Witch's Pyre (Worldwalker 3)

Lily shut her mouth with a snap. He’d found her in the oubliette. He’d found her after the City Guard had raided the subway tunnels. He’d even managed to track her across the continent. Rowan had always found her. She’d think of him, and there he’d be. Lily considered that maybe he could always find her because some part of her was always calling to him.

“You shouldn’t have come up here without a mechanic. No offense, Juliet, but you can’t defend her.” He was just about to get angry with Lily when he remembered that he didn’t have that right anymore. She noticed that he stopped several feet away from her and didn’t try to initiate mindspeak. This was their new normal. Something in her contracted to know that. She turned back to the speaking stone.

“What does it do?” she asked.

“It allows a witch to reach the minds of her claimed over long distances,” he replied. “They’re set up spaced apart every few hundred miles or so, and they work like a relay system. Years ago, the Salem Witch used to embed one of her claimed in the ruling Coven of each of the other Thirteen Cities to keep watch over them, and she’d stay in touch with her claimed through the speaking stones. That way, the Witch could maintain control from Exeter to Savannah without ever having to leave the safety of Salem.”

“They haven’t been used in years,” Juliet said. “I didn’t even know what they looked like.”

“There’s still one in Salem,” Rowan said. “On top of the Citadel, over Lillian’s rooms.”

“Did Lillian ever use it?” Lily asked.

“I don’t think so,” he replied. “What’s the point? She didn’t have any claimed in the other Covens, where the other speaking stones were set up, and it only works between a witch and her claimed.” He narrowed his eyes. “But why don’t you ask her? You two talk all the time, don’t you?”

“How did you know—” she began, and hastily cut off. Lily looked down at her hands. “Yes.”

Something like a smile softened the corners of his mouth. Lily felt her cheeks heating up.

“Who would she contact?” Juliet asked, still staring at the speaking stone.

Lily had lost the thread of the conversation. “Who would who contact?”

“Bower City doesn’t allow witches to claim,” Juliet said, frowning. “I’m assuming this is Grace’s. If she doesn’t have any claimed, how could she use this?”

Rowan walked around it and ran his finger across the surface. “Someone’s been using it. See the lights inside?”

Lily looked more closely at its center and saw the roiling play of light and dark that almost looked alive. “Is this a willstone?” Lily asked, incredulous.

“Same family, different capabilities. Speaking stones are far too large for one mind to bond with, so they can’t be used for all the different kinds of things a willstone can, but what they lack in nuance they make up for in raw power,” Rowan answered.

Lily stared up at the giant crystal. “Can anyone use it, or does it attune itself to one witch?” she asked aloud.

“Anyone can use it. But you can only reach your claimed, and another witch could only reach her claimed. It’s not like your telephones, where anyone can call and anyone can answer.”

“Ah,” Lily said. She was reminded of teaching Rowan how use a telephone back in her world. He’d loved them, like he’d loved computers and most everything else that had to do with science

and technology. He’d loved them because anyone could access them, not just witches and mechanics.

My world really is magical in its own way, she said to Lillian. Look how large the speaking stone has to be, and still its range is only a few hundred miles. I wonder how many of them are set up and which direction they go? North–south? Or is there a line of them reaching all the way back east?

“You’re talking to her right now, aren’t you?” Rowan asked. His brow furrowed.

“She’s not really listening. She’s busy,” Lily replied.

“Then why are you reaching out to her?”

“Because I want to,” Lily snapped. She turned to the speaking stone. “Is there any way to find out who is using this and who’s listening?”

Rowan still looked troubled. “No,” he answered distractedly, and then went back to what was really on his mind. “Lily. Have you told her about this place?”

“Of course I have,” she said, throwing her hands up.

“Lily!” Juliet said, shocked.

“What?” Lily replied, starting to feel sheepish under Juliet’s disapproval. “She’s not against us. Not about this.”

“Has Lillian told you what she’s going to do about it?” Rowan asked.