Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (22 page)

Chapter 18

Ocean swirled around me in a
warm cocoon and I knew I was safe, for the moment. Aluce, on the other hand,
struggled nearby, twisting and turning underwater.

I worked my way toward her
until I reached her side. Sai was close behind. Together, we pushed her to the
surface and she gratefully gasped for air.

Above us, mainlanders had
gathered on the edge of the tunnel and were peering down at us. The afternoon
sun was waning so we took advantage of the mountain’s shadows and tried to hide
within them as we pulled Aluce down the coast.

When we reached a forested
section of the beach where the tall trees and uneven shore hid our presence, I
helped Aluce onto the sand. “Are you alright?” I asked as she used my shoulder
for balance.

“I think so,” she said, but I
barely understood her between the spasms of coughing up seawater and gulping in
salty oxygen. “I’m definitely not of Sea Gem lineage. Maybe I should have taken
my chances back there with the king’s men.”

I dropped down beside her,
attempting to gather my racing thoughts. The image of my parents, bound and
surrounded by hostile strangers disturbed me. I knew they were alive for the
moment, but there was obviously no way I could take on an army of men to rescue
them.

“How did they do it?” I said,
breaking the silence.

“Do what?” Aluce asked.

“Get so many men to the
island without our notice. Where are their ships?”

Aluce was quiet for a moment.
Sai and I waited for her response and for any other sounds that would alert us
to unwanted intruders.

“They must have found a sea
dweller traitor who knew of Nethra. Maybe the traitor even lived there at one
point. It would be the only way they could find Vairda.”

“But why didn’t we see them
coming in?” Sai asked.

“Concealment Gems. If they
came in during the night with Concealers hiding the ships, we’d never see them.
Our eyes would miss their arrival entirely. They might have used the storm as
cover as well. They could have even conjured it up as a distraction. They’ve
been known to do as much.”

“Incredible,” I whispered as
the weight of what I was dealing with sat like a boulder in the pit of my
stomach. These were the kinds of people I had to face-down? My parents’
reasoning for protecting me had been just. Even Aluce and Perin were terrified
of the king enough to resort to convincing me to face him for them. This was
definitely more than I could handle. And yet, my next words still somehow made
their way from my lips.

“Alright, Aluce. What next?”

“You know what next.” Aluce
leveled her gaze toward me. “They’re here to keep you from finding the necklace
and since you haven’t found it by now, your chances of getting to it before
they do grow slimmer by the second.”

“You think they could know
where it’s at? It’s remained hidden for years.”

“The only way they could have
found the island and a way to breach the island’s protections was through a
Wisdom Gem and a sea dweller traitor. And if the traitor is smart enough, then
they may have an idea where the necklace is. They just need to find a way to
get to it first.”

I chewed on this for a
moment. “What are you going to do in the meantime?” I asked.

Aluce glanced from me to Sai.
“Rally an island.”

I nodded, wondering if the
islanders would see any reason to fight, particularly if it meant protecting my
family.

As if reading my doubts, Sai
nodded. “They’ll help you. Especially since Vairdan’s are being held prisoner.”

“Be careful,” Aluce said.
“These men are prepared for you. And I highly doubt your life would be of much
importance if it came down to a choice between you escaping or killing you.”

I contemplated this for a
moment. Sai grabbed my arm, knowing what I was thinking.

“You’re going to be fine. I
promise. I won’t leave your side.” I glanced down where his hand lay, touching
my outer skin layer. I felt the barrier more than I felt his touch, but it
comforted me nonetheless.

“If something does happen to
me,” I said meeting his eyes, “claim the necklace for your own.”

“I wouldn’t be able to use
all of the stones.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you
touch them, no one else can either. The most important thing is to keep it from
the king.”

Aluce nodded her agreement.
“Try to hurry. While you’re away, I’ll get help from the village leaders. I’m
not sure if Faema has been missed yet but I think Sai is right. The village
would be willing to fight if they discover one of their own has been taken.”

“The soldiers will be
watching for you,” I pointed out.

“You’re the one they’re
really after.”

I nodded, accepting the truth
of her words.

“Alright then.” I arranged my
face to reveal as little emotion as possible. I quietly turned toward the
water, facing it as though going to my grave.

“Do you know where the upper
cave is?” Sai asked Aluce, following me into the surf.

“No,” Aluce said.

Sai quickly gave her
directions to its location. “Meet us there at dawn,” he said. “We’ll be there,
with or without the necklace.”

“If I don’t show, make a new
plan.” Aluce’s expression was grave as we dove into the water. Sai glanced back
to wave once, but I trained my eyes forward, afraid to glimpse the island as we
swam further from its shore, afraid to wonder if I would return to it alive.

We made our way out to sea,
following the shore line from a distance. When we felt we were far enough from
the cliffs, we stopped and surfaced. I glanced around furtively, worried about
being observed but quickly remembered I wouldn’t see any enemy ships if they
were close and using Concealers to stay hidden.   

“I brought the map Perin gave
me when I left for Aluce’s home,” Sai said, reaching around to unstrap the
spear harness on his back. His spear at least had remained safe but he’d lost
his arrows and bow during our plummet off the cliff.

“Good thinking,” I murmured.

“Yeah well, I figured it
wasn’t something I should keep lying around.” Sai opened a small satchel
attached to the leather harness. Cautiously, he pulled out the map and passed
it to me. I held it while he reattached his spear to his back, securing the
harness around his chest.

