Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (8 page)

Analar loomed closer and soon I could make out the tidy
lines of cottages and docks. Boats of all sizes and colors dotted the water.
I’d never seen evidence of so many people in one tight location.

“You’ll have to stay low,” Kuritau instructed, his voice low.
He shifted the boat toward a busy bay where several large ships were peacefully
anchored.

I peered at the hundreds of people on the water. “Why are we
going to the most crowded part of the island?”

“One of the rebels has agreed to sail you to the mainland on
one of his ships,” Till whispered, even though we were still too far away to be
overheard.

My mother pointed to a cluster of the largest, most ornately
decorated ships. “Are those part of the king’s fleet?” she asked.

Kuritau hesitated. “We weren’t sure what to do about that.
He’s preparing another army to sail to the island you just came from. Much
larger this time with many more gems at his disposal.”

I gasped but it came out like a cough. “We have to let him
know I’m here. He can’t go after Vairda.”

“I have an idea that might take care of it,” Aluce said. She
grinned as though the idea excited her.

“What are your plans Aluce?” Dad asked. I didn’t miss the
edge in his voice.

Aluce’s gaze darted between the three of us. “It will
involve getting arrested.”

“Are you mad?” my mother asked. In a way, it was a
ridiculous question because we already knew the answer.

Aluce’s expression was hard. “I get things done. And I never
fail.”

I sighed. “Don’t get us killed the day of our arrival.”

“You’ll be fine if you follow my lead.” A freakish glint
ignited her eyes. Turning to our rescuers, she said. “Steer us to shore,
Kuritau, and take us to the head guard.”

“Only three people were registered to work this boat,” the
head wharf guard said with a scowl. His thick clothing was decorated with an
assortment of gems, though they didn’t appear to be the kind with power. Around
his neck hung a small bag made of some type of soft, shimmery fabric and I
guessed it carried the gems he’d confiscated from other people. From the way he
carried himself, I could tell he was obviously in favor with the king. Kuritau
looked at Aluce, waiting for her to explain herself.

“What did you expect them to do? Leave us to swim to shore?
We can’t help it if our boat sprung a leak. In fact, I believe we were
sabotaged. People don’t like competition.” Aluce tugged at the blanket around
her shoulders and glared up at the man. “Do you know how expensive it will be
to replace our equipment? That was our livelihood.”

The guard was unmoved. “Do you have your fishers tag?” he
asked.

“Didn’t you hear me correctly? We lost everything!” Aluce
spat.

“That’s why it’s worn around your neck. Every one of you
lost your tag?” He raised his eyebrows skeptically. I quavered and prayed Aluce
knew what she was doing.

“Horribly made pieces of trash,” she muttered. “Salt water
corrodes everything anyway.”

The guard’s eyes roamed down Aluce’s form and took in the
clothing that peeked out from underneath her blanket.

“Your manner of dress is unusual,” he said. His fingers
snatched at an edge of the blanket and flicked it open, revealing Aluce’s
Vairdan garments.

“Now you’re going to discriminate against how people choose
to dress?” Aluce’s voice rose in volume and pitch.

I held my blanket tighter, grateful Aluce had warned me to
tie my necklace to the inside of my shirt before we’d landed ashore.

The guard glanced at Kuritau and his family. “You say you
found them floundering in the water?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kuritau looked to the ground in humility. Jinna and
Till followed his example.

“I’ve verified your tags. You may go but you’ll be careful
not to help just anybody in the future. You report to us before you choose to
haul strangers out of the water.”

“Yes, Master Guard,” Kuritau murmured. He cast one final
wary glance at us as he returned to his boat with his wife and son. He’d
promised to sail back to the ship that was supposed to take us from Analar and
secure our few belongings aboard, but I still didn’t understand how Aluce
planned to get us there now.

As if reading my thoughts, the guard turned back to us.
“You’ll all come with me. I need to verify your story before I can release
you.” He whistled and several paces away, two more wharf guards began to make
their way toward us.

