Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  “That sounds like a good strategy,” Tyla agreed.

  “I’ll send messengers to the clans, explaining the situation,” Olissa said. “The militias will need to unite under one leader to effectively engage the enemy.”

  “I hope you’re not planning to lead them. We need you here,” Tyla said.

  “Don’t worry. I know that. I’ll be in charge of the home force that serves as Elantoth’s last defense.”

  “I had better warn Elias,” Tyla said. “He’s safer at Strathweed than we are here, but he needs to know what’s happening—Franklin, too.”

  She passed along the news via rizumen pendant, and two days later, Elias contacted her, asking her to come to Strathweed. He didn’t say why, and she didn’t ask. It had to be important. He had never summoned her before.

  “Did he say you should come alone?” Olissa asked.

  “No. Do you want to come?”

  “If you don’t think he’ll mind.”

  “He knows you’re head of security. He won’t object.”

  “Good. I’ll have a cart brought around, and I’ll drive.”

  Tyla notified the guards that she was leaving and met Olissa outside.

  “You’d better take the roundabout route we used before,” Tyla said, climbing into the cart. “We can’t risk you turning into a rat.”

  “I doubt that would happen, but I’m prepared. Kaff gave me the transformation gem.” She patted the pouch at her waist.

  “I hope you don’t expect me to use it,” Tyla said hastily. “I’ve never used a Dark gem, and I don’t want to start now.”

  On such a clear, sunny day, it was hard to believe anything could go wrong. Convinced nothing would happen, Olissa took the shorter route, and they arrived safely to find Elias, Jules, Lana, Franklin, and Gliaphon in the arbor, waiting for them. Elias was wearing a tan shirt and brown pants instead of his customary green robe. He looked different in that style of clothing, but that wasn’t the only reason he looked different. His skin wasn’t as lumpy as before. His nose wasn’t as flat, and his lips, which had been little more than a thin line, were fuller now. Was that why he’d called her here? To tell her his witnesses were healing?

  When he stood to greet them, Tyla could tell that wasn’t it. She had never seen him look more serious. Where was his welcoming smile, the twinkle in his eye? The others looked equally grave, especially Lana who looked as if she’d been crying.

  “Thank you for coming. Please have a seat,” Elias said.

  Tyla sat, and a sense of dread stole over her.

  “Gliaphon returned from delivering gems, and he brought disturbing news. As disturbing as the news you shared with me about troops coming to Elantoth. Perhaps even worse,” Elias said, looking her in the eye.

  What could be more disturbing than that?

  “Tell them, Gliaphon.”

  “Sheamathan is on the way to Strathweed,” Gliaphon said. “And she has her powers back.”

  Tyla looked at him in dismay.

  “How did you find out?” Olissa asked. She looked shaken, but at least she could speak, which was more than Tyla could do at the moment.

  “Members of the Doanin Clan saw her. She’s traveling with Emanicus gnomes. Up till now, they’ve hidden behind their mist ward, so that alone tells you she has her powers back. She’s protecting them.”

  “That makes sense, but maybe—” Olissa began.

  “She killed three gnomes with a wave of her hand,” Gliaphon said, “but there were two she didn’t see. They overheard the group laughing about all the things they would do once they retrieved Sheamathan’s rare gems. Call it fate or providence, but I was there when they reported this, and I hurried home to warn Elias.”

  Tyla finally found her voice. “The gems are gone. Thank goodness we distributed them. But you have rare gems of your own, Elias. You can’t stay here. You have to hide.”

  “She could arrive within a day or two,” Elias said grimly. “If we all look tired, it’s because we’ve spent the last twenty-four hours discussing this.” He rubbed his forehead, frowning. “If I’m gone, and she finds no gems in these caves, she’ll do everything in her power to find me. I’m far too old to spend my life on the run, and as you know, I have not been well. While I have tried to make light of the situation, the truth is, I do not expect to live much longer.”

  Tyla’s heart sank.

  Lana sniffed and wiped her eyes, and Jules put his arm around her. His lips trembled as he struggled with his own emotions.

