Wards and Wonders

by Kay L. Ling

  Articles about the Amulet dominated the newssheets, including newssheets from Waymare and Ominem. It seemed unlikely reporters had come from such distances, so Mierek and Aberell must be relaying news to them.

  Gnome and woodspirit publications examined every aspect of The Eight’s lives, from their favorite foods to the books they enjoyed. Gnomes worried about The Eight’s sympathies toward Sheamathan. Woodspirits worried more about fanatical groups that romanticized S’s ability to overcome legions of gnome gem masters. S worshipers usually denounced her violence, but viewed her with worshipful fascination, and woodspirits as well as gnomes found that troubling.

  The newssheets were full of stories about gnome and woodspirit factions fighting over where to hold S until her trial. In a day or two, Tyla and Raenihel would call a meeting and share information with the staff.

  On the last day of their journey, as they neared Elantoth, Tyla looked out the carriage window, thinking that Aberell City had a lot to offer compared to this uncivilized area, but she was content to live here and watch the Amulet develop. Someday, clans would reminisce about these days.

  She hoped they reached Elantoth soon. Not only was she tired of the confines of the carriage, it would be nice to have lunch on the terrace and enjoy the sunshine. Maybe they could do that, instead of eating in the dining room. She slid down her window. Everyone else was asleep. Arenia, a film of perspiration on her face, leaned against her closed window. Ben and Tina Ann sat close, heads touching, mouths open, their snores punctuated by occasional snorts.

  When the carriages finally pulled into Elantoth’s driveway, Tyla nudged her sister awake and called to the breghlin, “Wake up! We’re home!”

  Arenia yawned deeply and stretched. Tina Ann gave one last rasping snore, then woke and rubbed her eyes, but Ben continued to snore.

  Tina Ann elbowed him in the ribs. “Wake up! Ya soun’ like a maraku givin’ birth!”

  Staff exploded through Elantoth’s rear doors with Gem Master Ertz in the lead.

  Tina Ann said with a huff, “It ern’t fair the first face I see be that sneaky gnome spy.”

  Tyla smiled. At least Ertz was visible. It was always a relief to know where he was.

  “Look, there be our gang,” Ben said.

  Maggie Ann, Brenda Ann, Oliver, and Xenon were coming toward them, and they must have been in the middle of lunch because Xenon was gnawing on a joint of meat, and Brenda Ann had a piece of fruit.

  Tyla and Arenia hastily gathered up their reading material, and they all got out of the carriage and waited for the driver to get their satchels.

  Gem Master Ertz came up, looking glad to see them. “As you can see, we were expecting you. Welcome home!”

  “Probably knowed we was here even before we did,” Tina Ann muttered under her breath.

  “It’s such a nice day we thought you’d like to have lunch on the terrace. It should be ready in a few minutes,” he said.

  “You read my mind,” Tyla said, laughing. She didn’t mean it literally, and yet a little while ago she had been thinking about lunch on the terrace.

  Ertz gave her an odd smile and turned to Raenihel and Kaff’s parents who had joined them. “Welcome back.”

  “Lunch on the terrace sounds wonderful,” Raenihel said.

  “I see the officers at Aberell sent you home with gifts,” Ertz said, indicating the newssheets.

  Tyla said, “Yes, and I have a gift from someone else, too. A book from woodspirits I met in the Outcast District.”

  Ertz looked surprised. “Woodspirits in the Outcast District? This should be a fascinating story.”

  “It is,” she assured him. Eventually, she might tell him about their visit to the gem shop and Tina Ann sensing Dark gems. She might even tell him about the thief in the news shop. Ertz was an expert on the darker aspects of Ahmonellian life, and it would be interesting to hear what he had to say, but for now she would only tell Lant, and her human friends, whom she hoped to see tomorrow.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning, Tyla hid two newssheets in her coat and stood outside waiting for Parcune to pick her up. He would keep their real destination a secret. He often slipped away for clandestine meetings with Elias. Soon, secrecy might not be necessary. The Anen clan was starting to realize that government officials didn’t always have their best interests at heart, and they had begun to question the ban on human involvement.