“This way,” he said. He withdrew his sword and waved it in
the direction he wanted to herd us. I glanced once more at Aluce, my eyes wide
with panic.

She shrugged and turned to follow him. As she turned, I
watched her foot catch on a jagged stone that protruded from the ground. Her
hands, still holding her blanket, flew out for balance as she fell into the
guard and shoved him hard. He tumbled forward and she collapsed on top of him,
crying out apologies even before they’d hit the ground.

They struggled for several seconds before he managed to
throw her off with a curse. “Wench!” he screamed and aimed his sword at her
bowed head.

“It was my own clumsiness, Master Guard,” Aluce pleaded. She
trembled inside the fabric once again wrapped tight across her body. “Please
forgive my foolishness.”

The man lifted his hand and brought it down across her face.
Aluce’s head snapped back but she didn’t cry out. When she steadied herself, I
noticed her lip had split open. A thin trail of blood trickled down her chin.

“Give me your wraps,” the guard demanded. Without argument,
we handed him our blankets. I shivered in the misty, cool air and rubbed my
arms, once again grateful I’d concealed my gems well inside my clothing.

He stared at our attire, eyes glittering and narrow, a smile
forming across his lips. “Foreigners,” he said. “We’ll just have to find out
where you came from, won’t we? Follow me if you know what’s good for you.”

“What is Aluce up to?” I hissed under my breath to my father
as the guard turned.

“I have a good idea. Be prepared for anything and don’t
underestimate her.” He said the words so softly I nearly missed them.

I looked at my mother and noticed her lips pursed together
in a thin line, as though she was more put out than worried.

We were led down a wide path, past several smelly stands
where vendors hawked slick, squirming seafood to peasants dressed in rags. A
little further into the town, we stopped at a cramped, wooden building without
windows. Several burly men in uniforms clustered near the entrance where they
talked loudly and waved various forms of weaponry around in animation.

“Inside until we can sort this out,” the head guard said. He
stepped past the men and unbarred the door to the building.

We followed him in and I immediately wrinkled my nose at the
stench. Raw fish, dank walls, and filth. It was obviously some type of prison.
When I saw the man huddled in one corner, glaring at our guard through
blackened eyes, I finally comprehended what we were doing. I glanced at Aluce
but she took no notice of me.

“Line up to be searched,” the wharf guard instructed. Aluce
obeyed, shifting herself so she was closer to the prisoner in the back of the
room. As more guards entered the room to assist the search, several things
happened at once.

I caught a flicker of movement from Aluce as she reached
inside her clothing, yanked something out, and tossed it toward the prisoner.

His fingers closed around the object and an ear splitting
boom rumbled the building. Then Aluce disappeared.

I looked up as flaming slivers of wood, straw, and mud began
to crack and break from the ceiling above. Several of the wharf guards rushed
into the building, green gems ablaze against their clothing and weapons. My
mother yanked me backwards and tucked me behind her.

I fumbled for my necklace, determined to strap it around my
neck. Mom grabbed my hands to stop me.

“Wait!” she hissed as she eased us toward the back of the
room. Not far away, my father pulled his own knife from inside his clothing.

I frantically searched the room for Aluce but she was
nowhere to be seen. Had she left us? A moment later I saw her, or what I
thought looked like her, pressed up against the wall. She seemed to blend into
her surroundings and I struggled to focus on her. As a guard rushed past her,
she threw a knife in his direction. It struck him in the side and he dropped to
his knees. As he struggled to remove the weapon from his skin, Aluce’s form
wavered in and out close by him.  Before he noticed her nearby, she yanked his
sword from his hand and disappeared again.

A roar of thunder shook the building and blasted my
eardrums. Directly above the guards, the ceiling split. Flaming chunks of wood
and rock rained down on their heads. I turned to the prisoner behind us and
watched him grit his teeth and clench his stone tighter. Rivers of moisture
trailed a clean path through the filth on his face as he summoned another
lightning strike and a staggering gust of wind. This time, it widened the split
in the ceiling and created a yawning gap above us.

