The chieftain of the Red clan rose. “For generations beyond counting we have been Desert Riders. The desert has honed us. Here we learn strength, endurance and patience. Only when the water in the wells became tainted did we falter. Once the wells are cleansed we will prosper.”
Stilenta nodded. “So be it.”
Nalor watched relief enter her gaze. The telltale lines of worry smoothed. Her promise she could fulfill but she wasn’t to be held to the one her mother had made.
That evening Nalor and Stilenta left in the company of five pair of Riders, two from each of the remaining clans. For the next lunar they traveled from one dying oasis to another cleansing the wells. When the last one had been purified they returned to Desert’s Edge to trade the balalas for horned horses.
“Where now?” Nalor asked.
“Quato to find our thread.”
* * *
Stilenta paused outside the shattered gate of her childhood home. The Queen’s Guards must have smashed the carved wood when they’d entered the grounds lunars ago. They had wanted to capture Liara, me and the others. We escaped and made our way to the Screaming Hills and the confrontation between the past and the future.
Could she and Nalor live here while they sought the thread to help unravel the secret of how to destroy the Jewels? The warmth cast by the gem beneath her tunic told her what they sought was hidden somewhere in the grounds or one of the buildings of the villa.
She frowned. They could have taken rooms at an inn in Quato. Those lodgings would be more comfortable but that would mean riding back and forth every day. Not to mention rousing the suspicion of any hidden wizards who resided in the town.
Nalor dismounted and led the horned horses over the rubble. They edged past the house and entered the rear courtyard. The stablemaster’s house seemed undawizardd as did the stable. Stilenta thought of the time she and her friends had spent here while they waited for Disa.
While Nalor tended the steeds Stilenta carried their packs and blanket rolls to the house. She laid a fire on the hearth and started a stew using the last of the dried food they’d bought in Desert’s Edge.
Nalor strolled through the door. In his hat he carried a half dozen eggs. “There are bantas nesting in the stable. We’ll have eggs and banta should we need to kill one. Tomorrow I’ll ride into Quato. Want to come?”
She shook her head. “I need to make this place fit for us to live in.”
“How long will we be here?”
“At least a tenday.”
“Do you think our quest will end here?”
She took bowls from the cupboard and rinsed them. “The Jewel warmed as we entered the grounds.”
Nalor primed the pump and filled a pan with water. “When do we start our search?”
“Not tonight. I’m tired. Maybe tomorrow after thee return from Quato.”
In the morning Nalor left to buy supplies. To avoid starting the search alone, Stilenta put the small house in order, sweeping out the dust, opening the windows to air the rooms and washing the bed linens. As she moved through the four large rooms and the smaller bathing room, she sought hiding places and found none. Once she finished in the house she went to the stable.
What had happened to the milking bovines and the four blue silk sheep? Had the Guards taken them? She’d been surprised to find the animals had remained while she and her mother had been on the isle. There must have been servants. She closed her eyes. The stablemaster and his wife, a cook, four maids and two men. Where were they now?
When Nalor returned she helped carry the sacks to the house. “Any luck?” he asked.
She shook her head. “There’s nothing in the house. I barely began in the stable. Once we’ve stored the supplies we can finish there. Tomorrow we can search the garden. What did thee learn in town?”
“There are no black robes about. Those who were there left before we destroyed the stronghold.”
“They must have gone there.”
“Or removed their robes and found hiding places.”
She sighed. “I fear thee are right.”
They worked together storing the fresh food he’d bought. There was enough to last five days. Once things were in order, they went to the stable and searched the entire place. Finding nothing they returned to the small house.
In the morning Nalor followed her into the large garden. Her gem warmed and heated. Had they found the thread so soon? She closed her eyes and followed the pull. When she banged against a hard object her eyes flew open. She stared at the sundial, then began to explore the surface. Nalor joined her. He pulled on the pointer and staggered backwards when the arm pulled free.
“A scroll container.” Stilenta twisted the end. The tube was empty. Had someone found what the container had held before she and Nalor had reached the villa. What would they do if that had happened?
Twice more in the next four days the Jewel led them to a hiding place. In one they found a stash of coins and gems filled the other.
Fruitless. Stilenta began to think her fears were true. Should she tell Nalor? Where would they go? All that remained was the main house. Stilenta was loathe to enter that place. The house was where her father had died protecting her mother from the wizards. She and her mother had fled and taken the ship that had wrecked.
In a rush, memories returned. A hand of the Queen’s Guards had accompanied a wizard. They had demanded her mother come with them. She and her mother had hidden but had heard her father’s screams as he died. Late at night Stilenta and her mother had crept from the villa, found a fishing boat. But the boat had encountered a storm. She and her mother had been stranded on the isle.
Nalor saddled his horse. “I won’t be long.”
Stilenta walked beside him and paused at the rear door of the large house. “I’ll be in here.”
“Why not wait for me?”
“I’ve a feeling we must leave the villa in the next few days,” she said. “We’re running out of time before we should be in Pala.” Her eyes closed. “Was in spring at the equinox when the Jewels were charged. The autumn one approaches.”
