by Kay L. Ling
“Are you living alone or with others?” Ertz asked.
Tina Ann said, “There be two rooms. The common room an’ a kitchen. We be sharin’ the place with ten others.”
“At Elantoth, I sleeps in a barn loft, so this be no worse,” Ben said. “An’ there be two other females, so Tina Ann ern’t the only one.”
Tina Ann nodded. “Eneff—he be the owner—say if I cook fer everybody, me an’ Ben can stay fer free.”
“I tell him Tina Ann used ter cook for S,” Ben put in.
Tina Ann grinned. “He be in awe over that.”
“I hadn’t stopped to think you might be celebrities here,” Ertz said.
“Eneff own one of the secon’ hand shops,” Ben said. “Everybody in the O.D. know him. He ern’t too old, but got some gray hair. Says the O.D. give it to ‘im. Got a big lump on his right cheek, but his face look pretty normal ‘cept for that.”
“The road we live on be named after him—Eneff Lane. We be livin’ at number one an’ he be at number two,” Tina Ann said.
“He even gots a boat,” Ben said.
“Not ‘xactly a boat. A rudder raft. We be goin’ for a ride t’morrow, and Eneff say Ben can try makin’ it go.”
“Lotsa gnomes use it,” Ben said. “He don’ care, long as they be careful with it.”
“Made it hisself.”
“Well,” Ertz said with a chuckle, “It looks like you’ve done all right for yourselves, especially considering you’ve only been here one day.”
“Mebbe we really do wants to live here,” Tina Ann said.
“I’ll check on you periodically so we can share news, but we shouldn’t be seen together,” Ertz said. “Let’s meet here a week from today at sunset. If you need something sooner, use the IGs I gave you, take a cart to Aberell Fortress, and ask one of the officers to contact me.”
Ben looked down the dock toward Ertz’s boat. “If I gets good with the raft, we can come ter see ya.”
Ertz said, “Lots of folks have rafts. They’re easy to use.”
“We be comin’, then,” Tina Ann said. “First chance we gets.”
Chapter 38
Eneff decided to close the shop a few minutes early. There hadn’t been many customers today, but business was always slow midweek. After seventeen years, he knew what to expect. Might as well head down to the dock where his curious new tenants were waiting for him. Funny thing, once you got past their looks, Ben and Tina Ann were all right. In fact, he’d go so far as to say they were likable, which was more than he could say for most folks in the O.D. Reminded him of youngones. Excited over the simplest things. The newssheets must be right about the Amulet being a backward place. The breghlin thought the O.D. was nice. They even liked his two-room rental house. He shook his head and locked the shop door behind him.
Yesterday, he’d taken them out on The Rotting Rudder. They’d tried poling and using the rudder, and they’d done all right. Not that there was anything hard about it, but they weren’t the brightest. Not stupid, really, just sort of simple, you might say. But if anyone thought about taking advantage of them—think again. One of the Outcasts, Maniz, had bite marks on his face and neck, supposedly from Ben. Claimed these breghlin had attacked him unprovoked. Eneff chuckled. Unprovoked? Not a chance. What Maniz had done to the breghlin, Eneff couldn’t say, but no doubt Maniz had it coming. He was one of the slimiest Outcasts in the O.D. Slept in Heggert Park. No one would room with him.
When Eneff neared his private dock, Ben and Tina Ann were sitting with their legs dangling over the dock, watching the river.
“Go ahead. Get onboard,” he called to them.
Their faces lit when they saw him. Still new to boats and rafts, they stepped onto it carefully.
Eneff untied The Rotting Rudder and jumped on. “You’re in charge today, so grab the pole and push off. Yesterday we went down river. Today, we can go the other way.”
Ben picked up the pole.
“Good,” Tina Ann said. “We be thinkin’. Could we go see the place they be keepin’ S?”
“Sure thing,” Eneff said. “Would make a good outing. We’ll wave as we go by. Hard to believe you really know her.”
“Sure do. More’n we wants to,” Tina Ann said.
The breghlin took turns using the pole and paddle until they felt comfortable with both. After angling across the river, they stayed close to the bank in shallow water.
