Page 60 of Apple Boy

Chamberlain Hawk knocked and entered the Great Council’s meeting room, and I could hear voices as they rose, locked in a heated discussion, but sadly, I could not discern what they said before Hawk closed the door succinctly behind him.

Gods, I could sense the power so intensely my teeth ached, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The gemstone thrust itself against violently at the fabric of my pocket and alarmed; I clapped a hand over it. I did not want to bring more attention to myself.

“Are you well, nephew?” Ivon asked as if noticing me for the first time this day. We had broken our fast in silence, and I’d observed several distrustful glances sent my way. I did not yet understand what had happened in the Half-Mast. Were all of those people who had been rendered immobile by our sorcery aware, yet imprisoned within themselves? I shuddered—what a horrible experience that would be. I hoped they were unconscious, but from the disdainful looks, Ivon was giving me I wasn’t sure.

“Aye, quite well Uncle. And you? Are you well recovered from last night’s debacle?”

“I am.” Ivon pondered for a moment and then, haltingly he said. “Did I make a…fool of myself last night?” He paused for an awkward moment and then the words spilled out.

“I fear I overindulged somewhat and have little memory of what I did, just a feeling of… foreboding, you know? A feeling that I am missing time and something significant occurred that I am unaware of. Even this very morn my valet was not his cheerful, attentive self.”

Adam and I traded a glance and a smile. I was relieved to hear that Ivon was just experiencing the doubts of a drunkard and not that he recalled imprisonment by magic!

“You did become a little amorous with a strumpet in Cheapside, but no, you did not disgrace yourself. And as for your valet, he was required to assist in carrying you to bed. I don’t think that his old man bones thought much of that!”

Ivon’s rested a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Ah! Thank goodness. I will make it up to Jaxon!” He proclaimed.

“I know not what has set the Great Council a flutter and was concerned I had done something to bring shame to the Aeling family name!” Ivon admitted. It seemed that we all felt a little guilty and concerned that whatever had roused the council members at midnight might be due to our actions. It was ridiculous, because we had no proof that they were even discussing magic. They may have been talking of raising taxes, or the fate of the Trojan Star for all I knew.

Taking a moment to compose myself I turned from Adam and my uncle and strolled to a window. I looked out on the bright blue of the day and onto the vast paved barren land between the tower and the outer walls of the citadel. It was so far away I pondered whether I would need a spyglass to locate the front gate. I observed the rings of striated stone paviours, their hues ranging from white around the outside and darkening in color as they made their way towards the Great Council Tower at the epicenter. Not a weed, bush, or tree grew from between the paving slabs. The Star-fall danced insistently in my pocket like a fractious pup, and so I gave in, threaded my fingers into my britches, and touched it. The gemstone grew warm in my grasp once more, and then power ran through my body like a flash of inspiration, and something happened that had never happened before—images were delivered to my conscious mind.

I felt like I was the Star-fall sitting proudly atop the tower. I could see for miles, and with this glorious vista, I understood the topography of the tower’s location and my, it was awe inspiring. I knew that the rings of striated paviours could only be seen to full effect by a bird or a person viewing from high up in the tower. I could see for miles across the city, down to the port and far out to sea. Flashes of images came faster and faster to my mind as if the stone itself was telling me its secret history. This Star-fall in my hand was a shard from an obelisk much larger and far more powerful, and it had traveled so far. I understood then that what I was observing was not just the citadel; it was the impact site and crater for the Star-fall.

The crash had occurred centuries ago during a violent storm that tore the sky asunder and made the earth tear itself apart, and in that storm, the blood red Star-fall plummeted as a gift from the Gods and crashed into a forest. The Star-fall stood as a red monolith protruding from a crater in the earth, remaining undisturbed for centuries.

Time passed and seasons changed until it was discovered by a tribe of the first inhabitants of Erias. The power that originated in the heavens leeched into the surrounding earth and forest into which it had crashed, ensuring that the earth, timber and all that was created with it contained magic. The wood from trees at the impact site was not burned for heat; it was prized to make weaponry that was near-unbreakable and imbued with strange properties. The impact of the crash created a huge circular depression in the earth, and I saw it as clearly as if I had born witness to the birth of the city with my very own eyes. This was the beginning of Serein, and those clever mages who had built the city with magic utilized the crater depression for the creation of living quarters, storerooms, chambers, meeting halls, kitchens, and goodness knows what else, and then roofed and paved atop them to create this impressive hidden citadel. The heart of the city was buried beneath it. I could understand now that this bolt hole was probably the safest place in the whole of the Empire.

I let the gemstone fall from my hand into my pocket. The images vanished. I turned away from the window, and my insights as Chamberlain Hawk opened the door to the council chamber.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

MEMORY

On walking into the Great Council’s hall I looked up and was once again taken by the concave ceiling ornamented with the most beautiful vibrant murals in hues of blue, red, green, and gold, and there in the center of the ceiling the circular opalescent glass oculus. The interior window stole my attention, reminding me of the moon and I did not understand how it filtered light into the hall.

Immediately, the Star-fall began to jiggle again in the pocket of my generously cut Sereinean britches. I slapped my hand to my thigh covering the fabric of my pocket. My uncle turned and gave me a narrow-eyed glare. Gods, I did not want to embarrass him, not in front of the most powerful people in the entire province.

Seats were laid out in a half-circle facing a crescent-shaped dark lacquer table with ornate high-backed chairs where the seven sat, their faces appearing drawn, their expressions ranging from the steely, unrelenting thousand-yard stare of Marcus Mortdel to the timid, childlike exhaustion Amber Silverich. We were seated in the same place as the day before, facing the crescent table

I settled in my chair as the scribe approached Madame de Belamine and whispered something into her ear. I was patiently waiting for proceedings to begin and discover how the Great Council would act, but then Adam elbowed me. I turned and gave him a querulous glare.

“What?” I whispered through gritted teeth. His eyes gestured down. I followed his insistent glare to see that my britches were tenting in the most embarrassing way as the stone seemed to be attempting to find a way to escape from the fabric of my pocket. For all intents and purposes, I appeared to be… aroused. I was horrified, and heat flooded my face. I hoped that no one else had noticed. I threaded my hand into my pocket and clasped the vexatious gemstone—a dart of volcanic heat seared at my skin. I yelped out loud, and my yell echoed around the chamber. The blasted thing had burned me. At once and all councilors sent their disgusted gazes in my direction. I wished at that moment that the earth would open and swallow me whole.

“Forgive me. I am…err… unwell. I need a moment.” I stuttered, then stood, bowed, and mortified, I scurried from the chamber.

“Ah… yes,” The sound of Ivon’s voice echoed in my wake, it appeared he was as alarmed as me by my hasty retreat, and I was grateful for his attempt to cover for me.

“My nephew has had a difficult night. He is deeply distraught due to all that occurred while on the Trojan Star. I beg a moment while he composes himself.” he blustered as I rushed from the hall.

Stepping out into the cool empty corridor was such an immense relief, then the door opened behind me, and Adam stepped out.

“What are you doing here?”

“What do ye think I’m doin’? Yer not leavin’ me te face that lot on me own!” He protested. “What’s goin’ on with you, anyways?”

“The bloody thing burned me,” I opened my right hand to see that my ancestral seal of a rose thorn was now branded in a dark red welt in the center of my palm. It hurt like hell.

“Looks sore! That stone definitely belongs to you now, like or not!”