Chapter 7
Quartz, both with and without venom inside, litter the table as we’ve pieced everything together.
The book about crystals is spread before me, and I’ve read the same page a dozen times.
Bickering breaks through my concentration as I try to read the line about the magnifying properties of quartz once more.
“So the venom is in the quartz, and it can’t burn through it?
” Mathilda asks, strumming her fingers on the table.
Her long honey-colored hair is tied back in a high pony, the end of it braided and draped over her shoulder.
The pale-blue of her eyes seems brighter in the morning light streaming through the windows.
“Obviously,” Luna huffs.
The same question has been asked more than a dozen times in different ways over the course of the day. And each time, the agitation has gouged a deeper divot between her thin brows.
“So they stopped magic by putting venom in the quartz crystal?” Tane asks.
His head tilts to the side as he slides a piece of quartz between his hands. The crystal makes a screeching sound across the tabletop as it passes from hand to hand. The intricate spiraling tattoos on his arms ripple with each push.
“Yes,” Luna hisses. “Why is this so hard for you to wrap your minds around?” She holds her face between her hands, resting her elbows on top of the table. I think they’ve officially broken her.
“But how do we destroy the crystal? Shouldn’t the venom do that eventually?” Evander asks, poking a crystal with the tip of an arrow. A booted foot rests on the top of the table as he sits on the window bench next to her.
Luna slams her hands on the table as she stands and rips the arrow out of his hand. The sound and reverberation have everyone, myself included, flinching.
“Clearly, you can see it’s not eating through the crystal, but holding it.
Magnifying its properties because it’s quartz.
Together, they are blocking magic!” Her eyes flick from one person to the next.
“We have to extract and nullify the venom to regain magic. Does everyone understand now, or do I need to say it slower?” Her words are sharper than the arrow point gripped in her hand.
And I feel my patience slipping. Snapping the book shut, I stand and face her.
“I understand your frustration, believe me. But your clear disdain for my court has also been more than apparent. Do not think you have to stay. I—we—can figure this out without you.”
Luna’s gaze slides my way. She blinks once, as if in surprise I would ever suggest such a thing. But she holds my stare. My eyes narrow, and I refuse to look away. This is clearly some sort of test, or an intimidation tactic that I will not lose.
Lachlan clears his throat, and the others shift awkwardly in their seats, but still we do not break eye contact. After a few tense moments, Luna’s chin dips, and she lowers her eyes before plopping back into her chair.
“My apologies,” she mumbles.
My breath slides evenly through pursed lips.
“Okay, then. We have to destroy the venom, and the one thing I’ve seen do that is the raven stone under the mountain.”
“Right. It evaporated the venom into black smoke when it touched it in the cave,” Mathilda adds.
“Was that when ye had your wee accident?” Lachlan asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
I wave him off.
“We’ll need to open the quartz somehow and then extract the venom onto the raven stone.” I tap my finger to my lips as I think through the process.
Luna clears her throat, and my attention falls to her. “We also need to make sure we gather up all the crystals imbued with venom. This can’t be the only crystal inhibiting magic.”
My head tilts to the side as my brow wrinkles. “You think there is more than one?”
Mina nods quickly, her gaze swinging to Luna and back to me. “There would have to be to stifle magic across the entire realm. I bet you there’re crystals placed on each island.”
I lean back in my chair and tip my head up to the ceiling. “Of course there are,” I scrub my face with my hands, “alright, let’s figure out how to nullify this one, and then we’ll go on a quartz hunt.”
Tane raps his knuckles on the table, drawing our attention to him. “Why don’t we just smash it against the raven stone?”
Pursing my lips, I shake my head. “Breaking open the quartz that way would spray the venom everywhere, and that would be extremely dangerous. We need to be able to control where it sprays.”
Tane frowns, eliciting a giggle from Mathilda. “You can’t go around smashing things. You need to learn a softer way.”
He rolls his eyes and crosses his massive arms over his chest.
“They had to have gotten it in there somehow. There must be a seal we should search for.”
Luna worries at her bottom lip as she tilts her head. “It could take days to find. What’s the backup plan if we can’t find it or it won’t open?”
