Gonna try and post the rest of Spire today without making the chapters too long. Then it will be on to Haven :) Thanks to all who have clicked on this / are still reading this.
Across the pathway, they came to a large metal platform suspended from the bottom of the tower. Green smoke rose from the burning planet below, but there was surprisingly little heat.
The first thing they noticed was the bottom of the first elevator shaft they had seen, the one near the linking book at the top of the tower. At least, it had been an elevator shaft. Instead of an elevator, a large chunk of the linking chamber lay jammed in the bottom.
"Wow…" Melody said, "those crystals really pack a punch."
"We'll have to figure out a way to move it before we can get back up there." Trace said. "Know that we've tuned it, I doubt the spider chair works as an elevator anymore."
"Why don't you just give it a shove?"
He stared at her, then narrowed his eyes. "There are times I cannot tell whether you are making a joke or if you are being sincerely obtuse."
Melody cocked her head at the word. "Obtuse? Like a triangle?"
He opened his mouth, then just smiled and shook his head.
"What?" she demanded.
"There are also times when you are very endearing."
"Is this one of those times?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes."
"Good," she nodded, then moved on. "I think I see a desk over there. Let's snoop through it." He watched, trying not to laugh as she rifled through papers. "Boring… boring… super boring… Come on Sirrus, where's the good stuff? Ooooh a switch!"
"No!" Trace shouted as she reached for it.
She glared at him. "Stop shouting at me!"
"It's the only way to make you listen."
"That is not true," she said and flipped the switch. Sparks flew and something hummed in the distance. "See? I do what I want whether you shout or not."
"Do you have any idea what you just activated?" Trace asked through gritted teeth.
"No clue. Let's go find out," she turned and spotted something on a table nearby. "You go find out."
"Does it ever bother you that you have the attention span of a mouse?" Trace asked, feeling slightly like he was trying to wrangle a hyper-active child.
"Nope," she answered as she studied the object. It was a small metal cage-looking container with a crystal figure of Yeesha inside. As she picked it up, the necklace glowed.
"Interesting problem. The inner matrix wants to hold onto an electrical build-up indefinitely, but it loses it as soon as the crystal touches a grounded object. So… how to keep the crystals isolated until I can use them?"
It all clicked in her mind so quickly that she dropped the container. She looked up at Trace. "He was making crystal bombs!"
He cocked an eyebrow. "You were starting to worry me. I thought you'd figure it out sooner."
"Well excuse me," Melody said, narrowing her eyes. "I've been a little pre-occupied. You know, worrying about the welfare of a seven year old girl?!"
Trace, wisely, held up his hands in surrender, letting the matter drop.
In a drawer under the container was a book.
"Another journal!" Melody exclaimed, excited. "I knew it! I knew he had another one!"
"Are you really going to sit here and read his journal? Have you forgotten about the switch you activated?"
"Have you forgotten that I said you could go check it out? This is important too. It'll probably tell us exactly what was going through Sirrus' mind these last few years."
Without waiting to see if he agreed with her, she opened and began reading. It only took him a minute for Trace to start reading over her shoulder.
Something has happened. There is a structure in the spire that was not there nine days ago, when I sailed off to harvest more crystals. Its existence is impossible. Yet I have stood inside its foyer and know it is real…
I am forced to make an inconceivable deduction. Somehow my father has done this. Given the design of the chamber and in particular its barred dividing wall, I suspect that our reunion will be tense.
Melody could only imagine. She wondered briefly what that meeting had been like
Eight years. Still it is not enough for him!
This Age was nothing when I arrived. Nothing but floating rock and debris. I am the one who made it livable and I did so without help from anyone. If I could have found just one single person to assist me…
But no. He does not want to talk about accomplishments. All he wants to talk about are the books. Yes I burned them, Father. I am sorry.
Now, can we put the past aside and let me out of here?!