“You’re doing fine,” Eneff told them. “You’d think you were born on the river.”
They gave him big smiles, which he always found disconcerting, quite frankly, considering their teeth . . . and the bite marks on Maniz’s neck.
The more he thought about it, they were a good fit with the rest of the tenants at One Eneff Lane. All of his tenants had dark pasts, but they were trying to turn their lives around. Which wasn’t easy. No one knew that better than he did. The shop, the tenant house, and the raft kept him busy. Even so, he was still tempted to buy and use gems. And that wouldn’t do. He couldn’t trust himself—not even with good gems. Too many times he’d misused his powers and taken advantage of Nopes. And what he had done with Dark gems still haunted him seventeen years later. His hand moved instinctively to the lump on his cheek.
He turned his thoughts to the present as The Emanicus loomed ahead. “Those stone buildings behind the wall—that’s The Emanicus.”
From this vantage point, they could see part of all three buildings on the hillside behind a stone wall with an iron gate. Ben kept poling until they approached the closest building, and then he let the raft drift.
“I ern’t gonna wave. This be better,” Tina Ann said, and spit toward the building.
Ben laughed and did the same.
“That must be their dock,” Eneff said as they approached.
Tina Ann said hopefully, “Don’t s’pose we could walk on it . . . jus’ to say we done it.”
At the far end of the dock, a steep flight of wooden steps led up the bank. Eneff cast a nervous glance at the imposing building. “Not sure that’s a good idea. For all we know, that could set off a ward.”
Tina Ann looked disappointed. “Nuthin’ should happen jus’ from standin’ on the dock.”
“I wouldn’t risk it, but suit yourselves,” Eneff said.
Ben poled the raft to the dock and handed Tina Ann the pole. “Stay here. I see if it be safe.” He stepped onto the dock, looking frightened but determined. Nothing happened. “Seems okay.”
“I be comin, then.” Tina Ann jumped onto the dock and spread her arms. “Here we be on S’s doorstep. Never thought—” She broke off and looked around as if suddenly wary.
“Somethin’ wrong?” Ben asked nervously.
Her eyes narrowed. “Dunno.” She started up the dock toward the stairs.
“Where ya goin?” Ben asked, following her.
“Wouldn’t go no farther, if I was you,” Eneff called after them. “Better get back on the raft.”
They ignored him and went to the far end of the dock where they carried on an animated conversation that Eneff couldn’t hear. Tina Ann shook her head a couple times, Ben shrugged, and then they finally came back, much to Eneff’s relief. Both looked distracted, and Ben wasted no time pushing off. Neither said much on the way back.
Eneff took a turn poling so they could enjoy the ride. There weren’t many boats on the river, and it was peaceful at this hour.
When they reached the dock he told Ben, “Your turn to tie her up. You’re welcome to borrow The Rotting Rudder whenever you want.”
Ben said, “Thanks. Means a lot ya trust us.” He got off to secure the raft, and Eneff followed him.
Tina Ann remained on the raft, looking upriver, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Come on,” Eneff called to her. “It gets cold fast when the sun goes down.”
She nodded and got off the raft, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Chapter 39
Early the next morning, Ben and Tina Ann went dow
n to Eneff’s dock to see if anyone was using the raft, and when they found it there, it seemed like an omen to go ahead with their plan.
Ben pushed the raft off from the dock and poled until they reached deeper water. Then, he used the paddle while Tina Ann worked the rudder.
It was a gloomy day, and an oppressive stillness hung over the river. Both sky and water were gray, and tendrils of mist rose from the water. The only sounds were the splash of the paddle and an occasional birdcall.
When The Emanicus came into view, Ben eyed it with an apprehensive frown.
“Stop worryin’. Last time, nobody knowed we be there,” Tina Ann told him. “We takes a quick look an’ then we go.”
“If ya find anythin’, don’t touch it.”
“I won’t. Might be gone now, but I knows Dark gems be there yesterday.”
Neither spoke the rest of the way.
When they reached the dock, Ben hastily secured the raft, and they crept to the far end of the dock where they had felt the loose board yesterday.
