Discovering the Jewels' Secret

by Walters, Janet Lane;

  Brader halted. He knew the driver. He had fought that sargon during his and Liara’s flight. Brader turned to warn Disa. Then he saw a double hand of men jump from the rear of the recent arrival. “Ware.” He drew his sword.

  The sargon leaped the trough and confronted Brader. “We meet again. This time I know your tricks. I will win.”

  Brader raised his sword and countered the other man’s attack. Did the sargon still fight in the manner of the Queen’s Guards or had he learned to modify his actions? Soon Brader was too busy to think of anything but the fight. The sound of steel sliding and clanging against steel, the shouts, grunts and screams of the fighters filled the air.

  With a lunge Brader knocked the sargon’s sword aside and thrust his knife into the man’s belly. The former Queen’s Guard staggered and fell. Brader turned to help the caravan armsmen repel the attackers. The man he’d suspected of being a traitor was gone. Had he been killed or had he fled?

  Brader engaged in another duel. Finally the last of the attackers had been subdued or had fled. Brader returned to the tent he shared with Disa. Empty. He found to trace of her. He grabbed one of the wounded attackers. “My companion. Where is she?” Rage filled him. He shook the man. His hands grasped the man’s throat. “Tell me.”

  “Wizard paid for her.”

  Brader clenched his jaw. Though he felt the need to kill, he couldn’t. “Where is your camp?”

  * * *

  Brader’s cry sent Disa into action. She jumped away from the fire and prepared to join the fight. That was when she saw the man Brader had thought he knew. She retreated toward the trees. The man followed and tried to grab her. She slashed him with the knife. He staggered and fell taking the knife with him.

  She bent to retrieve the weapon. Someone grabbed her and covered her mouth with a hand. She twisted away and nearly escaped but a second man joined the first. His knife arced toward her.

  “Don’t,” her captor said. “When we deliver her, the wizard will give us a pouch of gold coins.”

  “No.” Disa kicked her legs and used her elbows to pound the man who held her. The other man clipped her jaw and she fell.

  They bound her hands behind her back and dragged her deeper into the forest. One of her captors mounted a horse. The other threw her across the saddle in front of the rider. The men rode in single file. The deep mat of leaves muted the sound of the hooves. The jarring gait of the steed made her ill.

  The moons rose and the light made the shadows more threatening. Finally they reached a clearing. Disa saw a log cabin on the far side. Her captor dismounted and pulled her to the ground. He pushed her toward the crude structure. The other man remained mounted.

  “Get the gold and we’ll be away from here. We must be all that’s left.”

  “Her friend will search for her,” her captor said. “Wizard said Chosens have a knack of finding the one they’re bonded to. We got fooled. Who would have guessed the merchant would hire so many armsmen? Selir fell down there.”

  Disa tried to calm the fear bubbling to the surface. She had to escape. If she could reach her gem she might have a chance.

  Her captor opened the door and pushed her inside. “Here she is. Where’s the gold?”

  Disa froze. In front of the fireplace a man dressed in the black robes of a wizard waited. Acid rose in her throat. She sucked in a deep breath.

  A smile showing too many teeth appeared on the wizard’s face. “Yellow Holder, how good of you to return to the isle.” He held out a black globe like the one Andalor had carried and she had destroyed. “My brothers across the sea gave me warning and so I waited and laid my plans.”

  Disa pressed her lips together. She wouldn’t let the wizard know how terrified she felt. She prayed the Jewel would protect her from this evil man.

  “My gold,” her captor demanded.

  The wizard laughed. “Gold. You’ll see payment after I’ve finished with her. Are you sure she’s the right one?”

  “I found her with the son of the dead Holder.”

  The wizard stepped closer. Disa stared at the ground. Corin had warned them about hidden wizards. Why hadn’t she and Brader considered that someone would follow them?

  The wizard lifted her chin. “I know you and the other Holders destroyed the Citadel and many of my brothers are dead. Not all. Never all for we are as numerous as the grains of sand along the shore. You would never suspect those who have hidden among you.” He ran a finger along her cheek.

