by Kay L. Ling
“I don’t know what to do,” Tyla said. “I don’t want to let them in, but The Emanicus won’t stand for interference.”
“Unfortunately, no matter what we do, war is inevitable,” Ertz said.
“Maybe so, but we’re not ready for it. Elias is delivering gems and teaching gnomes to use them, and it will take time to organize our militias into a unified force and train them for war.” Tyla thought a moment. “Are we even capable of turning the Outcasts away?”
“Dirty Wretches! Get out of here!” Loud Mouth said, revisiting his old vocabulary. Under other circumstances, Tyla would have laughed.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Some of them may be gem masters with Dark gems,” she reminded Ertz.
“Dark gems aren’t an insurmountable advantage. Skilled gem masters with a clever plan can win the day.”
It wasn’t an easy choice. If she let the miners in, it would benefit The Emanicus. If she turned them away, The Emanicus might retaliate in a way that harmed local clans. “How long do we have, Loud Mouth? How far away are they?”
“Three or four hours ride.”
Tyla drew infused intuition, foresight, and wisdom. Ertz was silent, perceptive enough to know she was wrestling with a decision.
“We don’t wait for them to come here. We go out to meet them,” Tyla said at last. She paused, still thinking it through. “They won’t be expecting that. They should find our arrival unsettling, and that could give us an advantage.”
Ertz nodded slowly. “I like that idea. They’ll be tired and sore from riding, and they won’t be at their best.”
“If we play this right, they may decide we’re as much of a threat as The Emanicus, and they’ll want to go home. The Emanicus may punish me for defying them, and others may suffer for what we’re about to do, but someone has to stand up to them.”
“They’re no more ready for war than we are. Outcasts need time to practice with their new gems and train for war.”
“Do you need me for anything else?” Loud Mouth asked. “If not, I’ll be on my way.”
Tyla looked down. There were crumbs all over the floor. “You can go now. Thanks for the report.”
“I’m going to the library,” Tyla told Ertz. “Arenia should be there, and Kaff and Eneff may be, too. Would you find Olissa and tell her to meet us there? I’d like to leave in an hour, and unless she objects, I’m taking every gem master we have—even Eneff and Kaff. We need a show of strength.”
“If they go with you, make sure they wear hooded cloaks to hide their faces. Some of the Outcasts could be from Aberell’s O.D.”
“Olissa should wear one, too. No one is likely to recognize her, but it’s best not to take chances.” Tyla felt almost as nervous as she had before The Emanicus raid. A few of the Outcasts might be gem users. They wouldn’t be as skilled as Emanicus gnomes, but she shouldn’t underestimate them.
Ertz brought Olissa to the library. A few minutes later, several other gem users and key members of the staff arrived. Tyla explained that Outcasts were coming to work in the alamaria mine, and then laid out her plan to intercept them and turn them away. She got no objections from anyone.
“I’d like to take every gem user we have,” she said, “but I’ll leave that up to you, Olissa, since I’m putting you in charge.”
“I’ve been training breghlin officers for situations like this, so I’d like them to go. Most of the Outcasts are likely to be Nopes, and breghlin officers will intimidate them. We’ll back the officers with gem powers as needed.”
Tyla was ashamed to admit she hadn’t thought of taking breghlin officers, but Olissa’s plan made sense. During The Great Upheaval, Nopes supported by gem users fought the battles.
“Whatever you think best,” Tyla said.
Olissa looked around the group. “A few days ago, I wouldn’t have considered taking Eneff and Kaff, but they know how Outcasts think, so they might be useful.”
“I’d be honored to go, if you’ll have me,” Eneff said.
Kaff looked unusually pale. When he spoke, his voice was unsteady. “You think there’ll be a gem battle?”
Olissa looked him in the eye. “I don’t know. If that’s what it takes to get rid of them, we’ll fight.”
Kaff gulped. “I’m inexperienced.”
Olissa shrugged. “So are they.”
“I’ll have two carts brought around,” Tyla said. “Make sure you have your gem pouches. Meet me outside in ten minutes.”
