Wards and Wonders

by Kay L. Ling

  “Good thing he has hidden and warded them.”

  “Wards can sometimes be detected and broken,” Raenihel said heavily. “Hopefully, Elias is a better gem master than the one Mierek assigned to find the gems. We’ll soon find out.”

  Tyla’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “Someone’s coming here now?” Arenia asked.

  With all the commotion of taking a census, mapping the region, building roads, and reopening mines, Tyla had hoped everyone was too busy to think about S’s gems, and by some stroke of luck, Mierek might forget about them.

  “Mierek mentioned it to Aberell, and Commander Finnack contacted me this morning. It was good of him to warn us since I’m sure Mierek wanted to catch us off guard. A gem master should be arriving in a day or two, and if he doesn’t find the gems here, he has orders to visit Elias.”

  Though gnome-human interaction was still officially prohibited, Franklin often came to borrow tools, and most everyone knew about Parcune’s “secret trips” to Elias’s cave. Parcune had planned to see Elias this morning, and Tyla invited herself along. As they rode, she shared the news that a gem master was coming to find S’s gems.

  “Thank goodness Aberell warned us,” Parcune said with a troubled frown.

  “Let’s hope he doesn’t get here for a day or two in case Elias needs to take extra precautions.”

  Tyla’s mood was as bleak as the gray, overcast skies. She wasn’t sure what they would tell the gem master when he came, and she dreaded the whole ordeal.

  As they came down the last of several hills and Elias’s cave came into view, Tyla asked, “Since when do Elias and Jules have an erum?”

  “To the best of my knowledge, they don’t. Maybe Franklin is here.”

  But as they drew nearer, Tyla could tell it wasn’t his. This erum was a different shade of gray.

  Still wondering who owned the erum, they entered the first section of the cave and paused to let their eyes adjust. Tyla could just make out the opening in the distance that led to the part of the cave that served as Elias's home.

  Elias called from the darkness beyond them, “Stay where you are!”

  Alarmed by his tone, Tyla and Parcune froze.

  Elias and Jules appeared a moment later, two ghostly figures lit by Jules’s glowing knife.

  “It’s Tyla and Parcune!” Jules said, sounding relieved.

  Elias swept one hand in a wide arc. Thin beams of green light crisscrossed the cave, and the air crackled with energy. Loose tendrils of Tyla’s hair stood on end. Her skin prickled unpleasantly. Then, with a loud snap, the green light was gone.

  “All right. It’s safe now,” Elias said, but Tyla didn’t move, and neither did Parcune.

  Parcune asked unsteadily, “What was that all about?”

  “After having an unwanted visitor during the night, we set up a ward,” Elias explained. “Don’t worry; it wouldn’t have hurt you unless you walked into the energy field.”

  “Visitor?” Tyla asked apprehensively. She activated a lightgem.

  “Someone with an invisibility gem,” Jules said, sheathing his knife. “We woke to the sound of stealthy movements but didn’t see anyone. The thief managed to pocket quite a few gems before we found him. Come on inside.”

  Tyla and Raenihel exchanged worried glances. Could this be the gem master from Mierek? Surely not, Tyla told herself. He was coming to Elantoth first, and he wouldn’t sneak into Elias’s cave in the middle of the night, would he?

  “So you caught the thief,” Parcune said as he and Tyla walked through the area where the ward had been.

  “Found him more than caught him,” Jules said in an odd tone that made Tyla curious.

  “He didn’t get away, did he?” Parcune asked.

  There was a long pause, and then Elias said, “No, he’s not going anywhere.”

  “Good,” Parcune said, letting out a long breath. “It seems unlikely he’s involved in the matter we came to see you about, but we can’t be sure until we question him.”

  Elias stopped short of the opening to his home and turned to them, his expression grim. “I’m afraid he won’t be answering any questions. He’s dead.”