Siegestone: Book 1 of the Gemstones and Giants Trilogy

by E. S. Maya

  Safi sighed and knelt beside her, tucking away her money beside a pair of balled-up socks. Then, while Raven locked up their bunk chest, she crawled wearily into bed.

  The girls of the Fivers’ Camp chattered away like birds. Safi felt like a doused campfire. No, not even that. She was that pitiful wisp of smoke afterwards that wiggled into the air and died.

  “Sleeping already?” Raven asked, folding her arms on the plank above Safi’s head.

  She looked up at Raven’s green eyes, nodding painfully.

  “Sleep lots then, ‘cause we’ve got a big day tomorrow,” Raven said, grinning. Before Safi could nag the scheme out of her, the Anderan chirped, “goodnight!” skipping away from their bunk to join the excitement of the room.

  Safi closed her eyes and drew a breath, falling asleep before emptying her dust-tickled lungs.

  33

  The Serren Feathers

  Safi yawned, long and cat-like, catching the scent of dust and sunlight on Raven’s burlap dress. “I don’t suppose you’ll give me five more minutes?”

  Raven rolled her eyes. She leaned over Safi’s bed, taking hold of her blanket in two tight fists.

  “No,” pleaded Safi.

  “Yes!” answered Raven, sweeping away the blanket to reveal Safi’s huddled form.

  With a sigh, she slipped out of bed and looked about the room. Being Blessing Day, the barracks was all but empty. It seemed she was the only girl not out spending her hard-earned money. She straightened her back and stretched her arms, and when Raven tickled her tummy, she pulled away, laughing.

  “Where has Safiyas gone, and when did you take her place?”

  Looking down at her body, Safi rested her palms on the bit of fat that had gathered around her hips. For the first time in her life, her stomach felt tight not from hunger, but exercise. “Do I really look that different?”

  “You do.” Raven tossed a bundle of red at Safi’s chest. Her hands caught the garment without so much as a thought. “A present.”

  “Oh, Raven, you shouldn’t have.” Safi unfurled the cloth and held it out in both hands. A dress, smooth and pretty and red. It looked new. She laid it carefully on top of her bed, then crossed her arms over her tummy to pull off her shift. When she noticed Raven staring, the Anderan’s eyes darted to the window.

  Smirking, Safi slipped on her new dress and smoothed it down her body. It felt surprisingly light. After a month in overalls and button-downs, she had nearly forgotten how proper clothes felt. The color appeared to match the deep red capes of the Blackpoint enforcers. Contrasting white straps hung off her shoulders, accentuating her dark skin. A white-laced hem brushed at her knees.

  Raven changed into a red dress of her own. Similar, except long-sleeved. Long enough to cover her fingertips. Safi felt too shy to tell her how adorable she looked.

  “So, what’s the plan?” asked Safi.

  “Today we’re paying a visit to the Main Camp,” explained Raven. From her tone of voice, the trip wasn’t up for debate.

  “I don’t think we’re allowed to go there,” Safi said, unrolling her woolen socks over her feet.

  “No one ever said we couldn’t! Besides, recruits head over there for church every Blessing Day, though mostly everyone heads right back to the Fivers’ Camp.” Raven knelt, lacing her work shoes faster than Safi’s eyes could catch them. “Last I checked, I spied all sorts of good things down there. Shops, food, sweets…”

  “Did you say sweets?” Even the word tasted sweet on Safi’s tongue. The food at Blackpoint thus far was savory and filling, but sweet it was not. She tugged on her freshly polished boots, then knelt in front of their storage chest to fetch her monthly pay. “I’m not sure I have enough money.”

  “Don’t you worry about that,” Raven said, reaching over Safi’s shoulder and snapping the chest shut. “My treat.”

  Safi blinked. “Your treat?”

  “That means I’m paying, you dolt.”

  Safi hesitated. Raven had that smile on her face again. The one that had ushered in countless beatings at the hands of the Blackpoint recruiters. She knew she ought to question her. To tear this dress off and tell her no. Except she really wanted sweets.

  So they marched down the Fivers’ Camp road, passing clusters of older boys who loitered outside their barracks doors. Hunched over games of dice and smoking contraband cigars.

