Storm Glass (43 page)

  As with most shops, the mixing room was separated from the factory to avoid having dust contaminate the glass. It was usually locked to keep ingredients and recipes a secret. Gressa’s wasn’t. She was either confident her workers wouldn’t intrude, or careless. I poked around the room. Despite my curiosity, I wasn’t going to pry open barrels or look in drawers. Standard mixing equipment and bowls were scattered on the counters. Powdered colors filled jars.

  A sparkle from behind the scale drew my attention. Tiny diamonds covered the bottom of a tray. I moved closer and pinched a few between my fingertips, rolling them around. No flash. Not diamonds, but gypsum crystals.

27

“OPAL.”

  I jumped and turned around. Gressa stood in the doorway.

  “Don’t you know it’s rude to snoop in other people’s mixing rooms?” She studied me as if seeking a sign of guilt.

  “Just looking for more innovations. Your factory is a wonder.” I hoped appealing to her ego would throw her off the scent.

  “It
is
the only factory of its kind.” Sweeping in to hook her arm around mine, she drew me out. “Let me show you my new hopper bins for sand.”

  In a whirl, she finished the tour. Ulrick and I were dismissed without fanfare. We stood out on the street for a moment amazed by the speed of events.

  “She didn’t even offer us anything to drink,” Ulrick said. “Not once did she ask any questions about you or me or our family. Sorry to put you through that. I don’t think I’ll visit her again.” He looked at me. “Something’s wrong. I can see it in your eyes.”

  How to word my discovery without sounding accusing?

  Ulrick grabbed my arm with alarm. “It can’t be that bad. Can it?”

  I tried the straightforward method. “I found gypsum crystals in your sister’s mixing room.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Damn.” He pulled me along as he walked away from the factory. “Maybe it’s not hers? No. She would never share her space.”

  “Maybe she viewed it as a challenge to create a glass resembling diamonds. Perhaps she doesn’t know what they’re being used for.” I tried to apply logic.

  “I’d agree with the challenge, but I’m not so sure about the ignorance.” He remained quiet during the trip back to the guest quarters.

  He stopped outside the building. A gamut of emotions washed over his face before he looked at me with a painful determination. “We need to know how involved she is.”

  “Should we tell Yelena and Master Jewelrose?”

  “Not yet. Opal, she’s family. Let me talk to her first.”

  “Sounds fair. What if she’s part of the Councillor’s sister’s plot?”

  “Then we see if she’ll help collect evidence against the sister in exchange for a lighter sentence.”

  “Will she agree to that?”

  “Only one way to find out.”

  “That’s my father’s line.” I didn’t know what else to say. Ulrick faced a difficult task.

  “Smart man, your father.”

  Ulrick returned to Gressa’s shop while I finished gathering supplies. I worried when the sun set and Ulrick hadn’t returned. As time elapsed, my imagination created a series of horrible scenarios, from being robbed in the city to murdered by Gressa. I convinced myself Ulrick was in dire straits.

  Mara’s comments once again nagged me as I paced the room.
What do you regret?
Yes, Mara, I regret letting Ulrick go alone. I regret dragging him into trouble. I regret being distracted by Kade and taking Ulrick for granted. Are you happy now, Mara?

  I couldn’t wait any longer. Shoving my sais in my cloak, I grabbed a handful of bees, raced from my room and collided with a messenger. We landed in a heap. So much for the appearance of a heroic rescue. I helped him to his feet, apologizing.

  “Isn’t the first time and won’t be the last,” the messenger said. “I’ve been run over by much worse.” The man peered around the hallway. “Can you tell me where Opal Cowan’s rooms are?”

  “I’m Opal.”

  The messenger looked pleased. “Good timing, then. I love it when that happens. Tracking people down is no fun.” He handed me an envelope and was on his way.