  “I’ve done what you ordered. Where is my gold?”

  “First I need your help. On a chain about her neck is a Jewel. Bring it into the open.” The wizard stepped back.

  Disa’s captor grasped the chain and pulled the gem from beneath her tunic. “My gold or the gem is mine.”

  An evil laugh made Disa shudder. “Be off,” the wizard ordered. “I have no gold, silver or copper.”

  “Then I’ll take this.” The captor grasped the Yellow. He screamed. His hand turned scarlet, then black. The discoloration spread. His body shook and he fell to the floor. The odor of burned flesh made Disa gag. She drew several shuddering breaths and caught the chain with her teeth. Slowly she pulled the Jewel to her mouth. If she died, so be it.

  The wizard chanted. Was he casting a spell? Would the words effect the Jewel or cause her to aide him? If her hands had been free, she could have turned the Yellow against him. She lurched toward the wizard and stumbled over the corpse. As she fell the gem touched the wizard’s throat.

  His chanting slid into a roar of pain. His throat blackened. Disa evaded his flailing arms. She stumbled toward the door. She heard shrill whinnys of horses and pushed the door open. The remaining captor rode away with both horses. She was left alone with two dead men.

  Disa looked around the room for some way to free herself. There were knives on the table but she couldn’t lift them. Near the fireplace she saw an axe stuck into a log. She moved closer. A small part of the blade was exposed. She sank to her knees and rubbed the bonds against the sharp edge. When the blade nicked her wrist, she bit her lip to hold back a cry. Twice more she held in her pain. She continued to work the rope against the blade. The sooner her hands were free the sooner she could determine the seriousness of the wounds.

  With a suddenness that sent her forward onto her chest, her wrists were free. One gash was deep and bled freely. She staggered across the room and found a pitcher of water. She rinsed the wounds and tore some of her tunic to pad and bind the wounds. Though she could have used the Yellow Jewel to sear the slashes she didn’t. The two deaths the gem had caused made her afraid to try. What if the gem had been corrupted?

  Though the second of her captors had fled she couldn’t be sure others hadn’t escaped the battle. She crept to the door and sought a safe hiding place. The crashing noises of brush and the shouts of the approaching riders sent her into the forest. She hid in a cluster of bushes and saplings. Two riders entered the clearing. They led a string of horses. At the cabin, one dismounted and entered. He dashed outside. “Dead. The wizard and Belar.”

  “Do you see her?”

  “Not here.” He mounted and they rode away.

  Disa sank to the ground. Her wrists throbbed. Her body ached. She had no idea of how to find the road. She didn’t want to return to the cabin and wandering in the dark forest would only confuse her more.

  Think. Use the inner path. Call Brader.

  Was the connection between Chosen and Holder strong enough to draw him to her? Something she had read in the dying wizard’s thoughts swept into her awareness. To make a Black Jewel or a White, all seven had to be present. She was to have been the first to be corrupted. Then he would have sought the other Holders. Was this true or had he only hoped he knew the way? If so, how were the Jewels corrupted?

  Noises pulled her from those thoughts. More escapees from the attack on the caravan? She huddled in her hiding place and stared into the clearing. A rider with two hill ponies on leading ropes left the forest. Disa’s he
art raced, not from fear but joy. “Brader.” She left her hiding place and ran to him.

  He jumped down and caught her in a fierce embrace. “Are thee unharmed?”

  She nodded. “Two are dead. One was a wizard.” She pointed to the cabin. “Others came and fled. Must we return to the caravan?”

  Brader released her. “There’s no need. By late tomorrow we’ll reach the crossroads where we would have left them. We can sleep for the rest of the night. Less than a tenday will see us to High Sanctuary.”

  Disa rumwizardd in the panniers for herbs and dressings. “Help me clean these wounds.”

  “Who harmed thee?”

  “An axe caused the wounds. They bound my arms behind my back. Was the only way to free myself.”