  Raven shook her head and scoffed. “Like flies to a turd.”

  One group paused their game to whistle at the two well-dressed girls. A few of the miners called Safi’s name. Except instead of Safi, they were shouting, “Hey, Blondie!” Others remarked that the Anderan girl beside her wasn’t so bad looking either.

  Blushing, Safi’s eyes went to the ground. Her red dress felt more exposing out here than it did in the barracks. The sun was toasting her bare shoulders, and the breeze kept sneaking under the light fabric.

  Then the wind lapped at her fiercely, and the dress took the shape of her body. Suddenly she longed for her work uniform, her work shirt and overalls and helmet that hid the girl in her from the world.

  “Pigs,” muttered Raven under her breath so that only Safi could hear. She grabbed her wrist and hurried her along.

  “Worse than pigs,” Safi added, in the hopes of placating her. “Dogs. No, I mean cats!” That was no good either; she quite liked cats. “Chickens?”

  Raven snorted back a laugh. “Oh, Blondie. Those boys are children. Wait till you visit me in Serren. Then I’ll show you some real swine.”

  Giggling, Safi gave Raven a playful shove. The girl went stumbling, but her dancing toes kept her feet on the ground.

  “What was that for?” asked Raven with a pout, rubbing her little shoulder.

  “You’re still planning on escaping!” Safi said. “Of leaving me behind.”

  Raven grinned. “You better believe it!” Then she was running and cackling, kicking up clouds of dust as Safi chased close behind her. “I’ll get out of here way before you do!”

  We’ll see about that, Safi thought, as her hand reached for her shoulder. For the pickaxe that wasn’t there.

  As they crossed the vast, orange expanse of Lazar’s Crossing, stepping around Titan stones both large and small, and sweating profusely from the overhead sun, Raven said not a word.

  Safi gave the Anderan her most suspicious eye. If it wasn’t apparent before, now it was obvious. The girl was up to something.

  They arrived upon the outskirts of the Main Camp, a fair distance from the large stone church and its tall steeple tower, thank the Titans for that. Raven seemed to know the way by heart. She led Safi down several narrow alleyways, through a maze of old wooden buildings that would have been impossible to navigate alone.

  Safi did not miss how silent the girl’s footsteps had become, despite the hard and dusty ground.

  When they heard voices ahead, Raven perked up and quickened her pace. Safi strode to match her. Not long after, the sounds of laughter and merriment carried through the air, filling the narrow alleyway at an overwhelming pace.

  Safi shielded her eyes as the alleyway ended, and a bright and dusty main road began. It must have been payday for the whole camp, for Blessing Day celebrations were in full effect. The road was packed with blue-shirted recruits, but they looked nothing like the boys of the Fivers’ Camp. These were the fully grown men of Blackpoint, thick and weathered, who navigated the bustle with smiles on their satisfied faces. There were even a few red-dressed women among them, who were the objects of much attention. Why, they were wearing red dresses like the ones she and Raven were wearing….

  She kept Raven within arm’s reach as they walked down the main road. Unlike the Craftsman’s district, the buildings here stood tall and wide, separated by a countless number of dark alleyways. To her disappointment, they passed far more taverns than restaurants and storefronts. She glanced through the open doorways, watching men, young and old alike, drinking from large wooden tankards. Drinking like they had quotas. And women a
s well, just as drunk and twice as rambunctious, hanging off arms and elbows. Flirting with or scolding the men, and sometimes neither, and sometimes both at once.

  She nearly yelped when Raven took hold of her wrist, dragging her into the nearest alleyway and heaving her against a building. She hit the wall with a grunt. “What was that for?”

  “Be silent!” Squatting low, Raven hobbled to the edge of the alleyway. Safi leaned over the smaller girl and peered down the busy avenue.

  And saw them. Down the road, garbed in red, approached a pair of male enforcers. Their long capes brushed the heels of their dusty boots, only this time, their usual steady gait had been replaced by a slight wobble. They laughed more often than enforcers ought to, stopping frequently to chat with recruits and even offering the occasional pat on the back. That behavior between enforcer and recruit felt wrong, unnatural. Like it broke one of Camp Cronus’ unspoken laws. Here was a familiarity bordering on friendship.

