by Kay L. Ling
As he untied the raft, his hands were shaking. He looked around and tried not to think what would happen if Beniah ever found out about this. The only boat in sight was going downstream, and there was no one outside at neighboring homes, so he felt reasonably sure no one was paying any attention to him. He stepped aboard and set down the satchel, still casting nervous glances up and down the river, then picked up the pole. You can do this.
The pole sank a few inches into mud as he pushed off, but he freed it from the bottom, and the raft began to move. Clutching the pole in sweaty palms, he pushed again. The breeze caught his hair, sun glinted cheerfully off the surface of the water, and he gave a nervous laugh. Push, lift. Push, lift. He adjusted the rudder, planning to angle across the river rather than cut directly across. He must pass through deep water to reach the opposite bank, and that made him nervous, but there was no help for it.
The current wasn’t strong, he decided after a moment, but the water was getting deeper. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to touch bottom. Slowly and carefully he exchanged the pole for the paddle, trying not to lose his balance.
He took the first tentative stroke, then another, and another. A bird let out a loud caw as it passed, is if praising his paddling skills, and Kaff grinned.
Fixing his eyes on The Emanicus, which was growing steadily larger, Kaff paddled with more energy, and before long he had crossed the river to shallower water.
By the time he reached The Emanicus’s dock, Kaff’s success at rafting had given him new confidence, and he was anxious to meet the gem masters.
A white sailboat, smaller than Beniah’s, was tied up at the dock. Kaff didn’t see a name on it, but someone had painted a faceted gem on the back. Did it belong to The Emanicus or to a visitor? From what Kaff had heard, visitors were rare.
He stepped onto the dock and secured the raft. From here, he could only see one of the three buildings inside the encircling wall, but once he climbed the flight of steps at the end of the dock, he should be able to see the other two.
When he reached the top, he discovered that the wall was taller than he was. A walkway led to an ornate iron gate, and through it he glimpsed the fancy building where the gem masters lived.
As he neared the gate, he got a better view. The walkway continued to a courtyard that had flowering shrubs, two stone benches, a clock on top of a metal pole, and a large bell hanging from a wooden bracket. Beyond the courtyard rose the impressive stone dwelling, with covered porches on both ends and a recessed front door in the center, flanked by tall, narrow windows.
A plain two-story building off to the left and farther away was made of gray stone blocks, and its windows were covered with bars, so that must be the old confinement building.
The third building, farthest away, was also made of stone. It had only one story, and its windows were set high under an overhanging tile roof.
Kaff didn’t see anyone around. He hoped the gate wasn’t locked. The buildings were so far away, no one would hear him if he called.
He lifted the latch. The bell in the courtyard began to ring.
This startled him so badly he let go of the latch and took a step back. Should he wait for someone to come let him in? He took a deep breath. He was Kaff Bartium-Anen, member of the first Amulet Team, lecturer, and future gem master. He should act confident and assume he was welcome.
He pushed, and the gate creaked open. No ward prevented him from passing through, so he went in and started up the walkway. The bell continued to ring with sonorous clangs, and he became increasingly nervous. Maybe he should sit in the courtyard and see if someone came out.
A cold wind began to blow. There had been only a light breeze a moment ago. After a few steps, white flakes began to fall. He had never seen snow, but he’d read about it, and this had to be snow. He looked up to see if anyone was looking out the windows, but he didn’t see anyone, and he kept going.
The farther he went, the harder it snowed and the more fiercely the wind blew. By the time he reached the courtyard, snow coated the ground and covered the benches.
The bell was still ringing.
The walkway was slippery, and he could barely move against the force of the wind. He brushed snow from his eyes. What should he do? He could sit on a snow-covered bench, hoping someone came before he froze, or he could try to reach the door. When he reached the benches, he didn’t sit, but he stopped to catch his breath. The air felt like knives in his lungs. He tried to draw infused strength, but nothing happened. The benefits he had gained from Beniah’s gems this morning were gone. He reached deeper, hoping to find residual effects from the mottled red stone since it was vastly more powerful. Sometimes he found it difficult to draw infused dark powers, but not today. His motivation was stronger. Anger welled up. Strength flooded through him. He let out a victorious whoop and pressed forward, determined to reach the door.