  Once the dressings were changed she and Brader made a cold camp in the forest beyond the clearing. She ate a bar of dried fruit and nuts and curled in her blankets. As she fell asleep she thought about the things she’d read in the dying wizard’s mind. What had he meant by a mold was needed? Was this part of the secret the seven Holders had to discover?

  * * *

  After four days on the road they reached the pass from the lowlands. On the other side, Brader saw the tavern where he had betrayed Liara. He prodded his pony into a trot. Though the sun sank toward the west he had no desire to stop here for the night.

  Disa caught up with him. “Shouldn’t we stop here? I’d like a hot meal and a bath.”

  Brader shook his head. “This isn’t the best place to stop. They have no rooms to let and I’ve no desire to sleep on the floor in the common room.”

  “There’s more,” she said.

  He nodded. “Liara and I stayed here. There was a spot of trouble. I ended fighting a number of Queen’s Guards.”

  “The tragon incident?”

  “Yes.” He rolled his eyes. Was that to haunt him forever? “At least one of the men who attacked the caravan was a Guard.”

  “And thee fear the tavern owner will remember thy face?”

  “Or worse. This could be the bandits’ base.”

  Disa frowned. “Those men were working for the wizard because he offered them gold. He believed he knew a way to corrupt the Jewels and turn Liara’s White to Black.”

  “He didn’t succeed by capturing thee.”

  “I hope not.”

  Brader’s eyebrows lifted. “What do thee mean?”

  “We’ve been taught that those who hold the Jewels rule the land. I’m not sure that’s true. Sometimes I fear the Yellow is controlling me the way the Black did Reena.”

  Brader prodded his pony. “How can thee think that? Thee have done no ill with the Jewel except help people and save thyself.”

  She rode at his side. “That’s almost true.”

  “Almost?”

  She nodded. “When my captor grabbed the Jewel he died. I didn’t warn him of the danger.”

  “Happened too fast I imagine.”

  “He grabbed the Yellow and his hand burned. Then I wanted to stop the wizard’s chanting. I caught the chain in my mouth. Then I tripped and fell against him. Was the action mine of the Jewel’s?”

  “I don’t know.” Brader pointed ahead. “See the grove. We can camp there. I’ll cook tonight.”

  She laughed. “We’ll make the meal together. I’ll see to the seasoning.”

  On the eighth day of travel Brader saw the walls of High Sanctuary in the distance. A wave of joy tinged with sadness rushed through him. He was coming home. Did his mother’s shade linger or had she passed to the next plane? There was so much he wanted to tell her about the events that had happened since he’d left the keep. He knew she would be pleased about the destruction of the Black.

  “There. The walls of my home.”

  “Where we will stay until we find the thread,” Disa said.

  “Forever is my wish.”

  She shook her head. “Once we have the thread we must go to Pala.”

  Brader didn’t respond. Arguing would serve no purpose. Once she settled here, she would see his decision to remain on the isle was the right choice.

  The road wound through the village. Brader saw the tavern where he’d drunk ale with the young men of the village. He rode past the square and remembered moonlit nights and mild flirtations. The number of dark houses puzzled him. Had people been driven away or had they left because they were afraid? As he neared the gates of the keep he remembered how eager he’d been to leave. Now he was glad to be at home.

  The sight of the shattered gates brought Brader to a halt. Had the Queen’s Guards and wizards destroyed all who had lived within the walls of High Sanctuary?

  Disa rode to his side. “Is the place deserted?”

  “Not quite.” A man spoke from the shadows.

  Brader dismounted. “Quinton.”

  The aging armsman emerged into the light. “Brader, lad, you’ve grown.” He stared at Disa. “Where’s Liara?”

  “In Pala. She’s now the queen.”

  “Then she found her heritage. Why did you return? You should be at her side.”

  Brader shook his head. “She has her Chosen to stand at her back. There are things I must do here.”

  Quinton waved his hand. “The gates are broken. The people have scattered. The Guards ransacked the place. Only Agnie and I remain.”

