Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (27 page)

“Isn’t he worried about the
messengers being caught?” Sai wondered.

“We don’t think they’ll be
bothered if it looks as though they’re simply going between villages for
fishing or trading. The island is being watched, but there are only a couple
hundred or so soldiers. We don’t think they’ll attack anyone who doesn’t appear
suspicious.”

“I’m glad we have the
villagers on our side, Aluce, but I don’t think it will do much for us,” I
said. When Aluce raised her eyebrows, I continued. “There won’t be that many
more than a few hundred to battle the soldiers if you discount the elderly and
the children on the island. Maybe they can gather help from surrounding islands
and further inland, but it might be obvious if there are people pouring into
our town all of a sudden. Besides, what do Vairdans have to fight with? Hunting
spears against swords, armor, and Warrior Gems?” I shook my head, vehemently.

Aluce remained silent,
unwilling to argue my point.

“Both of you underestimate
us!” Sai said, visibly irritated. “Vairdans have more courage and strength than
either of you think. If there are enough of us, we can fight and win.”

“But my father could die!”
Faema jumped in. “Aylen should be the one to face them. Let her use her
all-powerful necklace. Isn’t that what we risked our necks for when we faced
the sea serpent?”

“We?” Sai and I said in
unison. Faema ignored us.

Aluce turned to me. “Do you
feel capable of using the necklace in any way to defend the island?”

I thought for a moment. The
horrible feeling of doing and hearing a million things at once had subsided
while the necklace had been removed from my neck. However, I knew the moment it
touched my skin again, it would return. “Like I said, I don’t see how I could.
I know nothing about the stones and I can hardly concentrate on the only one
I’m familiar with.”

Aluce nodded in
understanding. “At least no one else can use it. And at least they don’t know .
. .,” her voice trailed off. Suddenly, she smiled.

“Know what?” Sai asked before
the question could leave my lips.

“They don’t know Aylen can’t
work the necklace.”

“So? They probably have some
idea of my incompetence,” I muttered.

“Not necessarily.” Aluce
smiled, tapping her chin with a forefinger. “Once they realize you’ve found and
claimed the necklace, they may fear the power you possess. You’re one of a
kind, even to them, Aylen.”

“But they know I have no
stone training, right?”

“You use a Sea Gem without
any trouble. And your parents are stone masters. They may believe you’ve had
ample training. They know nothing about your life here. Also, they can’t
comprehend a life without the use of stones. They haven’t really needed
training themselves since it was something they were raised with. They may take
for granted the time you would need to learn how to work each gem.”

I creased my forehead in
thought as I let her words sink in. “So, you think they might fear me, even if
I can’t do anything with the power I’ve got.”

“Absolutely.” Aluce smirked.
“And using their ignorance to our advantage may be the one thing that saves us
all. Their sea dweller has failed to return. That alone should strike some fear
in them.”

“You’ll still need help from
the islanders,” Sai insisted.

Aluce nodded. “We’ll need the
islander’s help too.” She looked once at Faema. “We’ll need everyone’s help.”

Faema lifted one perfect
eyebrow. She glared at each of us for a moment, as though considering the
situation. Finally, she nodded. “If it gets these horrors off my island, I’m
in.”

Chapter 22

“I’m not leaving.” Sai nearly
shouted after Aluce had described his part in her plan.

“You have to,” Aluce
insisted. “We need the Nethran’s help, and they’ll want to be involved when
they discover one of their own nearly kept Aylen from the necklace. They need
time to prepare their forces so the sooner you leave, the better. ” Aluce took
a deep breath and leveled a firm gaze at Sai. “There’s no way we can defeat
these people without their help and you’re the only one who knows where Nethra
is. You have to be the one to go.”

“On one condition,” Sai shot
back. “Aylen is the one these mainlanders want. We go together. She’ll be safer
off the island.”

Aluce shook her head at him.
“Time is running out, Sai. We can hold the mainlanders off for a few hours but
if we open a battle and they discover Aylen is gone, they may seek revenge on the
entire island and her parents. Her presence is the key to her parents’
freedom.”

“But if your plan fails,
Aylen could get killed.” Sai folded his arms across his chest and glared at
Aluce. “Do you have any idea what it would do to me if she were killed or taken
while I was swimming to Nethra?”

I had been listening to the
two of them argue in silence but I turned to Sai now. His eyes met mine but the
tight clench of his jaw didn’t relax, even when I offered a faint smile. I
opened my mouth to speak but Aluce cut me off.

“If she can demonstrate some
sort of power with the necklace and distract them long enough, we can draw them
out and ambush them. Without her, they’ll attack the Vairdans and her parents
first.”

Sai didn’t respond
immediately and seeing my opportunity, I placed my hand on his folded arm.
“It’s going to be alright,” I said. “You’ve stuck by me from the beginning of
all of this and we’ve done everything together.” His expression softened
slightly. Encouraged, I continued.  “The Nethrans might be our best chance. And
we both know I can’t leave this island until Haji and my parents are freed.”