  “Lana and I would like Elias to spend his final days with us—in the Fair Lands,” Jules said.

  “Is that possible?” Tyla asked.

  “I hadn’t thought so until recently,” Elias said.

  The Challenger’s blade lay on the table, its hilt encrusted with Fair Lands gems. Elias picked it up, a look of triumph on his face.

  “It doesn’t hurt you anymore,” Tyla said in amazement.

  “I feel only the slightest burning sensation. A few months ago, I couldn’t touch the knife much less hold it. I may not look completely normal yet, but the knife’s lack of reaction means I have changed enough to pass through the Amulet barrier.”

  Tyla thought back to the day she and Olissa had approached the barrier and felt the repelling force. If they had continued, a painful burning sensation would have warned them not to cross, and if they disregarded that warning, they would have died. Could Elias be sure he was healed enough to cross?

  “At first, I resisted the idea of leaving Ahmonell,” he said, setting down the knife. “But it is my dearest wish to see the Fair Lands again and die in my own world. Still, it seems selfish of me to abandon you at this critical time.”

  “Please don’t feel that way,” said Tyla, a lump in her throat. “You saved us once. It’s our turn to save ourselves.”

  “In any case, he’s in no condition to use gem powers in a battle,” Gliaphon said. “We have no right to ask that of him.”

  Franklin said, “Knowing S, she’d tell Elias to hand over the gems or she’d kill off the clans one by one till he did, and I told him so. Better he’s not here.”

  “That sounds like something she’d do,” Gliaphon agreed.

  Tyla had no doubt S would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. “Elias could say he no longer has the gems; we distributed them among the clans, but then she’d turn her wrath on the clans.”

  “And try to confiscate the gems,” Franklin said.

  Elias smiled faintly, a faraway look in his eyes. “She hopes to defeat me and get her revenge, but she will never have that pleasure. I will be gone. I’m looking forward to seeing my old jewelry store and spending my last days with my great-great granddaughter.” He patted Lana’s arm affectionately.

  “I rented a small house a few weeks ago,” Lana told the group. “I never dreamed I’d be giving Elias the spare bedroom.”

  “Sheamathan used to taunt me, saying I would never see my home world again.” Elias chuckled. “I will prove her wrong.”

  Tyla brushed tears from her eyes. It didn’t seem possible he was leaving. Part of her wanted to talk him out of it, but that wouldn’t be right. He deserved to spend his last days in peace. “When are you going?” she asked.

  “Today,” he said, once again rendering her speechless.

  Gliaphon set two large pouches on the table. “Elias is giving us his gem collection. He thinks we should put these in the Fair Lands Amulet Tree Home. What do you think, Tyla? That seems safer than anywhere else.”

  Tyla nodded, finding it hard to absorb all of this. Everything was happening too quickly.

  “Come with us,” Lana told Tyla and Olissa. “We’ll drop off the gems, and then you can watch us cross into the Fair Lands.”

  “All right,” Tyla said.

  Olissa looked overwhelmed by these developments. “I’d be honored.”

  “I need to get something for Tyla,” Elias said. He left and returned a moment later with the rizumen pendant and one of hi
s green robes. “I’d like you to have this robe as a memento.”

  Tyla didn’t trust her voice, so she just nodded, and they all headed to the carts.

  Franklin drove the humans and Olissa the gnomes. On the way to the portal, Gliaphon told Tyla and Olissa things he hadn’t wanted to say in front of Elias.

  “He won’t live long once he gets to the Fair Lands. He says this gem-rich world lengthens human life, and those properties are absent over there. Still, better to have a few weeks less and be home. I’d do the same if I were him.”

  “What if he tries to cross and he’s disintegrated?” Olissa asked.

  “There’s no danger of that. He says long ago when he got his first witnesses it was painful to cross but he could do it, then the repelling force became so strong he couldn’t even reach the barrier. Lana will stop the car short of the barrier, and they’ll walk the final distance. If Elias hasn’t changed enough to pass safely, he’ll know it.”

