Nothing happened.

Colvin looked up at her.

“I do not think there is safe water,” she said huskily, her throat raw. “Show us the way to Winterrowd,” she then said.

Nothing happened.

Colvin’s brow furrowed.

Dread joined the fear in Lia’s heart. Then anger. She focused her thoughts – she stared at the intricate spindles and willed them to move. Show us a safe road! she screamed at it inside her mind.

Nothing.

“Let me try,” Colvin said, holding out his hand. For a moment, she wanted to shove him away, to hunch over and protect it. His hand was extended, his fingernails black with mud and dirt. Reluctantly, she gave it to him.

His brow furrowed even more and he looked sternly at the orb, saying nothing. But it did not obey him either. “Vexing,” he muttered, giving it back to her. “Is the orb not working, or is there no longer a safe road? We must determine that. Ask it to show you the direction of Muirwood. Not a safe road there, just the direction.”

Lia focused on it, hoping the spindles would whir again. But as she thought about Muirwood, she was met with despair. The orb was silent. “I do not understand,” she whispered. “It…it was working yesterday…it…it…”

His face was a struggle to read as he battled to control his feelings. He looked furious, but determined to conquer the emotion. It took several moments for him to master himself enough to speak, and when he did, his voice was more like a bark than a man’s voice.

“We do not have time for this!” He turned away, still struggling to contain himself. She was wounded by his reaction, hurt by the anger in his voice. She had no idea why the orb had failed them.

Looking at the beautiful surface, she willed it to heed her. Show us the road. Show us safety. Show us a way to escape the sheriff. Please!

“I am sorry,” he said over his shoulder. “I am sorry. I am doing the best I can.” He turned back to her, his face still twisting with various emotions, none of which she understood. “I am trying to protect you. I am trying to get to Winterrowd. I am trying not to worry about my sister. I am failing at all three. I promise, I never intended to drag you away from your home. Believe me, if I could have done it over again, I would not have let you help me. I should have left on my own as soon as I could stand. I should have gone!” He sighed mournfully.

“Why will it not work?” Lia said, crying openly. “I do not know why it is not. I…I…I do not know what to do. The mist. Winterrowd could be anywhere.”

He shook his head violently, his fingers clenching like talons. “No, you are not to blame. I am. Believe me. I am. I know what is wrong. I know why it is not working.”

“Why then?” she pleaded, clutching his arm. She needed to touch something to keep the dizziness from making her collapse.

“Because you cannot force the Medium. It knows your thoughts. It knows when you have lost your courage. There is something in your mind that is stopping it from working. It could be your longing for the Abbey. It could be fear. It could be misery.” He did not shake off her grip, but she could see him flinch, see his eyes glance at her hand and narrow coldly. “I have seen this before. When I was a learner, it happened now and then among us, especially when something terrible happened. It even happened to me when my father died. I could not use the Medium because I was too angry that he had been taken away, that my sister and I were orphans, that I had to be both father and mother as well as brother. The Medium knew my feelings and abandoned me to my resentment.”

“How long before…how long before you could use it again?” she asked, her hope withering with the look in his eyes.

“Months,” he answered bitterly. His jaw clenched. “We cannot dwell here that long. The sheriff’s men are hunting us. This is a swamp, not a road. We have no water.” He rubbed his mouth on his arm. His look hardened. “Whatever it is, we must discover it. We must not abandon hope. You get what you secretly desire. You claim a right to use the Medium by expecting to receive it. You are strong in the Medium. Very strong. But as strong as you are, you are still bound by its laws and impeded by your own doubts. You must overcome whatever is hindering you.”

“How?” Lia asked, confused. “I have never not been able to use it. I have sensed the Medium since…that night of the storm. I know it is real.” She let go of his arm and fished the ring out of her dress and pinched it hard between her fingers, letting the edge bite into her skin as she shook it at him. “I know it is real! I do not doubt it!”