Several decades ago, a great mage had populated the conservatory with gold- and jewel-encrusted magical birds that flitted about and sang. They were wonderful to behold, and the old baron swelled their ranks with real birds—native and exotic. Arturus called the magical birds the gold of his crown and the living birds the jewels.
Flinn moved the crystal almost into the candle’s flame, and the scene focused more sharply. The intricately carved stone bench came into view as did the pond beside it, filled with brilliant-hued fish. Sunlight glinted off their purple and blue and scarlet backs as the fish occasionally surfaced. Flinn fancied for a moment that he even heard water splash and trickle.
From a door at the back of the scene, a woman entered the room. She walked slowly, her hand rubbing her pregnant midsection. Reaching the bench, she slowly sat down, her bulk making her movements less than graceful. She began crumbling bread into the pond, leaning toward where the fish frenziedly leaped to the surface. Her pale face, so perfectly composed in miniature, was blank and listless.
“Yvaughan,” Flinn whispered. Jo gasped.
The woman in the crystal looked up expectantly, as if she had heard something, and turned the way she had come. Then, very distinctly, Flinn heard a tiny voice say, “Is someone calling me?”
Yvaughan could hear him through the stone!
“Yvaughan! It’s me—Flinn!” the warrior cried.
The crystal popped and shattered, little pieces of it flying from between Flinn’s fingers and falling to the table. The warrior stood abruptly, his shocked expression tense. His eyes sought Jo’s.
“I—I saw my wife, Jo, in the crystal,” he said, his gauntleted hand trembling. “Or, rather, my former wife. She—she divorced me after… after… Did you see—”
“Flinn!” The girl grabbed his hands. “Calm yourself.” She nodded. “Yes, Dayin and I saw the image, too.”
Flinn’s moustache quivered. He nodded abruptly and squared his shoulders. He sat down again, one hand stroking his chin. “I don’t know what to do now, Jo. She seemed… unhappy. Should I try to see her through the crystal again?” Flinn looked aside. “She’s also with child.”
Jo and Dayin gazed intently at the warrior. “I take it… she’s remarried?” Jo asked.
“I assume so,” Flinn responded, still not looking her way. “I—we never had children.” Flinn found his thoughts skirting that particular hurt. He blinked, shaking the memory from his head. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Let’s test a different stone. The one we used was one of the abelaat’s, I believe.” He handed Jo the gauntlets and a six-sided crystal. “Here, Jo. This stone came from your blood, so you do the honors.”
Jo heated the stone as she had seen Flinn do. The former knight and the wildboy peered over her shoulders into the wine-red depths of the crystal. Flinn expected to see a continuation of the scene they had previously witnessed. But when the scene finally coalesced, it was not the conservatory they saw. Rather, they peered into a dim cavern, a cavern that twinkled with small lights. In the center of the cave lay a dragon, staring intently at his claws—a green dragon in perfect miniature. Flinn hissed, and Jo dropped the crystal, which fell to the table and bounced unharmed.
Jo’s eyes were wide with shock. “I’ve never seen a dragon before, even in miniature,” she said. “Was that Verdilith?”
He nodded once, abruptly. “Continue,” he prompted, pushing the stone toward Jo. She picked it up and again held it to the candlelight. After a moment or two, the image of the cavern came into focus.
Inside the tiny scene, the dragon lifted his head. He began looking about, his tongue flickering between his teeth. It was almost as if the creature sensed he was being watched. Johauna shivered but this time did not drop the stone. Flinn sucked in his breath.
The dragon moved his head sharply back and forth. He rolled off his pile of coins and began lumbering about the cavern. His golden eyes whirled feverishly about, and his tongue continued to test the air.
“Flinn!” came a quiet, powerful rumble from within the stone. All three felt a chill cross their bones. The call had come from the dragon.
The crystal shattered. Jo jumped as the pieces of the stone dropped to the table. Flinn and Dayin sat down in silence. “That dragon knew we were watching it!” Jo cried. Flinn nodded. “It would seem so.”
Johauna frowned. “I understand how your former wife heard us, because you called out to her, but we didn’t say anything to Verdilith. He couldn’t have heard us after I dropped the stone. Could he?”
“He… may have. That wyrm has some… extraordinary perceptions. I rather wish we had tried to call his name, but we might have courted disaster doing that,” Flinn finished.
Jo looked at Dayin. “Do you remember anything else about these stones?”
The boy’s blue eyes looked off into space while he chewed a fingernail. His eyes narrowed. Finally he said, “Sorry, I don’t remember.”
Jo turned to Flinn. “What about the mage in Bywater you mentioned? Can we bring the stones to him and find out what they’re good for? Or crazy Karleah?”
“Esald?” Flinn named the village wizard, then shook his head. “He’s quite a run-of-the-mill, garden-variety mage. Doesn’t deal in anything too exotic—or dangerous. No, Karleah’s the only person I’d trust with these.”
“Where is she?” asked Jo.
“She lives near the Castle of the Three Suns, though some distance north. A little northeast, if I remember correctly. She’d know about the crystals, plus no one would believe her if she mentioned I had them. She’s got quite a reputation for eccentricity,” Flinn answered.
“Should we take these stones to her, Flinn?” Jo asked. Flinn frowned. “Probably. I’m leery about testing them again when we don’t really understand how to use them. Obviously, they could prove extremely useful, and I’d rather not waste any more experimenting.” Flinn frowned again. “I think we will visit Karleah, and I think we’d better do it before we get to the castle.”
“Why?” Jo and Dayin asked simultaneously.
“If the stones can be made to show past events, then that will be all the proof I need to present to the council,” Flinn replied. Besides, he added privately, I may be able to check on a certain Sir Brisbois with Karleah’s help. We’ll see if he’s been haunting my woods on horseback. Flinn added, “I think I could have conversed with Yvaughan if the stone hadn’t burst. As to the ones made from your blood, Jo, I think they might be longer lasting and perhaps give a better image.”
Jo looked at Dayin, as if seeking some answer in the boy’s serene gaze. “Why do you suppose we saw those two images? I mean, why didn’t you see Bywater, and why didn’t I see Specularum?”
Flinn shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I do,” Dayin piped. “I remember that much now. Dada said you had to concentrate on what you wanted to see or who you wanted to contact.”
Johauna looked at Flinn closely. “Were you thinking of your former wife before, Flinn?”
“Actually, no. But I was daydreaming about the conservatory at the castle—it’s quite a sight. How about you? Were you thinking of Verdilith?” Flinn queried.
Frowning, Jo tried to remember exactly what she had been thinking. “No, no, I don’t think so, not consciously anyway. But… I was scared for some reason, and I was thinking about danger and the people in Bywater. It was all very jumbled.”
Coincidence? Flinn wondered. Danger for the town, or danger for us? What is that wyrm up to, anyway? He sighed heavily and said, “Well, whatever the case, next time we try the stones, we concentrate on a subject. We’ll do that with Karleah’s help. As to Verdilith, when we get to the Castle of the Three Suns, we’ll find out what plans they have for killing the dragon. They should have something in the works for dealing with Verdilith.”