Wicked Path (The Daath Chronicles Book 2) (7 page)

When Brushfire reached Jericho’s, I jumped off her back and raced inside the house without waiting for her to slow to a stop. Raven and Cael sat side by side at the table, laughing, of course.

“I need to leave,” I said.

“What’s wrong?” Raven asked.

“Lucy, she attacked me at the market.”

Raven immediately stood. “Are you okay”

“Lucy, Lucino’s sister?” Cael asked as he came to stand by Raven and me.

I nodded. “She could be here any moment with the guard. I have to go.”

“I’m coming with you,” Raven said.

I grabbed her hand. “No, it’s too dangerous. She wants me—only me. I’ll drive her away.”

“She might kill you. And where do you plan to go? There’s no escape from here. Her men guard the only way in or out of Daath.”

“I can take you somewhere safe,” Cael said.

Raven might trust this guy, but not me. “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t realize what you’re getting involved with.”

“I do, and I can help.”

“Avikar, we can trust him,” Raven said, placing a hand on my arm. “I trust Cael with my life.”

“Fine.” We didn’t have time to argue about Blond Boy.

“Raven, we’ll need the warmest furs you have,” Cael said.

“Right.” She ran out of the room.

“Furs? Where are we going?”

“Over the mountains,” Cael said.

“Nod Mountains?”

He nodded.

“No one has gone over the mountains,” Jericho said as he walked inside. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll see if Raven needs help packing.” Cael ran up the stairs after her.

“I’ll get the horses,” I said.

Jericho followed me outside. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”

He wasn’t going to agree with the plan, but he had no choice. I wouldn’t risk his or his family’s life again.

“Lucy attacked me at the market.”

Brushfire stood by the barn, nudging her nose against the gate. She always sensed when I was uneasy.

“She’s back?”

“Yes, and if I leave, she may follow.” I led Raven’s horse, Onyx, out near Brushfire.

“Going through the mountains is a dead man’s trek. We’ll fight her here. I’ll start gathering the men.”

Raven and Cael left the house with three large packs. She dropped one on the ground.

“We’re ready,” she said.

“No, no, no.” Jericho shook his head. “You are not going over the mountains.”

“We’ll be fine,” Raven said. “Cael knows a safe passage.”

I put a hand on Jericho’s shoulder. “Gather the men and take them to the market. Rufus was going after Lucy.”

Jericho’s shoulders slumped. “You have no idea what’s in those mountains. If the cold doesn’t kill you, the beasts will.”

Raven hugged him.

“I won’t let anything happen to her,” Cael said. “I promise you. And as soon as we make it to The Order—”

“The Order?” I hoped I misheard him. The Order, the superpower of Tarrtainya, next to the king. They took anyone who showed a magical ability, and made sure they were never to be heard from again. They controlled magic, and I didn’t trust them.

My pulse sped as I asked the question I really didn’t want to hear the answer to. “What do you know about The Order?”

“I’m one of their priests.”

randfather,” I said as I kissed his cheek. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for a few days?”

“I was on my way to the ship when Beckett brought me this.”

He handed me a rolled parchment.

“What is it?” I yawned. After a long day working the shop by myself, I was tired, but this must be important if Grandfather couldn’t wait until morning.

“Open it.” He rubbed his hands in front of him eagerly, resembling a young boy.

I untied the red string and uncurled the document. “It’s a map.” I trailed my finger across the ink.

A map of the western shores. Dots and script scrolled along the right side and toward the desert near the crystal caverns. Grandfather did a lot of business with Jehoia, the tenth land, which was also the closest to the desert. Sparkling jewels of every color of the rainbow littered those caverns. A wonder I hoped I could see one day.

“Where does this lead?” Dotted lines sprawled across the lands but in no certain direction.

“To the blue eye,” he said in a hushed voice.

The blue eye: a sparkling, clear gem the size of a small melon. Legend said it had the power of the sea inside, and anyone who had the gem controlled the waters. Grandfather had searched for the gem since his father told him of its existence.

After Daath, I believed in the unbelievable, and nothing seemed impossible any longer.

Grandfather moved beside me, putting a hand on my back. “It will be the greatest discovery of our time.”

“If it’s in the crystal caverns, why has no one found it?”

“Because that’s not where it is.” He pointed to a section on the far left of the map with script writing and an eight-pointed star surrounded by two circles—the exact same symbol on the relic he wore.

“That’s the sea,” I said. “There’s nothing there.”

“It must be in the sea, but with this map, we’ll be able to find the exact coordinates.”

“How do you know?”

