Chrysopoeia

Chapter 17 - The Return to Crossed Wands

Cassia woke up shivering. Lacey tendrils of frost stretched over her window like a spider's web. From across the room, she heard Gertrude Wigley complaining about the cold. Cassia pulled back the curtains of her bunk and wrapped her plush blanket around her shoulders, relishing its warmth a little longer as she descended the ladder. One of the school cats had gotten into their dorm last night and now lay purring on Samantha's bed.

"Lucky you," Cassia said as Samantha scratched its ears.

"Glad I have the bottom bunk," Samantha said. "This little lady kept me cosy the whole night."

Cassia gazed longingly at the cat. Then she spotted a letter lying on her dresser. It was sealed with wax and had no envelope. Forgetting the November chill, she dropped her blanket and opened the folded parchment. It read:

I take it that you've accepted my help, given your completion of my last errand. You did very well. Spectacularly, even. I look forward to seeing your power develop, as I'm certain you will not forego further aid. Assuming I'm correct—and I know I am—here's another quest for you:

Hold your breath as long as you can and find the grotto at the south end of the Black Lake.

Surrender and transform

Add the ashes to the basin

Bottle it up

Cassia folded the letter and reached into her top drawer. She pulled a pair of socks from the back and covertly unfolded them. The little phial of white ashes lay tucked inside.

"What've you got there?" Samantha asked, climbing out of bed. The cat mewled in protest.

"Nothing. Just some old socks with holes in them." Cassia covered the phial and returned it to its hidden spot.

She dressed quickly and bounded downstairs to meet her friends. Poppy scooped sugar over her porridge as Ominis sipped his morning tea. Sebastian was eating for once, crunching happily on an apple—his third one by the look of the cores on his plate. Cassia sat hurriedly, bumping into Ominis and upsetting his cup.

"Ack! Why does this always happen, Cassia? I want to drink my tea, not spill it," he grumbled, wiping the liquid from his robes.

Cassia ignored him and placed the letter on the table. "The Sender wrote me again."

Sebastian picked it up, furrowing his brows as he read. Poppy leaned over his shoulder. The school owls swooped into the Great Hall, for which Cassia was glad. In her haste, she hadn't thought about prying eyes. Now, it would simply look like a letter from home.

"The Black Lake?" Sebastian frowned. "Like, under the lake? Like in the water?"

"What does it say?" Ominis asked.

Sebastian handed him the parchment, and Ominis tapped the text into Braille. The owls dropped letters and packages all about. A thick envelope fell into Nerida Robert's eggs, and at the adjacent table, Amit pulled a new telescope from its wrappings.

"It definitely sounds like I'll have to dive, doesn't it?" Cassia said.

"It sounds like we'll have to dive," Poppy said. "I'm not letting you go on your own."

"Thanks, Poppy."

Sebastian shrugged, finishing his apple. "Guess I'll have to work on a water-repelling charm. I wonder if there's one strong enough to cover all of me. And what does it mean by 'transform?' Anyway, When are we going?"