Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
The rest of the group was waiting for them on the road outside the inn, and it was a relief to get in the saddle and on the move.
Xavier positioned himself far from Alina, knowing his current mood wasn’t one he wanted to display to her.
He was trying to make her regret turning him down, not congratulate herself for escaping a surly bear.
The weather was clear, and the ride to the refinement site went quickly.
Now that she’d crossed the barrier of her first flight, Zuzu was proving highly motivated to gain her independence.
She took every opportunity when the horses dropped to a walk or trot to stretch her wings.
She could keep up with them pretty well, and only once did Xavier have to rescue her from a fall.
When they were traveling faster than a trot, she perched on the saddle horn in front of him, swaying precariously with the horse’s motion, but quite firmly anchored with her claws dug into the leather.
She was definitely too big for a pocket now.
The motion did a lot to clear Xavier’s mind, and his moment of distress was left behind as they passed from the sparsely vegetated area outside Alina’s town into the true desert to its north.
The morning had been mild, but it grew steadily hotter as they rode along the path worn into the sand.
Xavier was glad someone had packed waterskins into his saddlebags, because he was soon parched, even though they hadn’t reached the full heat of the day when the refinement site drew into view.
“Incredible.”
The murmur came from Alina, her horse appearing alongside Xavier’s as the group started to slow.
He followed her gaze to the line of huge poles that could be seen not far away.
At the end of each one was an expanse of some kind of silky fabric, shaped like an open tube.
There was only a gentle breeze on their faces, but the poles were tall, and clearly there were more active air currents higher up, because each fabric tube flapped steadily with the wind.
The stillness of the desert was punctuated by their periodic slapping sounds, as the material snapped taut.
“They’re quite pretty, aren’t they?” he said.
“Yes,” said Alina. “But that’s not what I was admiring. Can you feel the Dust coming out from them? It’s being actively harnessed, so it’s stronger in my awareness. The combined quantity from all of those is incredible.”
Xavier focused his senses, trying hard to exercise that indefinable awareness of magic which he’d never developed beyond the basics. To his chagrin, he’d shown little aptitude for it, so even if it had been an approved part of his studies, he likely would have nothing like Alina’s skill.
“I can faintly sense it if I strain,” he said ruefully.
Alina smiled. “Well, you can’t be good at everything, I suppose.” Her eyes followed an invisible trail he couldn’t discern. “I think the magic is being used on those.”
They’d come to the top of a slight rise, and now had a better view of the refinement site below. Alina was pointing down at a seemingly endless series of glass panes, reflecting the light of the sun such that Xavier could barely look at them.
“You’re right, miss.”
They both glanced up at the cheerful voice, to see that Blair had approached. The liaison had been staying at the site while the rest of the group was in Alton, and had come out to receive them.
“Do you know much about chameleon steel?” Blair asked Alina, once introductions had been performed.
She shook her head.
“Well, it’s an incredible product,” the other man said, his eyes bright. “The ore doesn’t look like much, but when refined in the right manner, it has magical properties that allow it to change hue to camouflage with its surroundings. You can imagine the uses for armor as well as other things.”
“Yes,” said Alina. “No wonder it’s so valuable.”
Blair nodded. “It has to be melted down though, and fire seems to neutralize the magic. So they figured out in Dernan that if you take glass and fill it with the right kind of magic, it can sort of magnify the sunlight, making it hot enough to melt the ore.”
“What are all those dark, stone things next to the glass panes?” Xavier asked.
“Those are the molds,” Blair explained. “They’re made of cobaltite from Carrack, incredibly strong rock.
They can be used at least a dozen times before they crack from the pressure of the chameleon steel, which is far better than any other stone has performed.
The molten ore has to be poured straight in as soon as the glass and the sun have done their part, which is why the molds have to be out here. ”
“I see now why the desert is an ideal location for the refinement site,” Alina said. “A lot of empty space, and near-constant sun.”
“Exactly,” Blair said, warming to the topic.
“It’s an incredibly complex process, and they’ve done an excellent job here of setting it up.
” His eyes were alight with excitement, obviously enjoying the chance to examine the newly developed process up close.
