Broken

with it. It tumbled onto the table and then to the floor, scattering its contents.

Ussay knelt to pick it up, but before her hand could touch it, Kira grabbed her arm and pushed her back onto the floor.

“What did you do that for?” Ussay asked.

“I’m sorry,” Kira said. “I didn’t want you getting cut.”

Kira couldn’t believe what she saw-the pouch Ussay pulled off the shelf was Kira’s own healing pack. Among the items sprawled across the floor were Lydia’s ruby necklace, a handful of broken glass from a bottle of Gyllrue and the metal vials filled with the mixture to give Octavion strength when he traveled. Octavion must have found it when he went back to kill Zerek and brought it back with him. Why hadn’t he said anything?

She slid the pack out from under the chards of glass and set it on the table. Ussay pulled a small piece of metal from under the shelf, helped Kira brush the glass fragments onto it, then discarded them into a wooden bucket. Kira picked up the metal vials and put them on the table, along with a crushed pack of healing herbs she hadn’t noticed before.

The only thing left lying on the floor was Lydia’s ruby. Seeing it felt like discovering an old friend you thought you would never lay eyes on again. She missed Lydia more than ever and wished she was there to tell Kira how crazy she was for doing this. She missed her spirit, the way she laughed and how she could change any situation around and make Kira smile.

Kira changed her focus to the Crystor where it lay dormant against her skin. It’s once shimmering beauty had faded. The silver seemed tarnished and dull. Even though she and Lydia were no longer connected, she couldn’t help crave the energy and strength the Crystor gave her when they were bound together as friends. She hungered for it like Octavion hungered for a fresh kill under the new moon. She could feel the desire flow through her veins-a familiar ice in her blood that made her eyes cool and the skin on her wrist itch.

“What’s wrong?” Ussay asked.

Kira had nearly forgotten Ussay was in the room. “It’s the Crystor. I miss its powers-and Lydia.”

“Powers?”

“It used to be charmed, but it doesn’t work anymore.”

“What about this?” Ussay reached for the ruby that still lay on the floor.

“Don’t touch it.” Kira brushed her hand aside and picked up the ruby. “Sorry, I don’t know how it will react to you.” The black cord it hung from had been destroyed by the spilled Gyllrue so she slipped the ruby off and held the stone for Ussay to see. “This was Lydia’s.” Kira thought for a moment. She knew the heart pendent was very powerful and merely touching it could summon Shandira, but the ruby had been charmed for Lydia to communicate with Octavion-without Shandira hearing. She tightened her fist around the stone, closed her eyes and prayed it would work the same magic between her and her friend as it once had.

Lydia?

Her skin beneath the Crystor tingled, but she got no answer. She rubbed the ruby with her thumb. Lydia!

Kira heard no words, but a dull ache began to radiate through her skull. Was Lydia trying to connect to her? She tried again, only this time she called out to Altaria.

Al?

Kira grabbed her head as the ache suddenly turned into a sharp pain that shot threw her head and down her spine. “Crap!” She didn’t want to try that again.

“What happened?” Ussay asked, scooting closer. She still knelt on the floor next to Kira.

“Nothing, I’m fine. Give me a second. I want to try something.” Kira opened her left hand and settled the ruby in her palm. She rubbed it again.

Lydia! I need you to connect with Altaria. We need you. Please, I need you.

For several seconds, nothing happened, and then Kira felt the cold metal of the Crystor warm against her skin-a complete contrast to the ice cold ruby. She closed her fingers around it to take away the chill. It warmed beneath her grasp. Kira stood and crossed to the bench. Running a finger across the Crystor, she summoned the good memories of healing to take over her mind-healing a little girl’s puppy, jogging through the park with newfound strength, the shine of her silken hair and seeing her touch heal the ones she loved. She let herself be lost in them, unaware of Ussay and her surroundings.

“Are you all right, Kira?” Ussay’s voice pulled Kira from her thoughts. Ussay had also stood and taken a seat next to her.

“I’m fine. I just miss it.”

“May I see the bracelet closer? It appears to be glowing slightly. I think it might be the way the candlelight is reflecting on it.”

Kira turned and put her wrist between them.

Ussay touched the Crystor with the tip of her finger. “Ouch,” she said, pulling her hand away quickly. “You did not tell me it would hurt.”

Her reaction startled Kira, making the ruby slip from her hand into her lap. “It shocked you?”

Ussay nodded. “It went right up my arm.”

Kira carefully examined the bracelet which had grown almost too hot to touch. She covered it with her other hand, pressing her palm to it, but nothing happened. She looked down at the ruby where it lay in her lap. Altaria said the heart pendent turned up the volume of their thoughts. Maybe the ruby did the same thing, increasing whatever powers the person had.

Kira picked up the ruby with her right hand and gripped it firmly, even though the pain in her broken finger made it difficult. A few seconds passed before heat began to radiate from the ruby and into her wrist. She watched as the glowing strand of silver came to life. It tightened around her wrist until the circulation in Kira’s fingers was lost, making her fingers tingle. Kira thought it would cut her hand off, so opened her palm, hoping less pressure on the stone would loosen the Crystor. Instead, the tiny strand of silver broke into a thin long line and coiled around the ruby like a snake, swirling around in her palm until the outside ends began to unravel. It circled the ruby several times, then wound itself around her broken finger, healing it instantly. As it slid back into her palm it found its brilliant silver sheen.

Ussay jumped to her feet and started backing out of the room. Ussay’s eyes widened with fear as she put a trembling hand over her mouth.

“Ussay, it’s all right.” Kira reached for her with her free hand, but Ussay didn’t stop. She kept backing away with a dazed look on her face.

“Ussay!” Kira yelled.

Ussay jumped at the sound of Kira’s voice, but it only hastened her escape. Kira clapped her fingers around the Crystor and ruby, then took off toward the stairs. By the time she reached Ussay she was half way to the back of the bookcase leading to Octavion’s chambers. Kira grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her to the ground.

“Stop,” Kira pleaded. “Let me explain. It won’t hurt you.”

Ussay tried to push her away. “It is evil,” she cried. “I have never seen such magic. Objects do not have a life of their own, they must have a Jayde to control them.”

“Ussay, please trust me. I promise it won’t hurt you.”

Ussay pulled away and climbed two more steps before sitting with her back against the wall. “You can explain, but do not touch me.”

“All right. Just don’t run, okay?”

Ussay nodded.

“Remember how bruised and swollen my hand was where I broke my finger?”

“Yes,” Ussay said cautiously.

Kira still had the Crystor securely gripped in her fist, so she turned her hand over so Ussay could see her knuckles. The swelling had completely gone and so had the bruise.

Ussay gasped, moving up one more step.

“It’s okay. Octavion gave me this bracelet so I could save Lydia’s life. It gives me the power to heal. It has no evil in it, only good.”

Ussay seemed to relax, but the fear in her face remained. “Why did it move by itself?”

“It’s okay. It did that before. It’s just. . not supposed to work anymore.” Kira stood and offered her free hand.