Diamond Bonds (3 page)

After several hours of travel, Jem comes to a stop and looks around.  “This should do nicely,” she says to herself as she drops her backpack, and Era does the same.

Di watches in confusion as they rummage through their bags.  “Wait, what’s going on?”

“We’re spending the night,” Jem explains.  “This is a good location.  There’s direct moonlight, and we can start a fire over here.”

“Shouldn’t we travel to the next town?” Di asks in a panic.  “I-I don’t want to sleep in the woods!  We’ll get eaten by an earth bear!”

“There’s no town for at least another day’s travel,” Jem responds casually.  “And really, Di?  Earth bears?  Those things only live south of Maaman.”

The scared girl glances around in the darkness.  “I-Is that true…?”

“That’s the truth,” Era chimes in with a grin, “but wild shock boars, on the other hand…”

Jem smacks him in the back of the head.  “Stop giving the princess nightmares.  Now go find us some firewood.”

“Okay, sorry,” Era says as he rolls out his mat and heads into the darkness.  Jem pulls out a canteen, enjoys a long drink, and offers it to Di.  The girl gratefully takes a sip, her eyes still darting anxiously around the clearing.

Era returns and prepares the firewood.  He pulls a small, black stone from his bag and holds it down in the kindling.  He presses on it, prompting a small flame to appear, and the fire quickly takes form.  “Thank goodness for fire runes, eh?” he asks Di in an effort to make her more comfortable.  She politely smiles and sits next to the fire, but Era puts his hand on her shoulder.  “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the ground.  You can grab my mat.  Sorry if it smells.”

Di nods in thanks as she slides to his mat and lies down.  As her guardians fall asleep, the small girl places her arms behind her head and stares into the starry sky above.  Her breath trembles as she fights back tears from the day’s events.  Somehow, she feels safe with Era and blushes slightly at the sight of him lying nearby.  ‘
Even if his mat does smell,
’ she thinks with a grin as her eyelids grow heavy.

*              *              *

“They did what!?”

“It was a bold move,” Galen grumbles disdainfully to his subordinate.  “Haloran Gorge is vast.  It wasn’t an option to stop and search.”

The young Lieutenant Commander Bowen’s jaw drops.  “And… did you say the Allerians are involved!?”

Galen throws a hand up to clarify.  “She had a mask on, so I couldn’t confirm.  Regardless, I personally believe they were simply riff-raff thieves who stumbled onto the girl.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The other thief was Valvoran, and the small stock of weapons the train contained had all been rummaged through, as if they were looking for anything valuable.  They were not there solely for her, if they were there for her at all.”

“Even then, raiding a military train is a blatant offense,” Bowen points out.  “Thieves tend to leave our trains alone.”

“The mission came on such short notice that we had to charter transport from the Smith’s Hammer,” Galen says.  “It’s not unheard of for a guild train to be raided.”

Bowen rubs his temple.  “So what now?”

“I’m going to contact Commander Talkem,” Galen says.  “He’ll arrange several platoons to station themselves at Canterin.  I’m also going to ask him to engage local Merc Market resources.”

“
You
want to engage mercenaries?”

“Do you think I’m happy about it?” he barks.  “We don’t have enough troops in the region, and this mission was classified as life-or-death.  That girl must be found.”

Bowen’s eye twitches.  “We’ve been engaging the market more and more lately.  Using them requires us to turn a blind eye to their infractions.  Many of the hunters are wanted for a multitude of crimes.  Some are even assassins!”

“The market isn’t entirely illegal, plus they have an information network the military simply doesn’t have,” he grunts.  “We’re going to use every resource we have.  We
must
find that girl.”  Reluctantly, he adds, “I’m also canceling the western train network until she’s found.”

Bowen cringes.  “That’s
really
not going to go over well, sir.”

“And do you want to be the one to explain why we didn’t do everything possible to find her?” Galen asks. “I’ve not failed an S-ranked mission, even dating back to the war, and I don’t intend to start now.”  He storms into the outer hallway and calls out, “We’ll arrange the meeting for tonight at the western tower.  I want you there as well.”

