The MirrorMasters (18 page)

I
nodded. Holed away in the library, we still hadn't managed to avoid the constant chatter, the speculation, the news feeds broadcast all over the data pads and large screens in the common areas. Few seemed to realize that a murder had taken place, or that Erik had committed it.

"How is it possible they have returned?" First Lady Rhianna clutched her hands tightly together, as if trying to still them. "They were executed, their spirits banished!"

"They had the Soul Crystal," Caleb explained. "Along with an ancient ritual, it was all they needed to regain their bodies. We brought them back to find a more permanent way of containing them."

Korin watched Prime Minister Roland's face carefully, almost suspiciously. I wondered what he noticed there, what I might have missed. "You seem to have a pretty good idea of the answers to First Daughter Leandra's questions. Care to enlighten us?"

Prime Minister Roland narrowed his eyes, his genial disposition evaporating now. "I would think you have enough to contend with already without concerning yourself with the political landscape. Let me worry about that. You just focus on getting the crystals before Aedalina and Erik do. By the way, how did you manage to let them escape?"

"They were in custody," Korin bit out with a hard edge to his voice, his expression thunderous. He stood, drawing himself up to his full height, his chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back. He faced Prime Minister Roland, staring him down. "I believe they had inside help to escape. From what my security chief Jaedyn can determine, it appears the man who gave them that help was the same one who once served under your security chief Lars. The same one you so highly recommended."

The two heads of state glared at each other, and I cringed. I wished my father would just give the answers we needed. Did he have something to hide, or did he think we needed to be spared from the whole story so we could focus on the mission ahead? Standing, too, I placed a calming hand on Korin's shoulder. "You have some idea of the moves they'll make, don't you, Father? Whatever you can tell us about their plans, what they did before, and why they did it, would help us prepare."

My quiet words must have reached him, because after a long moment, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and finally said, "Suffice it to say, Aedalina and Erik will do whatever it takes to gain control over all of Jantyr. Unleashing the disasters was just part of their methods to force each territory's rulers to cede power to them, as they alone claimed to be the ones with the power to end the threat. I doubt they imagined they'd be suspected as the ones behind the threat."

Now I was left to deal with the consequences of what they'd done. A surge of fury welled within me at the thought of everything I'd lost — everyone I might never see again — because of them. To save the people I loved, I would do this. I had to.

"Well, let's go figure out where the other crystals are so we can stay ahead of those two."

"No! Leah, we just got you back, and I don't want to lose you again," First Lady Rhianna protested, her mind clearly reeling in shock at all this information.

Prime Minister Roland put a hand on his wife's shoulder. They exchanged a glance, and I could almost sense the silent communication taking place between them.

"All right," the First Lady said with a reluctant nod. "Then we shall have to find a way for you to do what none before you have accomplished. You will survive this, Leah."

I nodded, too, if only to reassure the others. Forget figuring out how to survive — I'd be lucky if I managed to track down the remaining crystals and wield them in time.

"The best chance we have of finding the information we need is in the Hall of Records," Prime Minister Roland said. "Follow me."

The Hall of Records was located in the East Wing of the Castle, a separate wing that stood apart from the castle proper and permitted public access. There, people pored over texts brought up on sleek crystal computers with monitors the size of a large television, resembling a grander version of the pocket-sized data pad. Others worked in groups on projects, some young enough that I assumed they were students working on school assignments.

"We should be able to access the preserved records at one of the terminals," First Lady Rhianna said. "Anything we don't find will be in its original form in the archives downstairs."

We settled ourselves around an available terminal in an out-of-the-way corner. I was sure my parents selected that particular terminal to prevent others from seeing what we were researching. First Lady Rhianna logged into the most highly restricted archives that contained information not available to the general public. There, we found everything we needed, including maps, locations of the remaining crystals, where the crystals needed to be wielded, and the rest of the legends.

First, we found the story of the Influence Crystal. Together, the five members of our little group read this and the remaining parts of the legend of old:

T
he third warrior
journeyed to the Starlit Mountains, where a crystal forms inside a labyrinth of caves that holds the power to bend reality to one's will. This warrior formed a yellow, diamond-shaped crystal, the Crystal of Influence, which allows the wielder to reshape the world. If a wielder desires water in the desert, a river will form. When combined with the Crystal of Illusion, it is especially powerful. It will take all the wielder's mental focus to bring forth the renewal of Jantyr. Let the wielder be prepared.

I
kept reading
, hoping to see more information. "Is this it? There's nothing about where the crystal might be." I frowned, seeing that this was the end of the story.

First Lady Rhianna gave me a reassuring smile and tapped into the keypad. "Well, let's see what we can find." Her search retrieved a few images of ancient text that appeared to be scanned from weathered parchment. None of these ancient tales of past times of renewal had the key piece of information we were looking for, though — until we came across the final tale.

"This is from after the time of the last renewal," Prime Minister Roland said, scrolling through the pages. "The Influence Crystal was kept by the wielder's sister as a memento. After her death, it was stolen from her estate, and nobody could find it. There seem to be a few records here and there of a diamond-shaped crystal, but it could be anywhere now." His brow furrowed in concern, and he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

The group got quiet and tense at this news.

"We're not going to give up, surely?" Korin cut in before despair could overtake us. "There has to be more."

Prime Minister Roland shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The last record I can find of it goes back a thousand years. It says a diamond-shaped yellow crystal had been acquired by a shop in Emerald Oasis and was later sold to someone rumored to be working for the current king. The article then goes on to document an impressive list of victories following the possible acquisition of the Influence Crystal. No one seems to know what happened to it after."

