Read Online Aster Wood and the Blackburn Son by J B Cantwell - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: J B Cantwell
Tags: Science-Fiction, Coming of Age, Children's Books, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Children's eBooks, Science Fiction; Fantasy & Scary Stories, Scary Stories
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anywhere. Then, one afternoon, Kiron sent me on an errand using one of those trinkets he wears around his neck.” He flashed a smile towards him.
Kiron’s stern face broke a little, and he chuckled.
“And I ended up sucked into the jump right behind him,” he said.
“But how?” I asked.
“Dunno,” he said. “But when we both ended up in the same clearing miles from here, we knew we had found somethin’ more valuable than we could’ve dreamed. Aside from more gold, of course.”
“Soon,” Owyn continued, “we discovered its secret. It could follow the trail of other jumps, like an echo sounding along the original path. That first time we had been standing right next to each other. The power of the jump had been enough that no command had been required.”
“But we still wondered why it vibrated when we gave certain commands,” Kiron interrupted. He looked excited. “Then we realized, it was sensing other jumps from other times, but was too far from where they had originated to take us anywhere. If we had been standing in the spot where a traveler had departed, and had then given it the command, we would have followed the path of that original jump, even though the power of the first jump may have faded over time. The combination of the right location and the command is what makes this sucker work. That’s how we use it now. If we can pinpoint an area where a traveler has left from, no matter how long ago the jump was made, we can unite the vestige of magic from that first jump, the power of the command, and the inherent magic in this link. And follow.” He pointed to the glass, rolling around now between my palms.
“Unlike a regular link, you need all three, you see,” Owyn said. “But what’s more is that once you use the chaser in that way, the path remains open. We don’t know for how long yet, but so far none of the jumps we’ve followed using it have closed. And it goes in two directions, not one.”
“You mean, you can go back and forth?”
“Exactly,” Kiron said, gazing at the chaser. “If Almara had carried this from the start, things might be different now. It’s a powerful discovery.”
It sure was. Up until this point only three types of links had been known. Interstellar links, all of which required gold to create, could only be used once. They were one-way tickets across the cosmos, requiring careful plotting using a complicated magical process and a frame, a sort of three dimensional map of the universe. Then there were links like the ones Kiron wore on the chain around his neck, roughly made but useful, pulling their power from the stones they were made from. They could transport you a set distance in any direction they were pointed in. They could be used again and again, but they would only work for travel on the planet you were on. And finally, the Kinstone. The magical rock passed down generation after generation for thousands of years. It was the most powerful of any of the links, allowing the user to jump anywhere without the use of a frame. It was a free pass, an instrument so mighty that its user could travel freely, endlessly, to any desired corner of the universe. The Kinstone belonged to Jade now. Only the next in the family line could use it, and until the day she died, the stone would be hers.
But this , this chaser was something new entirely.
“As long as this is used, the door to return back to the starting point remains open,” Owyn continued. “That is how I returned once I—once I met her .”
We stared at each other, but neither of us spoke. So he had caught up with Jade, or whatever remained of her. He waited for a moment, seeming to give me the chance to ask questions, but I stayed silent. He turned to the men.
“The girl is…not right,” he said. “And though she could not be swayed by my efforts to bring her back, I am hoping that another of our number can reach her where I could not.” He looked pointedly at me. I shrank beneath
Kiron’s stern face broke a little, and he chuckled.
“And I ended up sucked into the jump right behind him,” he said.
“But how?” I asked.
“Dunno,” he said. “But when we both ended up in the same clearing miles from here, we knew we had found somethin’ more valuable than we could’ve dreamed. Aside from more gold, of course.”
“Soon,” Owyn continued, “we discovered its secret. It could follow the trail of other jumps, like an echo sounding along the original path. That first time we had been standing right next to each other. The power of the jump had been enough that no command had been required.”
“But we still wondered why it vibrated when we gave certain commands,” Kiron interrupted. He looked excited. “Then we realized, it was sensing other jumps from other times, but was too far from where they had originated to take us anywhere. If we had been standing in the spot where a traveler had departed, and had then given it the command, we would have followed the path of that original jump, even though the power of the first jump may have faded over time. The combination of the right location and the command is what makes this sucker work. That’s how we use it now. If we can pinpoint an area where a traveler has left from, no matter how long ago the jump was made, we can unite the vestige of magic from that first jump, the power of the command, and the inherent magic in this link. And follow.” He pointed to the glass, rolling around now between my palms.
“Unlike a regular link, you need all three, you see,” Owyn said. “But what’s more is that once you use the chaser in that way, the path remains open. We don’t know for how long yet, but so far none of the jumps we’ve followed using it have closed. And it goes in two directions, not one.”
“You mean, you can go back and forth?”
“Exactly,” Kiron said, gazing at the chaser. “If Almara had carried this from the start, things might be different now. It’s a powerful discovery.”
It sure was. Up until this point only three types of links had been known. Interstellar links, all of which required gold to create, could only be used once. They were one-way tickets across the cosmos, requiring careful plotting using a complicated magical process and a frame, a sort of three dimensional map of the universe. Then there were links like the ones Kiron wore on the chain around his neck, roughly made but useful, pulling their power from the stones they were made from. They could transport you a set distance in any direction they were pointed in. They could be used again and again, but they would only work for travel on the planet you were on. And finally, the Kinstone. The magical rock passed down generation after generation for thousands of years. It was the most powerful of any of the links, allowing the user to jump anywhere without the use of a frame. It was a free pass, an instrument so mighty that its user could travel freely, endlessly, to any desired corner of the universe. The Kinstone belonged to Jade now. Only the next in the family line could use it, and until the day she died, the stone would be hers.
But this , this chaser was something new entirely.
“As long as this is used, the door to return back to the starting point remains open,” Owyn continued. “That is how I returned once I—once I met her .”
We stared at each other, but neither of us spoke. So he had caught up with Jade, or whatever remained of her. He waited for a moment, seeming to give me the chance to ask questions, but I stayed silent. He turned to the men.
“The girl is…not right,” he said. “And though she could not be swayed by my efforts to bring her back, I am hoping that another of our number can reach her where I could not.” He looked pointedly at me. I shrank beneath
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