He bursts into the streets, his frustrations mounting as he marches to the nearby beacon tower in the light of the sunrise.  The bustling trade city of Nadar lies in the lowest part of the Impal mountain range, determined to be the path of least resistance for building the tracks that would connect the western train hub to Valvoren’s capital, Satari.  As the gateway between the two halves of the country, its growth has rivaled even that of the capital, and the market resources available in such a city may prove to be good fortune for the desperate officer.

*              *              *

Era awakes to someone vigorously shaking his arm.  He shoots up in alarm, bashing Di in the forehead.

“Gah!” he yelps as he falls back against the hard ground, rubbing his head as Di does the same with a whimper.  His early-to-rise partner is still sound asleep, and he groans as he realizes the sun has yet to rise.

Teary-eyed from the impact, Di leans back over Era and whispers, “Era, I need to… I mean, I have to…”

Era offers a sleepy gaze.  “You have to… what?”

Di blushes and lowers her head.  “I have to pee.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know how!  In the woods…” Di softly mumbles, upset with Era for making her explain.

Not showing much sympathy, Era points around and says, “Go find a tree.  There are plenty around.”  Seeing his suggestion isn’t well-received, he offers, “But hey, you can wake Jem and ask her for help if you want.”

Unsettled by the thought, Di stands and heads into the woods on her own.  Era rolls over and squeezes his eyes shut, hoping to return to his slumber before Jem awakes, but he cringes as he hears her sit and stretch.

“That was heartless of you,” she chides, sounding plenty awake.  “Don’t you know how to be delicate about sensitive things?  She’s not a boy.”  Giggling, she adds, “Find a tree…”

Era lies still, hoping she’ll let him go back to sleep.  Jem walks over to him and leans close. “Nice try,” she whispers.  She stomps on his foot, and he yelps in pain.  “Come on!” Jem says with a chipper tone in her voice.  “The further we make it today, the sooner we get paid!  I put a lot of thought into it last night, and I’m already thinking this could be a six-figure sum!  Can you even begin to imagine?”

Reluctantly, Era sits and groans at starting so early.  He pulls his canteen from his bag while mentally preparing himself for a full day of hiking.

*              *              *

The noon sun shines down on the intrepid adventurers as they hike up the tree-covered hillside, and they finally take their exit from Haloran Gorge.  Each one drenched with sweat, they stop to take a break in the shade of a large tree.  Jem pulls out her canteen, takes a swig, and sits with a huff.  “Why is it so hot!?”

Exhausted from hiking, Di collapses next to Jem.  Era grabs a drink from his own canteen, then hands it to the young girl and replies, “Because the sun is out?  There are no clouds?”

Jem isn’t amused.  “Shut up…” she moans as she flops backward, lying on her back and staring at the blue sky.

Di finishes and hands the canteen back to Era, who takes one last swig and stuffs it back in his sack.  “Are we taking a rest, then?”

Jem plants an arm over her eyes as a cool breeze sweeps in.  “Sure, let’s take a short break,” she concedes.

Era sits next to the two girls and, for a few minutes, they silently take in the breeze.  He looks back down the hill they just climbed and silently counts the days it will take to arrive at Di’s home.

“So why are you two thieves?” Di abruptly asks.  Era glances over to see the schoolgirl sitting with her feet outstretched, leaning back against her arms, a serious expression planted on her face.

Jem waves a hand in the air, annoyed by the question.  “Hey, we just make use of the resources we come across, that’s all.”

“Uh huh,” Di says with skepticism.  “Sounds like thievery to me.”

“I survive off the land, Di.  I don’t consider myself a thief,” Jem explains.  “Thrill-seeker, adventurer, explorer… any of those works for me.  Now that guy over there is a different story, but he’s an anomaly in many ways.”

Era gets excited. “I’m a thief alright, and I’m going to be the world’s greatest some day!”