The bell stopped ringing.
The wind buffeted him, and snow stung his face, but nothing could stop him now, and before long he could see the door through the swirling snow.
As soon as he stepped onto the stoop, the wind died away and the snow stopped falling, but it was still cold, and he shivered as much from nerves as from the cold. He was about to knock, when he noticed a smooth black gem protruding from the door at eye level. A giant eye appeared within it, as if emerging from the depths of a deep pool, surveying him with unblinking curiosity. A voice in Kaff’s head said, Why have you come?
He was so startled that it took a moment to get his wits about him. The voice hadn’t said who are you, it had said why have you come? Did the gem masters already know who he was?
“I’m Kaff Bartium-Anen from the Amulet. I want to devote my life to gem studies, and I hear that’s what you do here.”
The eye blinked, but that was the only response.
“You’ve probably heard about me,” he went on, casting about for what to say. “I’m going to be tried for kidnapping Sheamathan and learning dark powers. But I had a good reason for doing that. Can I come in and talk about it?”
The eye blinked again and disappeared.
Then the door opened.
Chapter 30
A handsome, middle-aged gnome with wavy, dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard beckoned Kaff inside. He wore a black robe with a silver cord around the waist, and a silver chain with a pendant showing the profile of a male gnome, its eye a twinkling white gem. If he was wearing any other jewelry with gems, Kaff couldn’t see it.
Kaff stood in the dark hallway, trying to look confident despite the knot in his stomach. The gem master studied him silently, and Kaff blurted, “I hope I haven’t interrupted anything. I won’t take much of your time.”
“My name is Havinth. I can spare you a few moments.” He had a deep, commanding voice, and his eyes lingered on Kaff’s face.
“Thank you.” Kaff’s eyes darted around the entry hall. The early afternoon sun barely penetrated the windows which were framed by heavy red draperies. The air smelled faintly of wood polish, old paper, and leather-bound books. Landscape paintings and portraits hung on the walls. A long narrow table on the left held carved stone animals and sculptures with softly glowing lightgem bases. A staircase made of dark polished wood, rose in a sweeping curve and disappeared from sight.
Something moved on the staircase, and a grey lizard Kaff had assumed was a stone sculpture dropped from the bottom step to the floor. From head to tail, it was as long as his arm, and there were tiny spikes along its back. The lizard headed down the hallway.
“That’s Ro,” the gem master said. “There’s another one, Bo, a tan lizard with brown spots, around here somewhere. We enjoy their company. Follow me. I’ll take you to the study.”
It was just off the entry hall, a large room with windows on two walls and a number of built-in bookcases. A cabinet with gemstone rough and several geodes hung on the wall. A gray-haired gnome sat at one of two desks, fingering his long, gray beard as he read the book spread open before him.
A lightgem hovered over his head, casting light onto his book. Like Havinth, he wore a black robe, and he had an identical pendant. He looked up from his book. “So it was you making the bell ring.”
“Yes,” Kaff said with a tentative smile.
“This is Sethan, one of our senior members,” Havinth said.
Sethan eyed Kaff with an intensely that seemed to penetrate flesh and bone, then gave Havinth a look that Kaff couldn’t interpret and went back to reading.
“Have a seat,” Havinth said, sitting down at the other desk. Kaff took a chair in front of it and looked at the interesting array of objects scattered across its surface: old books with runes on their spines, a small bowl that held purple gems flecked with green and gold, a glowing gnome figurine made of lightgem crystal, and an orb with black fernlike forms inside.
Havinth folded his hands and seemed to be waiting for Kaff to initiate the conversation.
