The Kingmakers(40)

“Your Majesty?”

Adele opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep in her chair. Mamoru stood over her, dressed in beautiful green silk. He was no taller than she, and not particularly muscular. His expression was intense, as usual. His short hair was greying slightly, but his appearance otherwise gave no great hint of his age. He seemed a peculiar balance of samurai and priest. He adjusted the wakizashi short sword in his sash while turning his attention to the crystal on the table.

“Sorry.” She yawned and stretched. “I fell asleep. The Privy Council meeting exhausted me.”

“Where did you get this talisman?” The priest took the crystal and rolled it between his sensitive fingers.

Adele smiled. “I made it. I'm sure it's not up to standards, but what do you think?”

“You made it? I thought we had agreed you would wait for me before engaging in exercises.” Mamoru tried to express mild annoyance, but failed because his voice was laced with excitement over the crystal. “There is little enough time to work together, particularly with your secret jaunts to the front, and your hesitance to work when Prince Gar…Greyfriar is about. I trust you found him well in France?”

“Yes. Thank you for asking. And since he is due back from the north soon, I thought I'd better get as much work in as possible. I started studying the crystal, and the next thing I knew, I was shaping it.”

“I see.” Mamoru glanced around the table. “Where are your tools?”

“They're too clumsy. I just used my hands.”

“Your hands?” The Japanese man narrowed his gaze at her. He then inspected the tiny crystal slivers on the table. “This was the rough Persian stone you showed me yesterday? The one you found in your mother's possessions?”

“Yes.” Adele took a disappointed breath. “Oh no. Did I ruin it? I wanted to use it since you said it was so good. I should've practiced on a different stone.”

Mamoru removed a jeweler's glass from inside his robe and stepped to the window to study the crystal in full sun. He muttered to himself in Japanese. Without looking up, he said, “This is incredible. I can't conceive the control it took to cut down the outer layer without damaging the interior facets. And the interior is even more perfect than I saw before. Adele, this is one of the most beautiful talismans I've ever seen.”

Adele shifted in her seat. “Well, I modified the interior too. Those aren't the natural facets.”

Mamoru's head snapped around. “You altered the interior? How?”

“I just pushed until it sounded right.” She held out her hands. “Why are you surprised? I melted a crystal in my hand last year. And you make those talismans all the time. Isn't this what I'm supposed to do?”

“I can cut crystals with tools to enhance natural structures. I cannot alter the interior.”

“So you don't feel it? Inhabit it?”

Mamoru handed the crystal to Adele. “In a sense. My intuitive understanding is greater than most, but it is nothing compared to yours. I am banging rocks together while you are playing symphonies. No geomancer has your skills. That is why you are who you are.”

“Really? Who am I?”

Mamoru smiled. “You are the one I've been seeking for decades.”

“So you keep saying.” Adele held the crystal, felt its comforting warmth, and heard its sound. She fancied she smelled its spice. It was so perfect and powerful, and yet so fragile, such a tiny bit of something unknowable. “I feel small and unworthy, like a child playing with a weapon.”

“That's why we must train ever harder without interruptions. Your altering of crystals is laudatory and something we can explore much further later on. But crystallography isn't as significant to your progress as I once thought. You are more powerful than I suspected. And your focus now must be marshalling and directing the energies of the rifts. We must not be distracted by sideshows now.”

“Mamoru, you're not listening to me. It's that very power I'm talking about. It seems unearned. I don't know if I'm using it properly. I mean no disrespect, but I have only you to tell me. And, truthfully, you seem dismayed by me at times. I have to be sure about what I'm doing. I feel like I'm in the middle of something, but I've already forgotten the beginning. This is very important. Perhaps we should begin again so I can get a fuller grasp of what I am.”

Mamoru's face froze. “There is no time for that.”

Adele reached out toward her mentor. “I'm in a position where all my actions have enormous consequences. I'm the empress. I can hardly decide what to eat for dinner without changing people's lives. It's a great burden. I have to be sure of my course before I take it. Do you understand?”