copper, acrid as if burned; he could hear sobs and murmurs of prayers for help, broken by a sudden scream. Above all of this, his senses were screaming of danger, of evil beyond imagining. As heat and pain seared his hand and Jhond finally managed to withdraw, the last thing he heard was laughter, pure joyous laughter.
Jhond knew it was joy at the pain of others.
Chapter 3
Jhond gasped, heart pounding as he dropped the crystal to fall back into the drawer. Nursing his painful hand close to his chest, Jhond felt Ninian's hand gripping his shoulder, and it was only then Ninian's words got through to him.
"Jhond! For the Lords' sake, answer me!"
Swallowing the bile in his throat, Jhond said, "All right, it's all right. I'm fine."
Ninian sighed and glanced at his hand. "That's not fine."
"No," Jhond said and automatically spelled his burned hand. It swiftly healed and the pain subsided, but his confusion didn't.
"You should never have picked up a broken one," Ninian insisted.
"You've never seen one before, so why would you say that?"
"I think what happened to you explains that conclusion," Ninian replied, as if that was answer enough.
Jhond shrugged. "Maybe, but what I experienced was very important and not to be ignored." Jhond went on to describe what he'd seen and felt. "And as I was returning, I got a sense of where I'd been."
"You said you couldn't see anything clearly, that it was mostly sensations you experienced."
"True, yet somehow I know it was north from here, far to the north." He glanced at Ninian, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not saying what I think you're saying?" Ninian looked perplexed.
"I'm saying whatever sensations I experienced led me to the conclusion that the location was somewhere near the icy wastes."
Ninian stared at Jhond for an instant. "Well, that confirms it then. I'd already come to the conclusion we ought to go north; now I think it's a necessity. Whether these two visions are linked I don't know yet--though it seems likely--but we have to hurry and get all these items transferred to the chest so we can move it to a safe location and plan our trip north."
"I need to speak with Patinus and my father before we leave," Jhond said absently.
Ninian paused in his work with the wired oval to say, "You've finally worked out a way to leave them a calling card?"
Jhond smiled. "Sure you can't read my mind?"
"No, I just know the way it works."
"Well, that is certainly one way to describe it," Jhond said. "I've been trying to think of a method that would let me know what was happening to them so, if they needed me, wherever I was, I could come to their rescue. I couldn't come up with a foolproof way to do that, but I did come up with something almost as good."
Ninian was curious, but Jhond just carried on sorting out the items and smiling to himself.
Eventually, they were ready. The room was now empty, every scrything block and crystal shard reduced to a miniature of its true size and stored inside the chest. Ninian had one last look around before he used the oval to reduce the chest to a size small enough to fit into one of Jhond's jacket pockets. They pulled on their cloaks and descended, leaving behind an empty building.
Amired was dozing under the shade of his tree, roused by a tap from Jhond's boot. His eyes snapped open, but he soon relaxed when he saw his friends staring down at him.
"All done?" he asked as he got to his feet, adding with a grin, "Sequestered neatly in a pocket?"
"Yes, but we also have a new quest to pursue," Ninian said.
Amired frowned. "I thought you just came here to collect the contents, not to use it."
"We did, but we were each drawn to touch a particular crystal, and now we must follow where they lead," Jhond said.
"Ninian said a quest. Did he mean two?"
"To be honest, we're not certain. Possibly different questions with maybe one answer, but we won't know for sure until we follow the clues," Jhond replied.
"Which lead where?"
"North...both
Jhond knew it was joy at the pain of others.
Chapter 3
Jhond gasped, heart pounding as he dropped the crystal to fall back into the drawer. Nursing his painful hand close to his chest, Jhond felt Ninian's hand gripping his shoulder, and it was only then Ninian's words got through to him.
"Jhond! For the Lords' sake, answer me!"
Swallowing the bile in his throat, Jhond said, "All right, it's all right. I'm fine."
Ninian sighed and glanced at his hand. "That's not fine."
"No," Jhond said and automatically spelled his burned hand. It swiftly healed and the pain subsided, but his confusion didn't.
"You should never have picked up a broken one," Ninian insisted.
"You've never seen one before, so why would you say that?"
"I think what happened to you explains that conclusion," Ninian replied, as if that was answer enough.
Jhond shrugged. "Maybe, but what I experienced was very important and not to be ignored." Jhond went on to describe what he'd seen and felt. "And as I was returning, I got a sense of where I'd been."
"You said you couldn't see anything clearly, that it was mostly sensations you experienced."
"True, yet somehow I know it was north from here, far to the north." He glanced at Ninian, raising an eyebrow.
"You're not saying what I think you're saying?" Ninian looked perplexed.
"I'm saying whatever sensations I experienced led me to the conclusion that the location was somewhere near the icy wastes."
Ninian stared at Jhond for an instant. "Well, that confirms it then. I'd already come to the conclusion we ought to go north; now I think it's a necessity. Whether these two visions are linked I don't know yet--though it seems likely--but we have to hurry and get all these items transferred to the chest so we can move it to a safe location and plan our trip north."
"I need to speak with Patinus and my father before we leave," Jhond said absently.
Ninian paused in his work with the wired oval to say, "You've finally worked out a way to leave them a calling card?"
Jhond smiled. "Sure you can't read my mind?"
"No, I just know the way it works."
"Well, that is certainly one way to describe it," Jhond said. "I've been trying to think of a method that would let me know what was happening to them so, if they needed me, wherever I was, I could come to their rescue. I couldn't come up with a foolproof way to do that, but I did come up with something almost as good."
Ninian was curious, but Jhond just carried on sorting out the items and smiling to himself.
Eventually, they were ready. The room was now empty, every scrything block and crystal shard reduced to a miniature of its true size and stored inside the chest. Ninian had one last look around before he used the oval to reduce the chest to a size small enough to fit into one of Jhond's jacket pockets. They pulled on their cloaks and descended, leaving behind an empty building.
Amired was dozing under the shade of his tree, roused by a tap from Jhond's boot. His eyes snapped open, but he soon relaxed when he saw his friends staring down at him.
"All done?" he asked as he got to his feet, adding with a grin, "Sequestered neatly in a pocket?"
"Yes, but we also have a new quest to pursue," Ninian said.
Amired frowned. "I thought you just came here to collect the contents, not to use it."
"We did, but we were each drawn to touch a particular crystal, and now we must follow where they lead," Jhond said.
"Ninian said a quest. Did he mean two?"
"To be honest, we're not certain. Possibly different questions with maybe one answer, but we won't know for sure until we follow the clues," Jhond replied.
"Which lead where?"
"North...both
Similar Books
Watch Dogs
John Shirley
Castaway
Joanne Van Os
Bobby Flay's Throwdown!
Bobby Flay
Salvation
Aeon Igni
Tyler & Stella (Tattoo Thief)
Heidi Joy Tretheway
Stark's Command
John G. Hemry
The Drop
Howard Linskey
Pros & Cons
Sydney Logan
Thomas Quick
Hannes Råstam