"We'll start there, then," Korin said, decisively. "I'll have my Security Chief, Jaedyn, see what she and my officers can track down." He stood and stepped aside to have his conversation with her. Meanwhile, the rest of us wrapped up things by downloading all the information we had found onto our data pads.

"May you find success in your research, Jaedyn. We will talk again soon." The warmth in his voice was unmistakable as Korin ended the call and put his data pad away. When he returned to our research station, the rest of us stood and prepared to leave.

On the way out, we encountered a man I remembered from the morning's community meeting — the one with curly black hair that brushed his shoulders, a finely-trimmed beard and mustache, gold robes suggesting he harbored a not-so-secret ambition to succeed my father as Prime Minister, and a perpetual haughty scowl. He'd been sitting to my father's left at the table onstage.

"Ah, Your Majesties. Doing a bit of research today?” His gaze fell on the rest of the group, and his eyes widened in shock. "Caleb, you have returned. Then that means this is First Daughter Leandra! And Brian...! What a joyous occasion. This most definitely calls for a grand banquet tonight to celebrate."

"Of course, Commander Lars," First Lady Rhianna smoothly replied, while Prime Minister Roland slid a protective arm around my shoulders. "We were showing First Daughter Leandra and Brian around, and King Korin has arrived for her return as well. I will see to the preparations for tonight's feast."

They excused themselves, and Prime Minister Roland and First Lady Rhianna returned to the castle. With the adults gone, Korin, Brian, and I were left to our own devices for a couple of hours, so we decided to visit the local museum. Brian and I in particular wanted to learn more about the history and culture of our homeworld.

Outside, the air was cooler than it had been in the desert, and a gentle, refreshing sea breeze blew. People sat on the steps and on benches by flower gardens in the city's central square, and some sat by a large fountain in the center park.

"There's a crystal exhibit opening today at the museum. Let's go check it out," I heard a girl nearby say to her friend.

"Sounds good. But you know they're going to tell some ancient story about a lost First Daughter-MirrorMaster returning to save the planet, especially with everything that's been going on in the past few years."

"Like anyone actually believes those old tales. They are interesting, though. It makes you wonder…"

"Don't tell me you believe it? Sure, there's been an increase in disasters worldwide lately, but you don't think it's the end of the world?"

I didn't hear the reply, but found myself smiling. It sounded like any typical conversation I could have heard back on Earth, with people discussing the end of times.

Inside, the museum boasted hundreds of paintings, exotic sculptures, and the world's greatest collection of ancient artifacts — everything from scientific implements to tools and even royal jewelry. Like most other buildings in Astoria, the museum was all crystal with metal framework, making it light-filled, open, and spacious. Simple benches were spaced strategically for patrons to sit and admire the exhibits. One wing of the museum, I learned while accessing the museum's information on my data pad as others inside were doing, housed an ancient history department complete with exhibits of now-extinct animals.

The grand unveiling of the traveling crystal exhibit was not due to happen for another hour or so yet, so Brian, and Korin, and I took in the other exhibits first. Finally, about twenty minutes before the opening of the crystal exhibit, we stood in line to wait. Time seemed to pass with unbearable slowness, but eventually the doors opened. Everyone eagerly filed into the newly renovated wing.

"Do you think we'll actually find one of the seven crystals here?" Brian asked, glancing around.

I pondered this for a moment. It seemed a long shot to come across one in a public expo, but anything was possible. I wondered if I would be able to sense them — I had noticed a certain pull toward the crystal I'd already come in contact with — but when I tried, I couldn't sense anything. "No idea," I said finally, "but I hope so."

A
fter wandering
around the first room and checking out the vast assortment of crystals, none of which were the right ones, we moved on to the next room. As soon as I set foot in that room, I experienced that pull toward the left side of the room. Along the wall in a display encased in glass, I found it. The center crystal, a yellow diamond-shaped crystal, glowed at my approach. This drew gasps and whispers from the crowd around me, but I took no notice.

"It's here!" I called to the others.

"Incredible," Korin breathed, staring at the glow emanating from the crystal.

"How are we going to get it?" Brian asked.

"We explain what the crystal is and how we need it to put an end to the disasters," I said.

"No!" Korin's sharp voice echoed, too loud, in the room. "It's too dangerous. They won't believe the legends of old are true."

I held a finger to my lips.

"Tonight, after the museum clears, we'll get it," Brian suggested.

Korin nodded in approval.

Hating the idea, I also nodded in reluctant agreement. I stepped back, but the crystal continued glowing. The commotion this caused drew the tour guide's attention, and the lady came over to see what was going on. By now, the yellow crystal had begun to shake and move as though determined to be free. It passed through the glass, which rippled around it like a liquid, and then the crystal floated into my waiting hands.

"Let's go!" Korin ordered, grabbing my arm and pulling me away in an effort to disappear into the crowd.

Stunned, I took a moment to react but soon found myself going along with Korin.

"She's the wielder," I heard someone say. "That's one of the crystals from the legends of old!"

"It's her crystal," another said to a friend.

"Stop them! They're stealing," said yet another. "If the machine of legend is real, it could as easily end up destroying us as saving us."

I put the crystal pendant on my necklace as we made our quick, casual retreat from the room and headed toward the nearest exit. Most of the crowd parted to let us through, unaware of what had just happened. When we found an exit in a quiet area of the exhibit nobody had reached yet, we slipped outside and ran for the castle.

"
A
h
, there you three are. What's this about a stolen crystal at the exhibit?" Prime Minister Roland asked when he found us entering the castle. He was probably on his way out to the museum, having been summoned to the incident.

With a sheepish grin, I held up the yellow diamond. "The Influence Crystal was part of the exhibit. I was going to come to you about how to get it, but then it sort of took matters into its own hands when it came out of its glass display case and floated right to me."