“You listened to what the magic told you…”
He gave a sage nod. “Everyone in S’Kir uses ‘magic’ and ‘power’ interchangeably, and while they can be, the concepts are really very different. Magic is a symbiotic force while power is a brute force. And we wield magic, not power.”
The bricks of glass I built my shield with grew taller, and Vitas’s face, clothes, and the wall he sat on started to become less clouded with the magic.
Vitas leaned in close. “There are some who think we wield power, that our laws and words are absolute. They are not. Remember this, Kimber: The temple masters are true and loyal to the magic of S’Kir. Always.”
The horses cantered into the parkland surrounding the stadia.
The other masters with me were bantering lightly but under it all—listening to the magic as Vitas had said—the undercurrent of silence and secrecy rode in the words.
Mistress Ophelia pulled her horse up just outside the Breaking Cave.
I was a little surprised they’d come here.
The seven of us pulled to a halt, and Lunella nodded. After a moment, she urged her horse forward into the cave.
It had been weeks since I’d been here last, and again, the place had changed.
The scree that made my first visit there so dangerous had been cleared to form a clean path. There was evidence everywhere of teams of people to study the cave. There was…pollution.
Human pollution, a lingering feeling in the air of humanity and… well, the best thing I could come up with wasuncaring. Some were coming through with not an iota of interest in the purpose and reason of the cave. They merely wanted what it could do for them.
Further into the cave was a hitching post station, a series of gaslights, and a trough.
We weren’t the first to ride in this far.
The women with me were quiet now, dismounting and tying the horses to the posts at the trough. The leather boots we wore made no noise on the soft dirt that led to the Breaking Cavern.
I followed the women into the cavern and walked back toward the place where the magic had burst forth and picked me.
I still didn’t know what it picked me for.
All the masters called me the Breaker of the Spine, but no one bothered to explain.
Non-explanation seemed to be theirmodus operandi.
I could feel the pull of the cavern ahead. At first, it was easy for me to accept that I was linked to this cave. Now, though, as I learned more, I was starting to become frightened of it.
There was power there, the likes of which now truly overwhelmed me. No one should be able to access this much of the magic.
More, I didn’t want it to be me, and I didn’t want to be there again.
I followed a few steps behind, apprehensive about entering the cavern. I forced myself to take the few steps in as I instantly forgot all my fear of the place. Like an old friend with an old blanket and a cup of hot cocoa on a chilled night, the magic welcomed me again. The fright washed away, and I felt like I was home.
I watched the lights in the crystals pulse and dance, shading and tinting as they followed my mood.
I laughed, and the magic tripped through the crystals.
There were a lot more of them now—less of the hard, uncolored rock between them. Their cloudy facades were resplendent when the magic touched them. The cavern was larger—no, deeper than before. The roof felt as if it was at its natural height, but the walls wanted to reach further back.
Not yet, I thought.Give it time.
“Holy Mother,” Mistress Carolee whispered, spinning slowly in the cave.
Lunella folded her arms. “I told you.”
“I didn’t realize the effect was this strong.” Mistress Sona barely breathed the words.
