Ice Crown by Kay L. Moody (good books to read for adults .txt) 📕

she moved a tiny pile of dirt and then blew off the top of it with air. The other children clapped in delight.

Scanning the room, Talise guessed she was one of the youngest children. She was only seven when most of them were probably eight. She was probably the thinnest too thanks to the Storm. If she weighed even a few pounds less, she would lose her ability to shape. She had lost it before.

Marmie went three weeks eating nothing but lemon water and breadcrumbs so Talise could have the extra food. Even when the shaping returned, Marmie took smaller portions so Talise could have more.

Another guard wearing yellow entered from the back room. He called a name from his leather-bound writing pad. Soon, a dark-haired child who looked a full year older than Talise bounded to the middle of the room. The child bowed to his elder.

The yellow-clad guard pointed to a pile of dirt. “If you can shape earth, please move the pile to the spot indicated.”

The dark-haired child shook his head and the guard made a note in his writing pad. Then he said, “If you can shape water, raise the water from this bowl and put it back again.”

The boy shook his head again and a note was made.

The guard pointed to the red and black brocade curtains on the window behind him. “If you can shape air, make these curtains dance.”

The boy nodded, and soon the curtains were fluttering with sharp bursts that indicated shaping.

The guard made another note in his writing pad before he said, “If you can shape fire, produce a small ball of fire above your palm.”

The boy shook his head, and the guard nodded as he made note in his pad. Then, the guard pointed to the back room. “Off you go. Say your goodbyes, and don’t forget your personal effects.”

The boy bounced over to his parents wearing a smile that must have hurt his cheeks. His parents clapped and gave him so many kisses, his cheeks were probably wet. They strapped a large sack on his back that looked almost as heavy as him.

Talise’s eyes slowly trailed over to the small tote bag she had brought. It only had two dresses, some toiletry items, and a tiny pouch of money. When she scanned the rest of the room, her tote bag looked even smaller.

Biting her bottom lip, Talise sidled up to Marmie and squeezed her hand. “I don’t want to go to the academy without you.”

“I know, love,” Marmie said with a gentle smile.

“Do I have to?”

Leaving no room for interpretation, Marmie said, “Yes dear, you have to.” Then she added with a bit more kindness. “All the other children will be away from their families too.”

“Where will you go?” Talise asked, bracing herself for the answer.

“I must go back to the Storm.”

Even though she’d been expecting this, the words still jarred on her insides. “How will you survive? Academy training lasts ten years.”

Marmie took her hand out of Talise’s grip and wrapped it around her shoulders instead. She began tracing swirls into Talise’s upper arm as she spoke. Her voice was even and sweet, telling the truth, but making it sound better than it was. “The first stage of training is only five years. You’ll have to test again after that to get into the second stage. And you’ll test again three years later. The third stage is only two years.”

Talise nodded, wishing the years could go by as quickly as this day seemed to be going.

Marmie continued. “A child of the Storm is never allowed to leave the Storm unless he or she becomes Master Shaper. Getting into the academy isn’t enough. At the end of each year, there’s a competition. Based on the demonstrations during the competition, Emperor Flarius chooses one Master Shaper from the graduating class to work with him in the palace. You must become Master Shaper or else you’ll have to go back to the Storm after your academy training.”

“I know all that,” Talise said jutting out her bottom lip. “I know what I have to do. But if I pass all the testing and make it through all three stages and win the competition and become Master Shaper…,” she bit her bottom lip again, looking up at Marmie, “will you be able to move to the palace with me?”

“You already know the answer to that,” Marmie said with the smallest wink.

Talise’s stomach sank all the way down to her toes. She did know that already. She’d asked these questions a hundred times in the last few months wishing there was any other way. It didn’t help her nerves at all.

Her entire future rested on the competition. How could she feel anything but anxiety skewering her muscles when so much depended on this?

Marmie met her eye and put two fingers under her chin. “You’re the best shaper here.” Then she shrugged with a tease. “Even if you weren’t, they aren’t testing how good you are at shaping. You only need to show that you can. Any child who can shape is welcome to the academy for the first stage of training.”

Again, she knew all that, but it helped to hear the words anyway. Talise tucked herself closer to Marmie’s side, wishing they had a little more time. Maybe just a few more days.

Mercifully, time went by slowly as the guards tested each new child, let them say goodbye, and then followed him or her into the back room to give more instructions about the academy. Hours passed by while more children were tested.

