Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (32 page)

After I’d landed I moved to open the passage we’d come
through, but before I turned my back on the scenery beyond the mountain, a
faint orange glow caught my eye.

“Is there a village over there?” I asked, pointing to where
a thick wall of clouds had just begun to break.

Hesper shook her head. “No. That’s all forest. It’s pretty
rugged but occasionally flyers keep watch over it.”

“Are there any cities or villages close by?”

Cole landed behind me. “Benduin is further down the mountain.
Anybody who wants to visit Et Loedin is questioned in Benduin. Often they don’t
make it any further than that.”

Hesper nodded. “And Indikae is near the base. It’s a larger
city and has a good mix of flyers that’ve permanently left Et Loedin as well as
citizens without bloodlines. They’re often willing to help keep Et Loedin
leaders informed of who comes through the city and how many sentries have been
spotted in the area.”

Hesper paused and I felt her eyes rest on me. My gaze
remained fixed on the forest in the distance. It was still shrouded in cloud
and whatever I thought I’d seen was no longer visible.

“Are you alright?” Hesper asked.

I shrugged. “I think so.” I turned to follow her back into
Et Loedin’s passage but something tugged at me to stop.

“Wait.” I turned back to the blanket of clouds and closed my
eyes. Somewhere, pulsing through my blood, I felt the pull of my Empathy Gem. I
still couldn’t seem to completely break from the gem but I’d grown accustomed
to feeling the constant, faint, trickle of other people’s emotions. But now, it
felt heavier somehow.

I took off once more, not bothering to explain to my
friends. This time, I headed toward the wall of fog that hung heavily over a
portion of the land. As I progressed, the pull became stronger.

My heart raced as I opened myself up to the Empathy Gem. Too
late, I realized I’d been overeager. A flood of emotions pounded through me,
halting me mid-flight. I clutched the sides of my head and gasped in agony. My
wings faltered and began to dissolve in the night air.

“Aylen!” Cole’s voice sounded from somewhere behind me.

I shook my head, struggling to clear it. Amidst the torrent
of emotions shrieking through my mind, I remembered Tanerris’ instructions. I
inhaled deeply and tried to focus on a time when I connected deeply with
someone.

“Aylen!” This time it was Hesper’s voice that called me.

I grasped onto it gratefully. Memories raced through my
mind. The day she’d brought me to my room in Et Loedin. The moment she
expressed sympathy for the responsibilities I carried. The times she’d made me
laugh. The true friendship she’d shown from the moment I’d met her.

I felt the influx of emotions slowly abate as I rejected
some of the power the Empathy Gem projected into me. My wings began to regrow
their dissolved pieces. For the first time, I noticed Cole’s arms around my
waist, holding me up.

“There’s a mass gathering of people in that forest.” I
whispered. I pointed toward the area where I thought I’d seen the orange glow.
Clouds still shrouded the location but I sensed their emotions, even far away.
And everything I felt from them left me horrified.

I broke free from Cole’s grasp and jerked forward. With a
grunt, I tapped into my Weather Gem and the clouds split wide open. At first,
the landscape was a confusing mess of dark hills and forest. I blinked and
waited, knowing what we’d see if we waited long enough. Seconds later, the
world below lit up for just a moment. In the distance, stretched before us, was
a sea of orange flickering campfires, dimmed by a manmade cloak of mist. Then,
like a mirage, the image dissolved into shadow and night.

“They’re using Concealment Gems,” I whispered.

Beside me, Hesper let out a strangled gasp.

“What is it?” she asked. I heard the quaver in her voice
despite the wind.

“It’s an army,” Cole said. He glanced at me for
confirmation.

I hesitated before I answered. “It’s the king’s army.
They’re coming for Et Loedin.”

“This is insanity, Sai,” Haji whispered. “You can’t do another
assignment.”

I scowled and wrapped the blood soaked cloth tighter around
my wounded palm. For some reason the healers were never very eager to see to my
injuries after one of Baen’s tests.

“I doubt I have a choice in the matter. These lunatics would
rather see me die before they’ll trust me.”

One of the rebels hovering nearby glared at me when she
heard my insult. I sent a mock salute in her direction.

Haji sighed. “You’re only making them like you less.”

