The Weaving of Wells (Osric's Wand, Book Four) (44 page)

For the first time in a very long time, Osric actually felt optimistic about the future of Archana, and he wanted nothing more than to find Bridgett and tell her the good news. He jogged through the corridors with rolled charts in both hands, drawing questioning looks and shaking heads from the few Aranthians who were awake before the sun rose. Osric smiled at each of them as he rushed past, slowing only when he arrived at the door to Bridgett’s chamber.

Osric burst through the door, breathing heavily from running through the corridors. He nearly knocked a vase full of fresh-cut flowers to the floor, but he managed to drop one of the charts he was clutching and catch the crystal vase awkwardly in one arm before it crashed to the rug. Bridgett emerged from the doorway to her bedchamber with tousled hair and eyelids heavy from sleep, startled by the noise. When she saw Osric leaning against the wall embracing the large vase, she smiled and he grinned back at her like a child caught playing too rough in the house. Osric carefully replaced the flowers on the stand near the door and rushed over to Bridgett, sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her passionately. She stood in the circle of his embrace, breathless and bleary-eyed, and Osric could only stare at her for a moment. Each time he held her he was still amazed that she was there with him, and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of the fear and pain that had gripped him so terribly when he thought she was gone forever. The relief that he could touch her, kiss her, was so potent that he found it difficult to speak before he caught his breath, and it had nothing to do with the exertion of running to her rooms. Bridgett turned slightly in his arms and looked down at the roll of parchment in his hand and the second one lying on the floor near the door. She glanced up at him with one eyebrow raised, and he released her to retrieve the dropped maps. Osric crossed the room and began to spread the charts out on the table near the window. Bridgett followed and looked down at the maps with lines and circles drawn in light all over the strange-looking charts. She waited for Osric to explain what had brought him to her door with such excitement so early in the morning.

“I’ve figured it out. I know how I can draw more magic from Archana than Dredek can access at the Well of Strands.”

“What are these?” Bridgett’s voice was still husky from sleep, but her eyes were bright and curious.

“These are charts of Archana. Well, more accurately they are charts of what lies beneath the surface of Archana. I was up all night working it out, but I did it.”

Bridgett looked at Osric with a wide smile as his excitement radiated toward her, and she couldn’t help but be affected by it.

“What did you do, love?”

“I mapped the flow of magic across Archana. I can identify where the greatest amount of magic comes close to the surface, so I can find all of the wells. Now, I just need a few of the world’s greatest Wand-Makers to help me manipulate the strands, and a few of the world’s greatest Earth Elementalists to help me manipulate the stone, and I can link all of the wells. If I can pull it off, I will be able to use all of the smaller wells at once to magnify my power, and it should be enough to outweigh the power that Dredek has in Angmar.” Osric’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were fierce as he gazed down at her. “I can defeat him, Bridgett, from half a world away from the Irua Realm!”

“Osric, that’s incredible!” Osric would not be battling Dredek in direct combat again, and Bridgett was as elated about this as she was about the prospect of undertaking such an amazing feat of magic. Osric grabbed her hand in his and began dancing her across the room, twirling her in circles, and Bridgett laughed as the room spun around. She felt lighter than she had since she had stepped through Chandra’s beaded curtain what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Bridgett collapsed into Osric’s arms, giggling like a little girl, and he kissed her again. For a moment, only his lips and his arms existed, and if she could have had her way it never would have ended. Osric released her reluctantly, but he quickly rolled up the maps and kissed her on the cheek.

“I have to go find Gus. We have a lot of work to do today.” Osric rushed to the open door, leaving Bridgett standing in the middle of the chamber with a soft smile on her lips and the room spinning slowly around her.

