LITMIR.BIZ

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flash lit a figure. He slumped against The Cliffs, head bowed. Rain and sea spray bombarded him. Kade.

      The storm’s energy pulsed around him. The weight of exhaustion hung on his body. He turned toward me. A brief flicker illuminated the pain in his eyes.

      The doorway moved. Dizziness blurred my vision. The air thickened as the storm’s essence filled my chamber—orb!

      I stood inside an orb. Logic rejected the conjecture because it was impossible, but my gut instinct had no problems accepting it. In fact, a part of me even knew I was in one of Kade’s orbs on the beach and not in the cave.

      The flow of energy slowed and eventually reversed. The sand woman had said Kade was weak and I had to help him. He couldn’t fill the orb. But I possessed no magical skills of use. If he needed a glass dolphin, I could oblige him. Otherwise he was out of luck.

      A wave crashed into Kade, knocking him down. My orb bobbed and spun, water gushed in. Just when I thought the orb would be sucked out to sea, Kade grabbed the lip. He tried again to funnel the storm’s power.

      He failed.

      Panic and fear flared.

      He would die.

      Trapped inside an orb, my thoughts raced, but kept coming back to the fact that glass surrounded me. What did I do with glass? Come on, Opal. Think!

      I drew in a deep breath and blew magic into the glass. Concentrating on the power in the air, I inhaled and exhaled. The orb filled with the storm’s misty extract. It pushed me up as if a life raft inflated under my feet. My emotions linked with Kade’s and his surprise matched my own.

      The opening rushed toward me. A black stopper brushed my shoulder and I flew into the open air. A cascade of images spun around me. My body light and as indistinct as a fog, I floated into Kade.

      “Opal?” He looked around. The sea beat at the beach, hammering against The Cliffs. The sand around his feet remained smooth; his bubble of calm restored, blocking the waves.

      Picking up the last orb, he drew power and I blew my strength into him, giving him all my energy to finish the job.

      “Opal … Opal … you … all right?”

      The words hissed in my ears. Heli’s nose hovered inches from mine. I sighed with relief, glad to be back in the cave even if I lay on the cold floor exhausted. “What happened?”

      “I’m not sure. You left to get a blanket and next time I looked you were on the ground.” She glanced at the pile of blankets. “I covered the orb. Raiden told us you can hear it. We really didn’t believe him, but, by your reaction, I’d say the orb’s cry overwhelmed you. They become really agitated during a storm. Although this monster stumbled when it hit land, and I think the danger is past.”

      Her explanation made sense. Better than believing I had been sucked inside the orb, had a conversation with a sand woman and assisted Kade with his work.

      When Heli helped me to stand, grains of sand rained to the floor.

      “Looks like you were on the beach,” Heli said with amusement.

      My legs wobbled.

      Heli’s grip on my arm tightened. “Perhaps you should lie down.” She guided me over to my cot and steadied me until I sat. “Do you want a glass of water?”

      I tried to say no, but my throat was raw. Swallowing, I choked on the taste of salt and sand. Heli strode over to the water pitcher. I glanced around, hoping I didn’t wake anyone.

      Zitora was up on her elbow, watching me. “Care to tell me what that was all about?”

      “That?”

      “Don’t play the simpleton. You know what I mean.”

      I knew. I liked Heli’s explanation, overcome by the orb’s song. Zitora wouldn’t be satisfied, though. “Can I tell you later?” It was an effort to talk and my eyes kept drifting shut. Besides, I needed time to figure it out.

      “All right, but …”

      I stopped listening and lay on my cot, falling asleep in a heartbeat.

      Light stabbed through my closed eyelids. I groaned and rolled over, blocking the annoyance. Eventually the sounds of people moving and talking with happy voices burrowed into my consciousness. A dry breeze fanned me. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t go back to sleep.

      I pretended to be unconscious, needing time to go over last night’s odd series of events. What would appease the Master Magician? Should I tell her I was sucked into an orb by a woman made of sand? Questions swirled in my mind. Unfortunately no answers formed from my stew of thoughts.

      With reluctance, I peeked to see if anyone had noticed me. Kade slept on a cot next to mine. His tunic was stiff with dried seawater. Grains of sand clung to his chin. I reached out to smooth his hair, remembering our brief union, but jerked my hand back when he opened his eyes.

      He stared at me and I knew the sand woman’s name. When he frowned, it cemented my conviction. The sand woman was Kade’s sister, Kaya. How or why, I hadn’t a clue, but it explained why she looked so familiar.

      Before he could speak, Zitora walked between us. “You’re up. Good. Raiden and I would like to have a word with you and Kade.”

      Kade sat and looked around. “Where’s Raiden?”

      “Down on the beach, assessing damage.”

      We followed the Master Magician. Raiden directed Tal and Varun as they piled driftwood onto a wooden cart hitched to Sudi. When we drew closer, Tal muttered an oath.

      “Excuse me?” Kade asked.

      “Oh, sorry, I forgot to genuflect,” Tal said. “The hero’s here with his glassmaking sidekick. All hail the wonder that is Kade.” He bowed with mock reverence.

      “All right, Tal. I’ve had enough,” Raiden said. “You can stop with the wood. I’m sending you home. Tell Soshe to send another helper to take your place.”

      “Fine by me.” Tal flung his load to the ground. “There are far better uses for my talents.” He strode away.

      Raiden helped Varun finish loading. The glassmaker grabbed Sudi’s reins and led her up the path. He watched as they climbed the steep slope. “I should have Soshe send a horse, too. Usually by this point in the season, the orbs are made and we don’t need to haul supplies up to the kiln.”

      “Once Sudi is rested, we should return to the Keep,” Zitora said. “But first I want an explanation about last night.” She crossed her arms, waiting.

      Raiden squinted at Kade in confusion. “I thought you said everything went well. You brought back five filled orbs.”

      “I found out five is too many for me,” Kade said. His gaze sought mine. “I think I had help with the last two.”

      Everyone stared at me. I stammered for a moment, then told them a condensed version of my adventures inside the orb. I omitted the part about Kaya and about linking with Kade.

      “An interesting development, but it makes sense,” Zitora said almost to herself. “Opal can trap magic within glass and Kade uses magic to trap the storm’s energy. The two actions are similar. Do you ever use two Stormdancers to fill one orb?”

      “All the time,” Kade said. “Usually when we are training a new dancer.”

      “But both Stormdancers are together with the orb. We don’t have one in the cave and the other on the beach. I don’t think any dancer in our history could claim that skill.” Raiden shrugged. “It must be a talent of Opal’s. Either way, it worked out. We finally have orbs we can use and one safe Stormdancer. Now, if only the storm season lasts a little longer than usual, we can make up for lost time.” Raiden rubbed his hands in anticipation and hurried away to make lunch.

      “We can experiment more with

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