Siegestone: Book 1 of the Gemstones and Giants Trilogy

by E. S. Maya

  As they readied their fifth cart, the sounds of pickaxes on stone took Team Wulf’s words away. Safi exhaled with each heavy blow, no longer worried about making quota, or Raven and Hannah, or even finding a Siegestone beneath all that rock. She let the seconds take her, let them stretch into long, innumerable minutes. Then there was only the strength of her body, the weight in her hands, and all the stone in the world before her.

  When the boys burst into cheers, it took her a half-dozen swings to halt her pickaxe. She smiled beneath the guise of her neckerchief.

  Team Wulf had made quota at last.

  “Well done, lads!” cried Stiv. He stepped behind the iron-braced cart and leaned against its handle. “Now to take it to the Pit.” He tossed back his head and guffawed. “I can’t wait to see the look on Noth’s face!”

  “Me neither,” Jabbar said, sidling up to Stiv and then shouldering him out of the way. “Which is why I shall be the one who delivers the minecart.”

  “I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” Grinning, Stiv wrapped one arm under Jabbar’s armpit, the other around his neck. “We all know how much the Serk hates you Abed.”

  “All the more reason—” Jabbar pulled at Stiv’s arms, but the Berrid boy was too large and strong “—that I should be the one to deliver!”

  “Enough of that,” Wulf said, slipping himself between them. One limb after another, he untangled the clinging boys. “Goggles can take it.”

  Goggles looked down at himself. “Me?”

  “He already went today!” protested Stiv.

  “Titans almighty!” said Safi, sliding her goggles up to her forehead. “If one of you doesn’t start pushing the thing, I will.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Safi should take it,” Goggles said.

  “Safi?” said Stiv in mock-disbelief. He swaggered over, stuck two fingers beneath the brim of her helmet, and flipped it off her head. It landed rattling on the drift floor. “This little runt?”

  “Hey!” Safi said, thumping Stiv’s shin with the toe of her boot. He yelped in pain as she crouched down to pick up her helmet. “I don’t care who takes it, so long as it goes.” Despite spending two months in the Titan mines, she had never delivered a yield of Titan rubble. She wasn’t sure now was the best time to start.

  “I agree with Goggles,” Jabbar said. “Let Safiyas deliver the stones.”

  The four of them looked to Wulf.

  The Anderan boy shrugged, though Safi noticed the faintest smile on his lips. “I’ll throw in my vote for Saf,” he said, giving her arms a good looking over. “She’s certainly worked hard this past month.”

  Safi’s ears went hot. She knew she ought to say something, to thank Wulf for the rare compliment, but Stiv was already upon her.

  “Titans! How hadn’t I seen it before?” Stiv put a hand on her dusty bicep and squeezed. “The muscles on this girl! Old Cronus has made a miner of you indeed, dear Blondie!”

  At that moment, Safi was grateful for her neckerchief. She twisted her arm free and shoved Stiv square in the chest. To her surprise, the boy collapsed to the floor, heaving for breath.

  “Look, but don’t touch,” Safi said, standing over him. “And, uh, sorry about that.”

  “’Tis but a minor wound,” Stiv said, clutching his chest. He waved a dismissive hand. “Go then, and deliver the stones in my place.”

  Safi looked to Wulf for his final approval.

  Wulf nodded. “You earned it.”

  Safi fixed her helmet over her hair, slipped her goggles over her eyes, and smiled. “Keep the tunnel warm for me.”

  Wulf’s teeth shined bright against his dust-caked face. “You bet.”

  Safi braced her palms against the minecart’s wooden handle. She leaned into its bulk, using the full weight of her body to send the tub screeching down the passageway.

  The dull metal railway led her out of the first-year dig site.

  Up ahead, another first-year pushed his own full yield, disappearing behind walls of stone with each bend of the tunnel. From behind she heard the cry of a fast-approaching minecart.

  Safi pumped her legs, matching the boys’ speed. Her arms held strong to the handle. Her knees did not tire or buckle.

  The miner ahead swung back into view. She followed him out of the drift and into the adit. To her right, the light of day shone from the Foot’s main entrance. But the railway curved left, taking Safi and her minecart towards the Pit.

