Chapter 40
Wind rushed past me as I pulled open the door and stepped into the shop.
“I’ll be with you in just a moment!” Ma called from the back. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the shop. “For fucks sake.” I heard her grumble.
I made my way to the back to find her hunched down on her hands and knees, sweeping a broken jar into a pan.
“I said I’d be–” Ma grouched as she turned around and saw me. “Fia?” Her brow peaked.
My stomach twisted.
“Erm-Hi, Ma. I’m sorry to just drop in, but…” My voice trailed off as I looked around the room, noticing how tidy it was. The back shelves were stocked and orderly.
“You still use my system,” I breathed, turning to look at her again.
“Yeah, well. Guess I just got into the habit,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
A moment of silence slipped awkwardly past .
“Why are you here, Fia?” she finally asked, pursing her lips, but the look in her eyes had my heart sinking.
“I don’t have much time–I just… I needed to say goodbye,” I whispered, looking away and trying to distract myself from the moisture that was stinging my eyes.
“You’re leaving Luminaria?” she asked. She leaned onto her desk, her hands gripping it tightly.
I nodded. “I leave for Stormshire in half an hour.”
Another moment of silence passed. What was I doing? These might be my last moments with Ma, and I was wasting them. She needed to know. She needed to be able to prepare herself in case we lost control of the West. In case I died.
I walked towards her, eyes pleading.
“I know you don’t understand this Ma. I know you don’t agree with it. I know you’re terrified about what's next for me. But I’m going to tell you something. Something I hid from you, something that might make you see me differently.” My voice cracked, but there was no time to waste.
“The night of the celebration in the Grove, remember how I told you I channeled?”
Ma nodded slowly.
“I didn’t just channel. I lost control. I nearly killed two girls.” Tears were pooling in the corners of my eyes.
Ma stared at me, her mouth quivering. She began shaking her head, “No… Fia, you couldn’t have… I mean…” She looked down.
“General Ashford was able to get healers to them in time, but they were on the brink of death. If it weren’t for him, I would have their blood on my hands.” I steadied my voice.
“That’s why I joined the Guard. I couldn’t bear the thought of doing that to you. Or Osta. My control had become so weak. I was losing my temper over simple things. It was only a matter of time before I…”
Ma continued to look down. “I could never understand why you did it… It never made sense…” she said quietly.
Her eyes shot to me. “You should have told me, Fia. Maybe then I would have understood. Maybe then, we wouldn’t have spent the last few months…” she trailed off, losing her voice as a tear ran down her cheek. “We would have had more time,” she whispered.
“I was scared you would see me differently. I would rather you disapprove of my decision to join the Guard than see you look at me with horror in your eyes.” Tears fell down my cheeks.
“Nothing you could do would ever change how I feel about you, Fia. You’re.
.. Well, you always have been… my kid. Ever since you walked in here with that unruly hair.
That first day six years ago. I saw the sadness and emptiness in your eyes, and I knew.
We were the same. Two lost people looking for our place in the world.
And we became each other’s place. Each other’s home.
” She reached out and took my hands in hers.
They were more calloused than I remembered.
My chest heaved from the relief of her words, and guilt formed a lump in my throat.
“I’m so sorry, Ma. I’m so sorry I left you all alone here.” I could feel the sobs building in my gut.
Ma pulled me in and hugged me, wrapping her arms around me tightly as I sobbed into her shoulder. We stayed like that until my body calmed.
“What is happening in Stormshire?” she asked cautiously.
“There is a threat… a sort of enemy. We don’t understand everything about them.
But they’re from another world. And they’re lethal.
” I took a deep breath.“I’m not supposed to be telling you any of this, but I can’t leave you unprepared.
If we fail to hold them back… they will come for Luminaria,” I said.
“We believe they can kill in many ways, but they’re preferred method is suffocation. They literally rip the air from your lungs.” I winced, remembering the night before.
Ma was still staring at the ground, her eyes wide.
“Is there any way to destroy them?”
“We don’t know. But our best bet would be to survive long enough to find out. Without suffocating.”
Ma glanced toward the back of the room and scrunched her eyebrows. “I wonder…” she said, standing up and walking over to the back shelves. She paused in front of a set of vials with red contents. She grabbed them quickly and rushed them to her workstation.
