Trinka and the Thousand Talismans

by Christy Jones

  Chapter Ten

  Jewel Caves

  The day, so far, was pleasant and perfect. The gentlest breeze blew across the terrace, and standing there in the light shade and gentle morning sun was like stepping into a bath of warm air.

  “You are here to water the potted plants,” Beatrice explained. “Normally, you’ll go down the terrace steps to draw water from the cistern, but I’ve already done it, so you’ll find a full pour pot waiting for you outside. Don’t waste it,” she ordered sternly.

  Trinka found her wonder at the inside of the palace to be only a fraction of what lay before her now. She stood on a terrace almost twice as wide as the market street, surrounded by beautifully carved, white stone railings, shaped like the twisting, flowered vines that covered them. Clusters of chairs, some with tall, intricately caved backs and some with no backs at all, sat beneath scarlet canopies on central poles. Plants seemed to grow from every corner of the terrace. Some stood in large planters filled with sand, while others hung from braided cords strung along the walls and suspended from the overhangs. Their roots stretched out into the air, coiling and arcing like thick strands of hair.

  Trinka wondered how such plants could stay alive through the dry heat when suddenly a hissing sound surrounded her. A mist of water sprayed out from the hook holding up each airborne plant, gently soaking the leaves with its fine spray. A few of the plants began to blossom before Trinka’s astonished eyes as all around the terrace bright pink and yellow and orange and purple petals unfolded and began glittering in the light, turning this way and that like a lady in front of a mirror. Trinka jumped as a great popping sound erupted. Streamers of fiery red flowers burst into bloom one after the other, snapping loudly. A single drip of water fell from one of the planters overhead and touched Trinka’s shoulder. Instantly, the misters all shut off. The flowers bowed lazily for a moment, still glistening with tiny beads of water in the morning sun. Then slowly, one by one, they began to fade and crawl back into the foliage to hide under the leaves. Some of the flowers dropped off and fell to the terrace, as crisp and dry as dead leaves. Trinka picked one up, admiring its glittering petals, until all at once it turned to dust in her hand and blew away in a sparkling cloud. She could see bits of it in her hair, still catching the light.

  She picked up the heavy pour pot Beatrice had given her and spilled a little water down the broad, glossy leaves of a tall potted plant. The plant seem to shiver as the water trickled down, then it shook the spiky yellow tuft atop its stalk and stretched its bright blue petals. It looked almost like an animal, so alive. Intrigued, Trinka reached out to touch it when she something else caught her eye.

  On the ground near the pot lay a little bottle, no bigger than her finger, on a chain. It was finely made metal with little purple jewels, like windows, around the sides of it. Trinka scooped it up, and it instantly began burning her fingers! With a startled cry, she dropped it, and it fell to the stone. The tiny ornate top uncorked itself and rolled to the side. As Trinka bent over to investigate, she heard a faint hissing sound, and pale purple mist began snaking its way out onto the ground. Trinka stepped back in alarm. It certainly didn’t seem to be a miniature genie. What if she had just released something poisonous? Trinka watched and wondered as the mist grew thicker and wound itself into a wide coil.

  At last, what seemed to be the end of the coil floated out of the bottle and formed itself into what appeared to be a large bushy tail. The rest of the coil writhed, then stretched as the middle worked itself into a long, thin, misty purple body that arched its back. Suddenly, a bright light flashed from the front, and Trinka blinked in self-defense. When she opened her eyes again, she found two enormous, jewel-like eyes staring back at her.

  “Hello,” Trinka said cautiously.

  The creature’s yellow eyes narrowed, and its body half slithered, half slunk on light misty paws that seemed to step just above the ground. It wove its way around Trinka’s ankles, brushing itself against her skirts with a soft, throaty noise. Carefully, Trinka reached down to stroke its head. She almost expected her hand to slip right through, but its wispy form seemed solid enough. Its eyes glared at her suspiciously for a moment, but it seemed to relax as Trinka gently scratched its back. All at once, it hissed mightily, and a choking mist blew into Trinka’s nostrils. She staggered back, coughing, as a familiar voice found its way to her.

  “Hey! That’s my pet!” As the mist cleared, Trinka saw Sabirah rush forward and snatch the mysterious pet, provoking another hiss full of mist as the animal struggled to get free from her mistress’s grasp.

  “You scared her!” Sabirah accused between coughs. “See what you did?”