  As the enforcers came closer, Safi noticed Raven shuffling nervously in place. Grinning, she grabbed the girl by the hem of her dress and pulled her squawking into the shadows.

  “What’s your deal?” Raven said, shaking the dust from her clothes.

  “Thought one of them might have seen us,” Safi lied, then reached for Raven’s shoulder. “Get down!” She fought the urge to snicker as they huddled quietly in the dark, waiting until the enforcers had passed.

  They continued deeper into the Main Camp, where the swinging doors of taverns were replaced by the glass panels of storefronts. Safi ran to them at once, cooling her nose on the windows. There were many delicious things to buy and eat. Why, there were cooked ducks strung up by their necks, scores of fresh vegetables, and juicy cubed meat on sticks. And there was even an actual bookstore! Oh, what she’d give for a good book, and a father to read it to her.

  “Act normal,” Raven hissed, peeling Safi away from the bookstore window. “You’re making us look like a couple of first-years.”

  “We are a couple of first-years,” Safi said.

  “They don’t know that!”

  Safi spotted a pair of older Abedi miners coming down the road, with thick fatherly beards that were long enough to swing from their chins. Embarrassed, though not entirely sure why, she hid behind Raven until the men had passed. “I didn’t expect to see more Abed here.”

  “Blackpoint does not discriminate.” Raven gestured to a pack of rowdy men, spilling out of a tavern and into the street. “Titans ass, just look at them, the way everyone spends their Blackpoint play-money. I doubt any of them bother buying back their sentences. Not when they have women and booze once a week.” She sighed dramatically. “Men.”

  The women around hardly seemed like ladies, but Safi thought better than to contradict Raven, who was both her navigator through the sea of drunk adults, and the buyer of her soon to come sweets.

  Her eyes were ten places at once when she walked into something tall and hard. Rubbing her forehead, she looked up. She hadn’t bumped into something, but someone. A man with broad shoulders and rough hands, unmistakably a miner. His cheeks were bright red, unmistakably drunk. He looked old enough to be her father.

  “Well ain’t you a pretty one!” the man said, reaching his paw-like hand. She expected the man to make a mess of her hair, as adults in Ashcroft often did. She stiffened in surprise when he brought his fingers to stroke her cheek.

  A chill ran up her spine. The hairs on her neck stood on end. She backed away from the man, awkwardly touching her face. Then she realized she was being impolite, so she lowered her arm and dropped into a bow.

  Despite his size, the man gave a high-pitched laugh. “Skittish lass, ain’t you? Never seen you around before…” The man dozed off for a moment, then opened his eyes with a start. He bobbed his eyebrows at Raven and grinned. “And how about this little one?”

  The man lumbered forward with a reaching arm. As it came inches from Raven’s shoulders, she dropped into a crouch. The man caught an armful of air instead, tripping on his own clumsy feet. Then the road came swiftly to his face, delivering upon his lips a powerful, dusty kiss.

  Cheeks gone to roses, Raven took Safi by the shoulder and forced a hasty retreat. Safi blurted out an apology as they disappeared into a nearby alley. They left the man out in the road, rubbing his face in drunken bewilderment.

  “That was close,” Safi said, panting. “Think he was on to us?”

  Raven opened her mouth in disbelief.

  Safi crinkled her nose. “What?”

  “So,” Raven said, breathing hard, and propping her forearm against the wall. “I kind of lied about having all that money.”

  “Then we came all the way here for nothing? All that food.” Safi cradled her aching tummy. “I guess we can make it back in time to eat in the chow hall.”

  Raven shushed her. “We are not eating in the chow hall. Just ‘cause I don’t have money now, doesn’t mean I can’t get some.” She peeked out to the main road and Safi joined her. A large bearded man was carrying a woman over his shoulder, and the woman was shrieking with laughter. “I told you I was in the Serren Feathers, the thieves guild back home, didn’t I?”

  “About a hundred times!” Safi leaned backwards and groaned. The wooden wall felt cool on her hot shoulders. “I know you weren’t actually serious. You’re too young to be in a guild of any sort!’

  “Old enough to be a Blackpoint recruit!” Raven said, with the swinging snap of her fingers. “These dresses weren’t cheap, and I blew the rest of my money at the sword fights this morning, but I still have this.” She reached one hand beneath the hem of her dress. After feeling around for a moment, she drew out a thin kitchen knife.

