Crystal Doors #1 (23 page)

“We must never let down our guard,” Helassa warned. “We must build up Elantya’s defenses.” Sages Abakas, Snigmythya, and Admiral Bradsinoreus left with the Pentumvirate.

Lyssandra walked down the ramp with an arm around her mother. Gwen felt her throat tighten when a burly bearded man shouldered his way through the crowd accompanied by a young boy with shoulder-length coppery hair — presumably the telepathic girl’s father and little brother. They ran forward to meet each other with massive bear hugs. Lyssandra only had time to glance back at Gwen and Vic before her family swept her into the crowd.

Reaching the crowded docks, the cousins stepped to one side and watched as novs, crew, and apprentices were welcomed back with open arms. Although they were glad to be safe in Elantya, this joyful homecoming was a sharp reminder to Gwen that
they
were not home.

As the docks began to empty and the celebration died down, Gwen had an acute sense of homesickness. She and Vic could always return to their quarters in the Citadel. Sharif and Tiaret would be there, but they were friends… not
family.
She wished at least Uncle Cap could be with them.

Dr. Pierce had wanted to send them here, to keep them safe. Now that Gwen had seen the deadly merlons attack a helpless training ship, she wasn’t sure she or her cousin were going to be any safer in Elantya.

Unless they could find Vic’s mother, somehow. Or unless they found a way to bring Uncle Cap through the crystal door to Elantya.

But they had no idea where to start.

THE NEXT DAY, WELL-RESTED, the group of friends bounded up the path to the laboratory and its tower, which was now overgrown with thick grapevines from the spell Rubicas had read.

Inside, the lab was abustle with activity. The old sage and his assistant seemed to be everywhere at once. From time to time, one of them would call out a number or a name. The other would agree, and Rubicas would hurry over to a high lectern carved out of marble. Without bothering to perch on the stool behind the writing table, the sage picked up a stylus, dipped it into an inkpot, and scribbled a line or two on a parchment scroll. Apparently, they had not stopped working on their ideas in all the time since the companions had set off on their training voyage.

While Vic and his friends waited for Rubicas to notice
them, Orpheon gave a warning shake of his head. The bearded sage held up one finger in their direction, as if to press it against their lips for silence, then dashed back to his writing desk and skritched furiously at the scroll.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sage finally lowered his finger. He stared at the scroll a minute longer, then smiled up at the visitors. “Welcome back. I’m glad to see you survived. All of you.”

“It was a close call,” Tiaret said.

Vic walked to the wall aquarium and stared at the four aquits swimming about. Remembering everything the
Walrus
had been through, he said, “Now I can see why these little guys think the open sea is too dangerous.”

Orpheon glanced sidelong at the tank, and a brief grimace flashed across his face. He stayed pointedly on the other side of the room.

The sage tugged at his white beard, and his gray eyes lit with enthusiasm. “Hmm, while you were gone, we had a breakthrough — a new sort of spell that could well protect Elantya. Would you like to see? It is only a small spell so far, you understand. It may take months, even years, to expand it sufficiently, but it has the potential to shield Elantya from all attackers.”

“Congratulations!” Vic said.

“That is a bit premature,” Orpheon muttered. “We have not tested it yet.”

“Hmm, testing. Would you like to assist us? It should prove quite enlightening,” Rubicas said. The companions quickly
agreed. He picked up the scroll, with its silvery ink still wet, and strode to the center of the chamber.

Sharif and Vic moved forward, jostling each other in their eagerness to see, but Orpheon said, “Stand back. I will let you know when you can participate.”

They were even more confused when the handsome apprentice handed Gwen a curved scimitar, then gave a javelin to Vic, throwing stones to Lyssandra, and a sling and several sharp-edged crystals to Sharif. Tiaret already had her dragon’s eye teaching staff. Orpheon showed them where to stand so that the five of them were spaced evenly apart facing the master sage.

Looking at his sharp javelin, Vic asked, “So, uh, this is the first time you’ve ever used this spell?”

