“I’ve found a scroll in one of the chests. It holds the lines of a chant to destroy the Jewels. This is the thread I sought. We must return to Pala and take this to Liara.”
He shook his head. “I want to remain here. No one can destroy or corrupt the Yellow while thee stay in High Sanctuary. Remember what the wizard tried to do to thee.”
Disa fisted her hands on her hips. “The time has come to destroy the Jewels.”
Brader frowned. “Does this mean we must set out on another quest?”
“Don’t thee understand that we’ve almost completed our quest.”
“Don’t thee yearn for peace like we have here?”
“There’ll be no peace as long as the Jewels control the Holders. Haven’t thee seen how much darker mine is?”
“Looks the same to me.”
“Liara and the others need my help. We must end the tyranny of the gems.” She walked to the door.
Brader shook his head. “I’ll remain here. So will thee.”
* * *
Disa strode up the stairs to the room where she slept. She clutched the scroll container. The words written there provided part of the answer to the problem caused by the Jewels. She quickly packed her belongings and checked the number of coins in her pouch. She had enough to see her to Thanis. There she could sell the pony and use the coins to gain passage to Quato. She had escaped Pala with less. She didn’t belong in this remote keep on a distant isle. Her place was in Pala with the other Holders.
She shoved the scroll container in the pack. When her fellow Holders found their threads and saw an end to the Jewels, all with talents would be free to heal the land and the people of Earda. She heard a sound and turned.
Brader stood in the doorway. “Where are thee going?”
“To Pala.”
“Alone?”
She met his gaze. “If I must.”
“And leave thy Chosen behind?”
“To stay or go is thy choice. I’ve found what I was drawn here to discover. All the Holders must be present when Liara destroys the Jewels.”
“Why would thee want to destroy them? The Black is no more. The Brotherhood is ruined.”
“There are still wizards and there is the Healer’s Inner Circle. They might unite to prevent our success. I must join the others. Liara needs what I’ve learned.”
“We could send the scroll.”
The stubborn set of his jaw gave her knowledge she couldn’t accept. He was determined to remain here and force her to stay. She had to leave tonight but she wouldn’t tell him. He would try to prevent her departure. She sighed. “Fine. I’ll find a way to send my news to her.”
After he left Disa walked to the window and stared at the darkening sky. When the moons rose she would creep away. Sadness slid into her thoughts. The keep was a sanctuary but she had no desire for the peace and solitude offered. Did Brader want this or was he seeking the honor he hadn’t been granted when he’d lived here with his mother? He’d spoken about dancing on the green, and of being chosen as an escort by the village maidens. Had he believed his mother was the one they esteemed? Disa didn’t know the answer. All she knew was her life would be lived elsewhere. At least for a time.
The moons slid into view. Disa shouldered her pack and lifted the blanket roll. With caution she crept down the steps and entered the kitchen and took food for the journey. Then she crossed the courtyard to the stables where she saddled her pony.
Since there were no guards on the gate her departure from the keep was unchallenged. The light from the moons showed her the road. Once through the village she prodded the pony from a walk into a trot. She felt as though half of her had been left behind but she had no other choice. The scroll she carried held vital information.
A low flying oule swept past in almost soundless flight. She heard yips and growls of night-hunting beasts and prayed they would keep their distance. She rode until pre-dawn lightened the sky. Ahead she saw some firs and a screen of bushes. She dismounted and tied the pony to a tree allowing enough length to let the animal graze. She lay atop her blanket roll and trusted the Yellow Jewel and the pony to warn her if trouble approached.
Someone shook her. Had she overslept? Had Fancher invaded the loft? She bolted upright with a knife clutched in her hand.
“Disa.”
“Brader.” She glanced at the sky. Mid-afternoon already. She rubbed her eyes.
“Why did thee run away?” His voice cracked with anger.
“I must return to Pala. Thee just won’t face that we haven’t ended the troubles in the land.” She thrust the Yellow Jewel into his hands.
His face contorted. Pain lines formed. What had she done? She hadn’t thought, just acted. Would he burn the way the other men who had touched the gem had been consumed?
Brader’s expression smoothed. He slumped on the ground. “Thee are right. We must go to Pala. First we need to return to the keep and make a proper departure.
“How long will we stay at the keep?”
“Two days should see us on the road.” He pulled her to her feet. “I need to speak to Quinton and Agnie. They will see the keep prospers and must have the authority to make decisions.”
She nodded. “That’s fair. What happened when thee touched the Yellow? I feared thee would die.”
“I heard my mother’s voice. She told me I must go with thee.”
Disa touched his hand. “I’m glad thee heard her and I’m happy thee weren’t harmed.”
“There was no chance of that. I am thy Chosen and thus safe. Let us return to the keep and make plans.”
Chapter Two
The Blue Jewel
Seven Jewels and seven threads. Find them, twine them, and bind them into a thread to discover how to unlock the secret of the Jewels. What was pale becomes dark and dark changes to light. Sometimes destruction is the path to end a cycle of tyranny. To the Blue Jewel is given control of the water that falls from the sky, the water that flows over the land, the water that bubbles in the depths and the water contained in all things. Search in the forest and in the sands. Fulfill your vows and learn being two united is better than two apart. Follow the past to where all began for one.