  Safi backed away and gasped. The knife looked sharp. Where in the world was she hiding that thing?

  “So the plan goes like this,” Raven said. “You make a distraction, give ‘em a little bump and shake. Then I sneak up from behind.” She made a sawing motion with the knife. “Easy money.”

  “Easy money,” Safi mocked her, planting her fists on her hips. “You left out the part where they catch us and bust us up like a bunch of Titan rocks.”

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a coward. Besides, I’ll take the blame if we’re caught.” She crossed two fingers over her chest. “Thieves’ honour.”

  “I’d rather not get caught at all,” Safi shot back. “And you’d better not call me a coward again.”

  “I’ve got a few better words to choose from,” Raven teased her. “Craven. Lily-livered. Chicken!”

  Despite her dress and the coolness of the shaded alleyway, Safi felt her chest getting hot. “I wasn’t fooling! Maybe it’s better if they catch you. Maybe I’ll go and warn them. Prophet knows we could all use a break from Raven.”

  “Oh yeah?” Raven snapped, turning her back to Safi as she strode towards the alley exit. “I’ll do it by myself. Then I’ll buy a whole pile of sweet cake and sugar candy and ginger cookies too, and don’t you expect one bite!” She stomped out to the road in a huff, slipping the kitchen knife up her right sleeve.

  “Oh, Titans,” Safi called, hurrying after. “Raven, wait up!”

  Safi drummed her arm as Raven peered up and down the road.

  “The money’s got to be tied at the belt,” Raven said. “Too risky otherwise. Got to be nice and big too, if it’s going to be worth the effort. The drunker the better.”

  “How about that one?” Safi asked, pointing to a portly flush-faced man who was speaking to a pair of uninterested women. He certainly didn’t look like a miner. He was also drunk.

  “I ain’t risking my neck for some half-pocketful of coin!” Squinting, Raven tugged on Safi’s fingers. “Now there’s a mark if I ever saw one.”

  Safi followed Raven’s eyes to a pair of Blackpoint enforcers. It was the same pair they had seen earlier, only now the men were drunk, so much so that their faces nearly matched the color of their Blackpoint capes. They walked side by side, rubbing their bellies as th
e crowd parted around them. At each of their belts dangled a fat red coin purse.

  “You want to pickpocket an enforcer?” cried Safi. That settled it. The girl was stone-crazy, and would sooner be thrown in the stockades, or outright killed, before she stepped foot outside of Camp Cronus.

  She tried to continue her protest, but her words came out garbled as Raven masked her face with a sweaty palm. They ducked beside the road near a busy saloon. A trio of men passing around a bottle outside gave them an inquisitive look.

  Safi pulled free from Raven’s hold, gasping for air. She couldn’t go through with it. The thought of getting punished made her empty stomach sick.

  “Blondie, listen to me,” Raven said, reaching to give Safi’s head a shake. “All you’ve gotta do is walk into them. That’s it. You could do it with your eyes closed.” Safi said nothing, so Raven slowed her words and leaned her face close. “I’m going after them now, before they get away. Are you gonna help me or not?”

  Safi clenched her teeth. It was a foolish scheme, but Raven was her friend, and she couldn’t bear to let her go alone. “Fine.”

  Raven squealed with delight, fingers twitching in every direction “I knew I could count on you! Now, you know the plan. Simple distraction. We’ll meet in the alleyway after. Don’t keep me waiting.”

  With that, Raven slunk away and disappeared into the crowd.

  Safi tottered out to the center of the busy road. She stared at the enforcers, then realized that might give her away, so she looked at the ground instead. But that struck her as even more suspicious, so she began glancing in random directions, whistling to herself softly. When she finally checked their location, the enforcers were heading straight towards her. They were close enough for her to see their swords, opposite to their purses, with polished steel pommels that gleamed in the afternoon light.

  Taking a sharp breath, Safi forced her legs to carry herself towards them. What was the worst that could happen? They could throw her in the stockades, she supposed. Or give her a swift beating. Or a slow one. Or perhaps they’d simply add a few years to her sentence.