“Yes. Let us see if we succeed.” Facing his armed helpers, Rubicas began reading from the scroll. It took almost a full minute for the sage to finish reciting what he had scribbled down. He blinked. “Well? Did it work?”

“I don’t see anything,” Gwen said, “so I would deduce that the spell was a flop.”

Rubicas raised a bushy white eyebrow. “Hmm. The eyes see only what may be seen.”

Vic muttered to Lyssandra beside him, “I hope that’s not one of Elantya’s best proverbs — I’m pretty sure we all knew that.”

The sage’s lips curled in amusement. “Very well, then you and your companions may join me on this side of the room now.”

Curious and confused, they all walked toward Rubicas. Vic
had taken no more than three steps when he smacked into something solid and unyielding. He yelped, then reached out to feel an invisible barrier. “Cool! It’s a forcefield, like in
Star Trek.”

“A shield, yes,” Rubicas said.

“Oh, now I can see it,” Gwen said, sounding embarrassed for having missed something so obvious. “It’s clear but all shimmery.” Intrigued, Tiaret tapped the barrier with the dragon’s-eye stone at the end of her teaching staff.

Vic rubbed his bruised nose. “Yup. It’s like dad always says about problems — you just have to look at the situation from the right angle.”

“Try your weapons. See if you can touch me.”

Gwen poked at the shield with the point of the scimitar while Vic prodded it with his javelin. Tiaret showed a great deal more enthusiasm as she swung her teaching staff, clearly confident she could halt the blow in an instant if something went wrong. The dragon’s-eye stone bounced off the shield.

“Excellent,” Rubicas said, standing behind his protection with his arms crossed. “Marvelous.”

Lyssandra’s throwing rocks had no more effect. After placing a crystal in his sling, Sharif swung vigorously and let the projectile fly directly at the sage. It ricocheted off the shield and hit the nearest wall before falling to the floor, just missing the bank of aquariums. The languid glow eels shone brighter in alarm. The aquits swam away, miming scolding gestures.

Looking smug and satisfied, Orpheon hurled a heavy crystal against the invisible wall with all his might. The assistant genuinely looked like an enemy trying to hurt the master sage, but the spell field rebuffed his attack.

Now convinced he would cause no real damage, Vic stepped back to throw his javelin, which struck and clattered harmlessly to the floor. Gwen took a firm two-handed grip on her scimitar and swung it harder, again to no effect. The blow sent a jolt up her arms, and she dropped the thrumming blade.

“Splendid. I believe this spell will be more than capable of defending us from merlons!” Rubicas raised his hands and said, “A’o’ah, S’ibah.” The shield dissolved. He walked toward them, and nothing stood in his way.

While the sage seemed exceedingly pleased with what he’d accomplished, Orpheon was more of a wet blanket, as usual. “This small test scroll was extremely complex. Expanding the shield into a dome with an effective radius will be a much more difficult task.”

The old sage scratched his left eyebrow. “Hmm, there must be a way. If we make use of large resonating lenses… or amplification rods. Or both! Yes, that is indeed the necessary next step.”

Lyssandra’s cobalt-blue eyes lit up. “Master Rubicas, several of those are kept in the storage tunnels beneath the city. My father was in charge of the Elantyan anniversary celebration two years ago. I remember where he put them and could get them for you right away.”

“Children should not be going down to the —” Orpheon began.

“Excellent, Lyssandra.” Ignoring the sour warning, Rubicas set the spell scroll aside on his work table. “We have no time to lose. You will need all your friends to help you carry the
resonating lenses and amplification rods — and be careful.” He grabbed his assistant’s sleeve. “Come, Orpheon. We must speak to the Pentumvirate immediately. This could be our best chance to save Elantya.”

Leaving the draft spells on the table, they all rushed out of the laboratory.

GWEN FOUND THE CAVERNS that riddled the foundation of Elantya fascinating. The entrance to the island’s underground passages was not far from Rubicas’s tower, and Lyssandra led the way down a long, chilly tunnel.

“Cool secret passages.” Noting hundreds of storage alcoves carved into the rock wall, Vic joked, “Not enough cupboard space up above?”

