Aster Wood and the Book of Leveling (Volume 2) (15 page)

He raised the stone again.

“Morna” I whispered.

A rocky beach.

“Argh!” Almara shouted. He stomped away from us, and I snatched the stone from his waving hands before he had a chance to use it again. He walked around in circles, muttering angrily.

I found a boulder and sat down, trying to figure out what to do.
 

Jade stood, arms crossed, and looked at her father.

“What are we going to do now?” she asked, glaring at him. “He cannot get us there.”

“No,” I said.
 

All the pieces of the puzzle sitting right in front of us like a feast in front of a starving man, but we couldn’t get there. An idea tickled the edge of my brain, and without realizing what I was doing, I found my fingers moving around in the pocket underneath my shirt. They grasped an old piece of parchment, and I pulled it out, unfolding it and studying the ornately scripted instructions. Kiron’s instructions.
 

“It’s time for us to learn to make a link,” I said, my fingers tracing over the strange writing.

“But how?” Jade asked. “We don’t know anything about making links.”

“We don’t,” I said, “but
he
does.” I stood up and approached Almara, trying not to frighten him in the middle of his frenzy. “We will need to make a link.”

He stopped pacing.
 

“Of course,
you
would think that,” he said, smirking. “But we have not the tools we need.” His hands gripped the hair on the sides of his head as if he meant to rip it from his scalp. I placed my own on his wrists and stared him in the face.

“What do we need?” I asked calmly.
 

“Gold, for one thing,” he said.

“Gold, we have.”

He blew a snort through his lips, clearly not believing me.

“What else do we need?” I asked. “Just humor me, please.”

He fell to the pebbly beach, squeezing his head. Now it appeared he wanted to crush his skull.

“We have no frame,” he said, forlorn. Then he looked up, frightened and waiting for my reaction.

“What do you mean?”

“It was lost,” he moaned. “The brothers took the frame that our quest carried. They stole it and use it this very moment to wreak havoc on all of the lands. Without the frame, we are lost.”

I looked at Jade, confused. But she didn’t understand any better than I did.

“What is a frame?” I asked.
 

He froze, not understanding.
 

“Brendan,” he said, “how can you of all people ask me such a question? You, who are so talented with plotting. Are you ill?” His hand reached out and touched my head, searching for an unseen hurt.
 

“No,” I said, trying to think fast. “No, I’m not ill. But my friend here, well, you know, she doesn’t know about all this stuff. And you’re so much better at explaining it than I am. Maybe you could teach her.”

He paused, pondering each word that I spoke. And then, suddenly, he was on his feet, addressing us both like a professor in a college auditorium. It was alarming, the swiftness of the change in his demeanor.
 

“To make a link one needs four things,” he prattled. “First, one needs gold. Gold is the power that fuels the link. Second, one needs dustfire. Dustfire is the basis for the creation of the connection between worlds, as dustfire is universal on all worlds where humans can walk. Third, one needs to know the incantation by heart, so much so that no distraction imaginable could permeate its recitation. It must be spoken three times, again and again, so that the power from within the man can be drawn out and transferred to the link. Fourth, and last, one needs a frame.”

“And what is a frame?” I asked, as if it were purely for the benefit of Jade’s learning.

Almara’s eyes twinkled at me as though we shared a secret, and he turned to her.
 

“A frame is a map,” he said to Jade slowly, as if talking to someone a bit dumb. “It is a map of all the cosmos in our universe.”

Jade’s eyes were wide, drinking him in. It was the first time he had spoken directly to her without insult.

“The seer focuses on the point in space on the other end of the link, and gives the incantation simultaneously. The two actions are entwined as the musician’s hand and voice are entwined. They each operate differently, but are irrevocably connected, one unable to function without the other. It is a great art.” He stood now with hands on his hips and appeared quite satisfied with his description.

“But, what
is
a frame?” I asked again. “Is it on paper? Is it on stone?”

Almara laughed.
 

“It is not
on
anything, as you well know,” he nodded towards me. “It is
within
. The frame that I had, the one that was stolen from me, was contained within a small piece of diamond.” He bent and sifted through the pebbles at his feet, choosing one that suited his story. “It was about this size,” he said, holding up the walnut sized rock. “Frames are so rare. In my lifetime I have known of only three, and seen only one. They are placed within objects of desire, the makers unable to help but connect the immensely valuable frame with artifacts of similar value. They are inscribed with the six pointed star.” His finger traced the outline of an invisible star onto the face of the rock.

I froze, staring at Almara with my jaw wide. Then, looking at Jade, I saw that she had the exact same thought.
 

The medallion.

Almara was bouncing up and down like a kid on Christmas Eve. It had been many long years since he had created a link.
 

But his enthusiasm concerned me. He had been excited about the Kinstone as well, and that had not turned out at all as planned. Not to mention the uncontrollable tic he seemed to have of releasing Torrensai whenever he felt in the least threatened.
 

On the balance, I couldn’t decide if it was good to have him with us or if we were worse off for it. In any case, he had remained as focused as we had yet seen him and hadn’t forgotten me again. Though he still thought I was Brendan, maybe if we allowed him to help us with the link, he might come back to himself more. Maybe he would even recognize Jade.

She sat alone nearby, looking crumpled. I walked over to her and crouched down, putting my arm around her shoulder.
 

“It’s going to be alright,” I said. “We’ll get him to come back to himself. It’s just going to take some time.”

Her eyes moved to Almara as he knelt beside a small pile of driftwood.
 

“What do I do?” she asked, her voice small and injured. It was a question for a parent, not for me.
 

I looked over at Almara, who was holding both hands out over the pile of wood as if it were already alight and warming them.
 

