Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (17 page)

The three of us formed a circle around her, facing outward.
I locked one arm through Haji’s and felt Lirig’s and Faema’s fingers grip her
arm as well. The snakes continued to advance, some individually, others in clusters.
We cut them down as fast as they arrived.

“Focus, Haji,” Lirig pleaded.

“I’m trying. I can’t afford to make a mistake.” I heard her
swallow hard and whisper a few words to herself.

“Come on, Haj,” I encouraged, striking at another group of
serpents.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw her nod and lift the stone
eye level with one hand. Her voice strong, she yelled, “Take us to Rynmalla of
Miranasch.”

With an earsplitting crack, the snakes, the island, and the
ocean seemed to dissolve as we were engulfed in nothingness. I closed my eyes
with relief and let the darkness whirl us away.

Pale moon light shimmered in a rippled arc above me. I felt
the grip of my sword still clasped in my fingers and I tightened my fist around
it as a swell washed over me, pushing me deeper into the water. When it passed,
I swam for the surface and scanned my surroundings. A few airtight dart
containers floated nearby and one of our packs was half submerged in the water.
I returned my sword to its waterlogged sheath and reached for anything I could
grab before another wave washed everything away.

“I’ve got some arrows,” Lirig called out behind me.

I turned around to see him several strokes away. “Where are
the girls?”

“Beneath the surface. They’re trying to salvage the rest.”

I went back to picking through whatever I could find and held
fast to the most important gear including darts and a few more arrows.

“This was not how I imagined arriving,” Haji said when she
surfaced next to me.

“We should warn Nethran map makers about Snake Island so
other travelers aren’t caught unaware.” I searched for places to contain what
I’d found but there weren’t a lot of options.

“Try this,” Haji said. She held out a long piece of twine.

“Thanks.” I accepted it and quickly went to work, binding my
gear together and strapping it to my back. Once I was done, I finally looked up
and studied the horizon.

A dark land mass stretched as far as I could see from east
to west. A fine fog seemed to hang over the land, making it devoid of detail or
color to my eyes, but even at such a great distance, it was ominous in its
enormity.

“Where does it end?” I whispered in awe.

“I don’t think it does.” Haji treaded beside me.

“I’m supposed to find Aylen on that?”

She snorted. “I tried to warn you.”

“Wasn’t this your idea in the first place?”

“Since when have you ever listened to me?”

I didn’t answer. I shook my head as the weight of my task
settled over me. This would prove much more difficult than I’d anticipated.

After we’d salvaged as many supplies as possible, we set out
toward land, our progress slower and more tentative this time.

The night wore on as we traveled in exhausted silence. We
all wanted rest, as well as a chance to forget about what we were about to face
but there was nowhere to go but forward, straight toward the place where I
doubted I would ever find rest again.

When the shore loomed closer, I motioned for the others to
surface. Above water, we stared at each other, waiting for someone else to
break the silence. I knew it was my responsibility but it took many, long
moments before I found the words.

“Our first priority is to find someplace to rest,” I finally
told them. “I’m not sure how easy that will be, but it’s important we remain
hidden until we know how to blend in.”

“Blending in will require resources we don’t have,” Faema
pointed out.

“Right, and until we figure out what those resources are and
how to get them, we can lay low in the forests. We know how to survive in trees
just fine.”

“Whatever we do, we stay together,” Lirig said.

“And we keep our weapons close,” I added. “At least until we
know what kinds of people we’re dealing with.”

Faema shivered, her sea skin shimmering in the moonlight.
Haji only nodded, her brow creased and her features tense.

“Everyone ready?” I asked.

My question was met with silence and I understood. We would
never be ready, but we were going forward anyway.

I dove underwater and shot toward Miranasch before my
courage failed me. I didn’t check to see if the others were following me. I
worried it would make me doubt myself, question what I led them into.

