Crystal Caged (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles Book 5) Read online

  Glancing around the hallway to make sure no errant servant would see her, Vi tapped the stone and watched her finger disappear within it. It was an illusion, carefully crafted and maintained by one of the Waterrunners in the Tower. She side-stepped through the wall with confidence, into a nearly pitch-black tunnel.

  At the far end was a single flame bulb by an unassuming, unlocked door. The door led to a winding pathway that spiraled up higher and higher. Circular common areas were on her right, taking up the center of the tower. Doors to individuals’ rooms were on her left. Flame bulbs lit the interior passage every several steps.

  She passed by a group of people on her way up. They stopped talking, then quickly exchanged whispers and glances at the sight of her. But just like the servants she’d passed on the way here, no one made an attempt to speak with or stop her.

  At the top of the tower was the office of the Minister of Sorcery. In her time, this room had been occupied by Fritznangle Chareem. This was where he would’ve greeted her and welcomed her as a new member of the Tower when she finally came home.

  For a brief moment, Vi rested her fingertips on the door and closed her eyes, imagining that moment as she had so many years ago. Try as she might, she couldn’t find the fantasy. Even opening her eyes and staring at the door, Vi had a hard time summoning what had been one of her more favorite daydreams.

  The child who had dreamed them was long gone.

  Vi gave a knock on the door and an unfamiliar voice responded, “Enter.”

  Letting herself in, Vi stepped into the generously sized office. The Minister of Sorcery sat at a desk, running a hand through his sand-colored hair. Books were crammed into shelves. A workstation bubbled with something sweet-smelling Vi couldn’t place. She did a visual sweep of the room before her eyes met the bright blue ones of the Minister. His attention was focused solely on her.

  “I don’t know you.” Egmun didn’t mince words.

  “Unfortunate for you, but easily remedied.” Vi sat herself in one of the plush leather chairs that faced the desk. She tapped her fingers on the armrest, acting as though she was already somewhat impatient. “I’m here for a job.”

  “A job?”

  “Yes.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re not of the Tower.”

  “Not yet. Though I’m looking forward to being a part of it.” Vi smiled sweetly at the face of the man whom she planned to play like a fiddle.

  “Usually one would schedule a meeting with me, and I would meet them in the reception hall at the base of the Tower.”

  Vi couldn’t tell if he was cross or impressed for the unorthodox way she’d gone about this. Egmun likely didn’t know himself. “Yes, I thought this would be faster. Cut right to the chase.”

  “How did you get up the Tower without an escort? Someone must be stationed at the public entrance at all times to prevent wanderers like you.” He tapped his fingers against each other; magic rose around him like a tide.

  “I didn’t use the public entrance.”

  “How did you get to a private one, then?”

  “I have my ways.” Vi tilted her head. “Wouldn’t you like those ways to be under your employ?” He was curious. She’d tempted him with a nibble of knowledge. From here, she’d slowly feed him more in just the right amounts until he was eating from her hands.

  “Do you enjoy avoiding questions?”

  “Insofar as it suits me.” Vi smirked.

  “What’s your name? Will you at least give me a direct answer for that?”

  “Vivian.”

  “Vivian,” he repeated. “And is there a family name to go along with that?”

  She shook her head. “Just Vivian.”

  “I assume you have some kind of magic, otherwise you wouldn’t be here looking for a job in the Tower of Sorcerers. Judging from your looks—you’re a Firebearer?”

  Vi lifted her hand and summoned flames around her palm. They snaked and wriggled between her fingers, illuminating the room in a red-orange glow. She extinguished them by balling her hand into a fist.

  “Yes, well… I have enough Firebearers. Sorry to disappoint you.” He pursed his lips together and looked back down at his desk. “If you excuse yourself without issue I will spare you the trouble of calling the guard for trespassing on the Tower uninvited.” Vi didn’t buy his dismissal for a moment. She’d bet anything that if she stood and walked off, he’d follow to see what secret passage was the Tower’s weak spot.