  She passed beneath the broad wood-braced archway that separated the adit from the hollowed interior of Cronus’s actual foot. A stone-cut path spiraled up its vast walls, dotted with unused tunnel openings, no doubt leading to more unfinished dig sites, if such work was ever to be considered finished. Just how long had it been since the Siege Titan died? The chamber’s cone-shaped ceiling extended beyond the reach of torchlight.

  She discovered nearly two dozen boys standing in line with their minecarts, beginning at the massive, fang-mouthed hole dug into the Pit’s center. The dumping shaft, she remembered, as the floor rail guided her cart into queue. Deep below was where breakers crushed their Titan stone into dust. No Siegestone left unfound.

  Beside the dumping shaft stood a raised wooden platform. Upon it stood Recruit Foreman Noth. The sight of the fifth-year gave Safi pause. She glanced over her shoulder, toying with the idea of turning around, of towing her team’s full load back to the first-year dig site. She cursed herself for humoring the thought. The Titan mines were no place for cowardice. And that had nothing to do with the minecarts squealing behind her, blocking her retreat…

  Noth’s voice echoed throughout the chamber. “Load ‘em up!”

  The boy at the front of the queue leaned into his minecart, shoving it up the ramp and onto the platform. Bringing the tub to a halt, he lowered himself to one knee and began hooking iron clamps onto each the minecart’s wheels. Standing up straight, he shouted off his year, his team, and their daily yields thus far.

  The line lurched forward.

  Chalk in hand, Noth jotted down the boy’s information on a slab of black slate, then reached for a tall iron mechanism comprised of gears and bolts. With a single powerful arm, he turned its wood-handled crank. The machine clicked rapidly and shuddered as four metal arms lifted the minecart off the platform, tilting it sideways over the dumping shaft.

  The Titan rubble vanished into the shadows. The minecart came slamming back down, ringing hollow and empty. After freeing its wheels, the boy reached for the handle and eased the minecart down the opposite end of the platform.

  Noth looked over his queue. “Next!”

  The boys took turns emptying their minecarts. Safi lowered her head, hiding beneath her helmet as the dumping shaft grew close. She decided she would tell Noth no more than what was necessary. This was work, and as recruit foreman of the Foot, she expected him to respect that. After Raven’s punishment at the hands of Hannah, the last thing she wanted was to pose a threat to the order of the Fivers’ Camp hierarchy.

  When Safi arrived at the platform, she leaned into the handle and heaved her minecart forward. It rolled halfway up the ramp before screeching back towards her. She braced herself to the minecart and attempted a second push, but her leather soles slipped on the dusty wood.

  “The Southerling!” remarked Noth. His yellow eyes explored her body. “Or what’s become of her.” He smiled, but not in a happy sort of way. “For how long are you planning on holding up my line?”

  Safi took three steps back and threw her shoulder against the minecart. It nearly cleared the top, then came squealing back down again. She dug her heels into the ramp, but there was no stopping the full load’s momentum.

  She heard a series of footsteps behind her—a pair of boys at the front of the queue, jogging over to help.

  “Halt!” cried Noth, and the footsteps fell silent. “The Abedi girl wants to be a miner, so let her be one.”

  Safi glared at Noth. She didn’t want to be a miner; she already was o
ne. She dared not speak her thoughts, though. Not with the way Noth was looking at her. She loathed the fifth-year boy as much as she loathed Hannah. Perhaps even more.

  “The true face of a Southerling mongrel.” Noth laughed, then beckoned her with his forefinger. “Come to me, little Abed. If you can.”

  Safi turned away from the platform and pulled a breath. The boys in queue, all of them watching now, groaned at her apparent defeat. But she was far from finished. She planted her back against minecart, spreading her arms wide to handle. She kicked off the stone floor, then inched her way backwards up the slippery wooden planks.

  She paused at the top of the ramp, breathing heavy. Then, leaning backwards with all her might, the minecart cleared the edge and went rolling onto the platform.

  The boys in queue showered her with cheers and applause. Smiling, Safi slapped the dust off her trousers and turned to face Noth. The Serk did not share their sentiments.