Once Disa and Brader vanished into the forest, Stilenta entered the cavern entrance to the wizards’ stronghold. She strode up the path to the meadow where the tents for the wounded had been pitched. Though she had wanted to leave with her friends, she hadn’t laid her plans for solving the elderly healer’s prophecy.
Besides Nalor hadn’t been ready to leave. Two of the men who had served with him in the forest had sustained serious injuries during the destruction of the lair and the battle that had followed. He wasn’t willing to leave until he knew all his men would live. She couldn’t blame him.
She paused at the fire and scooped a mug of kaf from the kettle. As she sipped Nalor left the tent where the injured recovered. “How do they fare?” she asked.
Nalor pushed his dark brown hair from his forehead. His blue eyes shone with relief. “They will heal but aren’t yet ready to be moved.”
“How much longer?”
“Jindera thinks a tenday.”
“Will we wait?”
He shrugged. “They said to go.”
“What about the rest of thy men? Will they stay until all are healed?”
“I don’t know. They’re at the stronghold exploring the lower levels to see if there are any wizards who escaped the destruction by hiding there.”
She dipped a mug of kaf and handed it to him. “Surely no one escaped.” She recalled the moment the dome had shattered.
“I fear some did.” He sipped the drink. “What plans do thee have? Do thee stay or go?”
“Thee are my chosen and my place is with thee. We have a thread to find.”
“And I have a people to see settled. I plan to cede the lands belonging to my family to them.”
“That’s generous. Do they know?”
“The leaders do. While I attend to them,
thee have a promise to the Desert Riders to fulfill.”
She met his gaze. “How can we do both?”
“There may be a way.” He finished the beverage and put the mug in the soaking bucket. “I’ve given our dilemma much thought. I believe I should go to my people and thee should go to the desert.”
“Then what?” His suggestion had merit, but was it the right choice? The prophecy spoke of the forest first and then the desert. Would separating be going against the prophecy? Would that action change the result? What if both of them were needed to find the hiding place of the thread?
She stared at the ground. Two promises had been made to the Desert Riders. She had promised to cleanse the tainted wells but her mother had promised to turn the sand to grass.
Nalor reached for her hand. “Once we’ve managed to fulfill our vows we will meet in Desert’s Edge and decide where we must go to find our thread.”
“Thee don’t think we will find what we seek in the forest or the desert.”
“I believe this thing we need will remain hidden until we have fulfilled our promises.”
Though what he said made sense she wasn’t sure each taking a different road was a good idea. She was the Holder and he the Chosen, two halves of a whole. She sighed. Until he believed they were, they couldn’t fulfill the roles given to them by the Blue.
“Then once we reach Desert’s Edge thee believe we should separate?”
“We’ll do what we must.” Nalor groaned. “I thought when we destroyed the stronghold our battles were over. They weren’t, so we must work toward a final ending.”
“When do we leave?”
“I’ll speak with my men. They’ll be driving most of the bovines, goats and silk sheep to Desert’s Edge and then taking them to the lands beyond the forest.”
“What about the shoats?”
He laughed. “They’ll be taken in cages lest they make for freedom. Shoats can’t be herded.” He rose. “I’ll go and speak to them and let thee know.”
She looked up. “I wish we didn’t have to separate.”
He grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet. “Though the choice isn’t mine, I feel we must.”
She kept her head lowered. “Are you sure there’s no way we can stay together?”
“Once we complete our tasks we will be.” He released her hands.
She heard the same desire in his voice as she felt, but there was a dark undertone of sadness in his manner. She wanted to offer comfort but she couldn’t find the words. This time when he reached the forest he would cede his claim to his family estate. He’d lost so much to the wizards. His home, wife and children as well as his brother and his parents were gone. Though he was her Chosen memories of his dead loved ones remained to taint anything rising between them. Until the ghosts were quieted they were Holder and Chosen only. Would he hold his pain inside forever? Would he ever admit he needed her?
“I’ll see thee later,” he said.
She watched him walk away. For a few moments she stared after him, then walked to where Mara worked. “What can I do?”
“Help me with these dressing mixtures.” Mara smiled. “I can’t believe I hold a Jewel and am other than a servant named as an eternal child by the Desert Riders.”
“Strange are the ways of fate. Once I believed I would be stuck on an isle forever but I was rescued. What will you do when the injured are healed?”
“Solve the prophecy. Lajin and I have been discussing what we will do after that day comes.”
“Where will you go?” Would the Green Holder come to the desert?
“We haven’t decided. Desert’s Edge for sure. Lajin wants to find a young man the wizards took from the village on the day they forced Lajin to go with them.”
Stilenta stirred a kettle and savored the aroma of the blended medicinals. “Why not come to the desert with me?”