When he was done, I placed
the map underwater and unrolled it just under the surface. Sai held his Sea Gem
over the aged parchment, offering a touch more light than the darkening sky
provided.

With the map unrolled, I
squinted against the reflection of sunset and glowing stone bouncing off the
surface of water and tried to make out the images painted on the page.

It’s nothing but a circle,”
Sai said.

“There’s no island around
here shaped like a circle.” I felt too exhausted to think. I wanted the map to
simply tell me where to go without making me solve one more ridiculous puzzle.

“No, but our city is shaped
like a circle,” Sai quietly offered.

His words were what I needed.
Something clicked inside my brain and I leaned over the map, trying to get a
closer look.

“The center of the city.” I
tapped the middle of the circle where a single red dot marked the map.

Jerking my head up, I stared
at the Vairdan shore, not really focusing on anything. An image of a stone,
etched with strange carvings flashed behind my eyes. I remembered the way the
village leaders’ huts had been decorated for the festival in Lailie, and the
paths from their homes had all lead to one final place.

I turned to see Sai smiling
at me.

“Unbelievable,” he said.

I nodded. “All this time
we’ve been walking on top of a treasure key.”

“There’ll be soldiers on the
lookout for you.”

“I know.”

“Which is why you’re going to
keep watch while I dig it up,” Sai said.

“Wait, what?”

“Trust me.” Sai grinned,
taking my hand. He pulled me underwater and we began to swim toward the shore
closest to Lailie. Through the tight grip of his fingers, he relayed to me his
plan, and in the silence of the deep, I nodded my agreement.

We waited for dusk to fall
before stealing ashore with the light of a pale moon to guide us. As we stepped
away from the water, we released ourselves from our Sea Gems and darted into
the nearest copse of trees, breathing heavily with nervous exertion.

“We’ll take the shortcut,”
Sai whispered, beckoning me to follow him.

Only the chirping of crickets
and rhythmic hum of an occasional insect accompanied us on our journey through
the forest. We walked and dipped behind trees every few feet, pausing often to
listen for the sounds of footsteps.

Sai led us to the edge of the
forest, close to his home and instructed me to stay hidden in a nearby shrub. Understanding
his next move, I obeyed while he kept to the shadows along his family’s hut and
entered the front door. A breeze ruffled the leaves of the bush I huddled
inside and in the distance, a bird squawked. I shuddered. Strangely, I hardly
thought about the island intruders. I was more concerned about the possibility
of having disturbed a spider’s nest in my hiding spot.

Sai emerged several minutes
later, tools in hand, a blow pipe with darts, a new bow with a quiver full of
arrows slung across his back, and his expression disturbed. Silently, I eased
out of the shrub and stood, noting the apprehension in his eyes.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Everyone is asleep.”

“It’s nighttime. Shouldn’t
they be?”

“Not everyone in the village
goes to bed this early.” Sai beckoned for me to follow him.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered,
urging him to speak to me as we drew closer to the city’s center.

“Just look.”

I looked, and saw nothing at
first. Then, when we reached the leaders’ huts surrounding the center, I
noticed the first body.

He was a large man, deeply
tanned, and his blond hair hung in long glossy ropes, a typical style for many
Vairdans. But he was unconscious under one of the city’s totems, great snores
rumbling from his chest.

As I looked around, I saw
similar scenes. A child and his mother curled up under a nearby tree. Someone I
recognized as one of Lailie’s officials slept beside his hut. Even a dog
growled quietly in his sleep on one of the paths.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The well,” Sai said,
pointing to the main well where the villagers gathered most of their drinking
water. “It’s been tampered with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Everybody in the village
uses the well. And nearly every family has their evening tea using the same
water source. It’s the only explanation.”

“You think the mainlanders
did this?”

“Who else?” he sighed. “This
ensures that Faema isn’t missed and it buys them some time while they explore
the island unnoticed.”

Stealing at glance at the
rising moon I asked, “How long do you think it will last?”

Sai shrugged. “Hopefully not
much longer. I think it was just one of our own sleeping herbs steeped into the
water. Aluce is probably trying to find someone awake in some of the other
closest villages. They couldn’t have drugged everyone.”

I shook my head. “Then we’re
definitely on our own now.”

“For the moment.” Sai gently
placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me backwards into the shadows. “Climb
up,” he said, pointing to the large tree on the outside of the main part of
town. “Watch me from there while I dig out the stone. If you see movement or
intruders of any kind, mimic a Tinamou call.”

I was never as good at
mimicking bird calls as my island peers, but if I had to choose one I wasn’t
horrible at, the Tinamou would be it. Three quavering, hollow sounding whistles
through my hands while I cupped them around my mouth usually fooled most
people.

“I want two whistles instead
of three,” Sai directed. I nodded and began to scramble upward, using the most
worn path up the gnarled, twisted branches. Strangely, scaling a tree had never
been as difficult for me as climbing a cliff. I almost felt safe, as though
nestled in the arms of an old, beloved friend. This tree was no different.
Island children had been climbing its limbs for decades and it showed in the
surface of the bark.

Sai stayed beneath until I
reached one of the highest branches, much less worn than the ones near the
bottom. From the top, I could make out the entire village and the tops of trees
surrounding it. If I were vigilant, I would be able to see any intruders long
before they reached Sai.

I tried to make myself as
comfortable as possible, propping my body against a sturdy branch and wrapping
my legs around the limb I sat upon. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I let out
one low Tinamou call to let Sai know I was placed and all was clear.
Stealthily, he moved away, hardly making a sound with his feet.