  Mierek’s argument was that humans had usurped gnome leadership roles and tainted gnome culture. But the fact was, Elias and the other humans had stepped in after S’s defeat because gnomes weren’t ready—or willing—to rule themselves. They had helped gnomes uncover their lost history and culture and hadn’t interposed their own traditions. Tyla suspected Mierek disliked humans because humans would point out the flaws in Ahmonellian government.

  Tyla looked up at the sound of wheels crunching on stone. The back of Parcune’s cart held buckets, spades, and shovels for digging up woodland plants and flowers to go on Elantoth’s grounds. In reality, they wouldn’t be digging anything at all. Elias and Jules would have plants waiting for them. So far, no one had questioned Parcune’s trips, and he had been able to keep Elias and Jules abreast of Elantoth news. But Ertz was here now, and little escaped his notice.

  Parcune gave Tyla a conspiratorial grin as she climbed into the cart.

  They rode in silence, and her mind turned to yesterday’s homecoming. She still found it odd that Ertz had arranged for lunch on the terrace yesterday after she’d been thinking about it, and when the food arrived it included a persimmon, which Arenia had been longing for, and a spiced maraku dish Earlic claimed was a favorite—one he had just been thinking about. Were these all coincidences?

  If Ertz could read minds from a distance, maybe he knew she and Parcune were headed to Strathweed. That was an uncomfortable thought. Ertz had never said anything derogatory about humans, and he seemed grateful for their help, but if he had been planted at Elantoth as a spy, that was to be expected.

  If she could only bring Ertz and Elias together, Elias could probe Ertz’s mind and see if he was hiding anything. No one else had the skill to attempt it, and Elias would probably enjoy the challenge.

  The cart hit a bump, jarring Tyla from her thoughts. She should be enjoying the ride, not stewing about Ertz. Not long ago, this land had been dry and infertile, but now that S had lost her powers, field grasses and wild flowers flourished. In S’s day, monsters had roamed the land, some hiding in crevices in the ground, making travel in this area perilous. Not far from here, pythanium had lived among the rocks and spied on gnomes and breghlin alike. Thankfully, all the monsters were gone now, and the worst thing travelers might encounter were wild animals that seldom bothered anyone.

  They ascended a hill and entered forested land. The portal to the Fair Lands was in this section of forest as well as the alamaria obelisk S had built to amplify her powers. It had allowed her to overcome her restraining collar, which for so many years, thanks to Jules’s clever bargain, had kept her from using the portal.

  Strathweed, Gem Master Elias’s home, was just beyond this area in open land known for its rocky outcroppings and caves.

  When the cart descended the last hill and Elias’s cave came into view, Tyla spotted her human friends outside. Jules had built an arbor near the cave entrance, and it was an ideal place to sit and enjoy the view. An ornamental grass called strath grew on the hills, and Lana was particularly fond of its sprays of greenish-yellow flowers.

  After parking the cart and freeing the maraku to graze, Parcune and Tyla headed toward the arbor.

  “Look who’s here!” Jules called.

  Anyone who didn’t know Jules’s story would assume he was in his twenties, but like Gem Master Elias, he had been born in another era. He was a good-looking man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a slight bump on the bridge of his nose from an old injury. There was something about his face that was very appealing—a reflection of his character, Tyla thought. She
understood why Lana felt drawn to him.

  Lana jumped up and came over to hug them. “I can’t wait to hear about Aberell City, and I bet Parcune has plenty of news, too.”

  Lana’s infectious enthusiasm made Tyla smile.

  In the beginning, Lana’s gem powers and confident attitude had intimidated Tyla, making her feel inadequate. But Lana was such a kind person, never looking down on anyone, including the breghlin whose behavior was often repulsive, that after a while Tyla stopped feeling self-conscious around her.

  Lana had long, wavy, brown hair and an oval face dotted with little spots called freckles, which Tyla found fascinating, but Lana hated. Lana’s obligations at the family jewelry store kept her from living here, but that didn’t mean Lana was any less committed to this world than Elias, Jules, and Franklin who lived here fulltime.

