Page 8 of Degradation

“And you thought the dried remains of the tracker’s body would be what sent me running to my sister without your questionable help?”

The tunnel behind me rumbled again, and it wasn’t due to the volume of my voice. I was angry—very angry—at the half-truths and weighted promises they’d given.

“With your help, I think we can fill the rest of the partially filled chest yet today,” Garron said calmly.

I could feel Garron and Eadric’s certainty that I would help them, which both humbled me and calmed my temper.

“Eadric, show her how we’ve been removing them,” Garron said.

Eadric picked up a small pick axe and began chipping away at the rock around the gem. After several minutes, he pried the gem free; however, it still had some rock stuck to it. So he then had to use the pick axe to gently remove bits at a time until only the gem remained.

“We knew that one was close to coming out,” Garron said. “You can see the others we’ve found in this layer. They won’t be enough to fill the chest, though. We’ll need to work deeper to find more.

“I’ve tried casting to remove them,” Garron said, “but the cost of the spell is high, and I’m not able to pull from the earth like Henry could.”

I opened myself to the energy around us. The gems glowed more brightly than the stone, and I could see the multitude of the gems still buried in the mine, waiting to be discovered.

“And after I help free enough gems to fill the remaining chests, what else will delay us from leaving?” I asked.

“Nothing, Kitten. I vow it.”

I connected with the energy in my well and sought out the first gem.

My time with Garron taught me the importance of casting with balance. I could turn a twig into a thorn-covered barrier, put thorns on a pea vine, and separate the dirt from the bathwater. But more than that, I could absorb all the energy in something until it no longer existed.

They watched as the stone around the gem slowly vanished, and a perfect ruby the size of my pinky nail fell to the ground.

Daemon’s giddy reaction didn’t worry me that I was being used. I could feel they weren’t interested in accumulating wealth for themselves. He was simply happy that I could remove the gem quickly because he knew it would make me happy. He had no attachment whatsoever to the gem itself.

Content that I knew what to do, I sent my will out into the cave. I found each gem on the surface and connected to the surrounding stone.

Gems fell to the floor as the entrapping stone disappeared all at once. The energy I used to cast felt the same as the energy I gained from absorbing the surrounding stone. Yet, I experienced another wave of dizziness.

Smiling to hide my concern, I waved at the gems.

“I removed them; you pick them up.”

Eadric lifted me and twirled me around before setting me on my feet so he could climb a nearby ladder to pick up the gems I’d removed on the tiers above. I waited until they’d all moved away to catch Garron’s attention.

“The dizziness returned the same as the last time I cast,” I said softly. “I was careful to check the well before I cast and after. It feels as if I’ve neither gained nor lost energy. I’m certain it’s not a depletion, Garron, but it is something. Does her spell linger?”

Garron considered me and slowly shook his head.

“If it does, I cannot detect it. Once a spell’s criteria are met, it should resolve itself completely.”

I thought of what I’d done to bend the spell’s intent to my own.

“And if they aren’t met?”

“The spell wouldn’t be broken. How did you break the spell? Did you deduce the conditions?”

I could feel the curiosity of the others and knew they were listening.

“Yes. When Maeve arrived, she said it wouldn’t be wise to reunite me with Eloise. That it would be better to keep me here because I had much to learn. She said my cool regard spared me in the past but hinted that it wouldn’t in the future. Then she told me to eat the apple to save my sister.

“I could feel the spell take root when I swallowed and, not long after, fell into a faint similar to the others I’ve experienced.

“She told me to sleep well, called me a true beauty, and said that if I ever woke, no man of worth would ever want me. I didn’t understand then, not even when she said it would be my greatest fall.

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