26 — Weaving Wells

Gus and Eublin stared at Osric in silence. Gus’s ear was twitching steadily, and he opened his mouth a few times as if to say something, but then he closed it and continued staring in silence. Eublin kept pushing his spectacles up his nose even though they weren’t sliding down, but his mouth remained closed. Osric sat in the chair, his feet propped up on his desk, waiting for the response. He had expected Eublin to be bouncing with excitement, and he was sure that Gus would launch into one of his classic tirades about the irresponsibility of using magic they didn’t understand. While he was explaining his plan to the others, Bridgett had slipped into the room. She stood against the wall with an expression somewhere between worry and anger, but she too remained quiet. Honestly, Osric was growing quite anxious as all of them just stared at him. He dropped his feet from the desk and propped his elbows on his knees, staring back at them just as intently. Eventually, one of them would speak, and then they would come up with a plan and Osric would try to end the war once and for all. Eventually. Eublin finally broke the silence.

“We knew that the wells could tip the balance of power in our favor, but what you are suggesting…” Eublin shook his head. “Are you actually suggesting what I think you are suggesting?” Before Osric could respond, Gus’s twitching spread from his ear to his entire body and he began stammering and then yelling.

“Boy,” he shouted, “either you are suicidal or you are a plain idiot. Channeling that much power could kill you!”

“Gus, I…”

“Let’s ignore the fact that nothing like this has ever been conceived before. Let’s just ignore the fact that no one in the history of Archana has ever attempted to use a fraction of the power you want to tap into and survived. Let’s also ignore the fact that what you are suggesting would be a hundredfold greater than the powerlock you experienced with two wands!”

“How do we know that?”

“What? Are you as foolish as I thought you were when you refused to believe me about that wand I made? I was right then too, by the way. I’m great, but I didn’t make the prophecy wand. I know my limits, and you don’t!”

“Gus, how do we know that nothing like this has ever been conceived of before? The wells are evidence that we know next to nothing about magic, even with everything we have discovered. We don’t know that no one has ever used this much power before, because we can’t even begin to understand what it took to create the Well of Strands. We don’t know what I can handle either, because we don’t fully understand how my power growth works. For all we know, I can channel a thousand times the magic in that powerlock, but the point is we don’t know.” Osric didn’t allow Gus to interrupt him. “What we do know is that Dredek is attempting to raise his people from the dead by using the greatest amplifier of magical power that exists in this world. What we know is that if we don’t find a way to combat him with at least as much power as he has access to then he will succeed, and we cannot even begin to contemplate what the consequences will be. What we know—what
I
know—is that if we don’t do this it will be our fault because we didn’t try, and if it kills me then you will take up the reigns of the Aranthians and keep working to make this world a safe place, a good place, for our people, for all people.”

“And you expect us to help you do this?” Gus was still yelling, but his ear had stopped twitching.

“Yes Gus. I expect you to help me—you and many others—because I can’t do this by myself. You may not have made the wand of the prophecy, but you have been making magnificent wands all of your life. There are very few people in this world who can do at all what you do effortlessly, and I need that talent on my team, because you are right that we don’t really know what we are getting ourselves into. I might be the one who will be channeling the power when we’re done, but we have to pull this off first, and I think with your help we can do it. What do you say?”

“Stop trying to flatter me into agreeing to this crazy scheme and tell me exactly what your plan is.”

Osric pointed back at the maps spread out across his desk. He indicated each of the circles of light scribbled on the parchment.

“Each of these is a potential site for a well. We need to confirm which of these areas have ports and which don’t, because that will determine if the terrain can be altered without causing significant risk of a rupture in the stone.” Next he pointed to the lines drawn in varying directions between the circles. “These are the segments with the highest concentration of strands near enough to the surface. We need to connect as many of these areas as possible, while isolating the well in Angmar if we can. Once the net of strands is complete, I should be able to utilize all of the wells by accessing only one of them. From that well, I will have more power than Dredek has.”

“So we need to get someone to each of these locations. But once we identify the feasible sites, how will we connect the strands?” Eublin was standing on his chair to better see the charts on the desk.

“Well, with the help of the Earth Elementalists, we will align the stone that channels the most strands between the sites. We need to make sure there is no interruption with less productive stone, water, or other substances that interfere with the density of the strands. To avoid unforeseen consequences, we need to change the ground as little as possible but just enough that we have a continuous system of high-density strand flow connecting all of the wells. The wells themselves should serve as an outlet for any power or pressure that otherwise might cause an explosion, eruption, or other complication. Can you help me recruit the best Elementalists and Wand-Makers for the job? I want to have it done today.”