The man always had an exhausting amount of energy about him, Xavier reflected.
“So the Dust from those pennant things is being directed into the glass panes so that they’re ready to manipulate the sunlight?” Alina asked.
Blair confirmed it, and she nodded wisely.
“It makes sense. Wind and heat are both pretty basic elements, it wouldn’t require complex manipulation to redirect magic between them.
” Her forehead creased as she looked around.
“It would take a lot of energy, though. Where are all the craftsmen who are harnessing it? There must be a dozen of them for this volume of power.”
“They’re just under the shade of the building over there.” Blair inclined his head, and Xavier saw a row of men and women sitting in the shade, their postures tense and their eyes locked on the refinement apparatus. “Too hot in the sun.”
“It’s all very interesting, isn’t it?” Alina commented, as they followed Blair into the building soon after.
She lowered her voice. “In terms of our investigation, though, it casts doubt on all the rumors that the disappearances are connected to this project. There’s a huge amount of magic skill being exercised right here.
Why would someone involved in this project have to go scouring nearby towns for the occasional barely skilled craftsman? ”
“Because these workers would be missed if they disappeared, I suppose,” Xavier said. “Which makes me hopeful that if someone here is involved, it’s not someone in charge, if the perpetrators have to cover their tracks.”
He held the door to the building open for her, glancing fruitlessly behind him for a sign of Zuzu. The bird had taken off when he dismounted, apparently eager to do her own exploration. He wasn’t sorry to be rid of her for a while, but he hoped she wouldn’t get up to too much mischief.
When they entered the building, it was to discover that the Carrackian manager in charge of the project had been called away and wasn’t yet available to meet with them.
After a brief rest and some refreshments, Xavier opted to wander around the site rather than sit and wait.
Several others accompanied him, including Alina.
They wandered through a large warehouse-style room where people were working with chisels, shaping the cobaltite molds.
Xavier stopped occasionally to talk with someone, asking about the work, the conditions, if anyone had seen anything strange.
The questions didn’t yield anything of interest. He turned away from one talkative worker to realize that only his guards were by his side.
He could see Captain Mitchell speaking with a supervisor across the room, but Alina was nowhere to be found.
“Where’s Alina?” he asked one of his guards with a frown.
“I believe she went outside, Your Highness,” the man said.
Xavier walked in the direction indicated, finding Alina in conversation with a couple of the craftsmen Blair had pointed out earlier. They appeared to have just finished their shift, and both were slumped back in their chairs, exhausted from the energy required to manipulate magic in such volumes.
“Alina.” She looked up at his voice, seeming surprised by his expression.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, moving toward him.
“No, it’s not,” he protested. “You’re not supposed to wander off alone, remember?”
“I’m not alone,” she said, staring at him. “The whole team is on site, and we’re surrounded by people.”
“Some of whom might be the ones snatching people off the street,” Xavier said, his voice low but insistent. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”
“Asking the craftsmen if they all feel safe on the worksite,” she said. “Which, incidentally, they do.”
He ignored her pointed look, scanning the group and raising his voice so they could hear him. “Do you all know each other?”
“We do now, Your Highness,” said the woman seated closest to them. She started to stand, but the effort was clearly taxing on her depleted energy resources, so Xavier waved her down.
“Most of us didn’t know each other before,” her closest neighbor added. “But we’re accommodated on site for the duration of our employment, so plenty of chance to mingle.”
“Have you noticed anyone who doesn’t seem to know anyone else?” Xavier asked. “Who keeps to themselves, or seems out of place? Maybe doesn’t seem to know their way around?”
He saw Alina looking curiously at him, but kept his attention on the woman in front of him.
“Can’t say I have.”
“The others inside said the same,” Xavier commented.
“Yes, most of them are pretty local, I think,” the woman said. “Try the manual laborers, Your Highness. I think a few of them were brought in from elsewhere.”
Xavier thanked her and moved away, Alina following.
“Are you asking those questions because of what you told me at dinner last night?” she asked. “Are you trying to figure out if there’s someone here from the continent?”