My attention shifts from person to person before Lachlan clears his throat.
“What if we created a sword or a needle out of the raven stone to puncture it? It’s much stronger than quartz. We could pierce it exactly where we needed to.” Lachlan’s question has the room quieting.
“We could control where the venom is released, and the raven stone would protect us from coming into direct contact with it!” My words come out rushed, and my excitement has my hands gesturing wildly.
“We need to mine some of it from the mountain and then have a blacksmith or maybe a jeweler fashion it into a weapon.” Lachlan stands swiftly and begins heading for the oak doors.
“Tane, can you go with him and see if it’s possible to mine some of the stone?
” Tane nods and follows Lachlan out. “Evander, can you check and see if there are any forges in the capital that are open? I don’t think anyone has had a chance to relocate here yet.
But if any of the established forges have reopened—we definitely need them. ”
Evander stands and bows before stalking out the door, leaving the rest of us staring at the crystal in the middle of the table.
Could it honestly be that simple? Destroy the crystal imbued with venom and restore magic?
I hold my necklace out, staring at the familiar runes, hoping for a sign that I’m on the right path.
A slight warming of the medallion has my lips spreading into a smile.
Yes, it could be that easy.
***
It was not that easy.
For starters, mining raven stone is extremely difficult and time-consuming.
After dozens of broken tools, we learned that you have to find a chunk that has already broken off naturally from the main stone and use a smaller piece of it to grind it down into the shape you want.
And with none of our forges open yet, Lachlan couldn’t construct anything but a crudely shaped sword.
However, we did manage to find a large enough block to grind down into a basin.
Which is a relief because after days of searching, we weren’t able to find where they inserted the venom.
Days we don’t even know if we have because we do not know what’s happening outside of our realm.
Julius and his demons could have breached the human realm or decimated our allies.
We have no idea, and the unknown is destroying me.
Between the stress of the unknown and scouring for an invisible hole in the quartz, the only assistance I’ve been able to contribute is reading through more of the books.
Luckily, Luna loves to read as much as I do.
So when we weren’t taking a shift inspecting the crystal chair, we were reading in companionable silence.
It’s taking a team of horses to drag the throne down to the training ground.
I figured having it outdoors and away from anything too important would give us the most room to work and reduce the risk of destruction.
The sun beats down on us from a clear blue sky.
The usual cooling breeze is nowhere to be found, making the heat insufferable, but safer.
No breeze means no venom blowing where it shouldn’t be.
Lachlan walks beside me as we lead the horses down to the training grounds. “So, what is the plan now?”
My head throbs as my heart rate speeds up. I feel like time is against us, and I’m running out of options. “I guess we’re going to try puncturing the throne with the raven stone.”
He studies my face. “And that’s nae what ye want to do?”
Evander pops up on my other side. “What don’t you want to do?” His brow arches, and he studies my face.
“It’s not that I don’t want to do it. I just feel like time is consuming my every thought, and I’m not thinking clearly.”
Lachlan nods. “If we need to slow down so ye can think things through, we can.”
I shrug. “I don’t know what else there is to think through. We know the venom is in there and that raven stone will negate it.” My shoulders drop with the sigh I heave. “I guess we can always go back to the books.”
Evander shoots a look over the top of my head to Lachlan, and they share a chuckle.
“Not you too,” I whine. “What do you have against books?”
Evander feigns complete innocence and turns his head back to the path ahead of us. “I’d rather be trapped in a chimney again.”
I roll my eyes as we walk under the archway to the training grounds.
The horses’ hooves are silent against the dirt as they continue dragging the throne to the center.
Dirt piles up in front of the colossal crystal chair as it’s pulled along.
Mina, Mathilda, and Tane all walk together behind it, and farther behind them is Luna, carrying the basin of raven stone.
We stop the horses. Lachlan and Evander set about unstrapping them from the throne and tying them up to the fence railing.
It’s quiet as I stand before the monstrosity.
I unknowingly hold my breath, and it’s only when my lungs ache that I remember to breathe. Gods. Why do I feel this way? I should be excited we’re finally doing something constructive to restore magic. But anxiety gnaws at my insides.