“Maybe try talking to him,” I suggested. “It can’t hurt. And maybe he’ll get used to you. Start to remember. He was pretty excited to teach you—us—about links. Just keep asking questions. He’ll come around.”

She stared at me, concern and doubt in her wide eyes, and then back at him. He was a stranger to her.

“Come on,” I said. “Nothing’s going to change with you just sitting here.”

I stood up and offered her my hand. She took it and I hauled her tiny frame to standing.

“Just pretend you’ve never met him before. Give him a chance to get used to you.”

I nudged her towards him. She stumbled over and then knelt down next to him.
 

“Hello,” she said quietly. She looked back at me and I nodded encouragingly. “What are you doing?”

For a moment he ignored her. But she persisted, not leaving his side. Eventually he looked up at her, distrust in his sharp gaze.

“What do you care, girl?” he snapped. His mood had shifted again, and his teacher-like patience had vanished entirely. “Leave it to Brendan to bring back a girlfriend from Earth.” He snorted, his hands continuing to dance over the flames only he could see.

“She’s my friend,” I said. And then, more formally, “And Jade of Borna is worth your respect, whether you know it or not.”

He didn’t react to her name at all, and instead glared in my direction.

“And what has she done?” he asked. “She is nothing but a child. She is no seer. She knows not our ways.” He looked at Jade again, studying her face and hair. His mouth opened to speak, but this time no words came out. For a brief moment he seemed to lose his train of thought. His eyes connected solidly with hers for what seemed the first time since we had found him. They widened slightly, almost in recognition. The two held each other with their gaze, locked together. Then, he visibly shook himself, unable to maintain the level of concentration needed to recognize his own daughter’s face, or even her name.
 

Jade looked up at me, surprised. I nodded again.
 

“What do we do first, Fath— I mean, Almara, sir?” she asked.
 

“We have much to do,” he said, focusing his attention back on the pile of wood. “We must practice the incantation, pull the dustfire, plot the jump, and, finally, fuse the gold when we are ready. We must choose, also, the vehicle.”

“The vehicle?” she asked.

Almara sighed impatiently.
 

“Yes, child, the vehicle to hold the link. First, the incantation.”

I produced Kiron’s instructions, but before I could begin to read, Almara was already chanting. Years of practice had burned the words into his memory.

“In fire and gold

The fortune sold

In dust and frame

To worlds untamed

Through dark and light

And endless night

We fly as one

Our wings alight

Lock path and line

Heavens align

Until our feet

The soil they greet

On parallel

With gods and spell

Time beats the core’s

Celestial roar”

We followed his lead, and for several minutes the three of us said the words over and over. After what must have been twenty times, Almara finally stopped us.
 

“Good, good,” he said. “Good enough for now. We’ll practice again before we link. Next, the vehicle.”

I looked at Jade, shrugging my shoulders slightly.
 

“What’s the best thing to use?” I asked Almara.

“Brendan, your shocking lack of information is—”

"Will this work?" Jade had pulled out the golf ball sized ruby from her small satchel, the one she had discovered in the cave where we had faced Cadoc.

Almara's eyes widened hungrily at the sight of the precious rock.

"Why, yes of course, dear," he said, his tone suddenly sweet. "But, wherever did you discover such a prize?"

"You—” she began, but stopped herself before continuing. Almara, himself, had left it for her. She thought for a moment and then composed herself. "I was led to an abandoned dragon's lair, and there I wrested it from an enchantment."

Almara's eyes moved from the ruby to Jade's face, and he seemed to look at her with a new sort of respect.
 

"A dragon's lair?" he said. "My girl, that was foolish of you to attempt. And yet the spoils were clearly worth the peril.“ his fingers carefully stretched out to take the deep crimson gem. Jade shot me a glance, but I couldn't imagine what he could do with it that would jeopardize our plans. I nodded.
 

She dropped the ruby into his outstretched fingers.
 

"Ahh," he breathed, testing the weight of the gemstone. "You must be of magical heritage, to be able to discover such a treasure."

"I am, in fact," she said.

He held the ruby up to his eye, examining the clarity of the stone. I stifled a laugh. He looked like a mad scientist peering through a thick eyepiece, his eye magnified to triple its size by the clear red crystal.
 

"Yes, this will more than suffice," he finally pronounced. He handed the ruby back to Jade. "Now, the most difficult step of this process is upon us. But I daresay you will have little trouble with it if your frame is so precious as I suppose." He looked at me pointedly, and with a start I remembered that Brendan had been the member of the Wood family who had been deemed the most talented at plotting links.
 

"Um,“ I said. "I'm not sure I'm the right one to be plotting the link. You know, for the sake of teaching.” I inclined my head towards Jade. “Perhaps you can, you know, get us started?"

Almara sighed.
 

"Of course," he said. "I will teach the pretty girl so that you can concentrate on other things." He winked at me.
 

"No, no," I spluttered. "It's not what you think. I don't
like
her." And I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Jade put her hands on her hips and an angry snort came from her direction. "Not that you're not, you know, nice looking, but—”

"Yes, I understand," Almara said, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyways, girl, come over here." He pulled out the medallion I had shown him twenty minutes before and rested it in the palm of his hand. For a moment we were all silent, and but for the gentle lapping of the waves on the rocky shore behind us, nothing made a sound.
 

Then, Almara did something quite strange. He leaned over his hand, bringing his mouth less than an inch from the medallion, and gently blew on it. As if a candle blowing out, but in reverse, the medallion came to life. Tiny blue sparks spit out from the little golden circle, like gnats circling around a bulb on a hot summer night. They flew around and around, multiplying by the second, growing and growing, until finally he released the medallion into the air, where it hung, suspended by its own power.
 

The blue lights approached and then moved past all three of us, blooming outward, upward, all around in every direction. In moments we were enveloped inside a miniature floating sea of the universe.