“What if I’m caught? Then I’m
a help to nobody.” Sai drew his eyebrows together into one tight line. My
fingers twitched from wanting to reach up and smooth it out but I resisted the
temptation.

Aluce opened her mouth to
answer but this time, I spoke first, holding up my hand to silence her. “Go
through the back of the cave. Climb the wall part of the way down and then
jump. You know there’s water below. Once you’re there, just make your way
through the tunnels to the ocean like we did the day of the storm. It’s
doubtful they have more rogue sea dwellers patrolling the ocean.”

Sai glanced at the narrow
walls we’d explored days earlier. I could almost hear the protests he wanted to
voice and the arguments on his tongue, but I placed my hands on each side of
his face before his words could escape. “I’ll be here when you get back,” I
promised. Behind me, I heard Aluce’s retreating footsteps. I knew she was giving
us a moment to say goodbye.

Looking into Sai’s eyes, I
focused only on the wordless conversation passing between us. I wanted to thank
him and tell him how I knew he had suffered trying to help me. I wanted him to
know, even though I’d hinted at it every day for the last ten years, I loved
him more than I would ever love anyone. The words stoked a fire in my chest and
threatened to burst from my lips but I choked them back down, forcing them to
dying embers. Stepping backwards, I offered a semblance of a smile, still
knowing my eyes wouldn’t deceive the way my silence could. However, when I read
the emotions in Sai’s face, I realized they mirrored my own. It left me shaken,
exposed like a tree bereft of fruit or foliage.

His arms reached out and
suddenly, I was wrapped in their warmth and safety, breathing in the salty
scent of his skin. “Please. Be careful,” he whispered into my hair. I didn’t
answer. We both knew I would do whatever I had to, without regard to outcome.

When I felt the prickle of
tears behind my eyes, I withdrew. Driving them back with a few hard blinks, I
forced one last farewell smile. He didn’t return it. Instead, Sai turned toward
the dark recesses of the cave and strode through the tunnel.

After only a few steps in, he
jerked to a stop.  He stayed there, his back to me, hands clenched and pushing
at both sides of the narrow cave walls. Seconds passed, and I waited. When he
finally turned around, I read the apprehension clouding his eyes, darkening his
features. For the merest of moments, I questioned him with a raise of my
eyebrows. It wasn’t like Sai to fear a duty, no matter how difficult. He was
one to act, never hesitating. But when his gaze didn’t waver, realization
dawned on me, a golden ray of sunlight. I gasped, hope cracking my composure.

He covered the distance
between us in four long strides. When he reached me, he cradled my face in his
hands. I looked up at him, waiting for what I hoped would come next. Instead,
his mouth turned up in the crooked, nervous grin I had always loved.

 “This will change
everything,” he said.

I held my breath, willing my
thrumming heart to compose itself, terrified Sai would lose his courage and
bolt if I moved in the slightest.

“Aylen,” he whispered,
“change scares me.” I almost laughed at the way his voice splintered with
nervousness but I bit into my bottom lip and shakily gasped it down.

I thought back to his empty
kiss with Faema the night of the festival and suddenly, I understood. “It’s
always scarier when it means something,” I told him. Before he could change his
mind, I lifted my face to close the distance between us. Sai met me half way
and with a firmness that throttled my fears, he pressed his lips to mine.

Warmth spread from my chest,
to my stomach, and to my toes. Were my feet still supporting my body? My arms
naturally tightened around him and I pressed my fingers into his back, pulling
him closer. He responded, kissing me with more intensity. I breathed in deeply,
inhaling the sea drenched scent of his face and relishing the feel of his lips
on mine.

When he finally pulled away,
relief and certainty pooled in his expression, replacing the anxiety that had
been there mere moments ago. “That was not goodbye. It was a promise,” he said,
touching his forehead to mine.

“Of course,” I agreed.

“Just in case . . .”

I cut him off. “No.” I shook
my head, refusing to acknowledge any other possibility. He nodded and said
nothing more.

Sighing, he kissed my
forehead. With one last look, he stepped backwards, turned, and disappeared
swiftly into the black shadows of the cave.

When I could no longer hear
the scuffle of Sai’s retreat, I remembered I wasn’t alone. Turning, I found
Aluce watching me from the other side of the cave, weariness written into her
features. Behind her, close to the entrance, Faema huddled alone, her back to
me. She clasped her knees to her chest and her shoulders were stooped with a
burden I understood too well. A memory itched at the back of my mind. I
remembered I sat in the same spot as Faema days earlier, imagining myself as a
caged bird after Sai’s words of rejection had left me feeling trapped and
entombed on the island .

“I’m sorry, Faema,” I said
knowing that, really, I wasn’t. Because I couldn’t keep the words from
spilling, I blurted, “I’ve loved him for as long as I can remember.”

“So have a lot of girls,” she
shot back, refusing to turn around.