Chapter 26
Tyla sent the staff to get conventional weapons for the officers—swords, spears, and maces. During Sheamathan’s reign, some of Tyla’s breghlin officers had served as guards, so they knew how to fight. Othir, Higgart, and Olissa had trained the others, both breghlin and gnomes, ensuring that gnomes with gem powers were also adept with physical weapons.
The team met outside, and Tyla divided the group in two.
“Ben, drive the first cart. Nopes and breghlin officers, go with Ben. All the gem users, ride with Parcune.”
Tyla gave each officer a red sash. They tied it on over their tunics, and the gem users put on hooded cloaks.
Olissa told Ben, “I brought you a cloak in case there’s an Outcast that might recognize you. The rest of the breghlin shouldn’t hide their appearances. Outcasts are intimidated by lots of deformities.”
Tyla got into the cart, telling herself not to worry. They should be able to handle the Outcasts even if the group included gem users. Ertz and Olissa were skilled gem masters. Tyla and Arenia were competent if not experts. The new recruits included two former fortress guards, Bentiz and Serrom, who were adept with conventional weapons. Adin, a middle-age female, and Riven, a dark-haired male in his twenties, were the newest members and had the least experience, but they added to the “show of force.” And then there were Kaff and Eneff. Tyla wasn’t sure what to expect from them.
“I’m not much good with rare gems,” Riven admitted nervously as they left Elantoth. “I can draw their powers for myself, but I haven’t learned to project it onto others . . . I need a lot more practice.”
“We may not have to resort to gem powers,” Ertz told him kindly, “and if we must fight, those of us who are more experienced will do most of the work.”
“Don’t worry, Riven. We’ll look out for you. You’ll be fine,” Kaff said with the air of one who had survived a number of gem battles.
Tyla hid a smile. An hour ago, Kaff’s knees had been knocking at the prospect of fighting Outcasts. Eneff gave Kaff a sidelong look but said nothing.
Parcune, however, wasn’t about to let the remark pass. “You’re lumping yourself in with Ertz as an experienced gem master now?” he asked sharply from the driver’s box.
Kaff didn’t answer, and Tyla imagined he was blushing under his hood.
When they’d been on the first Amulet Team, Kaff had belittled Parcune for not having gem powers and made him feel like a useless old fool. Maybe it hadn’t been wise to let Parcune drive. Parcune hadn’t forgiven Kaff for old grievances, and the group should be a unified force. Well, it was too late to change drivers now. Kaff and Parcune had better behave.
The group discussed gem power strategies as they rode, which kept them busy for over an hour. After that, Tyla worked on a speech to intimidate the Outcasts. She would tell them breghlin miners wouldn’t accept them willingly, and it would be dangerous to work with resentful miners. Worse, they could expect retaliation from Elantoth gem master. If they had any sense, they would turn around and go home.
Just when she had started to feel confident she could reason with the miners, Ertz said his oracle gems had revealed the Outcasts were just ahead, and Tyla’s confidence melted away.
Shivering under her cloak, Tyla drew her knife. After rounding a bend in the woodland road, she saw two carts, half a mile away, coming toward them.
Ben drove into the center of the narrow road and stopped, effectively blocking their way. He and the officers with him shouted for th
e carts to stop.
“What’s wrong?” one of the Outcasts called.
“Stop!” Ben called again, giving no explanation.
“Get out of the way! Let us pass!” an Outcast called as they reluctantly came to a halt.
Tyla made a quick assessment of the opposition. The Outcast numbers looked similar to their own, but there was no way to know how many, if any, had gem powers.
The sun was setting, and the sky bore a bloodstained hue. The wind had died away, and an eerie hush settled over the forest.
Tyla stood and held up her knife. The blade showed flickering flames. “I’m Elantoth’s commander. I know you’re coming to our alamaria mine. I foresaw your coming.” She paused to let that sink in and was about to continue her speech when an Outcast stood and shouted back, “I’m Maniz, and I foresaw your coming!”