The other children were getting antsy, but not Talise. She drank up every last minute she had. When she felt brave, she’d ask Marmie to tell her a story or recite one of their favorite memories. Marmie always complied with a gentle smile and a reassuring lilt to her voice.

But even as one of the more boring days of her life, time still marched on. Soon, Talise was the only child left in the room.

The older guard entered and glanced around. Not noticing Talise at first, he checked with the woman guard. They whispered together for a moment until the woman guard pointed to the back corner where Talise and Marmie sat. The air seemed to grow hotter and thicker. More anxiety trampled through Talise as she tried to hold her head high. She wanted to be brave for Marmie. She knew what she had to do.

The guard nodded and went to his usual place in the middle of the room where he called out her name, almost with a grimace.

Talise walked over, pinching folds of her dress between two fingers before releasing them again. She took a deep breath when she reached the center of the room. After a quick bow and a long gulp, she looked up at the guard.

He stared down at her, surveying every inch of her tattered clothes. His eyes landed heavily on the bright patch near her hem. He looked back at Marmie and scoffed loudly. Slamming his writing pad shut, he looked at the other guard. “Tell them we’re done here. They can take the children to the docks now.”

 

FOUR

 

 

 

TALISE TOOK A STEP BACK WHILE MARMIE took a step forward. Talise clutched at her dress. All of the softness in Marmie’s face hardened to jagged lines. Her cheekbones cut like knives. No more honey and sparkles. When Marmie spoke now, her voice was fire.

“She can shape. You are required to give her entrance to a training academy.”

“Don’t be stupid, vermin,” the guard said as he peered down at Marmie. “No one from the Storm can shape. How did you even get enough money for the riverboat? Did you sell your hair?

He and the other guard glanced at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter.

Marmie reached for the frizzy ends of her hair, all uneven and dull. At the last second, she turned her hand into a fist and set her jaw. “Test her,” Marmie said.

The guard began walking toward the back room, still letting out the whispers of a laugh.

Marmie stood in front of him leaving only a few inches between them. She crossed her arms over her chest and said more firmly, “Test her.”

“Get out of my way,” the guard said, brushing her to the side.

With such weak muscles inside her, Marmie staggered at the man’s touch. She gripped him by the forearm to catch her balance and tried to steady herself.

Talise wrung her hands all around each other as she watched the pair of them. Perhaps the guard only needed to see that she was capable of shaping. Maybe she should just show him what she could do. But she feared disrespecting her elder. He clearly had a prejudice that ran deep. Would shaping get them into more trouble?

When Marmie steadied herself, she said, “The girl can shape. You must test her.”

The guard moved to push her away again, but with greater force this time. To protect herself, Marmie grabbed his arm.

The guard ripped his arm from her grip. “You dare attack me?”

Even though it was clear an attack was far from her mind, Marmie narrowed her eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure this girl goes to the academy.”

The guard moved so swiftly, Talise didn’t realize he had Marmie by the wrist until he was already reaching for the wooden baton under his tunic. If Talise didn’t do something, Marmie would be beaten. Her frail body couldn’t handle a beating of any kind right now.

“Stop!” Talise shouted.

That only seemed to add fire to the guard’s flame. He pulled the baton out while a hint of glee passed over his features. If she was going to do anything, clearly words would not be enough.

She took one glance around the room and did the only thing that seemed logical in the moment. Many people considered fire to be the most difficult element to master, so she lit a fire in her palm.

Thinking only of Marmie’s safety, Talise took a fistful of the guard’s tunic. “Look,” she said as she forced him to turn around.

As his feet moved to face her, the tunic in her left hand collided with the flame in her right. Her eyebrows flew up her forehead as the silk fabric caught on fire. The guard let out a gasp that could have fluttered the curtains as much as air shaping.

Talise shaped away the fire in her palm instantly, but the damage had been done. The guard seemed too surprised, or angry, to react to his still burning tunic.

Though less than a second had passed, it felt like five hundred. Talise scanned the room, letting her mind whirl as it tried to find a way to fix this.

I’ll never go to the academy now, she thought. I won’t even go back to the Storm. They’re going to kill me here and Marmie too.

She looked at the curtains. She could pull them down and suffocate the fire. No, she’d never be strong enough to rip them away. Useless. Her tote bag of dresses was closer, but the fire might be out of control by the time she got a dress out of it. Also useless. The bowl of water for shape testing would work. Her foot had already taken a step before she realized that even that would take too much time. The bowl was on the other side of the room.

Without a single thought about the consequences, Talise used her shaping to raise the water out of the bowl and splash it onto the