Tina Ann found the board. It creaked under her weight when she stepped on it. She sighed in frustration. “Don’t feel no Dark gems now.”
“Mebbe ya ‘magined it.”
“No. I knows what I feeled.”
“Think it comes off, an’ there be somethin’ under it?”
They both crouched down, and Ben grabbed one end and Tina Ann the other. They lifted the board free and set it on the dock.
One would normally expect to see water flowing below. Instead, there was an empty wooden compartment. Tina Ann ran her hand along the bottom as if checking for invisible objects.
“Nuthin’ here,” she said, disappointed.
Ben met her eyes. “This be a hidin’ place fer sure.”
“Gotta be. Comin’ by boat, folks could leave stuff.”
“Or fetch it.”
“Better go,” she said, feeling a sudden chill. “Put the board back.”
They lifted it and were about to fit it back into place when a deep voice boomed, “What are you doing?”
Ben and Tina Ann dropped the board and froze in horror. A gnome in a black robe with a big silver medallion around his neck was coming down the stairs, and the malice on his face made Tina Ann’s blood turn to ice. He was an imposing figure, middle-aged, with wavy brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard.
Tina Ann wanted to run but it would be pointless. Emanicus gnomes were all gem masters. She and Ben got to their feet, legs shaking, and Ben took her hand. They were in this together.
“We hears Sheamathan be here, an’ we be curious, is all,” Tina Ann said in an unsteady voice.
The gnome pointed at the board. “Explain this.”
Tina Ann said weakly, “You has a loose board.”
His right eye began to twitch. There was a long silence during which he regarded her with a strange expression.
“We leave now. Won’t say we been here,” Ben said, backing away and pulling Tina Ann with him.
“Stop,” the gnome ordered.
They stopped. They had to. Their feet refused to move.
The gem master paid little attention to Ben but fixed his gaze on Tina Ann, and his eyes held hers with an intensity that reminded her of S. Tina Ann began to tremble.
A sense of wrongness rose up within her, nearly shutting off her breath.
She’d been too startled and frightened to notice it at first, but now she felt it—the same feeling she got from Dark gems—all cold inside. And it was coming from him.
The gem master gasped, and his eye twitched convulsively. “You feel dark powers? How is that possible?”
“D-don’t know what ya be talkin’ ‘bout.”
“It’s pointless to lie. I can read your mind.”
Ben’s trembling hand felt clammy as it tightened around hers.
Tina Ann guarded her thoughts as best she could. She thought about Ben, about their new place in the O.D., about rafting on the river.
“What about you? Can you sense dark powers?” the gnome asked Ben. Ben stared at his feet and didn’t answer. After a moment the gnome said, “Interesting. She has the gift and you don’t.”
“Stop readin’ our minds! Leave us be!” Tina Ann cried.
“I must study you,” he said softly as if speaking to himself. “Come.”
Their traitorous feet carried them forward.
Tears slipped from Tina Ann’s eyes. Sneakin’ an’ spyin’ wasn’t so much fun after all.
The gem master took them inside a big stone building. It was quiet and dimly lit. Paintings and the portraits hung on the walls. A long, narrow table on the left held carved stone animals, and sculptures with glowing lightgem bases. A tall staircase made of dark wood rose in a sweeping curve and disappeared from sight.
Two gnomes walked in from another room and froze when they saw Ben and Tina Ann. Their faces had lumps and deformities, which made no sense. Why were there Outcasts here? But these weren’t normal Outcasts, she realized. Evil radiated from them. They must have infused a lot of Dark gems.
“Havinth! Visitors?” one of them exclaimed, backing away.
“It’s too late to hide, and it doesn’t matter anyway,” Havinth said with a careless wave of his hand. “They’re breghlin from the Amulet. I caught them on the dock. They had removed the board and were searching inside.”
“What? How can that be?”
“How did they know? You aren’t going to let them go!”
Tina Ann’s mouth went dry.
“Of course not,” Havinth said. “Ro and Bo will have new companions.”
Perhaps drawn by the sound of anxious voices, two more black-robed gnomes with deformed faces came in. When they saw Ben and Tina Ann, they stopped short.
