Fae & Alchemy, #2
Brimstone
by Callie Hart
Contents
27 What’s done is done
Overview
Elroy explains the origin of the massive quicksilver pool and reveals how deeply Saeris's hidden power shaped his choices, including burning records and pushing her from the forge to protect her from discovery. Kingfisher realizes the pool could spare Carrion and Hayden a palace infiltration, but his own goal remains returning to confront Madra and kill the queen. When the pool opens unexpectedly, Kingfisher interprets it as a sign that Saeris is in danger, and he, Carrion, and Hayden enter the quicksilver to find her.
Summary
Kingfisher examines Elroy's enormous quicksilver pool and cannot reconcile its size with anything he has seen before. Elroy explains that generations of metalworkers at the forge refined quicksilver out of weapons and jewelry, setting it aside piece by piece. When Saeris was taken, the separated metal turned liquid and fused into the vast pool.
Elroy reveals that he knew of Solace, the Fae sword that kept the doorways closed, from drawings he saw as a boy. Those drawings were destroyed in a fire caused by Elroy's father, whose exposure to quicksilver had already damaged him. Elroy also admits he burned the remaining papers five years earlier because Saeris's power was becoming too obvious and the documents could have endangered her.
Elroy explains that he took Saeris as an apprentice to watch over and protect her, but after her mother died, Elroy forced Saeris away from the forge because the strange magical energy around her might have drawn the guardians' attention. Carrion remarks that they may no longer need to return to the palace, since Saeris awakening the quicksilver should awaken every pool, including Elroy's. Kingfisher privately disagrees with Carrion's relief: Kingfisher still intends to return to the palace, investigate how Madra is sending infected feeders from Zilvaren, and kill the immortal queen.
Before Kingfisher can explain the full plan, the quicksilver pool violently erupts and opens far earlier than expected. Quicksilver splashes Kingfisher but is rendered harmless by the relic at Kingfisher's neck, though its silence alarms him. Kingfisher gives Hayden the ring Saeris made and orders him to keep it on.
Because Saeris is the only Alchemist Kingfisher knows of, Kingfisher concludes that Saeris must have opened the pool for a desperate reason and may be in danger. Kingfisher decides to enter immediately, believing the quicksilver will take him where he wants to go: to Saeris. Carrion and Hayden refuse to stay behind, so all three think of Saeris and step into the pool, leaving Elroy at the forge.
Who Appears
- KingfisherPOV character; investigates Elroy's pool and leads Carrion and Hayden into quicksilver toward Saeris.
- ElroyForge master who reveals the pool's origin and his efforts to protect Saeris's secret power.
- CarrionSmuggler who recognizes the pool's strategic value and refuses to let Kingfisher go alone.
- HaydenSaeris's brother; receives Saeris's ring and insists on helping if Saeris may be in danger.
- SaerisAbsent but central; her power shaped Elroy's choices and likely opens the pool from afar.