  Parcune said hopefully, “That wouldn’t be coffee you’re drinking, would it?”

  “It is,” Elias said, well aware of Parcune’s preference for coffee over raaka. “Sit down and have some.”

  “Thanks. It would sure hit the spot.”

  Tyla remembered her initial shock when she had first seen Elias. In the past, he had used Dark gems, and they had left their mark. The elderly gem master had deformities like an Outcast or breghlin—lumpy skin, a nearly lipless mouth, and a broad, flat nose. His only good feature was his intensely green eyes, which were just like Lana’s—not surprising since she was his great, great granddaughter. Ahmonellian gems had extended his life and also kept him in good health.

  Tyla and Parcune sat down at the table in the arbor, and Elias, dressed in his customary green robe, took two mugs from a wooden box and poured their coffee.

  Tyla took a sip, but it was hard to appreciate its flavor when she was bursting with news. “I have so much to tell you, I don’t know where to begin!” She took off her coat and set the folded newssheets on the table.

  “What have we here?” Elias asked.

  “One is a gnome newssheet. The other is published by Kitana Windan—one of The Eight—a woodspirit with gem powers.”

  Elias picked up the woodspirit newssheet, and Lana and Jules shared the Aberell City paper.

  After a moment, Lana looked up. “Do they have mail service over there? A way to send newssheets and written messages between cities?”

  “They must,” Tyla said. “News shops sell publications from distant cities. Before long, we should be able to get newssheets and messages from Aberell. Work teams are repairing the roads, and travel is a lot faster now.”

  “Kaff has already been in the news,” Parcune told them. “They reported his transfer to Aberell City, and we hear Kitana Windan is scheduled to interview him.”

  “Knowing how he considers himself the innocent, injured party, I’d like to read that article,” Elias said.

  Lana rolled her eyes. “It would be almost as entertaining as an interview with S. I’m surprised Kitana hasn’t come to interview her.”

  “Maybe she will,” Jules said without looking up from the paper. “That would sell more copies than an interview with Kaff.”

  Tyla said, “Elias, look in your paper for an article about S. It says her case may not go to court for years, and they’re debating where to put her before the trial. There’s also an article about her sister, Anatta. Apparently Anatta never warned anyone prior to The Great Upheaval that S was using Dark gems, and some claim she must have known.”

  Lana looked up. “Speaking of Anatta, I haven’t seen you since the delegation arrived. What did you think of her?”

  “She’s proud and self-absorbed, and I don’t think S likes her very much. According to S, Anatta listed every accomplishment from the last two hundred years, and since S was in a cage and couldn’t get away, she had to listen.”

  “You can bet that was torture,” Parcune said with a malicious grin.

  “Okay, so they have a sibling rivalry thing going on,” Lana said thoughtfully, “but humans have a saying: ‘blood is thicker than water.’ They might not get along well, but they’re sisters, and Anatta might try to rescue her.”

  Parcune said, “That’s crossed my mind, but Tyla doesn’t think it’s likely.”

  “Anatta is respected by gnomes and woodspirits alike,” Tyla said. “If she turned everyone against her, she’d have a long, miserable life.”

  Jules rubbed his chin. “Good point. Woodspirits live hundreds of years, and that’s a long time to be hated and despised.”

  “But what if she freed S without implicating herself?” Lana persisted. “There might be a way to free S from her cage at a distance, using a spell.”

  “And then what?” Elias asked. “Turn her back into a woodspirit, or leave her as a beetle?”

  “I don’t know,” Lana said. “The main thing is, S wouldn’t stand trial if no one could find her.”

  “Keeping her out of prison is one thing, but turning her back into a woodspirit and allowing her to regain her powers is quite another,” Elias said. “I would hope no one, even her own sister, would be that foolish.”

  “S doesn’t have the Mydorian army behind her anymore, so Anatta might think S is relatively harmless now,” Jules pointed out.

  Elias said, “That would be a foolish assumption. S is an incredibly powerful gem master, and worse, she has no compunctions about using dark powers. We don’t know whether any of The Eight would use dark powers to subdue her, and I trust we never need to find out.”