Another wasted evening, playing repentant sinner in his linking chamber. I do not know why I even waste my time. It is obvious he will never be convinced.
But what of Mother? Her endless hand-wringing is as maddening as ever, yet there must be some way I can use it. Perhaps I can play upon her guilt. Create a sculpture which she can see inside their viewer. If I can choose the appropriate memory, it should convince her that I, too, have my regrets.
Melody felt her temper rising. Yes Catherine wrings her hands, but only when she's upset you jerk-face loser! Melody was going to continue her inner rant, but then she noticed her name on the page.
What of Melody? Any questions about her are met with either the hopeful gaze of Mother or the suspicious glance of Father. Why is Father so protective? Has Melody really become so important to them? Perhaps I can use this as well.
This is intolerable! If he did not intend to set me free, why create the chamber in his first place? To flaunt his all-powerful skills? I get it, Father. Really, I do. Everything I have accomplished here pales in comparison to what you can do with the Art. It is the one power you have that I shall never defeat.
No wonder you refused to teach it to me.
Something strange I have noticed : Melody has not come to see me. Could Mother and Father have really kept their visits from her? I find myself thinking about her, growing more and more curious. If I could only speak to her…
The question is : would she speak to me?
And the answer is : not in a millions years, Melody answered in her mind.
I will take this no longer. It is time I showed him some of my power. Father believes his chamber to be impenetrable, but he had forgotten the very laws he once explained to me : frequency and molecular vibration.
The crystals can do it. If I find the right frequency, their song can set off a vibration that will tear through the chamber on a molecular level. These impenetrable walls will shatter like glass.
No doubt I will need a great deal of electricity to do it. I had better re-tune the musical instrument.
"He was planning to escape the whole time," Melody said. "He was never sincere at all."
Trace made no comment.
I have a sister?!
I do not know what to think. It is something I never even considered.
I must not let it affect me. There is too much work to be done. I need to get more power to the cables. Building additional conductors will take too long, but if I dismantle parts of the rock-ship network, then re-wire the remainder directly into the throne…
But if his chamber is breached, there will be no need.
It is no use. He will never teach me to Art. Questioning him about it only makes him suspicious. Perhaps, with him out of the picture, I can learn it from the D'ni.
From the way Father speaks of Melody I know she cares about Father deeply. Whatever happens must be an accident.
Melody didn't realize she was shaking with anger until Trace took the book from her.
She took a deep breath. "Thank you. Another second and I would have ripped it to shreds."
"If he makes any more comments about you," Trace stated matter-of-factly. "I'll save you the trouble."
"I just can't believe he actually thought he could hurt Atrus and I wouldn't automatically know it was him."
"Actually you wouldn't have," Trace pointed out. "Up until earlier today you thought Sirrus was dead."
"Not the point," she insisted. "It's the principle of the thing. He thinks I'm stupid. I wish Atrus and Catherine had told me about this from the beginning. I could have told them Sirrus was acting the moment I looked at him."
"Which may be part of the reason they didn't want to tell you. Perhaps, deep down, they knew he hadn't changed but wanted to believe he could."
Melody shrugged and took the journal back from him. "Let's finish this and get out of here so we can track that monster down and kick his butt."
"Agreed."
I cannot proceed without a sample. I have tried chipping off pieces from the chamber, using every possible method, but my efforts have all proven fruitless. How can I convince him to give me a piece? Or better yet, a set of matching pieces….
The chess set, Melody thought. Oh Atrus…
The next interesting part was Sirrus meeting Yeesha for the first time.
So that was my dear little sister. I see now why he is so taken with her. She is only a child and yet… Several times during our discussion I caught her studying me, attempting to ascertain what to believe. How much have they told her, I wonder?
I don't even care. It's obvious they value her more than they ever did Achenar and me.
Very well then. I shall use even that to my advantage.