There was a crackle of energy, and a bolt of white light struck the road in front of Ben’s cart. Tyla gave a startled cry. Maybe the Outcast had intended to hit the cart and missed. If so, the next bolt might find its mark.
The maraku bellowed, and the cart Tyla was in lurched as the terrified animal tried to back up. Thrown off balance, she sat down hard, and everything she had planned to say went out of her head.
“That’s Maniz, all right,” Eneff growled. “I’d know that voice anywhere.”
“We’re in trouble now!” Kaff said and promptly disappeared. An instant later, Eneff disappeared, too.
Two more bolts raced toward the team, but Ertz raised his hand and the bolts expended their energy in midair with a loud bang, terrifying both maraku even more. Tyla projected peace and calm, afraid the animals would overturn the carts in an effort to escape. It might be a poor use of her gem powers, but Ertz was fending off the bolts, and she wasn’t sure what else to do.
The officers in Ben’s cart jumped out, weapons in hand, and with fierce cries, ran toward the Outcasts.
“What are they doing?” Olissa cried. “I didn’t tell them to attack!”
Tyla could see it was useless to recall them. Olissa’s overzealous officers were taking the fight to the Outcasts.
“Bentiz, Serrom, Adin, Riven—with me!” Olissa ordered. “Stay together. I’ll project a ward around us.”
“Shouldn’t we go, too?” Tyla asked Ertz.
“No. Let them handle it. They’ve been trained for situations like this. Kaff and Eneff, are you still here?”
No one answered.
The soil near the Outcasts’ carts began to rise and fall like waves on the Aberell River. The Outcasts shouted in confusion as gear in their carts tipped over and crashed. Their maraku bellowed and tried to escape but couldn’t get their footing. The Outcast gem masters were too distracted to continue their attack on Tyla’s team, and the energy bolts ceased.
“I know the gem Olissa is using,” Ertz said. “Without careful control, it would liquefy the ground, and the road would be impassable. She’s a skilled gem master.”
Thanks to the unstable ground, the breghlin officers had stopped running, and Olissa’s group caught up with them. The waves ceased, but the ground continued to tremble as the entire team advanced on the Outcasts’ carts.
They had almost reached the first cart when they all froze in place.
“What happened?” Arenia cried.
“The Outcasts got through Olissa’s ward and immobilized them,” Ertz said. “Come with me.”
As Tyla scrambled from the cart, Ertz disappeared. Tyla looked down at herself and realized he had enveloped her in his invisibility field.
“Arenia?”
“Right behind you.”
With the quake over, many of the Outcasts had gotten out of the carts, and Maniz and another Outcast started searching the victims for gem pouches and valuables.
“I see the driver, but where are Tyla and the others who stayed behind?” an Outcast asked.
“We’ll find them. Get the female over there. Bring her to the cart,” Maniz said, gesturing toward Adin.
“Sure thing. Don’t see the likes of her in the O.D. do ya?”
“No, and I plan to see more of her, if ya get what I mean.” Maniz gave an evil chuckle. “I bet she—”
His words were cut off by the clang of metal. He pitched forward, landing face first in the dirt.
“I owed you that,” said a disembodied voice that Tyla recognized as Eneff.
“What the—” the other Outcast began, but a second clang silenced him. He toppled like a felled tree.
Tyla heard a snicker, and an invisible Kaff said, “Check their pockets. Find their gem pouches.”
“Watch out!” An Outcast yelled. “There’s more. They’re invisible!”
“We’ll fix them,” someone called.
Pain and nausea struck Tyla. She’d suffered the effects of negative energy gems before, and if anything, this time it was worse. If only the Guardian would appear and defend her, but it probably couldn’t pinpoint her attacker. She would have to rely on her knife. She drew its power. After a moment, the pain and nausea went away, and she projected its restorative powers to Arenia who was moaning in misery.
“Enough of this,” Ertz muttered angrily. Having overcome the effects, he was ready to fight back. “They’re not the only ones with an immobility gem.”
A few seconds later, Tyla looked around, and all of the Outcasts were immobilized.