“I, um,” Kaff faltered. He had rehearsed a few speeches on the way, but they had fled his mind. “I wanted to break through the Amulet barrier, whatever it took, even if it meant using dark powers. I didn’t think using Dark gems for a good cause was evil.” He knew he sounded defensive, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m young and ambitious, and that’s gotten me into trouble, but I meant well. Gem masters like you should understand that.”
Havinth’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “What do you mean, gem masters like us?”
“Just that you’re totally committed,” Kaff answered hastily, sensing he had somehow offended Havinth. “You devote your lives to gem studies.”
“I see.” Havinth’s eyes bored into Kaff. His right eye began to twitch, like a nervous tick. “You don’t seem to realize that you’ve started down a dangerous path. Dark powers have destroyed older and wiser gnomes than you.”
“I suppose so, but if you’d take me in, I’d only study beneficial gems.”
“Take you in? We seldom take anyone new, and when we do, we extend the invitation. In any case, you’re not free to join us. You may be spending several years in a confinement.”
“Some say I’ll be acquitted.”
“It’s possible, I suppose.”
“If a respected institution like The Emanicus took me in, that could weigh in my favor.”
Havinth frowned. “So that’s your motivation for coming.”
“No! I want to study gem powers and become a powerful gem master.” Kaff glanced over at Sethan. The gray-haired gnome was watching him with a faint smile while absently twisting the gold ring on his right hand. Its blue gem sparkled.
Sethan said, “Whatever your motive, it took courage to come here.”
Courage mixed with desperation, Kaff thought, still surprised at his own daring. “Knowing you value your privacy, I wasn’t sure you’d let me in.”
“Where do you live now?” Havinth asked.
Kaff hesitated. The fact that the Seekers had posted his bail and taken him in would probably count against him, but it was pointless to lie since it had been in the newssheets. “I’m living with a member of the woodspirit group, the Seekers.”
“Sheamathan sympathizers,” Havinth said bluntly.
“Er, well, yes. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and I felt obligated since they paid my bail.”
“You’ve been speaking to groups, I hear—giving lectures,” Havinth said.
“Yes. I’m telling gnomes and woodspirits about life in the Amulet.”
“From what I’ve heard, you seldom mention the darker aspects of Sheamathan’s reign,” Havinth said.
“Out of respect for my hosts—not because I approve of what she did.” He was unsettled by how much they knew. They might live in isolation, but they obviously read newssheets and probably had other sources of information as well.
“Do the Seekers treat you well?” Sethan asked, closing the book he’d been reading.
Kaff wasn’t sure how to answer. “Not always. They were friendly at first, but they’re using me.”
“I assume it hasn’t been all bad,” Havinth said. “They’ve lent you gems.”
It was a statement, not a question. How could Havinth know that? Not by mind reading—Kaff hadn’t been thinking about gems. “Yes, they have.”
“Have they asked you to demonstrate gem powers?” Havinth asked.
Kaff’s mouth went dry. “I, er . . . yes.” He tried not to think about Dark gems, which of course made him think about exactly that.
Havinth cleared his throat. “Any with dark powers?” he asked, as Kaff feared he would.
Would admitting it destroy any chance he had of being accepted here? Maybe. But lying would be worse. Gem masters of their caliber could read his mind . . . and probably were right now. “Yes,” he admitted reluctantly.
Havinth’s eye started to twitch again.
“The lad is honest. I’ll give him that,” Sethan said with a chuckle.
“How did you know they gave me gems?
“Simple,” Sethan said. “You used gem powers to reach our door.”
“Oh. Right.” Dark powers, actually, but he doubted they knew that. In any case, it didn’t matter since he’d already confessed to using Dark gems.
“What did you learn from Sheamathan after you kidnapped her?” Sethan asked.
Kaff stiffened. He refused to talk about that. Gem Master Ertz had asked him the same question, and he hadn’t told Ertz, either. At the risk of offending these gem masters he said, “That’s between me and S. I mean, maybe if I lived here and I was one of you, I’d tell you. But that’s the only way I’d consider it.”