Grandfather smiled. “I didn’t. Then I remembered the first piece of jewelry my father gave me.” He lifted the chain around his neck holding the medallion. “He told me this would be the key to the map, if I ever found it, and now we have it.”

“How will you find the gem if it’s buried at sea?”

“A diver.”

“Grandfather, no.” The flame on my bedside candle flickered with the wind. “It’s too dangerous,” I said in a low voice, suddenly afraid someone might hear us.

He took the scroll, rolled it back up, and slid it into his interior jacket pocket. “It’ll be all right. Don’t worry. Beckett found someone we can trust. Mrs. Gen brought over some roasted potatoes and trout. Let’s eat.”

He kissed me on the forehead and walked out of the room.

Since I had arrived in Luna Harbor, I’d learned much about Tarrtainya. Grandfather spent many nights telling me stories of The Order and the people who hid from them, and families torn apart by magic. One tale spoke of a young boy ripped out of his mother’s arms because he had the strange ability to fly. The Order had killed the father for trying to hide his son, and the boy was never seen again.

Divers were rare. A diver could swim deeper than any man could. Magic enabled them to dive great depths without the need to come up for air. Grandfather thought their magic gave them gills like a fish, enabling them to breathe under water. Sailors protected the existence of divers by keeping their identities secret. Only the high captains knew who they were. I wondered what Grandfather had promised or exchanged to gain access to that knowledge.

Grandfather’s eyes sparked with life. How could I convince him this was too dangerous when it had been a childhood dream of his and his father’s? If Mother was here, she could talk some sense into him.

I took a comb and brushed out my hair, looking at the clear sky. Nighttime at the harbor was my favorite time of day. The waves played along with the crickets’ song, creating the most beautiful chorus. There was a sense of order here. After months of feeling confused about what had happened in Daath, I’d finally found peace in making beaded necklaces and working for my grandfather. No longer did Lucino haunt my mind. While I did miss parts of what we shared, our relationship was a lie… it had to be.

No, I wouldn’t dwell on him. I had promised myself I wouldn’t after I had left Lakewood and hurt Derrick by refusing his proposal. He didn’t understand why I said no, and how could I explain it to him? Leaving had been my only choice.

Poppa had screamed and yelled when I mentioned staying with Grandfather. He couldn’t understand why I wanted to leave, especially when I had just returned, but I needed time to heal. I couldn’t do that with Derrick so hurt, Avikar not home, and Jimri gone.

Staying with Grandfather wasn’t supposed to be permanent. A few weeks, nothing more.

“Jeslyn, food’s getting cold!”

“Coming!” I put the brush away and dashed downstairs.

Ms. Gen sat at the wooden table, breaking off a piece of fanna that she handed to Grandfather. She had a glint in her eye whenever he smiled at her. She never spoke about her true feelings, but any sensible person could see how they truly cared for one another.

“Good evening, Ms. Gen,” I said, sitting in the chair next to her. “How was your day?”

Ms. Gen’s curly gray hair was pinned up in sections and framed her face, the curls accentuating her round cheeks. “Business was good. I tried a new recipe today. Grooben bread.”

“Ugh, no one should try to make anything with that smelly fish.” Grandfather frowned.

Ms. Gen pointed her fork at him. “That’s exactly why I made it. That fish is good for the skin. And I’ll be a soiled pig if those sailors didn’t eat every last piece.”

Grandfather grumbled.

“I bet it tasted delicious,” I said.

Ms. Gen smiled. “You are always such a dear. Your grandfather could learn a few manners from you.”

“I’ve got perfect manners.”

“Hmpf. Manners like a grumpy old dog.”

I smiled in between bites. I prayed one day they’d both get over their stubbornness and wed.

Ms. Gen was a fabulous cook, and the trout she made nearly melted in my mouth. Butter, thyme, and lemon smothered the fish, and every time I bit into it, I sighed. Food at Luna Harbor differed from Lakewood. With a sea full of fish just outside, there was plenty to eat. Every day, one could try a new fish or crab, and sometimes the sailors brought back giant lobsters that sold out before they could all be unloaded. I had never eaten such a variety of dishes before.

“Harold tells me you’re becoming quite the jeweler,” Ms. Gen said.

Grandfather smiled and I blushed. “He’s taught me a lot.”

“I may have taught you, but it’s your eye that turns those necklaces into real beauty.”

I was proud of how far I had come in my training. One day, I hoped to be as good as Grandfather was.

“Jeslyn will run this shop once I’m gone, and she’ll be the best jeweler this land has ever seen.”

“Grandfather…”

“I believe that,” Ms. Gen said. “You have a real talent, dear.”

“Thank you.”