The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 18

"Nice family."

Char turned away from glaring at the door to Iris, smiling brightly at him as she cleared the table. There was a mischievous sparkle in her brown eyes that he wasn't expecting to see. He shrugged and joined her.

"Most of the time."

She headed toward the sink with a stack of dishes, and his eyes were inexorably drawn to follow her. The oversized nightgown and robe hid most of her shape, but not the motion of her hips. He found himself imagining dancing with her, resting his hands on those hips as she swayed, and had to shake himself back to reality.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, carrying the rest of the dishes over to her.

"Much better, thank you. It's just...tiring to use magic," she said, starting the water. "Is Srot okay?"

"Other than a hangover, yes. He had a bit too much to drink at the party last night."

"What about you?" she asked, glancing up at him with a knowing smile on her lips.

"I didn't drink that much," he said, his thoughts suddenly scrambled by her casual, almost flirtatious manner.

"Would you mind drying? I don't know where everything goes," she said, handing him a wet plate. He took it, and she continued, "Was this done with magic? The way everything seems to be carved right out of the stone?"

"Yeah, that was done with magic. Not all dragons are mages, but there are a few things we can all do. Transforming, telepathy when we're in dragon form, carving stone, little things like that."

She glanced over at him. "Little things? Well, I guess they seem that way when you grow up with them." She sighed heavily. "It's different when it just...happens all in one day."

Char frowned. The lighthearted atmosphere was gone, as was her smile. He hesitated, considering whether to change the subject, but he had a lot of questions that needed answering.

"How do you know how to use the amulet?" he finally asked.

She bit her lip, and then she said, "It...tells me." She glanced up at him nervously and then dropped her gaze back to the soapy water. "I know it sounds silly. Or maybe it doesn't. I still don't really know how all this magic stuff works. But..." She stopped, thinking. "I didn't even know I was holding the amulet that day on the battlefield. It just...I saw the flames heading for Kayla, and then a shield was there. And that's how it was until we flew here. I never did anything, or knew I did anything, until then. But then, there were these voices, whispers, telling me I needed to wake up, and..." She shrugged. "They never really left. Sometimes they're louder, sometimes I can barely hear them, but they're always there, and they tell me what to do."

There was silence for a few minutes, save for the sloshing of water and the occasional clinking of dishes.

"Are they telling you anything right now?" Char asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing I can understand."

That was a little disconcerting, but he had no idea what it meant, so he decided to leave that alone and move on to something else. "Did they do anything to you? At the magic school?"

"Not that I know of, but I really don't remember much. I don't think I even opened my eyes until you came last night." She smiled up at him. "Thanks for that, by the way. You always seem to show up when I need help."

The back of his neck heated up again. He shrugged, avoiding her eyes. "I'm the one who got you into this mess."

"No, you didn't," she said, shaking her head. "You said the mage was looking for me. If you hadn't been there, I'd probably be with him right now." She shuddered. "He said the amulet was his."