  “I’ll see the keep repaired and the people can return.” He turned. “This is Disa, Holder of the Yellow Jewel. I am her Chosen.”

  Quinton bowed. “My lady, pleased to meet you. Come inside. I’ll see to your beasts.”

  Once within the walls Brader noted the destruction of the small houses and sheds. Anger curdled his thoughts. A woman stepped onto the stone landing at the top of the steps leading into the keep. “Agnie.” Brader ran up the steps and embraced her. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

  She smiled. “Your mother told me she was sending you and Liara away. I’m glad you thought to return. How is Liara?

  Brader repeated what he’d told Quinton.

  “So she’ll not be coming home.”

  “Not for a time.” Brader stepped back. “Will you take me to Mother’s grave?”

  Agnie nodded. “After the midday meal.”

  He turned and waved Disa forward. He caught her hand in his. “This is Disa. She holds Mother’s Jewel.”

  Agnie smiled. “Welcome, Lady Holder.”

  “Just Disa. No need for formality.”

  Brader turned and looked around the courtyard until he saw the small graveyard. He noticed no new graves. “Where is Mother buried?”

  “In the meadow on the hill.” Agnie drew him to the doors. “Ever impatient.” She smiled at Disa. “The keep is yours to rule.”

  A frown appeared on Disa’s face. Brader clasped her hand. He would explain later. “Agnie, how do you and Quniton live?”

  “The garden provides for our daily needs. There are bantas and other fowl. Some shoats were left. The silk sheep provide fleece for us to barter for other things.”

  Brader smiled. In time the keep could be repaired and peopled. Perhaps that would content Disa enough so she would choose to remain. He and Disa followed Agnie to the small dining room. The older woman left to fetch the food. Disa followed and helped carry the simple fare to the table. Before long Quinton joined them.

  After the meal the older couple led the way up the hill to the meadow where silk sheep in a variety of colors grazed. Flowers abounded. Brader bent to pick some yellow fiolas. He placed them on the stone slab covering the grave. “Fare thee well, Mother. Go now from this plane to the next. The quest you sent me on is finished.”

  He began the tale of his adventures from the moment he’d left the keep. He spoke of triumphs and failures, leaving nothing out. “So Liara and the White have prevailed. But the trouble didn’t end. The wizards were strong enough to bring more disaster to the land.”

  He continued to relate the story of the struggle with the wizards. “Thus their stronghold was broken. We have yet one task to p
erform before the land is free.” He drew a deep breath. “Mother, this is Disa who now holds the Jewel you carried.”

  Disa knelt on the other side of the stone. She placed her hands on the slab. Her eyes widened. She didn’t speak aloud. Her mouth moved as though she spoke to someone. Brader watched her face pale. She toppled and sprawled across the grave.

  Brader lifted her. “What happened?”

  She moaned and opened her eyes. “She spoke. The thread is hidden in the keep. Thee moved me before she could say where.”

  ‘”Do thee mean the one from the prophecy?”

  She nodded. “I need to sleep. I need to think about what was said. Then I’ll search and go.”

  Though what she said made little sense to him he rose. “Can thee walk?” He helped her to her feet.

  “Yes.”

  When they reached the keep Agnie took Disa to the chamber where Brader’s mother had slept. He sat with Quinton and talked about the keep and what was needed to restore the place.

  For the next two tendays Brader settled into the life of the keep. He hired men to repair the gates, sought those who had been driven away by the Queen’s Guards and arranged for their return. He found spinners and weavers to produce yarn and cloth from the sheep silk stored in a shed. Before long the keep rang with life.

  Disa spent her time in the library where she set about ordering and skimming the books and scrolls the invaders had left strewn around the room. Every day she joined him for the evening meal and spoke of what she had learned.

  Brader felt content. He wanted to stay and he felt convinced Disa had settled into the life he wanted.

  At the start of the third tenday Disa emerged from the jumbled storage room. She held a scroll container. Brader poured her a glass of cider. “What delights thee?”