“Whether they like me or not, they’re still going to try to
torture me.”

I avoided Haji’s eyes and attempted to staunch the blood
flow from the deep cut in my hand. I glanced up only when Lirig collapsed
beside me.

“I hear you’ve got one more assignment. Then it’ll be my
turn.”

“Lucky you.” I moved as though to stretch but twisted my
body in order to scan the room. I hoped to spot something that would offer a
clue to my last assignment. Over the last several days, I’d already
accomplished two difficult tasks, both of which had left me wounded.

For my first assignment, I’d been told to seize an unclaimed
Travel Gem destined for the king’s treasury. According to an informant, Baen
had explained, the stone was being transported to an examiner’s home where it
would remain locked up until the extent of its power had been determined. There
were rumors that the gem was likely stronger than most, which made it worth
stealing.

“I’m no thief,” I’d told Baen.

He’d laughed at me. “You are now if you want to be one of
us.”

When it came time for me to choose my weapons, I’d picked
Nil and his bird. He’d been locked up since our arrival at the rebel camp while
Solo had been caged, and I’d had no doubt Nil would do anything to get out.
Besides, he was my only hope for pilfering something right under the noses of
multiple guards.

In the end, I’d distracted those transporting the gem while
Nil enlisted Solo to snag it. Although we were successful, I’d ended up with
cuts to my arm, side, and one of my thighs, as well as a twisted ankle.

Afterwards, once the rebels rewarded Nil for his trouble by
throwing him back into prison, I was given another task.

I shuddered as I remembered my last assignment. I’d been
sent to the borders of a Destruction Gem mine and was told to connect to as
many of the mined gems as possible, rendering them useless for the king. For
obvious reasons, I was warned to not get caught or cause one of the prisoners
who worked the mines to take the blame. It was a nearly impossible task and I
spent the next two days camped nearby, observing the soldiers who stood guard
over the transport wagon filled with gems.

On the third night, after several guards drunk themselves
into unconsciousness, I saw my chance. I crept toward the gem wagon, lifted the
tarp, and climbed inside. Gems hovered in the air by the thousands. I rolled my
sleeves above my elbows and ran my arms and hands on every glistening black
surface available. I pushed my fingers deeper into the condensed clusters and
felt jewel after jewel grasp onto my blood. Their dark power entered through my
skin and went stagnant the moment my bloodline was deemed unworthy. Still, I
grimaced at the sinister emotions filling my body with each touch.

Once I thought I’d ruined enough gems, I crept to the main
guard’s tent, situated nearest the wagon. I’d watched him torture and beat
several prisoners and I felt little remorse for what I was about to do.
Silently, I slipped into his tent, removed the sleeping dart I’d brought with
me, and thrust it into his neck. His eyes opened wide and he parted his lips to
cry out. I pressed my hand over his mouth but didn’t see his hand reach for the
knife by his side. When the cold blade pierced my shoulder, I gasped and jerked
away. He yanked the knife back and lunged for me again, this time his movements
ragged and lurching. I reached out to stop the blade but caught it with my
hand. The guard fell back onto his pillows, unconscious, as blood from my palm
and fingers began to drip onto the earth.

With a curse, I wiped the blade on my clothing and returned
it next to the bed. I grit my teeth as I tied off the wound with one of the
guard’s spare shirts and wiped up my blood from the ground. Then, as he slept,
I stripped the guard down to his underclothing, leaving most of his skin
exposed.

He wasn’t as heavy as I’d anticipated– or I’d just grown in
strength– as I dragged him to the wagon and hoisted him inside. I dropped an
empty flask of wine in with him before I returned to my campsite.

Now, only hours since I’d arrived back at the rebel camp, I
watched Baen’s eyes frequently dart my way as he consulted with other camp
chiefs.

“So, Haj,” Lirig said in an attempt to lighten the mood,
“what do you think they’ll have you do once they’ve killed me and Sai?”

She cleared her throat. “Baen already told me what they
want.”

I turned to look at her, my eyebrows raised.

“Because I’ve got the Travel Gem bloodline,” she explained,
“I’m to transport other people for certain missions. Occasionally, they’ll
require more but from what I understand, someone on their side who can use the
Travel Gem is rare.”