  “I never said I was here to offer you my skills as a Firebearer.”

  “You’re still here?” Egmun glanced up at her.

  “We both have something the other needs, and I think we should work together,” Vi continued calmly, folding her hands over her lap. Egmun was now staring at her, saying everything with his eyes. Vi let the moment drag out. She was making a bold move, but the magnitude of her plans could hinge on little else. “I consider myself a researcher of crystals as well.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Of course you don’t.” Vi smiled and stood, walking over to one of the windows with purposeful strides as she spoke. She acted as though the office was her own. “Then I’ll just talk at you for a moment, and let’s see if anything sounds interesting to you…

  “I grew up in the West reading about the power of crystals and hearing all the colorful stories that surround them. Stories of a power unlike any other. There was one thing, more than anything else, that entranced me—the Sword of Jadar.”

  “The sword is long gone.” His whole attention was on her now.

  “So they say… So I want people to believe.” Vi glanced over her shoulder as the man jumped to his feet.

  “You have it?” He was so hungry for the answer that he was nearly drooling over the question. Vi had been away from people for so long that she’d forgotten just how foolish power-hungry men could be.

  “I do.”

  “Are you a Knight of Jadar?”

  “If I was a Knight of Jadar, would I be offering the sword to a Southerner?” Vi arched her eyebrows. “The Knights seek the sword to bring back the might of Mhashan. They’re old men yearning for a renaissance of their glory days because they can’t handle that the world has changed.” Vi allowed venom to seep into the words. “Mhashan is gone. And I don’t want to use the crystals’ power to bring back the past.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  To save the world. “Must I want anything more than the pursuit of knowledge?”

  The hard line of his brow softened at the question. She’d disarmed him. Just as Taavin had advised her, Egmun was a man who thirsted for knowledge above all else. Curiosity was an irresistible carrot for him that Vi now dangled at the end of a stick.

  “Prove you have the sword,” he finally demanded.

  She clicked her tongue. “It doesn’t work that way. Like I said, we each have something the other needs. It doesn’t serve me to give you my bargaining chip without first getting something in return.”

  “The Sword of Jadar is quite the bargaining chip. What could I possibly offer you of equal value?”

  “The crown prince.”

  “What do you need him for?”

  “If you are as well-researched on the crystals as your reputation has led me to believe, then I assume you know about the barrier in the Caverns?”

  “You mean the door?” he clarified. It didn’t entirely confirm her suspicion that he was the dark-hooded man she’d seen at the Caverns, but it did support the theory.

  “Yes, it leads to the heart of the Caverns, where the true power is. The sword can unlock that power, with the right ritual.” The best lies were grounded in the slightest bit of truth. “But the barrier was formed by the late Empress Fiera.”

  “It’s true then, the rumors of her death?” Vi nodded, wondering just what rumors had been flying about while she lived in the shadow of the Caverns. “Then, that means…”

  “We need the crown prince to get to the true
power. His magic is similar enough to his mother’s. He’ll be able to undo the barrier if we train him well enough with the crystals,” Vi finished for him. She didn’t actually know if Aldrik could undo the barrier alone or not. Fiera seemed to have an instinct for Lightspinning, despite all odds. Perhaps her son would as well. If not, Vi would be there to make sure there were no hiccups.

  “We?” Egmun repeated, sounding somewhat offended.

  “The sword is nothing if the door can’t be opened. And opening the door is useless without the sword because you will not be able to access the heart of the Caverns without it.” Vi crossed back over to him, perching herself on the edge of his desk. Placing her palm flat against its surface, ignoring the papers, Vi leaned toward the blue-eyed man. “Like I said, we need each other.”

