She struggled with her feelings for the old man. Never in her life had she seen him weep.
“Lia,” he said, then paused, trying to choose the right words. “You may think it was caprice which has prevented me from allowing you to be a learner at Muirwood. I am certain you have assigned any number of motives to my unwillingness. You may even suppose that because of what happened during your adventure to Winterrowd that I would allow you now.” He leaned back even further in his chair and brought his hands together in front of him, his fingertips touching. “I have motives as other men have. But in this thing, I act for your own best good. You must trust me, Lia. You must trust that what I do, I do for your own best good. I have felt this premonition since that night of the great storm. The night you stole a ring from my chamber. It was the night that I began to truly realize how strong you were with the Medium already.” He bent forward, his voice heavy with meaning. “While I am Aldermaston at Muirwood, you will not be a learner.”
A flood of disappointment washed over her.
“Rein in your feelings, child. Until I finish. That may mean many things. It does not mean that you will never learn to read. I cannot foretell how long I will remain as Aldermaston and you are much younger than I. Those words were spoken to you through the Medium’s will at the time. I feel them valid still. You would make an excellent learner, Lia. And that is one of the reasons why I cannot let you.”
She subdued her disappointment. “Thank you, Aldermaston. I will trust your judgment in this. I know now that I should have trusted you…earlier.”
“Your trust is not easily earned. Thank you.”
She turned to leave then stopped. Reaching down to the pouch at her waist, she loosened the strings and withdrew the Cruciger orb. She was loathe to give it up. “I am sorry for stealing this from you. I will never steal from you again.”
As she was about to set it on his table, he held up his hand. The look on his face – the gesture – confused her.
“I must correct you. You did not steal it, Lia. You, of all people, cannot steal it. For it is already rightfully yours.”
She did not realize she had stopped breathing. “What do you mean?”
His eyes penetrated hers. His eyes, so deep and timeless, like the sea. “We found it with you in the basket. So you see, it did not surprise me that it worked for you or that it led you. Since you have already mastered its powers, I must allow you to keep what is rightfully yours. It is yours, Lia. The Cruciger orb has always been yours.”
* * *
“Through the will of the Medium, many devices and implements have been created for the use and benefit of those who believe and are willing to act. Stones that give off light. Shells of glass that fasten into breastplates which allow the wearer to translate languages. Of these implements, the Cruciger orbs are perhaps the most mysterious. No artisan can craft such remarkable and so intricate a workmanship. They are ancient devices. All records which speak of them describe that they are gifts found by happenstance by common men and women destined for great deeds and are usually handed down from generation to generation and guarded with the utmost secrecy. The orbs only work for those they were intended to bless. It is my personal belief that they are not of this world at all, but gifts from the world of Idumea.”
- Cuthbert Renowden of Billerbeck Abbey