The woman bowed her head to me, helmet under her arm, her hair a deep, metallic silver. The face seemed familiar. I glanced at Bastille, then back at the woman.
‘You’re Bastille’s mother?’ I asked.
‘I am indeed, Lord Smedry,’ the woman said, the tone of her voice as stiff as her armor. ‘I am—’
‘Oh, Alcatraz!’ the other person said, interrupting the woman. This girl sat in the chair beside the dash of the cockpit, and she wore a pink tunic with brown trousers. She had the face I’d seen through the Courier’s Lenses – long black hair, a little bit curly, with dark skin and slightly plump features.
‘I’m so glad you made it,’ the girl exclaimed. ‘For a while, I thought we’d lost you! Then Bastille saw that light shooting into the air, and we figured it was from you. It seems that we were right!’
‘And you are . . .?’ I asked.
‘Australia Smedry!’ she said, hopping out of her chair and rushing over to give me a hug. ‘Your cousin, silly! Sing’s sister.’
‘Gak!’ I said, nearly being crushed by the powerful hug. Bastille’s mother looked on, arms crossed behind her back in a kind of parade-rest sort of pose.
Australia finally let me go. She was probably around sixteen, and she had on a pair of blue Lenses.
‘You’re an Oculator!’ I said.
‘Of course I am!’ she said. ‘How else do you think I contacted you? I’m not really that good with these Lenses. Or . . . um, most Lenses, actually. Anyway, it’s so wonderful to meet you, finally! I’ve heard a lot about you. Well, a couple of things really. Okay, so only two letters from Sing, but they were very complimentary. Do you really have the Talent of Breaking Things?’
I shrugged. ‘That’s what they tell me. What’s your Talent?’
Australia smiled. ‘I can wake up in the morning looking incredibly ugly!’
‘Oh . . . how wonderful.’ I still wasn’t certain how to respond to Smedry Talents. I usually couldn’t ever tell if the Person telling me was excited or disappointed by the power.
Australia, it seemed, was excited by pretty much everything. She nodded perkily. ‘I know. It’s a fun Talent – nothing like breaking things – but I make it work for me!’ She glanced about. ‘I wonder where Kaz went. He’ll want to meet you too.’
‘Another cousin?’
‘Your uncle, actually,’ Australia said. ‘Your father’s brother. He was just here . . . Must have wandered off again.’
I sensed another Talent. ‘His Smedry ability is to get lost?’
Australia smiled. ‘You’ve heard of him!’
I shook my head. ‘Lucky guess.’
‘He’ll show up eventually – he always does. Anyway, I’m just so excited to meet you!’
I nodded hesitantly.
‘Lady Smedry,’ Bastille’s mother said from behind. ‘I do not intend to give offence, but shouldn’t you be flying the Dragonaut?’
‘Gak!’ Australia said, hopping back into her seat. She put her hand onto a glowing square on the front of what appeared to be a glass control panel.
I walked up beside her, looking out through the dragon’s eye. We were still moving upward and soon would enter the clouds.
‘So,’ I said, glancing back at Bastille. ‘Where’s Grandpa?’
Bastille remained silent, staring ahead, back stiff.
‘Bastille?’
‘You should not address her, Lord Smedry,’ Bastille’s mother said. ‘She’s only here acting as my squire, and is currently beneath your notice.’
‘That’s nonsense! She’s my friend.’
Bastille’s mother didn’t respond to that, though I caught a slight look of disapproval in her eyes. She immediately stiffened, as if having noticed that I was studying her.
‘Squire Bastille has been stripped of her rank, Lord Smedry,’ Bastille’s mother said. ‘You should address all of your questions to me, as I will be acting as your Knight of Crystallia from now on.’
Great, I thought.
I should note here that Bastille’s mother – Draulin – is by no means as stiff and boring a person as she might at first seem. I have it on good authority that once, about ten years ago, she was heard to laugh, though some still claim it was a particularly nasty sneeze. She has also been known to blink occasionally, though only on her lunch break.
‘Squire Bastille has not executed her duty in a manner befitting one who carried the title Knight of Crystallia,’ Draulin continued. ‘She performed in a sloppy, embarrassing manner that endangered not one, but both Oculators under her protection. She allowed herself to be captured. She allowed a member of the Conclave to Kings to be tortured by a Dark Oculator. And, on top of all of that, she lost her bonded Crystin sword.’
I glanced at Bastille, who still stared straight ahead, jaw clenched tightly. I felt anger rise in me.
‘None of that was her fault,’ I said, looking back at Draulin. ‘You can’t punish her for it! I’m the one who broke her sword.’
‘It isn’t fault that is punished,’ Draulin said, ‘but failure. This is the decision of the Crystin leaders, Lord Smedry, and I was sent to deliver it. The judgment will stand. As you know, the Crystin are outside the jurisdiction of any kingdom or royal line.’