  “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “You don’t. It’ll have to be an act of faith on your end.” Vi shrugged. “But if I were you… if I were a man of your talents and intellect, I wouldn’t let an opportunity like this go. You don’t have much to lose. Either I speak true, and the Sword of Jadar along with all the power in the Crystal Caverns could be yours,” she whispered the words, letting them hang in the air. “Or I’m lying, and you can kill me for trespassing in the Tower of Sorcerers, or some other invented crime, whenever it suits you. I’m sure the Emperor will take your side over a random Westerner if it came to that.”

  Egmun considered this for a long minute.

  “I do think I have an opening here at the Tower, for someone of your talents.” Vi hummed as an invitation for him to keep talking. “Perhaps I could invite you to stay here as a personal assistant of mine? That way you’re not troubled with the day-to-day, and your mind can be free to work on other projects.”

  “That would be wonderful.” Vi leaned away and slid off the edge of the desk.

  “Excellent. Now, regarding the sword—” he said eagerly.

  “I’ll show it to you when the time is right. Our deal is still fresh, minister, let it harden before we begin worrying about the next steps.” Vi smiled. She needed to buy herself some time in the palace to search for the crown. The longer she could delay bringing Aldrik and the sword to the Caverns, the better. “In the meantime, I would like to get settled into my new quarters.”

  “Your… quarters?”

  “Why, yes, I believe it’s common for teachers and students of the Tower of Sorcerers to be given their own rooms?” Vi arched her eyebrows. Egmun pursed his lips, but didn’t object. As long as she had the sword and knowledge to dangle before him, he would do her bidding.

  “I fear the Tower is rather full at the moment.”

  “What a shame,” Vi said, making it clear she really didn’t have time for excuses with her tone alone.

  “Though, I do have a room I think I could make do, if you’re not too picky.” He rummaged through his desk, producing an iron key. “This way, if you please.”

  The man led her out of his office and they wound even higher up the Tower.

  “Beneath my office are the quarters I use,” Egmun said. They stopped before an unmarked door, which Egmun unlocked before passing Vi the key. “This is an unused storeroom, which I will gladly appoint for your use.”

  Vi stepped into the chambers and waved her hand. Flames sparked to life in the braziers around the room. There wasn’t much in it. Mostly empty shelves and cabinets lined the back wall. A few crates were piled up about the room and a doorway led to an attached bathroom.

  “I think it was originally intended to be the minister’s quarters. But I’ve never known a minister to use them since the lower chambers are much larger.” Egmun shrugged. “Will this do?”

  “Nicely.”

  “Excellent, I’ll have Tower members start setting it up for you immediately. While they do, perhaps we can discuss our business further?”

  “There is nothing more to discuss until you show me you can provide the prince.”

  “Tomorrow morning then,” he said definitively. “Meet me in my office just before dawn, and you will meet Prince Aldrik.”

  “Most excellent.” Vi smiled, as though the statement didn’t curdle her stomach. She’d taken this young man’s mother. Now, she’d lead him down a path that would result in extreme hardship.

  “See you bright and early, Miss Vivian.” Egmun spun on his heel and started down the Tower.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Chapter Four

  Deneya was true to her word. Vi found her in the second pub she checked with only the faintest flush to her cheeks. Her wits were still about her, and Vi filled her in on what had transpired with Egmun over a flagon of her own.

  Night had fallen when she made her way back to the Tower. Vi strode with confidence up the main, spiraling walkway. The names engraved on silver nameplates and set on the doors to her left caught her eye.

  She stopped, staring at one.

  Friznangle Chareem.

  Vi ran her fingers over the carefully engraved letters. Her other hand touched the watch around her neck lightly, remembering Fritz’s original gift ages ago. How old was he now? Ten? Twelve? Vi didn’t know. But this man was the one who had always given the watch to every new Vi. This was the current shade of the man who had given her Taavin a world ago.

  She was still very much at the beginning of her journey. Yet Vi felt like she was catching a glimpse of the end.

  Footsteps echoed up from below and Vi hastily stepped away from the door, starting up the tower once more. She kept her head down and her pace swift all the way back to her room, lighting the braziers once more on entry.