“Ugh…” Jem groans as she rolls over, covering her ears with her arms.  “See what I mean?  Now you’re going to get him talking, which kills any chance I had for a quiet rest.”

Era frowns at Jem before looking back at Di. “Jem’s jealous of my heritage.  I come from a long line of master thieves, and I’m training to become even better than my ancestors.”

“A long line of thieves, he says!” Jem shouts, taunting Era.  “Come on, Era, you claim your dad is a hot-shot, but I’ve never heard of him!”

Di’s curiosity is piqued.  “What’s your father famous for doing?”

Era raises his head as he brags, “My dad is none other than the Dark Cloak!”  Di doesn’t offer a response, and Era frowns.  “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of him either?”

“I’ve never heard of
any
thieves, other than you two,” Di admits.  “But he sounds cool!  What’s he stolen?  Anything big?”

Era excitedly exclaims, “He stole the Jewel of Nerwal!  And some other major artifacts, but I shouldn’t brag about those.  Pride comes before the fall, after all!”

Di eagerly leans forward.  “So what about you, then?  You’re following in his footsteps?”

“I am!” he answers.  “My dad once told me, ‘Son, a weak man strives to achieve his dreams, but a real man can achieve his dreams through the efforts of others!’”

Di’s excitement disappears, realizing Era isn’t joking.  “Y-Your dad… he sounds like quite a man.”

Era practically blushes at the forced compliment.  “I’m going to be exactly like him, but I’ve only just started.  He’s off doing great things, so I’m training under Jem here, who’s going to teach me everything she knows!  That should only take another couple months, then I’ll move on to-”

“Hey!” Jem snaps.  “Show some gratitude, would you?”

Era laughs and waves his hand.  “Kidding, kidding!”  She lies back down with a huff, and Era says, “Jem’s actually a genius when it comes to living off the land.  I ran into her a couple years ago, and she’s been training me ever since.”

“Hmph,” Jem scoffs, “more like he owes me big-time for botching so many jobs for me.”

Di looks back and forth, unsure of what to make of their relationship.  “So… are you two lovers?”

For the first time, Era is speechless as he turns beet red, and Jem’s face matches his.  She sits and stammers, “W-We aren’t like that at all!  The moron wants my tutelage, so I’ve graciously given it to him!”  Era nods fervently, not saying a word.

Di raises a suspicious eyebrow, but she grabs Era’s arm and says, “Good, because he’s just my type.”  Looking up at him, she scolds, “Well, except for the thief part, but we’ll get that worked out of your system.”

Era awkwardly smiles, but Jem isn’t amused.  “You’re thirteen years old, and Era’s seventeen!  What exactly are you thinking could happen…?”

“I’m almost
fourteen!
  Daddy says that’s old enough to go on a date.”  She gives Jem a sly look and asks, “Or is it possible you’re worried about the competition?”

“
Competition?
  You can have him!  He’s good for nothing whatsoever!”

Era laughs aloud, breaking up the spat.  “I
am
pretty useless.  That’s why it’s good I have an amazing teacher!”

Jem is taken aback by the compliment.  “Y-Yeah!  Your good-for-nothing father set you on this path and abandoned you.  You’re lucky I came along!”

Era looks at Di and says, “Lucky for you, too!  It was Jem’s idea to raid that train, though we thought we were getting some shiny new swords or something.”  He laughs and adds, “We got more than we bargained for!”

Jem stands and stretches.  “Okay, let’s keep moving.  We have an outside chance of making it to the next town by dark.  I’d think the princess would appreciate an inn over sleeping in the woods again.”

Though exhausted from all the hiking, the thought of sleeping in a bed gives Di a burst of energy.  She jumps to her feet and drags Era off the ground.  They gather their things and stroll after Jem, with Di still clinging tightly to Era’s arm.

*              *              *

A lone figure approaches the designated tower with caution in the light of the setting sun, and she instinctively checks her back several times while approaching.  The door swings open, and she’s hurried inside by the guard.  “Name?”