Crystal Doors #3: Sky Realm (No. 3) Read Free Page B

in the patterns of constellations — charged themselves by day and glowed at night to allow work to continue at all hours. Shelves overflowed with spell scrolls and supplies for experiments, both magical and scientific. In Elantya, magic and science were cousins, as close as Gwen and Vic.
    The great experimental chamber was crowded with sages, neosages, journeysages, apprentices, and novs, as well as anemonite scientists who had escaped the merlons with Lyssandra. Around the room, they clustered at experiments and defense projects in various stages of completion. In the gear-up to defend against Barak’s merlons, some eager workers were assigned to help Ven Sage Rubicas expand his shield spell. Others aided Lyssandra’s father Groxas in his pyrosage duties. The rest helped Vic’s father prepare cannons, catapults, sunshine bombs, handheld arrowpults tipped with crystals of fire aja, and undersea equipment, for land and sea battles. During breaks, Dr. Pierce had also been planning a rescue mission for his wife, but now that Ulbar’s merlons had brought her back, he would start working on a means of reviving her.
    Seawater aquariums lined the curved walls from floor to ceiling. The massive tanks were home to all manner of ocean life — colorful electric eels, strobe snails, multihued plants — and aquits, the small shape-shifting messengers of the sea, which reminded Vic and Gwen of doll-sized mermaids. But no tank anywhere in Elantya had ever held as exotic a treasure as the one beside which the twin cousins now stood with their friends and Ven Rubicas. From the head of the reservoir that held Kyara Pierce’s ice coral-entrapped form, Vic’s father watched over his wife while Ven Rubicas read from yet another spell scroll.
    Vic couldn’t tear his eyes away from his mother. A xyridium pendant, identical to those that he and Gwen wore, hung on a fine chain around her neck. Kyara’s long dark hair seemed to float beneath her head, and her eyes were closed, as if in sleep. Dressed in a gown of filmy green layers, she looked like an enchanted princess from a fairy tale.
    “S’ibah,”
the Ven Sage ended in a whisper. “Hmm. That should keep the seawater circulating until we find a way to free her.”
    “We didn’t know we would have to keep her in seawater to maintain the preservation spell,” Vic’s father said.
    Gwen said, “According to Azric, releasing her all at once from the ice coral would be fatal. We’ve got to find some other way.”
    Vic’s father swallowed hard and shook his head in dismay. “If Ulbar hadn’t told us, I might have made a mistake and injured Kyara.” His face twisted into a mask of grief and guilt. “Or worse.”
    “She is safe for now, Sage Pierce,” Lyssandra said quietly.
    Vic knew his telepathic friend was only trying to comfort them, but he could not keep the bitterness from his voice. “
Safe?
You mean like Sleeping Beauty was safe in a crystal coffin?” The copper-haired girl placed her hand on his arm to draw the unfamiliar reference from his mind. She winced as she understood his meaning.
    “But Sleeping Beauty wasn’t dead, Taz,” Gwen pointed out gently. “And neither is your mom. If only waking her up were as easy as a kiss.”
    A wild look of hope stole into Dr. Pierce’s eyes a split second before he plunged his head face first into the water and pressed his lips to the ice coral above his wife’s mouth. Although Vic and his friends could breathe under water because of the gill spell Orpheon had cast on them, Dr. Pierce could not.
    Vic’s father stood up straight. Water streamed down his face. “I had to try. No idea is too crazy. We can’t give up.”
    “Hmm,” Ven Rubicas said, inspecting Kyara’s frozen form. “If your method had succeeded, we would have seen some result by now.”
    Vic put an arm around his father’s wet shoulders. “It’s okay, Dad. We’ll find a way. We knew it would take some time.” Vic was an optimist, but he could