Page 120 of The Study of Fire
Leif pointed to a collection of buildings. “That’s Opal’s family’s glass factory.” Then he glanced at Valek. “Let me do the talking.”
“Have you met them before?”
“When we were in Booruby hunting Cahil and Ferde, Opal invited us to have dinner with her and her family. She has quite a bit of guilt for pricking Yelena with Curare.”
“It wasn’t her fault. She was a victim.”
“That’s what Yelena told her. But emotions and logic don’t always align.”
True. They left the horses to graze in the plains.
Leif led him to the house. “We’ll talk to Opal’s mom first. The others are probably in the factory, and they won’t be able to hear us.”
“Why not?”
“Those kilns are loud. To melt sand, limestone, and soda ash into glass, they need to be heated to twenty-five-hundred degrees. I know that temperature is unfathomable. Let’s just say, it’s bloody hot.”
“Bloody? You’ve been hanging out with me too much.”
Leif grunted.
“How do they get it that hot?” Valek asked.
“They burn white coal. It burns hotter than black coal and is much cleaner.” Leif knocked on the front door.
After a minute, an older woman answered the door. “Leif! What a surprise. Come in, come in.” She ushered them inside and offered them a cool drink. “Mara’s working, but I can fetch her.”
Valek wondered if Mara was Opal’s sister.
“We’re not here for Mara. Your daughter, Opal, is needed at the Magician’s Keep.”
“Opal? Why?” She glanced at Valek.
“I’d rather explain it to the entire family, if that’s possible,” Leif said.
After an hour—it seems that working with glass wasn’t something that could be put down at a moment’s notice—the family arrived. An older man sat next to Opal’s mother, and three siblings filed in after him. The beautiful teen girl gave Leif a big smile. Her younger sister, who must be Opal, had long brown hair and sad eyes. A young man, around ten years old and with a mop of brown hair, gave Leif a high-five. They all sat down in the comfortable living room, staring at Leif and Valek with concerned expressions.
“Ah, Jaymes and Vyncenza,” Leif said to Opal’s parents, “Please meet Valek.”
Here we go.
Jaymes was on his feet in an instant. “Why did you bring him into our house?” he demanded.
Leif held up his hands. “He’s helping me. Yelena needs Opal’s help, and we’re here to escort her to the Keep.”
“Me?” Opal asked. “Why? I’m…”
“The only person in all of Sitia that can help,” Leif said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Leif explained about Yelena’s determination that Opal’s glass animals contained magic. Then he told them of her plight. “She believes that she can transfer a soul to you, and you’ll be able to trap it in a glass prison.”
Watching their expressions, Valek knew Leif had just overloaded Opal’s family with too much information.
“Opal doesn’t have magic,” Vyncenza said. “She’s been tested.”
“She doesn’t have any of the traditional skills.” Leif agreed. “However, she could have a one-trick power. Regardless, her abilities are needed at the Keep right away.”
