Coldmaker(94)

The anklet still stood on the desk as well. It was odd to see my creation sitting next to it, but it struck me as fitting.

‘Where did you go?’ I asked.

Leroi’s eyes were back on the Alder plant, his face gaunt and his scalp crisped up once again. ‘To visit an old friend.’

It was hard to see him so visibly upset, but I knew his mood was about to change.

Shilah returned, setting a glass on the desk and filling it up. She backed away, her smile possibly even larger than mine, shooting me an excited look. We’d already witnessed this miracle a few times, but each time it caused me a thrill I felt could never wane.

‘Leroi,’ I said, feeling more alive than I’d ever felt before. ‘Thank you. For allowing us to create this.’

Biting my lip, I flipped the machine on, the gears inside turning and the droplets being extracted from each of the different vials. The machine hummed and the air around us took on the static we’d come to expect, the catch-point lighting up with the golden glow. After a few moments, the colour had coalesced into a solid bead, vibrant and holy.

I turned the invention off and picked up the little bead which I’d decided to call an Abb.

‘May we present to you,’ I said, my voice slightly shaking, ‘the Coldmaker.’

Leroi had kept still as we spoke, but we held his attention, his eyes fixed on the invention. ‘Excuse me?’ He broke out of his reverie. ‘Did you say a Coldmaker?’

I smiled brightly, taking out a blade and slicing off a sliver of the Abb into the cup, backing away as it landed on the surface of the water.

Almost instantly the glass shattered, the two sides falling apart, and leaving behind a gleaming miracle. The block was solid, and clear, and the crystal sides beaded with gentle moisture, shining in the dim candlelight. I knew from the Gospels that this miracle substance hadn’t been seen this side of the Great Drought.

Leroi’s legs buckled, his hands finding the desk so he wouldn’t collapse.

‘Is that,’ his words sounded slurred, but this time not from drink, ‘Ice?’

I nodded, a lump of emotion forming in my throat. ‘Yes.’

Leroi leaned forward to touch my machine. ‘A Coldmaker?’ he repeated.

I nodded, sliding my palm over the smooth metal. ‘The Coldmaker.’

Leroi collapsed in his chair, trying to process what he’d just seen. It had taken Shilah and me some time to get over the initial shock ourselves, so I didn’t blame him. ‘Is this from the Crier? Did you speak to Him again?’

‘No,’ Shilah said, jumping in. ‘We made it ourselves.’

‘Is this a trick?’ Leroi said, looking up at the ceiling. ‘Am I awake?’

‘It’s real,’ I said.

Leroi still looked dumbstruck. His eyes returned to the block of Ice, his mouth half-opened as though he wanted to speak but didn’t have the words. Reaching out, he placed his fingers gently around the Ice and brought it to his lips, his hands shaking. ‘How? This is the greatest invention of our time. This is going to change the entire world. You two found a way to …’ his mouth seemed to have trouble admitting it ‘… create Cold.’

‘Do you know about Desert?’ Shilah asked, her grin still taking up most of her face. She looked incredibly beautiful in that moment, and I thought back to the second, even more passonate kiss that she’d planted on my lips after we’d made the Ice discovery. I was desperately hoping there would be more in my near future.

Leroi looked shocked. He paused. ‘Yes. I didn’t want to scare you with such an idea yet. How did you—’

‘We wanted to find the opposite in the North,’ Shilah said proudly. ‘So when Cam gave us the Frost—’

Leroi gasped at the word. ‘Did you say Frost?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Cam left it on the—’

Leroi’s finger shot to the Coldmaker. ‘Is there a Frost in there? One of Lord Tavor’s Frosts?’

I felt a wave of unease. I hadn’t expected such a reaction. ‘Yes, but—’

Leroi stiffened with alarm. ‘Crier’s light, no. Not again.’

‘What?’ I said. ‘It’s not like we stole it. Cam—’

‘That damn boy is going to get you killed!’ Leroi cried out. ‘What was he thinking? Where is he?’

‘Well, after we experimented with the ink, Cam got really upset,’ Shilah said, the happiness finally dropping from her face. ‘He hasn’t come back yet.’

‘What ink?’ Leroi asked frantically. ‘Wait. You can tell me everything on the road. We don’t have time. Start grabbing everything. Cold, food, water, medicine. Any supplies we could use. We need to leave. Now.’

I held up my hands, trying to calm him down. ‘Hold on, Leroi. I don’t understand. Go where?’

Leroi was already snatching vials and contraptions from the room. ‘Lord Tavor is going to come here looking. Here. Like the last time a Frost was taken. And you two don’t have anklets on. We can’t let him find you.’ Leroi snapped his fingers, no longer looking at the Coldmaker. ‘Go. Start packing.’

‘For what?’ Shilah asked, her voice strong enough to still the Tinkerer for a second.

‘There’s only one place a machine like that will be safe,’ Leroi said, pointing a trembling finger at the machine. ‘We’re going to Langria.’