“I was wrong. You aren’t just going crazy; you have long since arrived there. This whole idea is absurd,” Gus said, pacing back and forth along the edge of the map on top of the desk. He mumbled to himself while Eublin leaned forward on his chair to scrutinize the charts closer and Bridgett’s expression slowly grew less worried and more angry. Gus’s eyes darted back and forth, searching over the map as he moved. Then, Gus suddenly stopped pacing and threw his paws in the air, looking up at Osric with narrowed eyes, “But I can see that you are going to attempt it with or without my help, so the least I can do is try to keep you from killing yourself. I can’t do that if I am not with you, so I will help. Tell me how many Elementalists you think you can gather, and I will seek out as many with the sight for strands.”

“Look at the charts,” said Osric. “These, the most feasible and most necessary wells, are the ones I want to focus on. We will need at least two dozen of each to link the twelve wells that I believe I can link. If we can come up with more, there are a few more potential sites here and here.” Osric pointed at two outlying circles on the map.

“Where will you be? Where will the primary well of your system be?” Bridgett finally spoke from across the room, and her voice was even and low. She approached the desk, looking only at the maps rather than at Osric. He watched her for a moment, and then he placed his finger on the map.

“Here, in the elven ruins by Braya. It has the highest concentration of strands, and it is located closest to Angmar. It’s the best location.”

Bridgett nodded, then turned to Gus.

“Then that is where we shall be. Go find twenty-two more Wand-Makers, Gus.”

Osric rose from his chair. “Bridgett—”

“Gus and I will be at your side,” she cut him off before he could protest. “We will help you with the strands while you direct what must be done with the stone.”

“I don’t know what will happen. What if—”

“Osric, you don’t know what will happen. None of us do. You can’t protect me, and I can’t protect you. Come what may, I will be by your side.” Bridgett’s voice never quavered and her hands were not trembling as her anger carried the words from her throat. “If you succeed, it will be with me at your side. If you fail, we fail.” She stared up at him with only a hint of a smile and fear in her eyes. “Don’t fail.”

Gus scampered from the room, turning right and heading for the stairs that would take him to the Wand-Maker’s workshops on a lower floor of the barracks. Though many of the Aranthians had been spending extra time in the arena training in weapons and combat, he hoped to find at least half of the crew he needed for Osric. The wizards who had been studying and perfecting the crafts of wand-making, amulet construction, and charms all had the ability to see and manipulate the strands, and Gus had personally helped recruit many of the best with the gift on Archana. He would need more, but by the end of the day he would find the people that Osric needed, no matter what it took. He would even be willing to persuade Eni to help them if he had to, even though his rival Wand-Maker had not been Trusted into the Aranthians. Osric believed that this was the only way, and Gus had a gnawing feeling that they were quickly running out of time.

Bridgett continued to stand against the wall, silently watching Osric sort through that myriad of emotions that he never had to voice because she could feel each one acutely as her own. She didn’t know when it had happened exactly, but she could no longer distinguish between his feelings and hers. When he laughed, she felt joy. When he worried, she became slightly nauseated. When he was scared, her heart raced and it was difficult to breathe. Her Empath ability had either strengthened as she acquired some of his gifts, or he had become so much a part of her that she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. His heart-wrenching fear that she would be killed if she was with him when he tried to channel more power than he could logically contemplate was crushing her chest too. Her anger that had kept her voice steady when she thought she might fall apart was a burning rage that he would risk something so likely to kill him. She was furious that he had left her head spinning and heart fluttering with a kiss on her lips in her chambers, dancing around in his excitement about his new discovery, just to find out that his discovery would allow for such a dangerous endeavor. He hadn’t even intended to tell her what he was planning, as far as she knew, because he had run from her rooms with a smile on his face and left her dizzy with happiness. She had wanted to know more about what had inspired him to wake her, and now all she wanted to do was set the maps on fire and pretend that Dredek didn’t exist.