Chapter 10 The First Gemstone
What parts of Meena’s face weren’t covered with soft white fur were glowing a bright red. Wataru felt his own face redden. He realized he was still holding her hand, and quickly let go.
“Well, aren’t you two something,” Kutz said, throwing her head back with laughter. “You’re both red as beets!”
“Leave me alone!” Wataru retorted, when a sudden bright light filled his eyes, and he staggered back.
“What was that? Wataru, that came from your shirt!”
It was just like Kee Keema said. Wataru looked down to find his chest shining with a white light that radiated from inside his shirt.
Wataru gasped. The gemstone! He had tucked it inside his shirt so that it would be safe as he climbed up the cavern wall.
When he pulled it out, the gem glowed in his fingers with a soft, warm light. Then it drifted from Wataru’s hand, defying gravity to float up in the air. They all had to lift their gaze to see it.
Shining brighter than before, the light took the form of a woman wearing white robes. Everyone stood, eyes open wide, unable to speak.
She looked like a nun, or a saint. Except she was very young, and smiling ever so faintly. Her eyes moved, looking at Wataru.
Wataru heard a voice in his head. A young girl’s voice.
—You have freed me. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
It was all Wataru could do to blink.
—For too long I was held by Cactus Vira’s evil strength, locked within that lake. Cactus Vira brought me there, hoping to use my power, but I never let him. Nor did I give my blessing to his deeds. That man thought to rule people, to stand above them, to be worshiped by them, all to fill his empty soul. For this he lied and killed—and worse, he locked the spirits of the dead in his cave, and made them serve him even in the afterlife. By saving me, you released those who could not free themselves, and purified this land at long last.
Wataru took a step toward the glowing woman. “Who…who are you?”
The phantom woman smiled a benevolent smile.
—I am the white strength, the Spirit of Healing, the manifestation of a portion of the Goddess’s power.
“The Spirit of Healing…”
Then the phantom woman put her hands together in front of her face, as though in prayer, and closed her eyes.
—And I am the one who opens the way for the Braves whom the Goddess has summoned.
The white light shone brighter for a moment, then began to coalesce into a single point. It became small, like a tiny star, and drifted down until it was level with Wataru’s eyes.
Wataru reached out and cradled the light in his palms. The gemstone, now only as large as a fingernail, shone once more in his hands—then was still.
“The first gemstone,” Wataru said quietly.
With the gem resting on the palm of his left hand, Wataru drew his Brave’s Sword. The indentation on the topmost point of the sword hilt shone once brightly, and the gemstone responded with a faint pulsating glow. He put stone to the hilt—it fit in the indentation perfectly.
The Brave’s Sword glowed from the inside with a gentle light. It was hard to say, but it seemed as if the blade had lengthened at the same time. Yet it felt lighter in his hand, somehow.
—The sword grows with you.
Wayfinder Lau’s voice rang in Wataru’s ears.
No one said a word. The sky was growing light in the east. The dust had settled, and the light of dawn became a single white glimmering line on the horizon. A new day was beginning.
Meena yelped. This time, something was shining at her breast. It was much smaller than the glow of the gemstone, but it radiated the same warm light from under the pink shirt she was wearing.
She reached down her shirt, and pulled up a small compact-size mirror. It was hanging around her neck on a leather strap.
“What’s this?” Meena asked, eyes wide. “Did my lucky mirror just glow?”
“Mirror?” Wataru said, rushing over to her. His Brave’s Sword glimmered again, and light spilled from the mirror.
Wait, does this mean…
“Is that the Mirror of Truth?”
Meena nodded, without looking away from the mirror. “Yes. My parents gave this to me. It’s a good luck charm that has been in my family for generations.”
Kee Keema gave Wataru a slap on the shoulder. “Now you just need to find the star sigil.”
Wataru was lucky. He didn’t even need to look for the Mirror of Truth. It had found him. Wayfinder Lau was right again. Wataru nodded.
They had just started back down the road to Gasara, when Trone stopped, hands on his hips, looking at the ground. “Looks like you won’t need to search long.”
They were standing by the ruins of the chapel. There in the sand amongst the rubble was drawn a large five-pointed star.
Just like the one on the Brave’s Sword.