Diamond Bonds (26 page)

After a painfully long trip, the craft begins its descent.  The inevitable landing feels more like a crash to the group as they bounce violently before coming to rest.  However, no one complains about being on the ground once more.

Pearl’s footsteps can be heard coming down the side of the sky boat, and Fire again grips her dagger as the girl unlatches the door, still half-expecting an ambush.  But when the door swings open, the girl’s beaming face is the only sight to see.  With goggles over her eyes and her silvery hair shining brightly in the morning sun, she steps aside and beckons for everyone to exit.  “Good morning, everyone!  Welcome to Kemplen!”

Di dives over Era and out of the craft, plopping on the ground and sucking deep breaths as she enjoys the cool grass against her skin.  Era helps Jem and Fire out before stepping outside himself, discovering that Pearl found a tiny clearing to land in.

The pilot removes her goggles and straightens her messy hair.  “I obviously can’t land in Kemplen without drawing attention, so I landed outside of town.  It’s just a short walk north of here.”

Fire aggressively gets in Pearl’s face and shouts, “And what’s the big idea with making us wait this morning?  You said we’d leave at first light!”

“Hey, now, Fire,” Era says as he steps in to defend his date.  “I’m sure she has a good reason.”

Pearl sheepishly averts her eyes.  “I-I’m sorry, I kind of overslept.”

Jem laughs aloud.  “You and Era
should
date.  You’d get along fine.”  Era blushes and scratches his head.

Fire glares at him.  “I’ll confirm Kemplen’s location,” she says as she turns to Pearl.  “Don’t leave until I get back.”  With that, she disappears into the trees.

Di jumps to her feet and makes a mad dash into the woods, her hand over her mouth.  Jem shares a glance with her partner and remarks, “That poor girl has had quite a journey.”

Taking the opportunity, Pearl leans into Era.  “Thanks again for last night.  Tell me this won’t be the last time I see you?”

Era hugs Pearl, catching her by surprise.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll see each other again.”  Pearl presses into his shoulder and closes her eyes, enjoying the embrace.

Hearing the stomp of a boot, Era finds Fire is standing right behind him.  “Kemplen is a short walk.  She can go.”

Era frowns but relents.  “Take care, Pearl.  Hopefully you won’t get into trouble with your dad.”

Pearl laughs.  “Oh, I’ll be in a heap of trouble for this.  But it was worth it!”  Bouncing up the steps, she straps herself into her seat, adjusts her goggles, and offers a final wave.  Era returns the gesture, as does Di, who is just reentering the clearing.  Pearl activates the rune console, and a gush of wind floods the area.  The small craft lifts into the sky, propelling itself upward until well above the trees.

Fire claps her hands loudly as the sky boat disappears from view.  “Come on, let’s move.  We missed our opportunity to sneak into the city early.  Now we have to take extra caution.”

“Shouldn’t be hard,” Jem says as the group follows Fire into the woods.  “We’ve done this before.”

Fire glares back at Jem.  “
You’re
the problem.  How many Allerians do you think enter this town on a given day?  You stand out in a crowd, and if anyone is looking for us,
you’ll
be the giveaway.”

“You picked this town because it’s large and it would be easy to hide in the crowds,” Jem contests.  “This was
your
plan, so what do you suggest we do?”

Fire steps over a log as they continue their path.  “Wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you just stayed behind.”

The Allerian’s eyes narrow.  “Care to say that again?”

“The three of us can walk through the main gate.  As long as we’re not together, we won’t draw attention.  I saw a large tower near the coast that we’ll use as our rendezvous point.”  Motioning back to Jem, she says, “As for you, Ice Queen, you’ll just need to get in on your own.”

Jem beams confidently.  “Is that supposed to make me mad?  I’ll take it as a challenge to get into the city before any of you do.”  As she finishes her assertion, the group comes to the edge of the forest, high up on the hillside.  The hill country runs right up to the Lidoran Sea, with a steep drop-off leading down to the beach.  Kemplen lies at the bottom of the slope, spreading up and down the coast.  The large tower Fire described is plainly visible and will work well as a meeting place.