Actually, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know a whole lot about Crystallia in the first place. I’d barely even gotten used to being called ‘Lord Smedry.’ I had come to understand that Smedries are held in great respect by most Free Kingdomers, and figured that my title was something of a term of affection for them.
There was, of course, a lot more to it than that. But, there always is, isn’t there?
I glanced back at Bastille, where she stood at the back of the cockpit, face red. I need to talk to my grandfather, I decided. He can help sort this out.
I sat down in the chair beside Australia. ‘All right, where’s my grandfather?’
Australia glanced at me, then blushed. ‘We’re not exactly sure. We got a note from him this morning – delivered via Transcriber’s Lenses. It told us what to do. I can show you the note, if you want.’
‘Please,’ I said.
Australia fished in her tunic for a moment, searching through pockets. Finally, she found a wrinkled-up piece of paper and handed it over to me.
Australia, it read.
I don’t know if I’ll be there at the pickup point. Something has come up that requires my attention. Kindly fetch my grandson for me, as planned, and take him to Nalhalla. I will meet up with you when I can.
Leavenworth Smedry
Outside, we rose into the clouds. The vehicle really seemed to be picking up speed.
‘So, we’re going to Nalhalla?’ I asked, glancing back at Bastille’s mother.
‘As long as that’s what you command,’ the woman said. Her tone implied it was really the only choice.
‘I guess it is, then,’ I said, feeling a slight disappointment, the reason for which I couldn’t pin down.
‘You should go to your quarters, Lord Smedry,’ Draulin said. ‘You can rest there; it will take several hours to journey across the ocean to Nalhalla.’
‘Very well,’ I said, rising.
‘I will lead you,’ Draulin said.
‘Nonsense,’ I said, glancing at Bastille. ‘Have the squire do it.’
‘As you command,’ the knight said, nodding her head at Bastille. I walked from the cockpit, Bastille trailing behind, then waited until the door slid closed. Though its glass, I could see Draulin turn and stand, still at parade rest, facing out the eyeball of the dragon.
I turned to Bastille. ‘What’s that all about?’
She flushed. ‘Just what she said, Smedry. Come on. I’ll take you to your room.’
‘Oh, don’t get like that with me,’ I said, rushing to catch up. ‘You lose one sword, and they bust you back to squire? That doesn’t make any sense.’
Bastille flushed even more deeply. ‘My mother is a very brave and well-respected Knight of Crystallia. She always does what is best for the order and never acts without careful thought.’
‘That doesn’t answer my question.’
Bastille glanced down. ‘Look, I told you when I lost my sword that I would be in trouble. Well, see, I’m in trouble. I’ll deal with it. I don’t need your pity.’
‘It isn’t pity! It’s annoyance.’ I eyed her. ‘What aren’t you telling me, Bastille?’
Bastille muttered something about Smedries but otherwise gave no response. She stalked through the glass corridors, leading me toward – I assumed – my cabin.
As I walked, however, I grew more and more displeased with events. Grandpa Smedry must have discovered something, otherwise he wouldn’t have missed the pickup, and I hated feeling like I was being left out of important things.
Now, this is a stupid way to feel, if you think about it. I was always being left out of important things. At that very moment, there were thousands of people doing very important things all across the world – everything from getting married to jumping out windows – and I wasn’t a part of any of it. The truth is, even the most important people get left out of most things that happen in the world.
But I was still annoyed. As I walked, I realized I still had on my Courier’s Lenses. They were very limited in range, but maybe Grandfather was close by.
I activated the Lenses. Grandfather? I thought, focusing. Grandfather, are you there?
Nothing. I sighed. It had been a long shot anyway. I didn’t really—
A very faint image appeared in front of me. Alcatraz? a distant voice said.
Grandfather? I thought, growing excited. Yes, it’s me!
Flustered Farlands! How did you contact me across such a distance? The voice was so weak that I could barely hear it, even though it was speaking directly into my mind.
Grandfather, where are you?
The voice said something, but was too soft to hear. I focused harder, closing my eyes. Grandfather!
Alcatraz! I think I’ve found your father. He came here. I’m sure of it!
Where, Grandfather? I asked.
The voice was growing even fainter. The Library . . .
Grandfather! What Library?
Library . . . of Alexandria . . .
And then he was gone. I concentrated, but the voice didn’t come back. Finally, I sighed, opening my eyes.
‘You all right, Smedry?’ Bastille asked, giving me a strange look.
‘The Library of Alexandria,’ I said. ‘Where is it?’
Bastille eyed me. ‘Um, in Alexandria?’
Right. ‘Where is that?’
‘Egypt.’
‘Like, the real Egypt? My Egypt?’
Bastille shrugged. ‘Yeah, I think so. Why?’
I glanced back toward the cockpit.
‘No,’ Bastille said, folding her arms. ‘Alcatraz, I know what you’re thinking. We’re not going there.’
‘Why not?’
‘The Library of Alexandria is extremely dangerous. Even regular Librarians are scared to go into it. Nobody in their right mind ever visits that place.’