“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Wrong?” Grandpa Smedry said. “Why, if something had gone wrong, we’d have been shredded to little pieces and turned into piles of sludge!”
“What?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention that part?” Grandpa Smedry said. “Like I said, virtually impossible. Come on, my boy, we have to keep moving! We’re late!”
He scuttled out of the box, and I followed more cautiously. We had indeed been teleported somewhere else. It had been so quick I hadn’t even felt the change.
This new room we entered was made completely of glass. In fact, the entire building around me seemed to be made of glass. I remembered the enormous glass mushroom I’d seen when flying into the city, with the crystalline castle built atop it. It was a safe bet I was in Crystallia. Of course, there was also a pair of knights holding massive swords made entirely from crystal standing at the doorway. They were kind of a clue too.
The knights nodded to Grandpa Smedry, and he bustled out of the room. I followed hastily. “We’re really there?” I asked. “On top of the mushroom?”
“Yes indeed,” Grandpa Smedry said. “It’s a rare privilege to be allowed into these halls. Crystallia is forbidden to outsiders.”
“Really?”
Grandpa Smedry nodded. “Like Smedrius, Crystallia used to be a sovereign kingdom. During the early days of Nalhalla, Crystallia’s queen married their king and swore her knights as protectors of their noble line. It’s actually a rather romantic and dramatic story—one I would eagerly tell you, except for the fact that I recently forgot it based on its being far too long and not having enough decapitations.”
“A just reason for forgetting any story.”
“I know,” Grandpa Smedry said. “Anyway, the treaty that merged Nalhalla and Crystallia stipulated that the land atop the mushroom become home to the knights, and is off-limits to common citizens. The order of knights also retained the right to discipline and train its members, once recruited, without interference from the outside.”
“But aren’t we here to interfere?”
“Of course we are!” Grandpa Smedry said, raising a hand. “That’s the Smedry way! We interfere with all kinds of stuff! But we’re also Nalhallan nobility, which the knights are sworn to protect and—most importantly—not kill for trespassing.”
“That’s not a very comforting rationale for why we might be safe here.”
“Don’t worry,” Grandpa Smedry said happily. “I’ve tested this. Just enjoy the view!”
It was tough. Not that the view wasn’t spectacular—we were walking down a hallway constructed entirely from glass blocks. It was late afternoon outside, and the translucent walls refracted the light of the sun, making the floor sparkle. I could see shadows of people moving through distant hallways, distorting the light further. It was as if the castle were alive, and I could see the pulsing of its organs within the walls around me.
It was quite breathtaking. However, I was still dealing with the fact that I’d betrayed Bastille, that I’d just risked being turned into a pile of goo, and that the only thing keeping me from being cut apart by a bunch of territorial knights was my last name.
Beyond that there was the sound. It was a quiet ringing, like a crystal vibrating in the distance. It was soft, but it was also one of those things that was very hard to un-notice once you spotted it.
Grandpa Smedry obviously knew his way around Crystallia, and soon we arrived at a chamber being guarded by two knights. The crystal doors were closed, but I could vaguely make out the shapes of people on the other side.
Grandpa Smedry walked over to open the door, but one of the knights raised his hand. “You are too late, Lord Smedry,” the man said. “The judgment has begun.”
“What?” Grandpa Smedry declared. “I was told it wouldn’t happen for an hour yet!”
“It is happening now,” the knight said. As much as I like the knights, they can be … well, blunt. And stubborn. And really bad at taking jokes. (Which is why I feel I need to mention page 47 again, just to annoy them.)
“Surely you can let us in,” Grandpa Smedry said. “We’re important witnesses in the case!”
“Sorry,” the knight said.
“We are also close personal friends of the knight involved.”
“Sorry.”
“We also have very good teeth,” Grandpa Smedry said, then smiled.
This seemed to confuse the knight. (Grandpa Smedry has that effect on people.) However, once again, the knight simply shook his head and said, “Sorry.”
Grandpa Smedry stepped back, annoyed, and I felt a twist of despair. I’d failed to help Bastille after all she’d gone through for me. She should have known not to rely on me.
“How are you feeling, lad?” Grandpa Smedry asked.
I shrugged.
“Annoyed?” he prompted.
“Yeah.”
“Frustrated?”
“A bit.”
“Bitter?”
“You’re not helping.”
“I know I’m not. Angry?”
I didn’t answer. The truth was, I did feel angry. At myself mostly. For partying with Rodrayo and his friends while Bastille was in trouble. For forgetting about Mokia and its problems. For letting my grandfather down. It hadn’t been that long ago that I’d always assumed that I let everyone down. I’d pushed people away before they could abandon me.
But working with Grandpa Smedry and the others had made me begin to feel that I could lead a normal life. Maybe I didn’t have to alienate everyone. Maybe I was capable of having friendships, of having family, of …
There was a slight cracking sound.
“Oops!” Grandpa Smedry said in a loud voice. “Looks like you’ve gone and upset the boy!”
I started, looking down, realizing that I’d let my Talent crack the glass beneath my feet. Twin spiderwebs of lines crept from my shoes, marring the otherwise perfect crystal. I blushed, embarrassed.
The knights had grown pale. “Impossible!” one said.
“This crystal is supposed to be unbreakable!” the other said.
“My grandson,” Grandpa Smedry said proudly. “He has the Breaking Talent, you know. Upset him too much, and the entire floor could shatter. Actually, the entire castle could—”
“Get him out then,” one of the knights said, shooing me away like one might treat an unwanted puppy.
“What?” Grandpa Smedry said. “Antagonize him by throwing him out, and you could destroy the castle itself! We’ll just have to see if he calms down. His Talent can be very unpredictable when he’s emotional.”
I could see what Grandpa Smedry was doing. I hesitated, then focused my power, trying to further crack the glass at my feet. It was an extremely foolhardy thing to do. That was what made it exactly the sort of plan Grandpa Smedry would come up with.
The spiderwebs at my feet grew larger. I steadied myself by touching the wall, and immediately created a ring of cracks around my hand.
“Wait!” one of the knights exclaimed. “I’ll go in and ask if you can enter!”
Grandpa Smedry beamed. “What a nice fellow,” he said, taking my arm, stopping me from breaking more. The knight opened the door, stepping inside.
“Did we really just blackmail a Knight of Crystallia?” I asked under my breath.
“Two of them, I believe,” Grandpa Smedry said. “And it was really more ‘intimidation’ than it was ‘blackmail.’ Maybe with a twist of ‘extortion.’ It’s always best to use the proper terminology!”
The knight returned, then—with a sigh—gestured for us to enter the chamber. We walked in eagerly.
And then Grandpa Smedry exploded.