  Safi sounded off anyways. “First-year,” she declared, looking into Noth’s yellow eyes, “Team Wulf, fifth yield of the day.” Remembering the mechanism, she dropped to one knee and began clamping the wheels into place.

  “First time your team’s made quota,” Noth said, followed by a chuckle. “Almost. I’ll have to take you down a quarter-tub, for slowing up my line.”

  “That’s not fair!” Safi cried, leaping to her feet. She stormed up to the fifth-year boy, leather gloves squeaking. Noth’s expression did not change in the slightest. She regretted her outburst immediately.

  “You best temper that Southerling attitude,” Noth said, taking a long step towards her. His broad, work shirt-clad chest came inches from her face. “It might earn you a trip to the stockades.” Leaning forward, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Alongside your Anderan street rat friend.”

  “You Serk bastard!” Safi hardly noticed her hands flying towards Noth’s shirt collar. It wasn’t until she held him that she realized how clumsy, how powerless she felt compared to the fifth-year boy.

  Noth raised a large gloved hand and placed his fingers around Safi’s neck. Feeling her eyes bulge, she let go of his collar and clung to his wrist instead.

  “Plenty of accidents,” Noth said, dragging Safi behind him as he marched across the platform, “happen in the Titan mines.” He spun her towards the dumping shaft and bent her backwards over the edge. “And no one here can say you didn’t lay your hands on me first.”

  Safi’s legs strained for purchase as her heels dangled over the dumping shaft. She thought to beg for mercy, but her voice came out in a gurgle. Gritting her teeth, she hooked a leg around the recruit foreman’s knee and leaned backwards with all her weight.

  If she did have to die, she’d at least take the Serk bastard with her.

  “That’s enough,” said a voice from behind the recruit foreman. A familiar voice. Safi blinked back tears. Wulf.

  Noth looked over his shoulder and chuckled. “Your Southerling pet attacked me.”

  “Then I’ll take full responsibility.” Wulf climbed onto the platform, stepping carefully around the minecart as he approached Safi and the recruit foreman. He spoke softly. “Let her go, Noth.”

  Wulf inched towards the dumping shaft, one arm reaching for Safi, both eyes firm on the fifth-year. Her arms were nearing the point of exhaustion, but she clung to Noth’s arms all the same, readying herself for the moment that Wulf would leap forward and save her.

  Before he could make his move, a sharp cry blasted through the chamber. “Everybody, LISTEN UP!”

  Another familiar voice; Spanky, the fifth-year announcer from the sword ring. He stumbled into the Pit, tripping over the floor rails and his own clumsy feet. Though his trousers were stained with dust, his work shirt looked clean and crisp. The boy came to a staggering halt. He set his hands on his knees and began panting for breath.

  Their attention stolen away, the boys in the Pit began to shout.

  “First time I’ve seen him without something to say!” an older boy said.

  “You ain’t here to collect on my betting debts, are you?” said another.

  “Come on, Spanky, out with it already!”

  “If everyone shuts up, maybe I’ll tell you,” announced Spanky, breathing a hitch-pitched sound. The boys lowered their words to a murmur. Noth’s attention must have been taken too, for Safi felt the recruit foreman loosening his grip around her neck. She sucked a deep, haggard breath.

  Spanky raised his fist to his lips and cleared his throat. “In the North Camp, someone, somebody, has found…”

  The crowd gasped, and Safi’s eyes went wide. By the time she realized Noth had let her go, she was tumbling down the dumping shaft.

  Wulf appeared beside her. He scooped her up with a steady arm and swung her back towards safety. Her boots landed on the platform with a clap. The recruit foreman, descending the ramp towards Spanky, noticed not at all.

  “Someone has found…” Spanky sucked a deep breath before standing tall. He tipped back his head and said, “A SIEGESTONE!”

  Safi’s ears throbbed. The boys in the chamber were roaring. The platform trembled beneath her feet as the boys marched off in a throng of blue and brown-shirted bodies. Then she yelped in surprise when Wulf, arm around her waist, dragged her down the platform and into the crowd.

  For all her aches and pains, and the pounding in her chest, Safi managed to smile. It seemed that Wulf was eager to see a Siegestone too.

  Today they would see what freedom looked like.

