I shivered. Flare and Carnelian had such dreadful strength. Then there were the other spirits behind them, waiting. They might not search for a way out, but they would follow Carnelian and Flare. I was sure of it. “They would kill everyone, Rosethorn. That underground chamber is bigger than the lake. I don’t know how deep it is. The power of them all…” I twisted to look at Luvo, though it hurt my bones to do it. “Why didn’t you say we’re looking at a volcano? I wouldn’t have gone down there!” I kept my voice as quiet as Rosethorn’s.
“I did not know.” Luvo hung his head knob, not looking at us.
“But you were born in one!” I poked him with a finger.
“And I told you, who remembers his birth?” he asked. “I have not encountered a volcano in our travels. I did not know the early signs of an eruption. Rosethorn, are you certain that these signs pertain to such an occurrence?”
I put my hands to my head. Luvo asking Rosethorn to explain things a mountain should know—I felt as if my world had been upended.
“To pass the initiate’s examinations, we’re taught the basics of all the Living Circle disciplines, even when they don’t match our powers. Evvy’s story fits the facts. So does the spot die-off of plants, the acid water, and the vibrations and earth shocks. I had my suspicions—so did Myrrhtide—but this confirms it.” As Rosethorn whispered, she laid a cool wrist on my forehead. Then she checked my heartbeat with the other. She frowned. “Not good. You’re clammy, and your pulse is thin and rapid.” She looked at Jayat. “She has the symptoms of shock. Has she eaten?”
“She couldn’t, Dedicate Initiate.” Jayat came over. No one else seemed to want to. It was as if we had something catching. “She threw up a lot, but she didn’t eat anything first.”
“I see. Thank you, Jayat.” Rosethorn looked at me. “For those studies I mentioned, we had to read classic writings. In The Book of Earth Magic, a handful of mages wrote of spirits of molten stone found deep in the earth. They described what happened when they found a route to the surface. It was much like what you told us.” She stood and shook out her robes. “I’m going to brew you some tea. Then you’ll eat something. Then you’ll tell us all about your explorations and discoveries with the stones here. We need to see how much time we have before this island blows up under us.” She went upstairs.
“What can she possibly do?” Luvo stepped clumsily into my lap. “I do not understand why she rushes off in this manner. The new mountain will come. We will be consumed in molten lava. That is the cycle of birth and death in stone. There is nothing to be done.”
His behavior today now made a lot more sense to me. I cuddled him close in my aching hands and kept my voice down. For some reason, Rosethorn didn’t want everyone in the room to hear what we were talking about. “You thought you were going to die, didn’t you? That’s why you curled up in a ball and didn’t talk to Jayat. You just figured, uh-oh! Here comes the lava, I’m going to die, nothing to be done. Luvo, you bleater, you’re not some rock stuck in the path of an avalanche, you know! We’ll get on a ship and sail away from this!” I gripped him and tried to stand, only to have my knees go to jelly. I sat again. “All right, it may take us a while before we get to the ship.”
Before I knew what he was up to, Oswin came over and picked us both up. Like Jayat the night before, he wasn’t ready for Luvo. His knees bent under us. He grunted with the strain. His face turned a nice, dark ruby. As he staggered to carry us to the table where Azaze and Fusspot sat, I tried to distract him. “The emperor of Yanjing gave me a coat made of silk that was the same color as your face right now. You forgot about Luvo’s weight, didn’t you? You’re very strong for an old man.”
“I’m forty-five! That’s not old!” Oswin slid us onto the bench at the elders’ table.
“It certainly is not.” Luvo almost sounded huffy as I put him on the table.
Azaze had been talking to Fusspot. Now she got up and looked at the people who had been witness to all this. “The rest of you, off to your homes. The council must gather immediately. Master Miller, Mistress Weaver, Master Carpenter, will you remain? I’ll send an hostler for the smith, the chief herder, and the chief miner. Jayat. Fetch your mistress. Tell her I insist.”
Jayat gulped. “Yes, Headwoman Azaze.” He ran out of the inn.
Azaze went outside for a moment. When she came back, she sat down across the table from me, and looked me in the eyes. I don’t think I flinched. It was hard. This tall, stern-looking old lady would do better as a queen than as the headwoman of an armpit little village snuggled to a mountain that was about to blow up.
“What do you think you saw down there, girl? Or did you just invent a tale to keep yourself out of trouble?” Azaze demanded.
If she spoke to everyone like that, I’d bet her children died of fear when they were small. “If I was doing that, I’d have said I got a face full of bad air, and it made me do strange stuff,” I told her. “When I lie, I’m smart enough to keep it simple. That’s where liars always go wrong. They get fancy. Then they forget the details. It’s best to have a simple, basic lie that you don’t have to worry about remembering.”
Azaze’s thin mouth twitched. I think she maybe smiled. “Your career to this point has made you an expert in lying, I take it.”