Chapter 189: A Great Divide

Chapter 189: A Great Divide

Sebastien

Month 4, Day 17, Saturday 12:55 a.m.

This time, Siobhan wasnt able to hide her shock. The celerium mines are running dry? The question echoed in her head, drowning out all other thought for a long moment.

Youdidnt know, Grandmaster Kiernan said, his eyes wide. He frowned. Lord Stag didnt even tell you what you were stealing? Perhaps its him you should be paying a visit in the middle of the night.

Theres another misconception at play here, but lets set that aside for the moment. Tell me more about the celerium. No secrets, no lies.

Grandmaster Kiernan swallowed hard but nodded readily. A select few people have known for a while. Thats why prices have been rising so steeply. The Church of the Radiant Maiden, some of the Crowns, and a few among our number have been quietly buying up all the high-quality celerium on the market. Slowly, so as not to cause a panic. The Red Guard has probably been doing the same, but who knows with them.

Celerium isnt the only thing thats been rising in price, Siobhan noted, her mind calling up the tags on various rare components in the market. Shed thought they were exorbitantly priced just because she was in Gilbratha, where they gouged you for everything.

Kiernan raised his hands, palms up in a half-shrug. Well, yes. People arent oblivious. Components that are useful for particular battle and protective spells are being stockpiled, and the whole thing creates a ripple effect. Other people see prices on rare components rising, or cant secure their usual supply, and they buy a little more than they need in case the situation continues. It becomes a vicious cycle and spills over into other areas.

Siobhan tightened her hands into fists, then stretched out and flexed her fingers wide. How long are Lenores celerium mines expected to last?

Kiernan shook his head. I only have estimates. Five years, maybe ten. But the mining is slowing down as we go. The Crowns have known about the issue for a while already. Theyve searched the entire country for any other celerium deposits and found nothing.

Five years, Siobhan murmured. That was nothing. Five years until they ran out of the most valuable commodity on the planet.

Without the book, our only hope will be to venture outside of the known lands in search of other deposits, or fight over the few remaining mines that still have supply. Silva Erde has a mine with a few decades remaining, according to our spies. Osham Unless theyve done a great job of keeping new sources confidential, theyre in a similar situation to us. Theyre blustering as always about being the strongest, undefeatable and infallible, but its just propaganda.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

What else is being done? Surely, with this much time to prepare

Kiernans lips twisted, sending his bushy mustache sweeping to the side like a broom. Well, the Crowns most loyal thaumaturges and a select group here at the University have been working on creating ultra-pure artificial gemstones, blood gems from compressed magical beast blood, and any way that we might reconstitute shattered celerium into a whole once more. That, along with more arcane attempts to imbue objects with greater channeling capability. But just as in the thousands of years before this, none have come up with anything that can stand beside celerium. None except Myrddin, he corrected quickly.

Thaumaturges have been using the celerium up for millennia now, shattering it into uselessness bit by bit, thinking that the deposits would never run dry, Siobhan thought. I never even considered that celerium was a thing that could run out. It seems so obvious now, but I never questioned the status quo.

Aloud, she said, It will create a class divide between thaumaturges that can afford celerium and those who cannot.

Kiernans sharp intake of breath revealed his ignorance.

Everyone believes that if they find Siobhan Naught, they can obtain the method to transmute celerium. You might have wondered why I didnt know of it, if I have that book? A book which was in truth taken by coincidence, or perhaps a compulsion, though I cannot be sure because I was not there at the time. But I do not hold the book you are searching for. Inside my book was something else, contained in a space-bending array that might have grown weak with time. Something powerful, precious, and old, but certainly not the kind of thing that could do what you hope for. Either your information about what Myrddin was working on is very wrong, or Ennis Naught didnt steal the book that everyone thought he did.

Kiernan stared at her, wide-eyed and clearly thinking hard, but the question he asked next wasnt what she expected. What happened to Siobhan Naught?

Siobhan tilted her head to the side. Obviously, she was sitting right in front of him. Why was he speaking as if she was someone else? Surely everyone knew that, even if she were sprouting feathers from her hair and acting theatrically, the Raven Queen and Siobhan Naught were the same person?

But maybe they dont, she realized suddenly. Could that be an opportunity to clear my name? If I could detach my original identity from the crimes of the Raven Queen Ill have to be vague about it. Im not sure exactly where this misunderstanding stems from. She didnt have time to consider all the ramifications. This opportunity faded with every moment that passed. Siobhan Naught was innocent, she said softly. A promising young thaumaturge, but not powerful or skilled enough to evade capture. But now I am here, and I am none of those things.

Siobhan could only hope that these words wouldnt come back to bite her in an unforeseen way, as the things she did without proper consideration so often did.

Kiernan, though, just nodded slowly, staring hard as if trying to see her face underneath the shadows of the cloak. So the book we need ismissing?

She hummed noncommittally. That was the question she had expected him to ask from the beginning, or close to it. It seems so. I have one, you have three, and so another party must have the last. Now, I cannot be sure which is missing, but if Myrddin did write about such feats, then it seems likely to be the book you are all so desperately searching for. And the person who could manage such a smooth deception, letting no hint slip of their involvement? If I were you, I would be very careful how I went about investigating the location of the fifth book.

Kiernan let out a harsh breath, sagging as he brought his fingertips up to his forehead. Give me discernment, he muttered, almost too low to hear. He lifted his head and lowered his hands to look at her. But you could decrypt it, if you did have it? Could you decrypt the others, the ones we have, too? He didnt pause for her to answer, speaking more to himself than to her. Even if they dont have the culmination of Myrddins research, they might have hints of what developmental path he took along the way. We might be able to devise our own solution independently, if we knew the right direction.

Imight be capable of reading them. Someday, she added silently. She smiled wide and allowed the expression to leak into her voice. But you would have to offer me a tribute that would make it worth my time, and the danger. Do you have anything that could tempt me?

Kiernan fell silent, his gaze moving down and to the side as he thought.

Siobhan stood. She had learned all she needed, and it was time to go before she made a mistake or the tides of irony brought on some horrible, unexpected danger. She moved to walk away, but behind her, Kiernan called, Wait!

She turned, glad that he had stopped her, because she remembered something important. Tanya Canelo, she said.

Kiernan frowned. Yes?

She has asked for my protection, and done a favor in advance to pay for it. If you cause her harm, you will pay in kind. She is not yours anymore. You may continue to employ her, if you wish, as long as you remember that she is mine. There. Hopefully it would act as some portion of protection for the other woman against being sent out on further suicide missions. No matter what he says, it seems Kiernan and the High Crown are not so different in that way. He is a hypocrite.

Stating an affiliation to Tanya might make it harder to use her for covert activity, but Tanyas life had to be worth more than Siobhans convenience.

As Siobhan reached the edge of the tree line, she activated the dowsing artifact and allowed herself to disappear into the shadows between their towering trunks.