Beyond that, there was the sound. It was a quiet ringing, like a crystal vibrating in the distance. It was soft, but it was also one of those things that was very hard to un-notice once you spotted it.
Grandpa Smedry obviously knew his way around Crystallia, and soon we arrived at a chamber being guarded by two knights. The crystal doors were closed, but I could vaguely make out the shapes of people on the other side.
Grandpa Smedry walked over to open the door, but one of the knights raised his hand. ‘You are too late, Lord Smedry,’ the man said. ‘The judgment has begun.’
‘What?’ Grandpa Smedry declared. ‘I was told it wouldn’t happen for an hour yet!’
‘It is happening now,’ the knight said. As much as I like the knights, they can be . . . well, blunt. And stubborn. And really bad at taking jokes. (Which is why I feel I need to mention page 40 again, just to annoy them.)
‘Surely you can let us in,’ Grandpa Smedry said. ‘We’re important witnesses in the case!’
‘Sorry,’ the knight said.
‘We are also close personal friends of the knight involved.’
‘Sorry.’
‘We also have very good teeth,’ Grandpa Smedry said, then smiled.
This seemed to confuse the knight. (Grandpa Smedry has that effect on people.) However, once again, the knight simply shook his head and said, ‘Sorry.’
Grandpa Smedry stepped back, annoyed, and I felt a twist of despair. I’d failed to help Bastille after all she’d gone through for me. She should have known that she shouldn’t rely on me.
‘How are you feeling, lad?’ Grandpa Smedry asked.
I shrugged.
‘Annoyed?’ he prompted.
‘Yeah.’
‘Frustrated?’
‘A bit.’
‘Bitter?’
‘You’re not helping.’
‘I know I’m not. Angry?’
I didn’t answer. The truth was, I did feel angry. At myself, mostly. For partying with Rodrayo and his friends while Bastille was in trouble. For forgetting about Mokia and its problems. For letting my grandfather down. It hadn’t been that long ago that I’d always assumed that I’d let everyone down. I’d pushed people away before they could abandon me.
But working with Grandpa Smedry and the others had made me begin to feel that I could lead a normal life. Maybe I didn’t have to alienate everyone. Maybe I was capable of having friendships, of having family, of . . .
There was a slight cracking sound.
‘Oops!’ Grandpa Smedry said in a loud voice. ‘Looks like you’ve gone and upset the boy!’
I started, looking down, realizing that I’d let my Talent crack the glass beneath my feet. Twin spiderwebs of lines crept from my shoes, marring the otherwise perfect crystal. I blushed, embarrassed.
The knights had grown pale. ‘Impossible!’ one said.
‘This crystal is supposed to be unbreakable!’ the other said.
‘My grandson,’ Grandpa Smedry said proudly. ‘He has the breaking Talent you know. Upset him too much, and the entire floor could shatter. Actually, the entire castle could—’
‘Get him out, then,’ one of the knights said, shooing me away like one might treat an unwanted puppy.