” I started.

  “Nonsense. After what happened, you should have a battalion of guards with you at all times.”

  “A battalion? Six-hundred men?”

  “All right. A platoon then, and not a single soldier less.” He acted stern.

  “I’m insulted, now. Only thirty men? I’m worth a cohort at least.”