  The sun was setting when they left their carts and walked to the portal. Both groups went through, proceeded to the Tree Home, and Gliaphon took the gems inside. Then, walking slowly so Elias wouldn’t tire too much, they continued to the place where Lana always parked.

  “I borrowed a friend’s truck,” Lana said. “Elias and Jules will ride up front with me. The rest of you will have to ride in the back, but it’s like riding in a cart, so I don’t think you’ll mind.” She let down the tailgate and Tyla, Franklin, Olissa, and Gliaphon got in. They would return on foot, Walking With the Wind, taking Franklin, who had never experienced tree travel, with them.

  As they rode toward the barrier, Tyla said to Franklin, “Will you move back to the Fair Lands, too? Once they’re gone, you’ll be the only human left.”

  “Maybe later. If things go badly in the days ahead, you may need advice, and I could get ahold of them.”

  Tyla was glad to hear that. It was comforting to know that if worst came to worst she had a way to reach Elias. And if he had passed away, perhaps Lana and Jules would offer advice.

  The park was deserted at this hour. When Lana reached the end of County Forest property, she turned onto the quiet country road that Tyla and Olissa had walked on a few weeks ago. The Fair Lands Amulet barrier lay just ahead.

  The sun had set, and the sky was tinged with orange and pink. It was a beautiful evening.

  Lana pulled to the side of the road and got out of the truck. “Walk with us, if you like. You’ve done this before so you know where to stop. We’ll keep going with Elias. When we’re safely across, I’ll come back for the truck.”

  Elias walked between Lana and Jules. Tyla and the others followed in solemn silence. This was a historic moment, Tyla told herself. She would capture Elias’s crossing in her leebstone book. Not only would she enjoy seeing the image in the future despite her sadness at losing Elias, it would be proof, should they ever need it, that he had really returned to the Fair Lands.

  When the repelling force became quite strong, Tyla told Franklin, “Go ahead, Franklin. We have to stop here.”

  “I’ll stay with you,” he said softly. “I want the three of them to go alone. They’re family.”

  The trio continued and stopped near the barrier. Elias turned and lifted a hand in farewell. “I will miss you. You face dark days ahead, but don’t lose faith. You are stronger and cleverer than you know.” Then he turned to the barrier, Lana and Jules took his hands, and they walked the final distance. A moment later, they lifted their clasped hands in triumph, and Elias cried, “Home at last!”

  Tyla discovered her face was wet and wiped away the tears. Her heart was full, seeing Elias in the Fair Lands, and she couldn’t be happier for him. But she couldn’t help feeling that one by one she was losing everyone she depended on.

  Chapter 62

  Felith woke before the rest of the group and lay awake, listening to them snore. He didn’t want to fall back to sleep. He’d been plagued with unsettling dreams, dreams in which Sheamathan took over as the group’s leader. It wasn’t an idle worry. She had been trying to ingratiate herself with them, and the trip to Strathweed would give her further opportunities to undermine his authority.

  Felith didn’t want to go to Strathweed, and the blasted woodspirit knew it. She had looked at him with her cold, black eyes and suggested he stay here until they returned. Wouldn’t she just love that, he thought, seething at the memory.

  “There is no need to accompany us if you do not wish to,” she had said. “We will not be gone long. A week or two at most. I will get my gems from Elias by whatever means necessary. Then, I have a small matter to attend to, and we will return.”

  “What small matter? he had asked.

  “I plan to crush Elantoth Fortress.”

  He had actually shivered at her vengeful tone. The cruelty in her eyes had made his blood run cold.

  “I need no help defeating Elantoth, but I need troops to hold the fortress once it has fallen into my—our—hands. Have your Outcast forces meet us there. I realize Aberell was your next target, but this timing makes more sense. Elantoth will be an easy victory. We can conquer Aberell next.”

  Our hands indeed. Bah! She was slipping into her old persona, trying to control everything. If he didn’t keep her in check, she’d be ordering everyone around before long. She had been a great help, and he would like her ongoing support, but he would not let her dictate the course of the war.