  38

  Stonebreaker

  There was the rush of the crowd and the pull of Wulf’s hand, sweeping Safi out of the adit and into the afternoon light.

  She ducked and narrowed her shoulders as the boys marched perilously tall around her, rattling the sides of her helmet with a flurry of swinging elbows. Her helmet also muffled the sounds of a hundred excited voices. Not the marching of feet, though. Those she could feel, through the rumbling of stone beneath her, and the heels coming down on her toes. Thank the Titans for sturdy work boots.

  The crowd surged on, and soon the ground went slant as they descended Cronus’ leg. A few quick breaths and frantic steps later, and she marched on even ground, heading west, following the Titan’s length towards the Blackpoint Administration District.

  Safi’s head snapped back from the blow of a stray elbow. She fell into the crowd behind her, but Wulf’s arm reeled her forward. Her boots skittered across the dust, and she caught the ground stumbling.

  After a long, shuddering gasp, she wiped her nose with her forearm. It came away streaked with blood. Grimacing, she pinched two gloved fingers over her nostrils and forced her legs to keep moving.

  The crowd cleared the Titan’s feet. Then they were marching alongside the warden’s oasis, following its tall metal fence to the Heart of the Camp. Being miners of the Foot, they were among the first to arrive. At the center of the square stood the same wooden platform she had seen with Raven and Rebecca on their second day at Camp. Recruits of all ages were cramming in, standing shoulder to shoulder and heel to toe.

  “This way, Saf!” said Wulf, dragging her stumbling behind him.

  Safi spotted a row of barrels against the wall of a nearby building. Seats, and filling fast. Smiling, she jerked at Wulf’s hand, changing the boy’s course. He spotted the barrels and laughed. Then they were racing side by side, pushing against the current of tall and powerful bodies.

  Arriving upon the building, Safi and Wulf spun around and jumped, throwing their bottoms atop the barrel heads and landing together at once. They looked at each other and smiled. Seconds later, not a barrel was left unsat.

  It was only then that Safi realized she was holding Wulf’s hand.

  She yanked her arm away and began touching all sorts of things. She adjusted her helmet, and straightened her neckerchief, and smacked the dust from her trousers…

  When Wulf began to speak, she cut him off. “Gonna get a better view!” she chirped, tucking her boots underneath her thig
hs and standing on top of the barrel head.

  A line of enforcers had formed a perimeter around the wooden platform, holding their sheathed swords sideways to restrain the growing crowd. On the platform stood Vice Warden Arnalus, garbed in white and gold, gloved hand resting on the hilt of his weathered sword.

  Safi dropped back into her seat, breathing fast. The vice warden looked as wicked as she remembered. She did not want to draw his attention. Not now, not ever.

  “Titans, you’re bleeding,” Wulf said, removing his dusty gloves before digging into his trouser pocket.

  “I’m fine!” Safi said, raising her palms and turning her head. Trying to scoot away from the boy.

  “Quit moving,” Wulf said, reaching his handkerchief towards her.

  Safi’s entire body flinched. She bumped into something tall and hard. An older man—a miner—sitting hunched on the barrel beside her. “Mind yourself, lad!” His lips went stiff, and his eyebrows narrowed. “Are you a girl?”

  Safi cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “Who you calling a girl?” she said, flexing her dusty, bloody forearms towards him.

  The older man’s forehead rippled with disbelief.

  “Get over here.” Wulf palmed the top of her helmet and spun her around to face him. She winced as he dabbed the handkerchief all over her nose, lips, and chin. The cloth stung sharp, for it was damp with the boy’s sweat. Safi got dizzy.

  “There,” he said, crumpling the handkerchief into a ball and stuffing it back in his pocket.

  “Thanks.” Safi’s mind raced for words to say. Despite the noise of the crowd, she found the silence between them unbearable. “Wish the others were here to see this.” Stupid, don’t say that! “Not that I mind being here alone with you,” she quickly added. You’re only making it worse!

  Wulf dipped his chin and smiled, like he expected his black hair to fall over his eyes. Now his bangs barely reached his eyebrows. “I’m sure they’re back there somewhere,” he said, glancing towards the swelling crowd. “Whole camp’s piling in.”