As the first rays of morning sunlight glowed through the
fog, we began to pass anchored ships. I dove deeper, afraid of being seen by a
possible fisherman or passenger. We stayed far below the murky surface,
drifting around anchors and barnacled ship bellies, until we found a place
where they seemed fewer in number. I motioned for the others to stay below
while I swam to the surface. I eased my head out of the water and glanced
around. We were near the edge of what appeared to be a ship yard. Fisherman had
just begun to load their boats with nets and gear while others appeared to be
transporting cargo to the larger ships.

A cursory scan of the area told me we needed to head west of
the bay toward a fringe of forest. The rocky shores there looked dangerous to
ships and much more suitable for us. But we didn’t have much time. It wouldn’t
be long, I realized, before the water would be swarming with boats.

I dove back beneath the surface and motioned for my friends
to follow me. We swam deep, near the shadowy bottom of the ocean where the
ground was silt and drab. The fish seemed less colorful than the ones in
Vairda, the water was a putrid green instead of the crisp blue I was used to,
and it felt thicker as I moved through it.

When we were far enough away from the bay and I didn’t see
any boats nearby, I breached the surface once more. Haji popped her head out of
the water after me, followed by Faema and Lirig.

I looked for any sign of people nearby but our location
seemed safe. We’d rounded a point of land and ended up on the other side of the
bay where rugged forest and rock made up the shoreline. So far, the fishing
boats didn’t seem to have made it out that far yet.

“We’ll take cover in the trees until we can figure out what
to do,” I said. I pointed to the only place where sand met sea. “There’s a spot
between those rocks that looks like a safe passage to land. We’ll climb those.”

Before we could discuss it further, I dove just under the
surface and led the way. It didn’t take long before my feet brushed stone.
Minutes later, I crawled ashore. I stayed in a crouched position as I slipped
between giant boulders and slick stones the size of huts. The others remained
close and followed my movements.

When I cleared the rocks, I nearly threw myself into the
trees, anxious to be cloaked among their branches. Dark green moss draped down
from the canopy and the earth smelled moist and sweet. Panting, I wedged myself
between a tree large enough to carve thirty totems from the trunk. A curtain of
moss hung from one of its monstrous branches. One by one, the others joined me,
out of breath, flushed, and still glistening in their sea skin.

We looked at one another, eyes wide in the dim light, limbs
trembling. We listened for something, anything that would tell us we’d been
seen. But there was nothing more than the early morning warble of a bird and
the familiar sound of the ocean as it worked away at the shore.

“We did it,” Haji breathed. Her mouth split into a smile so
wide I thought her salt-chapped lips would crack. “We actually did it. We’re
really here!”

I nodded, too awestruck to speak. I touched my palm down
into the dark soil and scooped up a handful. Miranasch soil. The same soil
Aylen’s feet were touching.

“I didn’t think we’d make it,” Lirig whispered. He trailed
his fingers down the strange gray bark of the tree.

Faema folded her arms across her chest and scowled at the
ground. “We haven’t made it yet, exactly. There’s still a lot we need to figure
out.”

“We’ve got time for all that,” Haji said. “First we need to
get some food and then we can talk about our next move.”

Faema sighed. “I’ll catch us some fish. You can all stay
here and act sappy and stupid.” Before any of us could argue, she dropped the
supplies she’d salvaged, and with only her spear, stomped past the moss curtain
and through the trees. I glanced at Lirig but didn’t need to say anything
before he took off to follow her so she wouldn’t be alone.

Haji and I didn’t speak as we released ourselves from our
gems’ power and immediately began to go through our remaining supplies. We’d
both managed to hang onto our extra, unclaimed Sea Gems since those were always
carried with us. It was our weaponry that had been depleted the most. I still
had my bow and a half my arrows but I’d lost several of my darts and a few of
the small vials of different poisons I used to coat the points of my weapons.

As I sorted through what remained, the chill in the air
began to penetrate my skin. The fog drifted around us, thick and oppressive. I
shivered.

“We’re not dressed properly for this place,” Haji said.
“We’ll have to find new clothing.”

I grunted. “I doubt people just hand out clothing to
strangers here.”