Her words had a nibble of
truth to them. Sai was handsome and popular on the island. He had always been a
hard worker and good natured and I’d always known he was considered an ideal
catch for any unmarried Vairdan girl even if they didn’t really love him. But
he’d always meant more to me. It had never been about his surface qualities. I
knew him better than anyone and I’d loved him better than anyone because of it.

“He was never theirs to begin
with,” I said. “The night of the festival was one of the worst of my life. I
thought I’d lost him.”

She turned around, facing me
now. Even in the dark, I saw the glint of moisture on her face. “Tell me about
it. I knew when he left me alone to chase after you, every other girl no longer
existed. He was the only one who still needed to figure it out.”

I hadn’t considered Faema’s
pain before and I choked back a surge of emotion building in my throat. “Then
why are you always trying to separate us?”

A small, cheerless smile
lifted the corners of Faema’s mouth. “There’s always hope. After all, you
didn’t give up for ten years and look where you are now. He finally chose you.”
She stood, dusting herself off as though it would make a difference but I knew
we were all too filthy and exhausted to care. “I’m done hanging around here.
What do you want
me
to do?” Faema asked, turning to Aluce.

Aluce cleared her throat once
and nodded in approval at Faema. “You need to help prepare your people.”

“You want me back in Lailie?”

“Yes,” Aluce said,
hesitating. “Keep your head down, stay silent, and try to look as though you’re
just a typical Vairdan out for a stroll.”

“They know who I am. They
held me prisoner.”

“You also have the same hair
and eye color as nearly every other Vairdan. It’s still dark outside. As time
wears on, I’m sure they’re becoming more desperate to find Aylen. I don’t think
they’ll be keeping as close a watch on an obvious island native.”

Faema appeared to brighten a
little. “So once I’m back home, what do you want me to do?”

“Inform your father that
we’ll meet tomorrow evening on the southwestern shore. All the other islanders
and villages who are willing to fight against the intruders should be there by
the time the sun first touches the horizon.”

“The southwestern shore is
closest to Aylen’s home.”

“Yes,” Aluce said, “and it’s
also the best gathering place for a large group of people as well as quick
access to the trail up the mountain where the mainlanders are hidden.”

Faema shrugged. “Anything
else?”

Aluce grinned this time.
“After you give your father that information, I need you to come back with some
parchment, writing quills, and a very brave messenger.”

“Any time frame in mind?”

“Just be swift, Faema,” Aluce
said. “Be very, very swift.”

Without a word, Faema twisted
her hair into a long rope and tossed it around one shoulder, freeing her face
from flaxen fly-a-ways. Stealthily, she made her way out of the cave, keeping
to the trees in silence. I admired her natural born climbing skill as she
maneuvered her way down the trail and before she’d been gone two minutes, Faema
had disappeared from sight.

I felt Aluce place a hand on
my shoulder and I tensed, realizing we were alone. I didn’t entirely trust her.

I turned around to see the
necklace dangling from her fingertips, inches from my face.

“You have some training to
do,” she said, her lips pursed in a grim line.

Wordlessly, I grabbed the
necklace and flung it around my neck. I tried to ignore the resentment building
in my chest as the gems began a tug-of-war with my mind.

“Are you ready for this?” she
asked. I detected a challenge in her tone.

“Not likely,” I said, feeling
grouchier by the second with the gems pressing against my throat. “Sai is gone,
my parents are being held captive, and I can hardly see straight with this
thing.” I motioned to the necklace, exasperated. “Would you be ready?”

Aluce sighed. “Aylen, try to
focus.” When I didn’t respond, she continued. “I know this is going to be hard
for you. I understand that this isn’t something you wish you were doing right
now and I know you’re not pleased I sent Sai away. But you have a job to do and
I’m here to make sure you don’t fail. You need to put everything you have into
this and let go of distractions.”

I knew she was right. So many
others had sacrificed in countless ways and my actions in the next several
hours would prove whether it had been worth it or not. But it didn’t make it
any easier.

I sighed in resignation. “I’m
ready.”

“Good, then.” Aluce offered
me a slow, humorless smile. “The first thing we need to do is make you familiar
with a couple important jewels that can help keep you alive during battle.”

When I didn’t respond, Aluce
placed her fingers on a dark green jewel resting on the right side of my
throat. “This is the Warrior Gem. I know you’ve seen this one before.” I
nodded, thinking of Aluce’s sharp blade, the sea dweller in the underwater
tunnel, and many of the mainlander swords. I didn’t try to hide the grimace
that crept over my face.

“That’s right,” she agreed.
“It’s used for war and battle. It won’t create abilities you do not already
have. It will, however, enhance and magnify the abilities you naturally possess
and help you use them to preserve your life and possibly end another.”

“I’ve been practicing sword
fighting with my father since I could lift a sword. Is that considered an
ability?”

“It will help, but the men
out there have been practicing in real battle since they were children too. And
most of them are much stronger than you.” Aluce offered me an optimistic smile
this time. “But you’re fast. Very fast.”