  “You’re the one who scared her, snatching her up like that!” Jamilah returned as she appeared behind her sister.

  “How did you get her, anyway?” Sabirah demanded.

  “She came out of this,” Trinka reached down and picked up the little bottle on the necklace. “It was out here by the pots.”

  Sabirah’s mouth flew open. “It was not! You must have taken her!”

  “She did not. You’re so dumb you probably dropped her and left her out all night without even noticing!” Jamilah retorted hotly.

  Here we go again, thought Trinka, racking her brains for something to say that wouldn’t exacerbate the argument.

  “What kind of pet is she?”

  Sabirah actually smiled. It was a scary sight.

  “She’s a misticat, aren’t you, my precious pet?” she cooed.

  “She’s an arcanphiar. Her name’s Nefertari, and she’s my pet too,” Jamilah added in a superior tone, trying to loosen the creature from Sabirah’s grasp.

  “I want to hold her!”

  “Girls.” Trinka jumped back, startled, as Beatrice appeared in the terrace doorway. “Now that you’ve finished your breakfast, and your chores, I need you to go up to the playroom.”

  “But we want to play out here!” Sabirah protested.

  “We need to prepare for the banquet tomorrow night,” the matron said sharply. “We have much to do.”

  Pouting, her cousins turned to go inside.

  “Can I help you with anything?” Trinka asked eagerly. She didn’t really want to work, but being on the terrace to set up for a banquet had to be better than staying upstairs with her quarrelsome cousins and their mist-hissing cat.

  “No,” Beatrice said after staring at her for a moment. “No, I’m sorry, but Madam Vashti is very particular about the setup for banquets, and this one is for his highness.”

  “I could learn?” Trinka suggested hopefully.

  “Upstairs with you now.”

  Resignedly, Trinka turned and followed her cousins who, apparently unable to decide who should have Nefertari, had ended up letting their pet walk. The misticat led the way, her tail held haughtily high as she stepped daintily up the stairs.

  “Well, what are we going to do in here all day?” Jamilah sighed as she flopped down on one of the settees by the window, surrounded by the room full of toys. Trinka quietly set the bottle necklace down, and Jamilah quickly put it on before Sabirah could get her hands on it.

  “Do you have any other pets?” Trinka asked.

  “No, Nefertari’s very special,” Sabirah asserted. “She’s a jewel huntress.”

  Trinka blinked. “A jewel huntress?”

  “They’re known for finding the largest jewels in the caves,” Jamilah answered idly.

  “What caves?” Trinka asked, trying not to let her excitement show too much. She was sure Ewen had said something about sending Grble to the caves.

  Sabirah’s laugh echoed through the room. “You hear that? She’s never heard of the jewel caves!”

  “So?” Jamilah retorted.

  “I’ve been there hundreds of times,” Sabirah bragged smugly. She picked up Nefertari and wound her around her neck like a stole until she began hissing to get free. “Where you do think I got all these?” she added grandly, indicating her jewel collection with a
sweep of her arm.

  “From Mother, who buys them. Where else?” Jamilah snapped. “You’ve never been to the caves!”

  “Have so!” Sabirah shouted.

  “When?” her sister demanded.

  “That time,” Sabirah faltered.

  “What time?”

  “With you.”

  “Then you can’t have, because I’ve never been there.”

  “You see?” Sabirah declared victoriously. “You’ve never been there either!”

  “I didn’t say I had!”

  “What do they do with the jewels when they find them?” Trinka asked.

  “They don’t do anything, they just find the jewels and let someone else do the digging.”

  Somehow, Trinka was not surprised.

  “I bet Nefertari would find the biggest jewels ever,” Sabirah cooed to her pet.

  “Well, I guess we’ll find out because I’m going to go right now.” Jamilah got to her feet. “It’s better then sitting around here all day with you, being bored.”

  “We can’t!” Sabirah objected. “Beatrice told us we had to stay in our room.”

  “So?” her sister scoffed. “That’s never stopped you before. Especially when you want a midnight snack!”

  Sabirah’s cheeks reddened. “I’m not going if she comes along.” She gestured toward Trinka.

  “Well, I’m not going if she doesn’t come,” Jamilah retorted.

  Why do they always talk about me as if I’m not really even here? Trinka wondered. The thought of going to the jewel caves, though, made her mind tingle.