Nalor grasped her shoulders. “What do thee mean?”
She looked at him. “Was something my mother said a long time ago.” She drew a deep breath. “Supplies for several days only.”
He nodded. “I’ll return as soon as I can. If the garden here was other than ornamental we wouldn’t have to buy food.”
“Agreed.” She waved and entered the main house. She passed through the kitchen and entered the front hall. The amount of destruction shocked her. Someone had searched. Pictures had been torn from the walls. In the sitting room the furniture had been destroyed. Statues had been shattered. She swallowed and felt her connection to her childhood home had been severed. The house belonged to a different day. Whoever had been here had been thorough. Was there anything left to find?
She made her way up the broad staircase to the second floor and found the narrow stairs to the attic. The signs of the search were also here. Several hiding places were open. If they had held anything she would never know. She ran her hands over the walls and moved from the storage section into the servants’ quarters. Again she found nothing.
After she reached the second floor she began with the rear rooms. Seven bedrooms, three bathing rooms. Once again she looked for hiding places. In the room that had been hers she found books and toys on the floor. As memories threatened to engulf her, she gulped a breath. She forced herself to think of her goals. She cupped the Jewel and found the degree of heat remained unchanged.
Noises from the lower floor made her flinch. She froze and pressed against the wall. Her heart raced like a banta fleeing a hauk.
“Stilenta.”
“Nalor.” Her breath left in a rush and she slid down the wall. Why was she so tense? The search had to have taken place at least three lunars ago, maybe longer.
“Where are thee?”
“Second floor. Have thee any news?”
“Maybe.
Heard rumors about a ship from Thanis that is due in a few days. Could be Disa and Brader will come.”
“That would be wonderful but we need to find our thread. There was nothing in the attic. Come and help me finish the rooms here. Then we can do the ground floor.”
They moved through the rest of the rooms and walked over broken and shattered furniture and broken objects. They located several unopened spaces but they were empty.
Finally they were ready to begin the first floor search. Stilenta gazed through the windows. The sun had set. “We’d better stop and eat. I’m exhausted.”
“So am I,” Nalor said. “Good thing I brought prepared food from town. Meat and fruit pies.”
She held his hand. They returned to the small house to eat and sleep.
In the morning, they entered the villa. Nalor looked around. Someone made a mess.”
She nodded. “I fear they’ve found what we want.”
“Use your Jewel. I don’t think the gem would heat if whatever we need is gone.”
“The Blue has shown us things we haven’t been looking for, but I’ll try.” She held the Jewel in her hand and thought about the thread to unravel the secret. She followed as the heat increased until she entered what had been the library. Books and scrolls were scattered over the floor. The gem drew her to the shelves. She felt inside and the gem touched the rear wall. A click sounded. In the space that opened she found a scroll container. Her hands shook so much she couldn’t open the end.
Nalor took the metal tube from her. He turned the end and removed a scroll. As he unrolled the parchment he smiled. “I believe this is the thread.”
Stilenta read the words. Excitement made her laugh. “This tells how we can end what we don’t want to hold.”
Nalor wrapped his arms around her. “We should leave at once for Pala.”
She nodded. “We will, but first let us go to Quato and wait for the ship from Thanis. If Brader and Disa are on board we’ll have company for the journey. Four can travel with more safety than two.”
Chapter Three
The Violet Jewel
Seven Jewels and seven threads. Find them, twine them and bind them into a braid 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 Violet belongs things of the air. The wind can be a gentle zephyr or whirl into a cyclone. Thoughts flow on the wind and often can be caught. Courage must be sought. One to learn and one to teach. Reach for helping hands. Dance around the circle and discover what lies within.
Gila rubbed her arms to warm herself. Disa and Brader had been gone for a tenday. Stilenta and Nalor’s departure had taken place five days ago. Was it time for she and Timir to leave. Their prophecy had been the third one. Gila hated the thought of being unprotected. Where would they go? She knew so little about the land.
For all her life she had lived with her mother in a small village. They had never traveled. Then her mother had died. Gila had worn the Violet Jewel, but she’d had no idea what the gem could do. All she had was her mother’s dying command. “Wear the Jewel beneath your tunic. Never take the gem from its hiding place.”
Gila shuddered. The command had been broken. The Queen’s Guards had taken her to Pala where she’d been forced to use the Jewel. Those days had been filled with fearful experiences. The fear still hovered like the shades of those who had no friend or family to bid them leave this plane for the next.
She cupped the Violet. With this gem, she could call the winds. To what purpose? Having power frightened her. Only when she had united with the other Holders had she felt safe enough to use the Jewel. Why had she been chosen to have one of the powerful gems?
The sound of crunching on the gravel path startled her. She bit her lip to keep a cry from betraying her presence. She edged further into the shadows.
“Gila, I know thee are there.”