“They’re not even going to test your loyalty?” Lirig griped.

Haji gave him an apologetic smile. “They’ll probably just
test my abilities to make sure I can get them where they need to go.”

“I wouldn’t allow them to put Haji or Faema up to most of
these tasks anyway,” I said.

“You couldn’t do anything to stop it.” I glanced up to see
Faema approaching us. Her face was grubby and streaked with dirt and her eyes
were red-rimmed. She’d been spending most of her time near Nil’s cell, trying
to convince his jailors to allow him to prove himself. From what I’d gathered,
she hadn’t made much headway.

“Have they told you your first task?” Lirig asked her.

Faema took two more steps toward us before she sank to the
ground on her knees in front of me. With her face buried in her hands, her
shoulders began to tremble. I heard a muffled sob escape her lips.

My body ached with every slight movement and moments before,
I had thought myself too spent to do more than sit. But I didn’t hesitate.
Gently, I eased myself off the bench and knelt beside Faema. I winced but
extended my arm and pulled her into an embrace.

“They want us to hand Nil over to the king,” she moaned into
my shoulder.

“Us?”

“You and me. It’s your last test.”

“But how does that help them? He’s worked for the king’s
soldiers in the past. Wouldn’t it serve them better to try and gather
information from him?”

Faema pulled away and glared at me through hot, swollen
eyes. “He’s never picked sides so he’s trustworthy to no one. The king put out
a warrant for his arrest. We’re to claim the reward and use it to fund the rebel
movement while Nil is left in the hands of their ruthless ruler.” She cast a
glare in Baen’s direction. “They told me he’s expendable.”

Lirig rolled his eyes. “You said it yourself, Faema. He’s
untrustworthy.”

Faema ignored him. “He helped you, Sai. You wouldn’t have
passed the first test without him.”

As much as I despised Nil, I knew she was right. I had no
faith in him and he’d been the cause of Haji nearly getting killed. But still,
he had helped me. And even if he wasn’t loyal to those he served, I could
choose to be honorable toward those who’d served me. Nil’s actions didn’t need
to influence my own principles.

Slowly, I pulled away from Faema. With a grunt, I managed to
rise to my feet and lumber toward the cluster of people where Baen stood.

He turned to me, one corner of his mouth lifted in
amusement. I pulled myself to my full height, putting me several inches taller
than him. “I’d like to choose my last task,” I said, “and in the process,
strike a bargain.”

Baen opened his mouth to laugh but it died to a croak when I
took a step closer to him. I lifted my bleeding hand and waved it in front of
his eyes. “Obviously, with the state I’m in, you’ll have the advantage.”

His eyes lit up with interest.

“You and I fight, tonight. We each choose one weapon. If I
disarm you, I decide on the remaining tests my friends must go through to prove
their loyalty. And Nil remains in camp.”

Baen  sneered. “And if I disarm you?”

“You may send me to the king instead. I’m worth far more
than Nil.”

Baen glanced back at his friends before he shrugged and
tossed me a small key. “Go choose your weapon. I’ll rope off a fighting ring.”

Without a word, I turned and attempted to walk toward my
weapon stash with the same confident gait. Every movement sent searing pain
from my shoulder into my arm and down my side.

My weapons had been set out for display behind a barred
door. They’d been numbered and labeled and only Baen carried the key to open
the door. This was supposed to prevent me from stealing from myself.

When I reached the bars, I slid the key into the metal lock
and twisted. After the distinct click, I yanked the door open and stared at my
arsenal. My sword reflected the torchlights flickering throughout the room. I
longed to feel it in my hands again, to prove how adept I’d become at using it,
but I knew I couldn’t match Baen’s skill yet.

My arrows were considered illegal in nonlethal one on one
combat and I had finally run out of sleeping darts. But it wouldn’t have
mattered anyway. There was really only one option.

With my good hand, I tightened the bandage on my hand. When
I was sure it was securely holding my skin in place, I reached past the door
and grabbed my spear. I fitted my uninjured fingers around the worn grooves
where I’d held it so many times in the past. Its familiarity made it almost an
extension of my arm. Tereg had once claimed his sword had felt that way to him,
but even I had disarmed him at times during practice with my spear.