“Get back, Tereg!” Aluce screamed. I searched for my father
and found him surrounded by several men. He gripped one of the guard’s swords
as he fought several of them at once. Aluce hovered close by, wavering in and
out of sight.

“It’s going to collapse,” Mom said. She pushed us toward the
prisoner. He sensed our presence and scooted against the back corner, making
room for us beside him. My father and Aluce slowly fought backward, toward the
wall where we were huddled.

More guards poured into the building from the front, several
carrying gems. Among them, I noticed one holding a stone that glowed gray and
yellow.

“He’s got a Weather Gem!” I yelled. My words were lost in
the deafening sounds of thunder and combat but it didn’t matter. The prisoner
had already seen the threat.

The guard with the Weather Gem smiled at us grimly, clenched
his fists above his head, and opened his palms. Lightning shot from the sky
through the gap in the ceiling, aiming directly for us.

But the prisoner had already anticipated the strike and
before we could blink, he’d redirected the lightning toward the guard.  His
body flew through the air and slammed into a remaining wall.

A thunderous roar filled our ears and the building began to
crumble around us. My parents threw themselves on top of me.

“Keep your eyes closed,” the prisoner screamed.

A second later, an enormous gust of wind ripped across the
rubble. I squeezed my eyes shut as it hit us. I felt the sting of debris and
dirt hit my skin as it blew toward the remaining guards. With a final crash,
the rest of the prison toppled.

“Quickly,” Aluce said.

My parents, scratched and bruised, grabbed my arms and
pulled me from the debris. I glanced behind me and saw several injured guards
struggle to make it through the mess of wood, fire, and mud. The guard with the
Weather Gem was nowhere to be seen.

We clambered over the rubble and fled into the streets. We ran
down tight little alleyways, around dark misty corners. Aluce snatched at
random articles of clothing as we streaked past clothing lines and tossed them
my way. I gripped them to my chest, praying I would have a chance to stop long
enough to put them on.

“In here,” the prisoner whispered. He threw open the door of
a poorly built, broken down little house. It seemed to cower in the shadows of
the slightly larger, uglier buildings, all lined up in a row on the grimy
street,

After followed him inside, he slammed the door and barred it
after us.

Aluce untangled a dress she’d stolen, threw it over my head,
and tugged it down my body. “Is this your home?” she asked the prisoner.

My mother turned me around and began to tighten the ties in
the back as Aluce fastened a flimsy cloak around my shoulders.

“My mother’s,” the man said. The room was dark but I could
make out the shape of a tall chest with several drawers against one wall. He
stumbled toward it and yanked open one of the drawers.

“She’s on the boats today,” he explained. He pulled more
articles of clothing out of the chest and threw them at my father. “She doesn’t
know that I was arrested. I warned her I might retaliate against the forces
governing Analar one of these days though. She probably suspects I was the
rebel from this morning.”

Dad pulled on a pair of trousers over his island clothing
and reached for a fisherman’s vest like the one I’d seen other men in Analar
wearing.

“Do you know who you’re helping?” my father asked the man.

“I hate to speculate,” he said, He tossed two of his
mother’s oversized dresses at Aluce and my mother.

“What do you go by?” Mom asked.

“Gil.”

“Can we count on your loyalty, Gil?” Aluce asked.

He stared at her for a moment before his gaze shifted to me.
I fiddled with the ill-fitting cloth draped around my body before I met his
eyes.

For the first time, I truly studied him. He couldn’t have
been more than twenty years old although the weariness in his eyes made him
seem older than his features betrayed. His light brown hair was flat against
his head in dirty, matted curls and several oozing scratches marred his face.

“My loyalty is always given to those who share my values,”
he said.

“And your values are focused on removal of the king?” my
mother asked.

Gil tugged at his boot and reached inside with slim, strong
fingers. They emerged holding a fragile looking chain. On the end of it dangled
a medallion with a tree and a lightning strike engraved upon it.

“There,” he said and fastened it around his neck. “I’ve
shown you what I believe. Obviously, for your trouble in helping me escape, you
want something in return, but I’d like to know to whom I’m indebted first.”