  “What happened during The Great Upheaval? Did they try to stop her then?” Lana asked.

  Tyla shook her head. “From what I’ve read, they used spells and normal gem powers, but not dark powers. During my trip, I learned that lots of woodspirits collect rare gems, including Dark ones. That took me by surprise since only The Eight have gem powers and can actually use them. The Eight might own a few collectible Dark gems, even if they never plan to use them.”

  “If they’re as peace loving as we’ve heard, they’d have no interest in dark powers,” Elias agreed.

  Lana frowned. “I’m against using Dark gems, but if that’s what it took to stop S during The Great Upheaval, I think they should have. Woodspirits don’t get deformities from using dark powers, so they can’t use that as an excuse.”

  “I didn’t go to the Aberell City Museum with the rest of the group, but I hear they have comprehensive displays about the Great Upheaval.”

  “Why didn’t you go?” Jules asked.

  “I went to the Outcast District with Ben and Tina Ann, instead.” She dropped her voice. “They’re sworn to secrecy about most of our adventures.”

  Jules and Elias set down their newssheets, and Lana leaned forward. “This is a story I have to hear.”

  “It was a terrible, depressing place, with more Outcasts than I imagined. Some only have a visible lump or two, but others have serious deformities and look a lot like breghlin.” She toyed with her mug. Talking about deformities around Elias was awkward.

  “Go on,” Elias prodded. Like Gem Master Ertz, he often read minds.

  “The residents are really poor, so most shops only sell secondhand goods. We looked in the windows, and I got up the nerve to go into a gem shop.”

  “They have a gem shop there?” Jules looked surprised.

  “It’s really small. I looked at some common gems, and then I asked if they had any Dark gems. The shopkeeper looked offended and said he didn’t deal in those. Then he got a better look at Ben and Tina Ann, and when he realized they were breghlin from the Amulet, he said he’d buy gems from us and not say where he got them. After we left, Tina Ann said she felt Dark gems in the shop.”

  “That’s odd. I wonder who he sells them to,” Lana said. “You said Outcasts are poor.”

  “We wondered the same thing. Anyway, that was the least of our adventures.”

  Elias raised a brow.

  “While I was in a news shop, an Outcast reached into my cloak pocket and stole our boat fare, but I didn’t know the IGs were missing till later.
”

  “That’s awful! How did you get back?” Lana asked.

  “We spotted the thief, Ben and Tina Ann beat him senseless and got our IGs back. But it would have been all right, anyway. Someone had already given us IGs to pay for the boat.”

  “An Outcast gave you money?” Jules asked in amazement.

  “No, a woodspirit.”

  “A woodspirit!” they chorused, predictably. Parcune just smiled. He had already heard the story.

  “We met three woodspirits in a park, and I got into an argument with them. They admire S’s power and practically worship her. They shrug off things she did during The Great Upheaval since, to them, that’s ancient history. But when I told them about her brutal reign in the Amulet, they seemed genuinely ashamed of her. Hedra gave me a book written in runes, and Torek gave Ben IGs to pay for the boat.”

  “S worshippers. I don’t like the sound of that,” Lana said.

  “Neither do I,” Tyla said. “Few woodspirits have gem powers, and the ones who do live quiet, unremarkable lives, So S stands out, but it’s for terrible things.”

  “I get that,” Lana said. “In my world, some people are fascinated by criminals and enjoy getting inside their heads and understanding their motivations.”

  “Outcasts with gem powers are coming into the Amulet, and that terrifies me,” Tyla said.

  “That is disturbing,” Jules agreed.

  Tyla fell silent, and Elias picked up the newssheet again. “Here’s the article you mentioned—the debate over where to put S before her trial.”

  “I still don’t see why they have to move her at all,” Parcune said bitterly. “She’s fine where she is—in our broom closet. Bugs like the dark.”

  Elias read the article and handed the paper to Jules. “I can’t believe they’re considering some of these locations.”

  Jules hadn’t read far before he exclaimed, “The Mierek City Museum!”

  “Seriously?” Lana asked, looking appalled.