Talc.
“Nasty,” she said. “That horrid stuff almost ruined me. How can I help?”
I paused. Knowing I needed to choose my words with care, I gathered my thoughts. “Does anyone else know about the properties of Brittle Talc?”
“Yes. My children all know. We still check every shipment of lime for the contaminant.”
“And you have…?”
“Five children, three boys and two girls. Two daughters- in-law, one son-in-law and six grandchildren.” She beamed with pride. “They all work here, except the grandchildren and my daughter Gressa—she’s in the Moon Clan’s lands. All have been trained to work with glass. They make wonderful pieces. Well…most do.” Cesca glanced at Ulrick.
He sorted goblets, rolled them in cotton sheets and placed them into a wooden crate. His movements precise and efficient; the strong muscles in his arms and body apparent to me even though he wore plain gray overalls.
Cesca’s family created eight more suspects. I wouldn’t have time to talk to them all. “Has anyone asked you about Brittle Talc?”
“Besides my family?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“But someone within your family was interested?”
The woman shot me a scathing look. “I hope you’re not implying one of my family members could be responsible for those brittle orbs.”
I rushed to assure her. “Of course not. But they may have talked to a friend or colleague. We’re just trying to find out who knows about the substance.”
“Ulrick had asked for more information about it. He wanted to use it. The boy likes to craft flawed pieces,” she said with a disdainful tone in her voice. “I told him if he ever brought Brittle Talc anywhere near Booruby, I would report him to the authorities. That is a criminal offence around here.” She pounded on her desk with a bony fist. “He never mentioned it again. Smart move.” Her pointed stare implied I should do the same.
Time to retreat. “Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else about this matter, could you please tell my father?”
She agreed, but, by her dismissive wave, I knew she wouldn’t pursue the subject. As I threaded through the crates, I spotted another one of Ulrick’s vases lying on the floor. I picked it up. The blue glass contained bubbles that had been stretched into long thin tubes. Marvelous. Tiny tremors rumbled in my fingers.
“Here,” Ulrick said, holding out his hand. “I’ll put that away.”
“Did you make it?”
A guarded expression cloaked his emotions. “Yes.”
“It’s fantastic.”
He rocked back in surprise. I stifled a laugh, remembering when Yelena had shocked me by being able to see the inner glow in my glass animals.
“But it’s unconventional. The seeds…” He shrugged.
“The bubbles enhance the piece.”
He gaped. I gave him the vase. When both of our hands touched the glass, it sang. A brief burst of surprised joy. If Ulrick heard the song, he didn’t give any indication.
I decided to risk being ridiculed. “What I also like about this vase is its joyful tune.”
Shock, fear and amazement flashed. He glanced at his mother, then grabbed my elbow, dragging me out to the alley.
“You heard it…sing?”
He hadn’t let go of my elbow.
“Only when you and I both touched it. Otherwise I feel its song.”
“Feel?” His fingers dug into my skin.
I pried his hand off. “Yes. It pops when I touch it.”
“But…but…” He yanked at his hair. “No one else can hear it. Or feel it. I don’t even know what it is.”
“It’s magic. Another magician should be able to feel the vibrations.”
Sudden recognition lit his eyes. “You’re the one who was invited to the Magician’s Keep! You’re the glass magician.”
I flinched. He used the same title as Blue Eyes.
He held up his vase. “Does this make me a magician?”
Probably a One-Trick Wonder like me, but I wasn’t going to say it aloud. “I don’t know. I’m meeting with Master Cowan soon. Perhaps you should talk to her. Can you leave for a few hours?”
Ulrick frowned at the door to the warehouse. “No one will miss me.”
“Sorry I was rather abrupt earlier,” Ulrick said as we led Quartz through Booruby’s crowded avenues. “I didn’t recognize you. You’ve grown.”
“So have you.” I glanced at him before focusing on the street. Quartz bumped my arm and I almost stumbled into him. “Watch it,” I muttered to her.
“Excuse me?”
“Not you. Quartz.”
Ulrick scanned the horse. His eyebrows cocked into an appreciative arc. “She’s well-bred. Must be a Sandseed horse. I’m surprised there are any left.”
The renegade Daviian Clan had decimated the Sandseed Clan, but a few members survived and started anew on the Avibian Plains. “Quartz is the first one to come to the Magician’s Keep in four years.”
“And she was given to you. You must be a powerful magician.”
“I’m not powerful.” I rushed to explain. “I helped a friend, who put in a good word for me about Quartz.”
“Fortunate for you.” His mouth twisted into a bitter frown. “Fortunate that you were invited to the Keep in the first place. That you get to travel with a Master Magician.” He was quiet for a few paces. “I guess you don’t feel lucky. You seem so casual about it all.”
“Would you rather I flaunt it?”
“I would flaunt it.”
But I didn’t earn my position and, even if I did, I wouldn’t take it for granted. At least, I hoped I wouldn’t. “A combination of tragic circumstances led to the discovery of my talent. You might have the same power.”
“I’m too old. Even my mother has given up on me.” Anger laced his words.
“You’re not too old. The Keep brought in Yelena Zaltana when she was twenty.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And Master Bloodgood mentioned searching for another…glass magician. Perhaps you’ll be one, too.”