Oh no, Sirrus had no feelings of sibling rivalry and bitterness at all. He 'adored' Yeesha alright, Melody thought sarcastically. Poor Yeesha. She adored her brother. She had no idea that he loathed her.
Sirrus had already been at the bottom of the barrel in her opinion. Now he was under the barrel.
Retrofitting of the old crystal cavern process on schedule. The loss of my lab was a set-back, for I cannot continue frequency tests until all the cavern walls are removed. But that explosion had made me very cautious. I would rather dangle over the stars than have solid rock walls explode on top of me.
Getting information is much easier from Yeesha than from Mother or Father. Her favorite subject seems to be Melody. If I go just by my little sister's description, Melody is beautiful, kind, courageous, giving and very wise. Perhaps I can convince my dear little sister to bring Melody for a visit as well.
No! He cannot do this! Why is he bringing her into this?!
I will not allow it! I will not all a mere child to have that much power over me! How DARE he agree to teach her to Art!
There must be a way. Some way to get the knowledge from her. But how?!
Go ahead Father. Go ahead and teach her. If you insist on giving this power to Yeesha, then I will make sure you're also giving it to me.
I have found the frequency…
Those five simple words sent a shiver of fear down her spine. This was how he'd escaped. He had escaped and had taken Yeesha. What did he plan to do with her? "How does he plan to get knowledge of the Art from her?" Melody asked aloud. "She's only seven, she doesn't know that much to begin with. And she was teaching him. Why kidnap her?"
"It's a puzzle," Trace agreed. "There doesn't seem to be a reason. But…"
"Even madmen have reasons that make sense to them," Melody finished. "Yeah, Atrus told me that one. I wonder if he's returned from Rime yet."
"I think we have discovered all we are going to in this Age," Trace said. "The best course of action now is to return to Tomahna and try to find where Sirrus took Yeesha."
Going back to the spider chair, they discovered that the switch Melody had flipped was in fact the power switch to the machine that made the crystal explosives. When she set in the frequency that Sirrus had written in his second journal, a crystal explosive moved along a cable to the machine, which zapped it with electricity and then dropped into a basket.
Melody smiled, an idea forming in her mind.
"Melody?" Trace asked suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"
"I know how to move that piece of wall that is jamming the elevator."
"No," he told her.
"You don't even know what I'm…"
"I know exactly what you're thinking," Trace said, "And the answer is no."
Melody snorted and turned, walking quickly toward the spider chair.
"What are you doing?"
"Moving the piece of wall that's jamming the elevator."
"I already told you no."
"And I already told you that you are not the boss of me."
Before he could stop her, Melody pressed the button. Trace grabbed onto the chair and gripped it tightly as the whole area shudder with an explosion. When they went back to the elevator, they saw it was clear.
"Told you it would work," Melody said with a grin.
"You've probably destroyed the elevator," Trace said, unwilling to back down.
"I did not," Melody insisted stubbornly.
Moments later she was smirking as they rode to the top of the tower.
"Not one word."
"I didn't say anything."
"You just did."
As they climbed the stairs, thoughts moved through Melody's mind. There was no doubt that Sirrus was behind all this. Where had Sirrus taken Yeesha? Was Sirrus acting on his own, or was Achenar involved in some way? Could Sirrus be keeping Yeesha in Haven? Or had he taken her to another Age?
The strange journal entries made her uneasy. Sirrus hadn't seem vengeful or even angry at her. He had almost seemed… She shook her head, refusing to even consider the possibility. It was just too wrong for words.
"Trace?" she said.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder, still annoyed with her. "What?"
"I'm… really glad you're with me."
He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then seemed to realize what it was she meant. Turning completely around, he hugged her comfortingly. "I won't let anyone hurt you or Yeesha," he said firmly.
"I know that," Melody assured him.
He held her for a few moments before stepping back. "Let's hurry. I have a few things to… discuss with Sirrus."
From the way he said it, Melody could tell she was going to like watching the 'discussion'.