Page 41 of Aubade Rising
Kitto collects me the next morning, to show me the laboratory. I’ve not slept all night, despite having a bed for the first time in weeks. My thoughts are on Eskar, imprisoned in the cells and suffering. Nonetheless, I make sure to be more agreeable.
We make our way through the tunnels, taking another route and discreetly I try to map our journey by scuffing my heel at every corner, creating a shallow mark in the well-trodden mud. It’s not much but it’s a start. Our escape will depend on me.
I’m hopeful the journey to the laboratory will mean a trip outside so I can channel before we arrive but, to my dismay, Kitto opens a thick wooden door embedded in a nondescript corridor and ushers me in.
The setup is rudimentary at best: a few workbenches, some scales and other odd pieces of equipment I don’t recognise. It’s simpler than my first shared laboratory at Athnavar Academy.
Reading into my surprise, Kitto says, “I hope you weren’t expecting top of the line equipment and fancy measurement tools? It’s probably the worst laboratory I’ve ever worked in too but it gets the job done.”
Interesting, I wonder aloud where she worked.
“Nowhere you’d recognise. Let’s say I’m a long way from home.”
Ambiguous. I peer closely at her, searching for clues.
Her twisted smile shows she’s enjoying the joke.
The lack of daylight has drained her skin of colour which contrasts with eyes so black I can’t see her pupils.
Given the propensity for rain and cloud here, I wonder if she’s alluding to studying much further afield.
If she has connections outside Trevesiga.
“Let me show you where we are now.” Her pride is evident; she plans to impress. A nasty thread of insecurity pulls at me. What if she’s better, smarter than me?
Deft hands assemble seven crystals on the closest workbench in order of size.
Serpentine crystal. I recognise the vivid green colour with navy veining from Howl’s description.
Starting with the smallest crystal, the air quiets in the room as she wields.
The crystals look ordinary: no polishing or cleaning, just roughly hewn lumps of rock.
When the first begins to glow, she moves on.
With all seven glowing, getting brighter in intensity the longer they are left on the workbench, I back away to the door, looking for shelter, anticipating an explosion.
Laughing, Kitto pulls a lever and a bell rings.
Four men run into the room, grab the crystals with thick leather mitts and run out again.
Gesturing for me to follow, Kitto jogs down the tunnels.
A couple of turns and we’re in daylight; the men run several feet to the edge of the mist which looms overhead, blocking the sun.
They place the crystals down and retreat to the tunnel entrance behind us.
Smugly I realise why the lab is based there: it’s got easy access to outside.
I’m not the only one with incendiary issues.
We wait a few moments, watching the glowing crystals as they glow brighter and I begin to think she might have nailed it.
Then she throws a hand over my eyes and pulls me urgently to her chest. Seven booms ring out across the landscape and echo through the mists, each louder than the previous.
Between the bangs, Kitto laughs gleefully, revelling in the destruction.
My neck strains as she holds me to her chest. Ears ringing, I push away to survey the damage.
Seven concentric burn marks overlap in front of us, deep scores into the earth, the nearest alarmingly close to our feet.
She’s done it though – the magic was stored there temporarily.
It’s closer than what I’ve achieved. The only difference I can see is her access to the right material.
Based on Dervla’s theory that if I can fully master the Gallos, if I can gently feed my magic into the crystals, then it might actually work.
Her laughter subsides. “I love the bangs.” Hand on chest, catching her breath, her eyes sparkle.
“So, this is where we’ve been stuck for the last few months.
But now you’re here, we can finally make some real progress.
We need to delay the detonation as long as possible.
Ideally, I want to be able to pull the trigger whenever I want.
” She reels her objectives off like a shopping list.
Bombs. That’s all she’s interested in. Making bigger and more deadly weapons to cause more damage to ordinary people caught in the crossfire.
Her wolfish grin returns, canines catching on her bottom lip.
My hackles rise.“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Clearly you know all my experiments end the same way at the moment. We know the same as each other.” I fold my arms over my chest angrily, disgusted at her bloodlust.
“No, that’s not right. Our intelligence said something had changed, that you’d made huge progress. You need to show me what you can do. Or do we need to make another visit to your captain?”
I wonder if she means using the Gallos principals to imbue the magic, but Dervla suggested that weeks ago.
I scrabble to think of something to buy time; I need to stall. I survey the landscape. The mist is too thick and I don’t fancy our chances down a rocky cliff edge leading to nowhere. I need another way out.
“I’ll need to channel first. I’m spent.” Getting her to show me another way out of the tunnels might be my best option.
Her jubilant grin returns. “Fine, come with me.”