“Fia, quickly. Grab the crushed whale bone,” she commanded.
Confusion washed over me, but I obeyed, grabbing the small, glass jar from the middle shelf. I walked over and laid it next to the vials she was now emptying into her cauldron. She reached for the powder, pouring it in as well, before leaning down to light the coals beneath.
“Ma, what are you doing?”
“I have an idea,” she said, stirring the cauldron.
“Ma, we really don’t have much time…” I trailed off as red smoke and the stench of seawater permeated the space around us.
“Ah, see? That didn’t take long,” she said as she used a ladle to scoop out the new concoction, pouring it into a small dish.
“Okay, it’s hot. But try it,” she urged, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
“Erm–Ma, what is this?” I eyed the liquid as my stomach churned. It was cooling into a thick paste.
“The red algae I collected from the Scarlet Coast. I noticed the fish in that area were behaving strangely, so I started studying it. After drying and grinding the algae into a powder... well the whole thing was an accident really. The dust was so fine that it became airborne, and I inhaled some. I was a bit nervous at first but after a few seconds... my lungs relaxed. And I realized I could hold my breath for an extended period. I played around with it a bit, discovering that a liquid version held the same properties. It’s a potential medical breakthrough, but I never knew what it's practical use could really be.” She held out the dish.
“As for this whale bone, it’s an amplifier.
” I had missed the way Ma’s eyes lit up when she talked about her work.
Reaching out slowly, I took the dish and held it to my nose. I coughed as bile rose in my throat.
“Dummy, you aren’t supposed to smell it first!” She scolded. “We don’t have much time, Fia.”
I closed my eyes and tipped the dish back, letting it fall down my throat. My face twisted. The taste was unimaginable.
“So…?” She eyed me.
“What am I supposed to be feeling?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Try to hold your breath,” she urged, rolling her eyes.
I took a deep inhale, halting once my lungs were full.
Seconds went by. Then a full minute.
I felt no burning sensation or urgency to exhale. My lungs weren’t contracting.
I looked at Ma with wide eyes. “This could save so many lives. You have no idea.”
“This is just enough for you, Fia. It won’t last more than a few minutes, so use it wisely.”
“Please, Ma. If you could make more of this, it could really make a difference. We could win.”
“I mean… I could go back to the coast, collect more algae. The whale bone I can get from traders.” Gears were turning behind her eyes.
“I’ll make it my first priority,” she assured me. “Jacquelina would probably accompany me. Maybe a few others. We can get as much of it as possible.”
“I’ll talk to the General. Maybe we can set up some sort of distribution to the West,” I said, as I heard the front door open. “That will be him. I guess my time is up,” I said, returning to meet her eyes. “Thank you for this, Ma. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She reached out, pulling me into another hug, “Be careful, Fia. And save this portion for yourself. Promise me?” She unbuckled my bag, slipping the vials inside.
“I promise,” I said hesitantly.
“Fia, it’s time to go.” I heard the velvety voice call from the front. He actually had the decency to give us a few last seconds of privacy. Color me shocked.
“I’ll write to you if I can,” I said, pulling my bag off her desk.
“I’ll be waiting. Love you, kid,” she said with a soft smile.
“I love you,” I responded before heading for the front. She didn’t follow me.
The General was at the door, pulling it open. “Let’s go,” he said, and we were on the cobblestone seconds later, walking quickly. Laryk veered right.
“Erm–the Compound is the opposite direction,” I said, looking behind us.
“We’re not going to the Compound,” he stated.
“What? Where are we going?” I asked. He was infuriating when he withheld information.
“To the stables.”
“Can you please tell me what’s going on?” Irritation laced my voice.
“You’re traveling with me. We’re going to collect our horses and begin the journey to Emeraal.”
“Emeraal? I thought the attacks were in Stormshire?” I said, squinting my eyes.
“We’re making a stop in Emeraal first. The King will hold a briefing there in a few days.”
“But why am I going with you?” I asked.
“Just walk faster, Fia. We need to get to the campsite before the sun goes down.”
I looked ahead and scoffed. It seemed like we’d have plenty of time for questions on the road.