“Fire,” Jem grumbles, “that city has a
wall
.”

“Ah, so it does,” she says, her voice lacking surprise.  “I guess that’ll help with the whole challenge thing.”  With that, she heads back into the woods.

Di looks to Era, but he just shrugs and follows Fire.  Jem stares down at the city as her companions tread off without her, cursing the day she let Fire join their team.

*              *              *

As a major sea port on the Lidoran Sea, Kemplen draws early morning crowds through the open gates placed strategically along the wall.  The wall itself is built up against the sloping hills to the east that descend toward the sea, creating an ideal opportunity for growth to the north and south along the coastline.  The boundary reveals a noticeable decrease in quality as it cuts west toward the water’s edge, indicating this portion is regularly demolished and rebuilt as the city expands.

Before venturing onto the main path, Fire motions for Di to come close, keeping her voice low as she offers some last-minute advice.  “You’ll stick out almost worse than the ice queen if you travel alone.  But if they think you’re with a group, especially one without an Allerian, they’ll likely pass you right by.  They can’t stop and check every child entering the city.”

“I’m not a child,” she grumbles.

Looking out over Kemplen, Fire observes the current foot traffic.  “It’s early, so there are more people entering the town than leaving.  Find a small group to shadow and stick with them well past the city gate.”

Di nods her understanding, growing anxious.  This is the first time she’s been asked to perform a task solo.

“We’ll take turns going in.  The brat will go first, followed by the idiot.”

“We’re standing
right here
,” Era says in annoyance.

“I’ll take the rear,” she finishes, ignoring him.  “Remember, the tower by the sea is the rendezvous point.  We’ll meet there in two hours.”

Era checks his pocket watch as Di complains, “Two hours!?  What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Group up any sooner and there’s no point in walking in separately,” Fire explains.  “Besides, I need time to find us a ride.”

“Hold up, Fire,” Era says.  “Jem and I were going to find transport.  What makes you-”

“Because, besides being amateurs, you two are the
unluckiest
people I have ever met,” Fire states, her dark blue eyes glaring at him.  “There is
no
way I’m letting you select which ship to board.”

Di emphatically nods her agreement, prompting a hurt frown from Era.  “Fine…”

Fire looks out over the sea and says, “I’ll need to find a smuggling craft willing to harbor after dark.  Inspectors are smart and won’t allow a transport to unload its goods after sundown, but they aren’t typically looking for
people
.  We should be able to sneak off the ship under cover of darkness, one way or another.”

Era scratches his head. “Why do we need to smuggle ourselves in?  Couldn’t we just take a normal transport vessel?  We could hide below deck until dark.”

“Three reasons,” she says.  “First, you can bet smugglers will know whether the military has recently increased inspections to find Di.  Second, are you willing to leave your Allerian friend behind?  Because she tends to draw attention in close quarters.  Third, a normal transport vessel will have a lot of passengers, and it’s not uncommon for military officers to use civilian transport.”

Era raises his eyebrows.  “Oh, those are good reasons.”

“We’ve gotten this far, but Canterin will be a different story,” she states.  “They know she’s headed there.  It was in the initial information.” She studies Di and says, “Come to think of it, do you always wear your hair like that?”

Di runs her hand through her long, blond hair.  “Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten it cut.  Why?”

“The town guards might have descriptions of what you look like.  Let me cut it off.”

“N-No way!”  Di grabs her hair and runs behind Era.  “Can’t I just tie it up?”

Fire sighs.  “Fine, whatever.  But if the guards spot you in the crowd because of it, I’m running up to claim your bounty.”

Era pats Di’s head, reassuring her.  “Don’t worry.  If that happens, I’ll come to your rescue!”