“Maybe we can find a way to earn it?”

“We’ll figure something out.” I attempted a smile before I
began to pile our gear against the tree.

While we waited for Faema and Lirig to return, we dug a pit
and filled it with the driest wood we could find. After many attempts, I was able
to start a small fire. Haji and I huddled close to it for warmth and hoped the
strange curtain of leaves hanging from the branches would contain most of the
smoke.

Over time, I felt my eyes began to droop and my head nod
forward. I shook myself every once to stay awake, but soon, the soothing scent
of wood smoke and the gentle pop and crackle of fire lulled me into a light
sleep.

Somewhere between wary rest and fitful wakefulness, I heard
the snap of a branch. I jolted upright the same time as Haji. Her eyes,
bloodshot with exhaustion, were wide and alert.

“Did you hear that?” she mouthed at me. I nodded and reached
for my sword. She grabbed a blowpipe and nimbly fitted it with a dart.

Beyond the curtain of foliage, I saw movement. Crouching low
to the ground, I used my fingers to push aside a small section of leaves. I
caught a flash of brown before it disappeared behind another giant tree.

I beckoned for Haji to follow me and eased around the other
side of the trunk. Our supplies were still piled in plain sight on the ground
and I hoped whoever lurked nearby would find interest in them. We’d be able to
use the element of surprise.

Long moments of painful silence crept by until I heard the
rustle of leaves. I glanced at Haji. Her breath came in fast, anxious puffs. I
motioned to her and she understood.

A moment later, the sound of our supplies being shifted
reached our ears. Together, we jumped from our hiding place, weapons drawn.

“Get back!” I growled before my brain could register what I
was seeing. A large, glossy black bird flapped its wings at me and continued to
peck through our belongings, unperturbed. Haji snorted and then burst into
laughter.

“That’s it?” she said. “We were frightened by a bird? Maybe
we’ve worked ourselves up a little bit.”

I didn’t think it was funny. I edged closer to the animal,
watching as it sifted and sorted with its beak. Something about its movements
seemed almost purposeful. When it paused and jerked its head forward into the
folds of cloth covering our gems, I realized a split second too late what it
was doing.

It spread its wings and took off through the curtain and
into the forest. I yanked Haji’s blowpipe from her hand and scrambled after it.

“What’s wrong with you, Sai?” Haji hollered, her footsteps
close behind.

“It stole a gem!” I jumped a fallen log and tumbled through
another thick wall of foliage in an attempt to keep the bird in my line of
sight. His black body swooped around branches and soared past trees so quickly,
it made me dizzy trying to keep up with him.

Then he was gone. I halted and turned around several times
searching for a flash of his feathers. Haji caught up and placed a hand on my
arm.

“We don’t know what else is out here. It’s not worth it.”

“We need those gems. It
is
worth it.” I grit my
teeth, determined not to lose my temper but exhaustion had set in.

 “Come on.” Haji gave a small tug on my arm. “We have to be
there when Faema and Lirig get back.”

I hesitated but succumbed to her request. With a final
glance into the canopy, I moved to go. Before I walked two steps, a brown blur
dropped from the trees and landed directly in my path.

My sword was out in a heartbeat. I pointed the tip of the
blade at this new arrival and eyed him in silence.

I guessed he was only a year or two older than me but he
looked a touch thinner. Or at least he would have before my journey across the
ocean. He was at least a hand’s width taller than me and his tawny-brown hair
reached his chin. Like Aylen, his face was pale with a smattering of freckles.
He smiled at me as though he’d seen many weapons pointed at his heart and it
was only a mere inconvenience rather than a threat to his life.

He glanced skyward and whistled once. From the trees flew
the bird, its beak still clamped down on one of our gems. The creature landed
on the young man’s shoulder, opened his beak, and dropped our gem into the
man’s waiting palm.

“Come now, Solo, you know it isn’t nice to take things that
don’t belong to us.” His eyes darted back and forth between me and Haji and
skimmed our foreign clothing. “Did my feathered friend steal something of
yours?”