“Much better,” Ertz said. “I’ll release our people now.”
Freed of her paralysis, an embarrassed Olissa looked around, took stock of the situation, and visibly relaxed. The rest of the team looked like they were trying to figure out what had just happened.
“I can’t maintain the immobility long. There are too many of them,” Ertz said.
“Confiscate their gems,” Olissa ordered the group. “Their infused powers will wear off, and they won’t be able to replenish them.”
Eneff and Kaff reappeared near the fallen Maniz. Eneff dropped the frying pan. “Let’s roll him over,” he told Kaff.
When they did, Tyla found herself looking at a familiar face. This was the brute who had groped her in the news shop and stolen her IGs. Ben and Tina Ann had recovered the money, and Ben had left those scars on Maniz’s neck.
When the team had finished collecting weapons and gem pouches, Tyla told them, “Everyone but Olissa and Ertz, go back to the carts.”
After they were gone, she told Olissa and Ertz, “I’ll speak to the Outcasts again. This time, I’ll use gem powers to help make my point.” She created an illusion. Three carts with Elantoth officers appeared behind the real carts. The illusion looked so real she was sure it would deceive them. “All right. Release the Outcasts.”
Maniz and his companion scrambled to their feet, and the rest of the Outcasts looked about in confusion.
“Turn around and go home,” Tyla called. “Once your gem powers wear off, you won’t be able to defend yourselves. It will be impossible to work while fending off attacks, and if I were you, I wouldn’t risk eating or sleeping around the other miners.”
“If we go back to the O.D., we’ll be in trouble with The Emanicus,” Maniz said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Then hide and live off the land. You’ll survive.”
“They’ll know we aren’t at the mine, and they’ll find us eventually,” Maniz said.
Tyla folded her arms. “Not my problem.”
“It will be when they punish you for sending us away.”
“They’ve tried to attack me a number of times, and as you can see, I’m none the worse for it.”
Maniz had no answer for that.
Olissa said, “Better be on your way before we drop you into a hole and let you rot there.”
To prove her point, the ground began to tremble. Maniz and the others ran to their carts, righted the gear that had fallen during the quakes, and drove away. Tyla watched the retreating carts with a satisfied smile and dispelled the illusion.
Things hadn’t gone exactly as planned, she thought a
s she, Olissa, and Ertz walked back to the carts. But at least they were safe now. Or so she thought until she saw Kaff and Eneff looking up at the sky.
A dark form passed overhead, and in the stillness of the night air, Tyla could hear the ominous sound of wings.
Chapter 27
Tyla shivered with dread. If the pythanium had seen them, it would investigate.
“It may have orders to follow the Outcasts,” Olissa said. “If so, it will notice they’re going toward Aberell, not Elantoth.”
“I hope it follows them to ask where they’re going, and we can get away,” Arenia said.
“Let’s go,” Kaff said. “Maybe it hasn’t seen us.”
Parcune and Ben turned the carts around, and Parcune took the lead this time. They had driven several miles when Tyla heard wings again.
“It’s back,” growled Parcune.
Tyla looked up just as the creature passed overhead.
“Do you think it talked to the Outcasts and came back to find us?” asked Eneff.
“Possibly. It’s been gone long enough,” Olissa said.
“If it lands in the road like last time, stay in the cart. I’ll talk to it,” Tyla said. She dreaded the confrontation, but she wouldn’t shrink from it. She had her knife and the Guardian.
The pythanium flew in tight circles overhead, just above the treetops.
“I’m sure it’s spotted us,” Olissa said. “Now it will land in the road and wait.”
In the blink of an eye, Kaff and Eneff disappeared.
Both carts slowed. Tyla placed lightgems inside the lanterns and activated the gems.
“There it is!” Parcune called as they rounded a bend.
“Ought to run over the cursed thing,” Eneff muttered.
“I’d be in trouble if we killed it,” Tyla said.
“More trouble than you’re in now?” Kaff asked.
He had a point, Tyla thought, as Ben stopped the cart.