The telepathic girl explained, “We store food and supplies here, as well as seeds and roots for our garden plots. The temperature in these caves keeps perishables from spoiling as quickly and keeps our wines and ales cool.”

“Like an old root cellar,” Gwen said.

“Two years ago we had a grand Elantyan celebration. My father was in charge of the light show, and afterward he stored the equipment out of the way in the deepest tunnels. He
doubted the components would ever be used again, but it would have been wasteful to discard them. He will be very pleased that his foresight can help Sage Rubicas now.”

As they continued, the tunnels became narrow, cramped, and dark. Tiaret prowled along, wary of what might come out of the shadows. Lyssandra felt along the wall and exclaimed in annoyance, “Tunnel workers are supposed to leave suntips here to light the way. Every suntip is gone!” To forestall Gwen’s question, she added, “A suntip is a slender wand with a chip of embedded sun aja. We use them for portable light.” In vain, she felt in another of the alcoves. “Who would take them all?”

Sharif stepped forward. “Piri, it is your time to shine.” A warm buttery glow instantly filled the tunnel from the djinni’s globe.

Vic got out his keychain and turned on the LED flashlight. “It’s not as bright as Piri, but this should help. Sharif can lead, and I’ll bring up the rear.”

“These passages have been here since the rising of Elantya,” Lyssandra explained. “Many smaller tunnels connect to each other, forming an extensive maze that almost no one knows completely. Some are used by maintenance workers to move quickly from one part of the island to another. A few branches simply terminate in dead ends.”

Tiaret stopped suddenly. “This side tunnel looks freshly excavated.” Vic shone his flashlight. The unexpected passage abruptly continued downward at a steep angle, its walls and floors strangely smooth and slippery.

Lyssandra’s forehead wrinkled. “We are deep in the seldom-used passages, near where my father’s equipment was stored. There should have been no new digging.”

Sharif raised the glowing globe to cast a warm, scintillating light all around them. “Then we had better investigate.” As they descended into the sloping tunnels, the rock provided barely enough traction to keep from sliding. The passage quickly widened to a low-ceilinged cavern twice the size of Uncle Cap’s solarium.

“We must be at sea level by now,” Gwen determined, looking around.

Lyssandra shook her head in confusion. “This passage was not on any map or diagram. I did not know Elantyans were digging additional tunnels.”

“Could this be part of Vir Helassa’s new defense plan?” Sharif suggested. “Tunnels to get to the merlons, perhaps?”

The close, thick air smelled of fish and rotting kelp. At the far end of the chamber they were shocked to find a pool of water that rippled and lapped, as if from ocean currents. Sharif submerged Piri’s globe in the mysterious pool, and her glow gradually changed to the orange of agitation. Through the water, the friends could clearly see an undersea passage leading away from the bedrock of the island and out toward the deep sea.

Vic cleared his throat. “At the risk of stating the obvious, it seems like this passageway would make it easy for merlons to get
in
.”

“I agree with Dr. Einstein here,” Gwen said.

In alarm, Lyssandra pointed to some large objects stacked near the tunnel entrance: thick transparent cylinders and mirrored parabolic crystals like satellite dishes. “Those are the amplification rods and resonating lenses Sage Rubicas needs. Someone has moved them here!”

Sharif shone Piri’s light around the grotto. Numerous sacks of grain, crates of preserved food, and heavy bags of crystal dust had been dragged down to the rocky chamber. “The merlons appear to be stealing our supplies.”

“Now that’s a low blow,” Vic said.

With narrowed eyes, Tiaret scanned the chamber, assessing defense strategies. “The Pentumvirate did not consider that the enemy might approach from beneath the island.” She studied the watery passageway. “Observe how smoothly the rock was dissolved. It appears that the merlons used powerful sorcery.”

Lyssandra knelt at the edge of the pool. “If the merlons did this, they must have sent diggers ahead to prepare the way. Their magic is most effective where the water touches the rock.” She shook her head. “We always assumed they would come at us from the sea. We did not worry about the ground beneath our feet.”