“Timir.” Relief flooded through her with the force of a cyclone. She stepped from the shadows. “What do thee want?” His violet eyes seemed to project calmness. Her heart warmed. In appearance, his looks were ordinary until you saw his muscular body and his laughing eyes. He could move like a whisper of wind and with the grace of a feline.
“Why are thee hiding?”
“I was thinking about what we should do.”
“We must leave. I’ve prepared our packs.”
“I don’t want to go.” Gila stared at the ground. How could she explain that being with the other Holders made her feel safe? “Maybe we should wait until Liara and Valmir leave. We could go to Pala with them.”
“Is that where the prophecy leads us?”
She frowned. “I don’t know.”
He put his arm around her shoulders. “Each pair who has left has gone to a different destination to solve their prophecy. What do thee fear?”
“Everything.” She fought to control the quaver in her voice. “Everyone except the Holders and their Chosen.”
He turned her to face him. “There’s no reason to be fearful.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “What about the hidden wizards? Surely they’re plotting against us.”
“They won’t succeed.”
How could he be so sure? “I don’t want this Jewel. The gem tries to control what I think and do. My mother told me to beware of the Jewels.”
He pulled her into an embrace. “How can that be? Thee have seen the good the Jewels can do.”
Gila drew a deep breath. How could she make him understand? She had to try. For a Holder and her Chosen to be at odds could not be good.
“When I went to Pala the first time at the command of the Queen and Holder of the Black, I met several other Holders. They lived in palaces with servants to care for them. My mother and I lived in a small house and cared for each other. She never told me about the Violet. I didn’t know she was a Holder and that with her death I would become one.”
He stepped back. “But thee learned thee were one and discovered how to use the gem.”
“I did, but there’s more. Mother told me to hide the gem and never let the wizards find me lest they bind me to their cause.”
He kissed her forehead. “Thee are safe now.”
“Am I?” She had many doubts. She knew Timir would protect her, but unless she used the Jewel she couldn’t help herself. She gazed into his eyes. “When I learned I was one of the most powerful women in the land I tried to give the Jewel away. Under the control of the Black, Reena ordered me to remain.”
Timir drew her toward the fire. “Thoughts of Reena as being controlled by evil seems strange. Of course, she did make me a prisoner and during the battle, the tent caught fire.”
“Thee know that wasn’t her. The Black controlled her.” Gila paused. “She told that wizard, Gregor, to teach me how to use the Violet. Every time he touched me, I fainted. I was so glad when he decided I was hopeless.”
“Thee must have learned something since thee saved my life after I was badly burned. The flow of the cooling breeze across my skin was welcome and kept me from scarring.”
Gila smiled. “I think the lotions and ointments helped more. For thy sake I’m glad I could help but I never want to use the Jewel again.”
He caught her hand. “Thee can’t give back what thee were given by thy mother. Thee must learn how to control the gem.”
Was he right? Learning would take more courage than she possessed. “ Thee do not understand. I won’t use the Violet. If a wizard finds me, he’ll use me to corrupt the Jewels. Then the Black will return and rule the land again.”
“The Black was destroyed.”
“So,” Liara said. “What if she’s wrong? I won’t chance becoming a pawn.”
Timir led her to the fire. “Not if I’m with thee. I’ll find a way to make thee strong.”
Gila wanted to laugh. She was a coward and had learned the lessons her mother had taught completely. She knew no way to change a person’s nature. “How?�
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“I’m not sure yet. I think we should leave here tomorrow. We need to think about solving the prophecy.”
She clung to his hand. “Where will we go? I can think of no place where courage is sold.”
“That’s it.” He beamed a smile. “I know the very place. Thee might find courage there and we may find the place where the thread is hidden. Come and help me care for the injured. We will leave in the morning.”
Gila walked with him to one of the tents where he began to bathe the men who had been mind-blasted during the destruction of the stronghold. How could he be so strong? Who had taught him not only physical strength but the inner kind that defeated fear? Could she learn both?
* * *
As Timir washed the men in the tent for those who had been mind-blasted, he thought about Gila’s problem and his plans for aiding her. Her timidity seemed engrained. Perhaps her childhood experiences were the cause. Her mother had kept them secluded and had avoided speaking about the Jewel. Gila’s encounter with Gregor had added another layer to her fear. Timir understood why. On the few times he had been in the presence of the evil man, the atmosphere had darkened.
He helped one of the men sit up so Gila could help him eat. Timir thought of how afraid he’d once been of new places and people. Before joining the Guards, he’d been as skittish as the Violet Holder. Would the kind of training he’d received help her? When he’d joined the Guards he’d been three and ten. Gila was older and a girl. He couldn’t imagine her using a sword. Like most girls she had no idea how to fight. He recalled the story of how an untrained Disa had joined Andalor in fighting the fanged apes.
He nodded. The idea had merit. Though the trainers at the camp were elderly, they knew how to deal with the young and fearful.
A frown crossed his face. What had happened to all the Queen’s Guards after the battle on the plain? Some had died. Some had gone to Pala and sworn allegiance to Liara. How had any of them ended in service to the wizards?
Discovering the Jewels' Secret Page 5