“Don’t worry about our uninvited visitors,” Havinth told the newcomers. “I’ll take care of them.”
Havinth’s face began to change. Bumps appeared on his forehead. His left eye drooped at the outer edge. A lump appeared between his nose and his upper lip. Before long, he hardly looked like the same gnome.
Tina Ann looked at Ben. His eyes were wide with fright.
Havinth chuckled unpleasantly and said to Ben and Tina Ann, “The illusion of normalcy is temporary and difficult to maintain. Cloistered here, we don’t need to hide what we are.”
Tina Ann felt a wave of dizziness, and then everything went black. When she opened her eyes, everything in her line of vision was at floor level, and she heard laughter above her. Panic set in when she realized she wasn’t in her own body. She tried to speak but couldn’t. She couldn’t even scream.
A couple feet away, a green lizard with yellow spots looked at her, and she knew with a terrible certainty that it was Ben.
And she probably looked just like him.
Chapter 40
Tyla and Lant waited in the boat while Ertz went to look for Ben and Tina Ann.
“I don’t see them,” Tyla said to Lant. “I thought they’d be here, waiting on the bench.”
“Don’t worry. Ertz said to arrive by sunset, and that’s an approximate time. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The last hues of the sunset were fading, and darkness was closing in rapidly when Ertz finally returned. He sat down across from Tyla and Lant, his face etched with worry. “If they’re not here by now, they’re not coming.”
“Maybe they forgot. Maybe they don’t know what day it is,” Lant said in a less-than-convincing tone.
“I hope that’s all it is, but earlier today, when I was thinking about them, I felt a strange sense of uneasiness,” Tyla said, brushing away a tear.
Ertz said, “When it started to get dark, I used gems to see if I could discern anything about them and their whereabouts. Like Lant, I hoped they were merely forgetful.”
“And?” prodded Lant, when Ertz didn’t continue.
Ertz sighed heavily. “I tried several times, and each time I saw a white mist like an impenetrable wall. I’ve never e
xperienced anything like that. I don’t know what it means.” He fell silent and rubbed his forehead. “I had hoped to keep my association with Ben and Tina Ann secret, so I’d rather not go to their place on Eneff Lane, but I think I must.”
“Tyla and I can go,” Lant offered. “You’re well known around Aberell City, but no one knows us.”
“We could see if Eneff has seen them lately, but stores are all closed by now,” Tyla said.
“Yes, but you raise a good point. The less people we question the better, so we should check with Eneff rather than going to their lodging. We know he lives next door.”
“Is it a long walk?” Tyla asked.
Ertz took a paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “This is a map of the O.D. The commercial dock is here,” he said, pointing. “Residences are past the shopping area, so as you can see, it’s a rather long walk, and I don’t think any of us should be walking the O.D. at night.”
“We could come back tomorrow and go to the store, but I don’t want to wait that long,” Tyla said.
“Nor do I,” Ertz agreed. “They may be fine, but the uncertainty weighs on me. Sometimes one can hire a cart and driver here at the commercial dock. I saw some go by earlier tonight. Perhaps there is one on the main road.”
“Let’s look,” Lant said. “We’ll go with you.”
“Very well,” Ertz said.
He locked the boat and warded it for good measure, and they walked to the main road where they did find a cart and driver. The driver looked at Tyla and Lant with unconcealed curiosity, and then his gaze shifted to Ertz who was wearing the expensive-looking blue cloak. Whatever he thought of his passengers, he kept it to himself and took his fee. They climbed into the cart and kept silent, giving him as little to gossip about as possible.
When they reached Eneff’s home the driver asked, “Should I wait?”
“Yes, thank you. We won’t be long,” Ertz said.
Eneff was at home and welcomed them in when he heard they were looking for Ben and Tina Ann.
“Haven’t seen them for a couple days,” he said. “Took them out on my raft twice and said they could use it whenever they liked. Maybe they took me up on that and got into trouble. Didn’t know my raft was missing until yesterday afternoon when someone found it downstream with nobody on it. It’s marked The Rotting Rudder on the nameplate, and folks around here know it’s mine. A friend towed it back.”