Page 56 of Vanish

We perused stacks of documents containing the names and locations of the vanished villages, along with the timeline and casualties for when the curse struck each. Our gazes frequently met to cause one another a shy glance and our fingers occasionally brushed one another’s as we pored over several maps before we finally found what we were looking for.

“There appears to be a connection after all—each section of the kingdom that has vanished is either on or very close to the deposits where phanite is found.” I pointed to each village in turn.

Her brow furrowed. “Could a mineral of seemingly small insignificance be responsible for such vast devastation?”

It did seem strange, but it was too much of a coincidence to dismiss the possibility entirely. I would need to consult an expert in the matter. I found the one I sought in his study with his wife, both of whom were dedicatedly poring over the magic books that Evelyn had sent for several days previously, which must have just arrived.

They looked up at my entrance and Evelyn immediately startled, nearly dropping the thick tome she’d been studying. “Princess Lisette?” Her widened gaze was riveted to Lisette’s translucent form beside me.

“Can you finally see her?” While I’d noticed Lisette steadily growing more solid, I hadn’t realized it’d been enough for her to shed some of her invisibility around others besides me.

Though Evelyn nodded, Ryland’s lost gaze darted in various directions. He would need to be able to see her in order to examine the mineral embedded in her pendant. With a steadying breath Lisette closed her eyes and furrowed her brow in concentration. After several minutes of focused effort during which her body flickered between various stages of solidity, her hand woven through mine gradually took on more form until it felt warm and soft within my hold.

By my brother’s sudden gasp, she’d finally reappeared enough to be discernible within his realm of sight. He stared in shock and disbelief before managing a grin. “It’s good to see you again, Princess Lisette. I’m glad you haven’t entirely vanished.”

His relief was nowhere near as acute as mine; my hand instinctively tightened around hers in subconscious desperation to keep her at my side. “We need your help identifying this stone in Lisette’s pendant.” I gestured to the necklace draping her neck.

Ryland immediately stood. “Finally I have a task where I can actually prove useful rather than spending hours combing through tomes without yielding results.”

He approached Lisette with the enthusiasm of a young boy with his favorite toy. He crouched slightly to better examine her necklace. He’d barely glanced at it when his eyes lit up.

“Phanite, and such a remarkable sample.” His touch was reverent as he turned it over in his hand. “Its typically orange-red to brownish-red color often misidentifies it as ruby, but it’s actually a very uncommon borate mineral currently only found within Brimoire’s borders. Its rarity is due to its makeup of zirconium and boron rarely interacting with each other in nature, and while we’ve discovered very little use for it, there have been many fascinating studies—“

He momentarily paused when his wife brushed his arm with an indulgent smile. “I will be happy to listen to every detail you know about that particular mineral later, but time is currently too pressing not to focus on only the most pertinent points.”

He cleared his throat. “Of course.”

I grinned at him. “Who knew your useless hobby would ever come in handy?” It was easy to tease him now that we finally had a potential way out of this labyrinth of uncertainty where we’d been trapped for so long.

Ryland rolled his eyes but his lips twitched with amusement. “My worth extends well beyond being the spare. While I’ve been unable to study phanite as much as I would like due to the limited information on the topic, I do know that our kingdom has sold shipments of the mineral in the past to Thorndale, though they haven’t disclosed what they use it for.”

Lisette stiffened at the mention of her kingdom. She seemed about to elaborate on Ryland’s speculations for why Thorndale would be so invested in a rare and seemingly useless mineral…before closing her mouth with an almost pained look, as though the discussion of Thorndale made her more distressed than usual.

“I’ve heard it touted as a popular item for jewelry.” Lisette’s hands wavered as she motioned towards her necklace.

Ryland nodded. “That better explains Thorndale’s pointed investment in focusing on this resource in trade and as part of the marriage contract. The deposits were in frequent use several years ago, but I rarely see them now.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened, as struck with a sudden epiphany. “I thought phanite sounded familiar.”

“You know of it?” Ryland’s eyes lit up that his beloved possessed knowledge of his obsession.

Evelyn nodded. “It’s a rare mineral that contains magical properties. I had no idea it could be found in Brimoire.” She cradled the pendant, her thumb brushing against the stone as she studied it, tipping her head as though listening. “I can feel faint magic pulsating from it. I imagine its full power can only be accessed if properly processed.” As she spoke, she frantically flipped through her magic book. “Magical minerals and their components’ effects in spells and potions was part of my magic studies. From what I remember, phanite was a resource commonly used in the distant past; if harvested correctly, its powers can be quite potent. It has since become scarce; until today I knew of no remaining resources, so I suspect Brimoire has several secret reserves.”

As the two excitedly discussed amongst themselves, Lisette suddenly leaned closer to me and lowered her voice. “There’s something else about that mineral that you should know.” She hesitated, her gaze flickering towards Ryland and Evelyn, before she lowered her gaze. “Nevermind, I can tell you later.”

I sensed the matter was of greater importance than she’d alluded to and wished she wouldn’t hesitate in confiding in me, but after all we’d already endured together, I trusted she would turn to me whenever she was ready; rather than force the progress in our relationship as I had before, I would patiently go at whatever pace she was most comfortable with.

We spent the next hours researching all we could find about phanite—both its natural properties in Ryland’s petrology books and its enchanted elements in Evelyn’s magical resources. While we’d made an important step in uncovering the potential cause of the curse, we were unfortunately no closer to discovering how to break it.

“With our new knowledge that villages containing phanite are more likely to be struck by the curse, I think our best course would be to visit one of the abandoned mining villages.” Ryland frowned anxiously at his wife. “You should probably stay here. The exertion could be dangerous for you, not to mention the possibility of the curse—”

Evelyn shook her head. “Thank you, but I think I should go. Since I’m the only one who can sense magic, I will be able to notice if the curse is active or moving towards us; it should be relatively safe.”

We studied the maps, discussing which locations seemed the most promising, but unfortunately the pattern of when each village had vanished was too sporadic to predict the exact location where it might strike next. If we could discover it, we’d be one step closer in finally learning the truth about the magic slowly consuming our kingdom…and perhaps even find a way to stop it once and for all.

CHAPTER24

Lisette

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