  This time, the light didn’t fall on a storeroom in disarray. Egmun hadn’t lied about getting the Tower students to set up the room quickly. Where once there were crates, now a narrow bed stood beside a desk with a single chair. The shelves had also been emptied and dusted.

  She locked the door behind her and uttered, “Narro hath hoolo.”

  Taavin appeared, inspecting the room as he usually did whenever she summoned him in a new place.

  “You’re in the Tower?”

  Vi brought him up to speed. By the time she finished, she had completed several laps around the furniture and was now perched on the top of one of the low bookcases in front of the window.

  “Then everything is going according to plan,” Taavin said after a long stretch of silence.

  Vi gave a nod. “This will give me enough time to look for the crown.”

  “And Egmun will be the one to take Aldrik to the Caverns to fulfill fate’s needs, ensuring we continue toward the birth of the next Champion.”

  “Yes. I’ll need to ask Deneya to continue working on the sword we’ll illusion to fool Egmun. That way he doesn’t get his hands on the actual crystal weapon.” She went to pace, but Taavin grabbed her forearm. He pulled her a step closer to him, resting both hands on her shoulders.

  “If everything is going well, why do you seem so restless?”

  “It’s hard to explain.” Vi glanced askance. “I know what I’m doing. I know what the path I’ve chosen means: that people will suffer because of my actions. That instead of trying to stop that suffering, I will play into it, hoping it leads to success. And if we are successful, everything will have meaning.”

  “Or the world will be rebuilt and their suffering is lost.”

  “Yes, or that.” Vi retrieved the unassuming, shimmering crystal that held all the power of the Sword of Jadar from the depths of an inner pocket on the long, threadbare coat she wore. She turned it over in her fingertips, watching the magic shift and swirl with each pass. The magic clung to her, begging her to absorb its power and use it to shape the world to her will. With a thought, she could make it grow into the sword if she so desired. “I was thinking about the weapons.”

  “All right?”

  “When Yargen sealed Raspian away, she split herself into three—one part to the Caverns, one part to the staff of the Champion that would later become the crystal w
eapons, and one part to the flame of Risen.”

  “Yes?”

  She could hear the confusion in his voice. This was something they’d been over countless times. Vi shook her head, trying to remain focused. A thought was taking shape.

  “The flame in Risen… I keep thinking about it. When the world was rebuilt—when my body was rebuilt by Yargen’s hand—it was because of the power stored in the flame. We unleashed it.”

  “Yes.” This time, the word took on a heavier meaning. Taavin already knew what she had pieced together—she could hear it in his voice. Vi met his eyes, not allowing him to hide from her.

  “You know what I’m about to say, don’t you?”

  “If my suspicions are correct.”

  “And you’re so rarely wrong.” It suddenly felt as though someone had punched her in the gut. She tensed every muscle and braced herself. “Tell me what happened to the other Vi’s, after a new Champion was born? If I’m the ninety-third Vi, what happened to the ninety-second, after she failed at her mission?”

  “She gave her power back to the flame.”

  “I’m a part of Yargen, now,” Vi said softly. “My body isn’t really my own.” She’d known it wasn’t from the first time she’d set foot in this world. She’d known it down in her marrow as keenly as she knew Yargen’s magic was there. “If we succeed, my body will return to her as well.”

  “You don’t know that.” He took a step closer.

  “How else could it happen?”

  “How does she manage to both rewind time and begin a new world? Even we don’t fully understand the ways of the divine.” Taavin rested his hand on the crystal, wrapping his fingers around hers. The motion was meant to take her hand. But the moment his fingers met the stone, he became that much more real. His touch was firmer, warmer. The faint glow that had emanated from him vanished entirely.

  Vi twisted, careful to keep him as close as possible. Releasing the crystal into his palm, Vi ran her hands up his tunic and twirled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. As long as the crystal touched him, he was as good as real.