  I recognized Ulrick’s tight writing. Taking the message back inside, I opened the note. He wrote his sister was very upset and wanted him to spend the night. He thought by morning she would agree to help Master Jewelrose and Yelena.

  Relief melted my fears. I sagged on the couch and decided not to take Ulrick for granted anymore.

  Ulrick woke me early the next morning. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were wrinkled. He frowned.

  “What happened?” Alarmed, I sat up.

  “She escaped. Fed me a sleeping draft and was gone by morning. I’m such an idiot. I fell for the whole baby sister routine.” His voice held a rough edge as if he tried to suppress his emotions.

  My brother, Ahir, used to do the same thing, pretending to be fine after getting hurt. “What do you want to do?”

  “Master Jewelrose and Yelena will have to be informed. Can you tell them for me? I really don’t want to repeat all this.”

  “Sure, I understand. I have a sister, too.”

  He brooded for a while, sitting on the edge of my bed.

  “Was Gressa part of the plot?” I asked.

  “What plot?” Ulrick seemed confused.

  “With Councillor Moon’s sister.”

  “Sorry. I’m still groggy.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Gressa told me she had bragged during a government party that her crystal glass could pass for diamonds, and the Councillor’s sister challenged her to prove it. She did. The sister paid her for more fakes and when Gressa found out they were passing them off for real diamonds, she demanded more money. Typical.”

  An odd huskiness still tainted his voice. Perhaps it was a side effect of the sleeping draft or it could be because he had been tricked and betrayed by Gressa.

  “Why did she run?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe to tip off the sister? Perhaps she supports her.” He turned to me with a sudden intensity blazing in his eyes. “You know what? I don’t care anymore. We solved who’s making the fake diamonds, let the authorities deal with the whys. Besides, Gressa’s self-absorbed behavior made me realize just how self-centered and mopey I’ve been acting. No more. I’m not going to wish my life away. I’m going to enjoy life. Consider me a new man.”

  He gazed at me as if seeing me for the first time. A slow smile spread. “With a beautiful girl by my side, I have better things to do than mope.”

  “Eating breakfast?”

  He tugged my covers down.

  “Packing your bags?”

  He pushed me back onto the pillow.

  “Saddling Moonlight?”

  He stretched out beside me and ran a hand along my arm.

  “Catching up on your sleep?”

  His arm encircled my waist and he pressed his body against me.

  Before I made another guess, his mouth sought mine. As we kissed, I turned off my logical mind, and stopped worrying about the lack of a spark between us. After all, a steady flame could get just as hot.

  His deft fingers unbuttoned my shirt. A shiver brushed my skin as he pulled the fabric free. Ulrick sensed my desire and didn’t hesitate. Instead of making him forget his troubles, he made me forget mine. Either way, I knew Mara would be happy.

  Later in the day, I reported Gressa’s involvement with the fake diamonds to Yelena and Master Jewelrose while Ulrick packed our bags. When we mounted our horses for the trip back to the Citadel, Leif handed me a message for my sister.

  “Tell her I’d rather be home than traipsing around Moon lands, searching for more caves,” he said. Then he grew serious. “Be careful.”

  We had discussed taking a couple of soldiers with us, but decided Ulrick and I could handle any attacks. Plus we would stick to the main roads and overnight at town inns instead of in travel shelters.

  “And keep hold of those bees, they’re handy in a fight,” Leif said.

  “You watch yourself, too, or Yelena might promote you to scout.” I smiled at his mock horror.

  We mounted our horses and headed out of town. Bright sunshine lit the landscape. The air felt crisp. Townspeople bustled about and I realized their sense of expectation was due to the upcoming half-moon festival. Each of the eleven clans held a festival to celebrate the middle of the cold season, which was thirteen days away. The Keep hosted a dance every year. For the first time in four years, I’d have a date.

  Sitting on Moonlight, Ulrick scanned the crowded streets probably looking for any signs of trouble. My thoughts turned to when we had been ambushed by the Storm Thieves, but I decided not to dwell on the past.