Di gives him an appreciative look.  She finds some long grass, ties her hair into a ponytail, and looks to Fire with a triumphant grin.  “Look better?”

She shrugs her indifference.  “You ready to go?”

The young girl looks down over the city, nervous to be separated from her guardians for so long.  “Tonight… tonight!” she whispers, encouraging herself with the hope of returning home.

Fire and Era creep closer to the road, remaining hidden while muttering to each other as various passers-by come and go.  They scrutinize every traveler that happens past them, taking their time in selecting a good candidate to be Di’s adoptive family.  The girl’s anxiety nearly turns to boredom by the time Era beckons for her to join them.

“See that family headed this way?” Era asks as he points up the path for Di to see.

“The one with the two kids?”

“That’s them,” Fire confirms.  “Just run out of the woods and act like you’re trying to catch up to them.  People will assume you were relieving yourself.”

Di nods, but her feet refuse to move.  Fire unsympathetically gives the girl a hard shove, sending her careening out onto the road.  Di shoots Fire a dirty look before jogging to catch up to her cover family.

Era is impressed at Di’s ability to get close.  “She did a good job.”

Fire nods.  “Now we wait and see if she gets in.”

The two watch the gate closely for activity as Di and her ‘family’ approach the town.  Her blond ponytail is easy to pick out, and they each feel relief when she makes it well into the city and out of sight.

Era sits back and rests against the ground, his arms propping him up.  “Guess I’m next, huh?”

Fire sits cross-legged next to Era.  “We wait another few minutes, naturally.  But if
she
can get in, we should all be able to get in.  The brat and Allerian were the only ones who had any real description when they explained the job.  All they knew of you was your earth shaping.”

Era glances at Fire, who has taken to drawing patterns in the sand to pass the time, and he smirks at the sight of a dangerous assassin doing something so juvenile.  “So do you think it will be difficult getting into Canterin?”

“You tell me.  Surely you and the ice queen had a plan for this part.”

Era sheepishly scratches his head.  “We’ve been taking it one step at a time.  Can’t say we’ve ever had a plan for that part of it.  Or any of it, for that matter.”

“I’d be upset if that was the
least
bit surprising.”  Continuing with her sketching, she says, “Canterin won’t be easy, especially since we don’t know why they’re after her.  If it’s a family affair, they may already have her rich daddy locked up, so even if we get in there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to claim any reward money.”

Era hadn’t considered that possibility.  “We’ll figure something out.  Reward money aside, we-”

“There is no ‘reward money aside’,” Fire loudly interrupts.  “You may be attached to the runt and want to see her get home safely, but all I care about is my cut.  The ice queen feels the same way.”

“Look, I know that we’re not doing this out of the goodness of our hearts,” he sternly says.  “But we owe it to her to-”

“We owe her
nothing
.”

“Would you let me finish a thought!?” Era shouts as his body tenses.  “You may have a complete emotional detachment from anything that moves, but that’s not who I am, okay?  All you care about is self-preservation.”

“Self-preservation is what keeps you
alive,
” Fire argues as she stands and tries to get in Era’s face, but she’s too short so she awkwardly backs up.  “You’re too naïve and it’s going to get you killed.”

“How exactly am I naïve?”

“Would you stop and think about things for once?” she harshly replies.  “The military… the
Valvoran military
wants Di, and they want you too.  You think that will change once you drop her off?  They’ll go to Canterin and capture her again, and they’ll leave the two million venni bounty on you and the ice queen for the rest of your miserably short lives.”  She sits back down with a huff, fuming over Era’s lack of foresight.  “And none of that is my concern.  Once she’s in Canterin, I’m out.”

Era slowly sits, reeling from the reality Fire so brutally unloaded.  He really
had
been naïve to think that Canterin was the end goal.  Somehow he just figured Di would be safe at home, and laying low for a while would allow them to return to their normal lives.  He wonders if such a thing is even possible at this point.