Mara shook her head. “The desert is the last place I would go. Though I lived with the Blue clan from the day I was found wandering in the desert, they treated me as less than a person. One of them, Tomon, even thought to harm me and then give me to the wizards.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Seems the wizards knew I would hold a Jewel. Tomon was in this stronghold for a time. He’s Lajin’s cousin and also a grandson of one of the dead Master wizards.”
Stilenta sighed. So she would be alone again. “Don’t you want to show the Desert Riders what you are?”
Mara shook her head. “They’ll hear. I have no desire to return to a place where no one valued me. Not that they were cruel, except for Tomon and his mother. But to the others I was nothing.”
“You don’t want to be one of the two who heals the land. I can cleanse the wells but I can’t turn the sand to grass.”
Mara scooped some of the thickened herbs into a large bowl. “Not even then. My prophecy seems to lead away from the desert. Will you come and help me change dressings?”
“Of course.” Stilenta sighed. She would travel by herself for the wells were far apart and only the largest oases were settled. The time on the isle after her mother’s death had been solitary. She had endured the silence and emptiness but she hadn’t liked a moment of her days there. Since her rescue the presence of other people made her feel secure. Could she handle being alone for a lunar or two?
* * *
Nalor entered the stronghold and strode across the large room where the wizards had met for meals and to wait for their assignments. Shards of crystal from the shattered dome crunched beneath his boots. He left the room by one of the side doors and entered the narrow hall where the cells of the novices and servants were. The rooms on the other side of the great hall had housed the older wizards and had been the first ones searched. In the basement beneath those rooms had been where atrocities had been discovered.
Light from torches set at intervals on the walls lighted the corridor and cast eerie shadows. Most of the doors were open which meant they had been searched. Inside several they had found young men who had died during the attack. Had all the secrets of the lair been located? Nalor felt sure there were hidden places and secrets were still to be discovered. Beneath this section several tunnels leading into the forest had been found.
As he reached the end of the hall, a door opened. One of the men from the forest troop stepped out. Nalor saw a set of stairs. “What’s below?” he asked.
“Storage rooms filled with grain and dried food. We’re bringing them up and will carry much away when we leave. Means we won’t have to butcher more animals.”
“When do you plan to leave?”
“In the morning when the carts to carry the least wounded are ready to transport them.” He walked down the stairs with Nalor.
They each hoisted one of the sacks as did the four other men. Nalor shook his head. “Seems a shame to abandon this place. The fields are fertile.”
The leader of the men frowned. “Land’s tainted. Best to destroy the lair and all it contains. The herbal gardens hold more poisonous than healing plants. Some of the things we’ve found in the cells beneath the other wing made me ill. The women. The old men and the young boys. All dead in gruesome ways.”
Nalor nodded. “You’re right. What are your plans?”
“We’ll accept the land you’ve given us. We’ll build houses and barns for the herds. All will be held in common. Those who have skills other than farming will use them for the community.”
“Besides the land, what do you want from me? You know I will come with you and help establish the settlement.”
The leader shook his head. “We want nothing. You were our lord and a good one but our days of bondage are over. In the forest we learned to depend on each other. When you left to follow the new queen we had to learn to do the things you did for us. Your life is different now. As the Chosen of a Holder you can have no place with us. You belong with her.”
Regret rolled through Nalor. The days in the forest had helped him forget the reason he’d been there.
“So my place with you is gone.”
“We will honor you and are grateful for what you have done for us.” The man clasped Nalor’s shoulder. “You and your lady are welcome to travel with us to Desert’s Edge.”
“We do go that way. How many of the men are fit to travel?”
“Ten. The others will be brought to the village when they are strong enough to leave here. Some of the men we rescued will join us.”
Nalor helped the men finish clearing the storage rooms. As he hoisted sacks he thought of how life had changed. His decision to travel with Stilenta and the others had marked the end of his life in the forest. Even on his return when they’d united to destroy this place, though the men he’d once led had followed him, there had been changes in them he hadn’t been willing to see. Now he must.
When the storage rooms were empty and no new passages were found, he followed the men from the stronghold. He found Stilenta. “We’ll leave in the morning for Desert’s Edge.”
“And after that?”
His smile was wry. “There’s been a change. I’ll travel with thee to the desert. Seems I’m no longer the leader they want.”
Stilenta frowned. “What about the prophecy?”
He shrugged. “Who knows?”
When morning arrived Nalor and Stilenta joined the group of men leaving the stronghold. The remaining Holders came to see them off. Liara moved to Stilenta’s side. “We’ll meet again in Pala.”
“With our thread,” Stilenta said.
Nalor helped Stilenta onto her horned horse. “Any idea what we seek?”
Stilenta shook her head. “Once we unravel the prophecy we’ll know.”
Nalor mounted his steed. “Our prophecy seems to be one that will take time to solve.” He looked at Liara. “When will you expect us to arrive in Pala?”
“Two lunars. No more than three.” She reached for Stilenta’s hand. “Farewell. Take care. You were my first friend.”
“And you rescued me.” Stilenta prodded her steed.
Discovering the Jewels' Secret Page 3