  We stopped for the night in a small town just over the western border of Moon lands. Renting a room at the Fireside Inn, we ate dinner in the cozy common room. A huge fire roared in a stone hearth.

  “You’ve been quiet all day,” I said to him.

  “A lot has happened.” He stirred his tea. “Did you have another nightmare last night?”

  My newest dream, being trapped in ice. “Yes, but…” I waved it away. No sense rehashing it.

  In a flicker of firelight, his eyes changed color. I blinked and they returned to normal. My imagination no doubt.

  He covered my hand with his. “How bad are they?”

  “I think one of the glass prisons is calling to me.”

  He nodded as if expecting this answer. “The one you found in the cave?”

  “No,” I said in surprise. “I haven’t felt that one since I handed it to Yelena.”

  “Do you know where this new one is?”

  “All I know is it’s in the snow. An area that could include the northern ice sheet, northern Ixia, or on top of the mountains. Too big an area to search.” Ixia and Sitia shared a mountain chain. Called the Soul Mountains in Ixia, they were connected to the Emerald Mountains, which stretched all the way south to the Daviian Plateau in Sitia.

  “Your dreams get more specific the closer you get. We should travel north and see what happens. Once you find the prison, it may leave your dreams alone.”

  “Into Ixia? Without permission? You’re crazy.”

  He stared at me a moment, then smiled. “You’re right. Bad idea. A good idea is to increase the amount of sleeping potion Leif gave us. He told me it wouldn’t hurt you to drink more.”

  We finished dinner and climbed the stairs to our room. The icy dreams returned. I caught flashes of buildings while the snow blew, but I couldn’t move.

  I woke feeling as if my body had frozen solid. Rubbing my hands over my arms, I tried to work out the stiffness. With slow movements, I managed to sit up without waking Ulrick, sleeping beside me. I didn’t want to disturb him so I quietly changed into less-wrinkled pants, thinking about the fire downstairs and a cup of hot tea.

  I wrote him a note so he wouldn’t get upset, but when I laid it on my pillow, I paused. His sleep-tousled hair covered his eyes and he slept without a shirt. His chest and arms were muscular with only a few burn scars marring them.

  Since his run-in with his sister he’d been more…More what? Affectionate? Bold? He had always hesitated before, waiting for me to initiate. Then again, I had shown him I wasn’t afraid of his touch after he returned from his sister’s. Heat flushed my skin, remembering that morning and the hours we had spent entwined together.

  Leaning over, I gently brushed the hair from his eyes. In a blur of motion, he seized my wrist.

  “Where are you going?” Ulrick demanded.

  Surprised by his quickness, I gaped at him.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said. “Even with taking a double dose, Leif’s sleeping potion isn’t working. It tastes like a rusty nail. Did you tell Leif what we needed it for?”

  “Not specifically. Just to help you sleep.”

  “I can’t sleep and I’m freezing. I’m going to fetch a cup of tea.”

  With a playful smile, he yanked me down next to him. “You don’t need one. I’ll warm you up.”

  Definitely more bold.

  We returned to the Citadel without incident. It had taken us five days instead of four. Without Leif, neither one of us wanted to brave the plains to cut our trip by a day. Besides, we enjoyed the time together. Ulrick was full of questions, and I marveled at his changed attitude. I should thank his sister for making him realize how withdrawn he had become since discovering his limited magical abilities.

  Mara greeted our arrival with mixed emotions. Glad to see us and disappointed Leif hadn’t also returned. She turned all dreamy after reading his note.

  Later that day, Mara and I worked in the shop. My hands itched for a punty iron with a slug of molten glass. When we had finished, she pulled me aside. “You took my advice, didn’t you?”

  “I’m not admitting to it unless you agree
not
to gloat about it.”

  “Not gloat? No way.” She smirked. “I can tell by your expression anyway. You’re blushing.”