Sethan started twisting his ring again. “The issue may come up during your trial. The court will expect answers.”
If he had to, Kaff would talk about it then, but he’d be so vague no one would learn anything useful. “S was bored and lonely, so she was willing to teach me things, but I didn’t learn much before my clan separated us.”
“If the Joint High Council votes to place Sheamathan here, we will be able to question her. Perhaps she will be more forthcoming than you are,” Havinth said, smiling rather unpleasantly.
Kaff bristled. “You can’t believe anything she says. She’s a very inventive liar.” He’d learned a few spells that involved Dark gems, but since he didn’t have the gems he needed, he was no threat to anyone.
Sethan said with a shrug, “No doubt it would be best to forget whatever you learned. We’re merely curious. How many witnesses did you get from experimenting?”
“Two. On my arm.”
“And you haven’t gotten any since?” Havinth asked.
Kaff felt behind his left ear. He had discovered a lump yesterday while combing his hair, and he was glad it didn’t show. “I just got another one from demonstrating Dark gems for the Seekers.”
“How unfortunate.” Havinth folded his arms. “You could have refused.”
“It isn’t that simple. They’d throw me out. That’s another reason I was hoping you’d take me in.”
“It’s out of the question,” Havinth said, “but I commend you for trying to escape your present situation.”
Somewhere deep within the building, a clock chimed the hour.
“Maybe you’ll change your mind later,” Kaff said, trying not to sound bitter. With or without their help, he would become a powerful gem master someday. They would be the ones missing out.
“Perhaps,” Havinth said noncommittally. “As I mentioned before, we assess prospective candidates. If we ever determine you’re right for our group, we’ll extend an invitation.”
Couldn’t they see his potential? And his dedication? What was the matter with them? Seeing the interview was over, he stood. “By then, I may not be interested. I’ll be a powerful gem master, and I won’t—”
Something darted out from under the desk. Kaff let out a startled shriek and stumbled backward, knocking over his chair.
“That would be Bo,” Havinth said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. The lizard scampered away.
>
Fuming silently, Kaff righted the chair. The lizard had ruined his dramatic exit. Salvaging what little dignity he had left, he said, “If you change your mind, you can find me at Beniah’s, just down the river.”
He stalked from the room, blinking back tears. He had packed his satchel for nothing. He had to go back to Beniah’s where a list of chores awaited him, and he’d be in big trouble if Beniah returned before he completed them.
When he reached the entry hall, he found Ro and Bo on the bottom step of the stairway. He made a menacing motion to frighten them away, but they just stared, unconcerned.
Kaff sighed. The stupid lizards had a better life than he did.
Chapter 31
The jeweled knife was an amazing find, and Tyla could hardly believe it had bonded with her. She had been worried about Arenia’s reaction, but her sister seemed genuinely happy for her. Arenia had tried the knife, but nothing had happened. Ertz was right; in any one’s hands but Tyla’s, it was just an ordinary knife.
Lana and Jules claimed the Challenger’s blade tapped into the user’s subconscious and provided the right gem powers for any situation. It could even combine gem powers to create new ones. Maybe Tyla’s knife could do those things, too. If not now, maybe after she had used it for a while.
Saturday after breakfast, Tyla joined Ben and Tina Ann who were going to Strathweed on what Tina Ann called a secret mission—taking gems to Elias. Until now, Franklin had stored the gems found in the stream, but it was better to let Elias keep them, especially the Dark gems.
They were half way to Strathweed when dark clouds moved in, and it began to rain. There were patches of blue sky in the distance, so it would probably clear before long, but it was still sprinkling when they reached Elias’s cave.
Tyla and the breghlin ventured inside. The first section of the cave, currently empty, was an ideal shelter for Elias’s maraku during heavy rainstorms. In the rear, another section of cave served as his home. If the men were still sleeping, Tyla and the breghlin would wait in the outer cave. She peeked inside to see if they were up.