  Felith frowned. The woodspirit had hoped to get her hands on their gems, but once she got her own back she wouldn’t need theirs, and they would lose what little hold they had over her. As for sharing hers, she might dole out one or two to those who pleased her, but Felith wouldn’t get any. This trip was a big mistake, he thought, frustrated that he could not prevent it. His fellow gem masters couldn’t see the danger. They put far too much faith in their one-of-a-kind Focal Gem and the other artifact gems, each reputedly the most powerful of its kind. They assumed they could kill Sheamathan as they had Marrid if things got out of hand, but Sheamathan might overpower them before they got the chance.

  When the others woke and went outside for breakfast, Felith joined them at the corrustone pit, and didn’t Sheamathan come out and sit down as if she belonged there. Any other day she ate alone, but they were leaving for Strathweed after breakfast, and she was doing her best to be agreeable. How he dreaded spending the next few days riding in a cart with her.

  “Cheer up,” Hoy said, noticing Felith’s gloomy expression. “Soon, we’ll have amazing new gems, and it will be easier to win the war.”

  “And I can train you to use them,” Sheamathan said, pointing out her usefulness while reminding them that the gems were hers.

  “We have plenty of gems now,” Felith said sulkily. “Including the most deadly ones.” He had hidden the Parnatti sculptures and the artifact gems. If Sheamathan got her hands on them, she could erase the group’s memories or turn everyone into breghlin. Bad enough they were destroying themselves with Dark gems. They didn’t need her speeding the process along. Their memory lapses were becoming more frequent, their tempers more volatile, and their witnesses more grotesque.

  “No such thing as too many rare gems,” Hoy quipped.

  “We devoted our lives to learning about gems, Felith,” Lanimore added. “Or have you forgotten?”

  Felith was beginning to hate his own team members, and he suspected they felt the same about him. It was increasingly difficult to be civil, but he did his best. If he annoyed them too much, they might use the Focal Gem on him. “I haven’t forgotten. You don’t need to lecture me.”

  Sheamathan hid a smile and poured herself another mug of tea. “I own a great many gems that could benefit you. Some of my rare healing gems will slow the development of your witnesses and may even heal a few.”

  Felith had never heard of a gem that healed witnesses. Sheamathan was a consummate liar and a master manipulator. He glanced around the group. The others looked encouraged by her claim, including Lanimore who had spent
more time with her than the rest and ought to know how deceitful she was. What gullible fools, he thought in disgust. “I’d rather have a gem that reversed our mental decay. It’s too late to worry about witnesses.”

  Sheamathan finished her tea and rose. “I’ll be inside getting ready. Let me know when the carts are packed.”

  Getting ready? What did that entail? She had no possessions aside from the black gown she wore and the gems they’d lent her. She had a lot of nerve, waiting inside while they did all the work. “I don’t like her superior attitude and the way she orders us around,” Felith said.

  “You’re too sensitive,” Yevin said with a shrug. “Don’t let her get to you.”

  Narrod scraped a piece of moldy potato off his plate into the corrustone. “I packed the food last night, and Vink and Gragg filled the water kegs. We’re ready to start loading.”

  “We’ll each have a gem pouch,” Lanimore said. “Who’s carrying the artifact gems?”

  “I am, of course,” Felith growled.

  Lanimore lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay, don’t get all fired up.”

  “You know, it might be better to spread them around,” Erett said, glancing at Orsek, beside him.

  Orsek nodded, as if on cue.

  Now that Pren was dead, Erett and Orsek were the only members under thirty, and they normally deferred to their elders. Erett seldom spoke during meetings and wasn’t one to stir up trouble. Felith was surprised to hear him voice an opinion.

  Felith stood, indicating the conversation was over. “They’re perfectly safe with me.”

  “He won’t even tell us where they are,” Rendill said tartly. “He isn’t about to let us carry them.”

  Felith glared at him. “Unless you’d like to lose another finger or two, you’d better learn some respect.” He walked away, fuming. He would carry the gems. No one would use them without his permission . . . especially Sheamathan.