Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (26 page)

As the power of each stone
coursed through my body, my limbs began to shake. Heat and ice seeped into my
bloodstream all at once. I felt light and energy coursing toward my heart.
Somewhere inside of me, water crashed and rock crumbled. Fires blazed, wind
blew, and mountains moved. A million voices spoke and music played in my head,
coalescing so that I could not discern any of them. I fought to focus on one
sound, one feeling, one sensation, but it was too much.

I was swimming, falling,
loving, flying, and doing countless things all at one time. And as I did, I
wondered if I could ever stop.

Deeper and deeper I sunk into
what seemed like the ocean. Or was it the sky? I began to wonder if it was fire
that had consumed me, or perhaps the earth? When I didn’t remember who I was, I
felt myself begin to cry. Amidst the tumultuousness surrounding me, I couldn’t
remember why I was crying. I wondered if I had ever come from someplace or had
I been lost forever? I felt myself gasp and I thought it strange that I could
breathe while drowning.

I twisted and writhed for
eons, wandering in fields of flame and ice, numbness and pain. And then,
suddenly, a pin prick of light pierced my consciousness. At first, I pushed it
away, thinking it was just one more emotion to join the dance with the others
as they swirled around me. A moment, or years later, I realized it was different
somehow.

I could see and feel it, like
everything else I was experiencing, but after a while, I sensed I could hear it
too. It rang soft, but sweeter than the other sounds pounding in my brain. What
was it saying?

“Aylen.”

What was Aylen? The word
didn’t register at first, but I heard it again, over and over, insisting I
listen to it. Suddenly, I remembered
I
was Aylen. It wasn’t trying to
overwhelm me. It was speaking to me directly.

It was calling me back.

I followed it, fighting to
mentally shut out the infinite noise and confusion drowning me. It became a
little brighter and I zeroed in on the glow.

“Aylen. I’m right here. Come
back,” it said again, and I focused once more with increased resolve. What was
it? I wondered.

An image of a mountain burned
behind my eyelids and it startled me. It was an image from my own memory.

A mountain. A serpent. Sai.

Sai! I remembered Sai!

The light turned to warmth as
it danced before me and I blinked, dazzled by its beauty.

When I remembered I had eyes,
I forced them open, blinking at the searing pain in my skull. His face was the
first I saw. I had collapsed in his arms and he held me, keeping my head above
water. Fear registered in the crease of his forehead and the corners of his
eyes. I scanned the area, trying to recall where I was.

“Can you hear me?” Sai asked,
peering at me.

I nodded as scalding tears
leaked down my cheeks. Yes, I was back. But I was not the same. And I would
never be again.

I was irreversibly altered.

The stones had claimed me.

I forever belonged to them.

Chapter 21

“I’m alright,” I insisted,
trying to stand.

“You’re not,” Sai said,
gripping my arms tightly.

“Maybe not this second. But I
will be.” I forced myself to laugh but it died in my throat when I realized how
forced it sounded.

“What happened?” Sai asked.

I shook my head. What could I
say? We’d been warned it might be too much power and now, already, my mind had
been unable to handle it. My vision blurred and I searched the tunnel for
something to focus on. I chose an ugly piece of seaweed twisted in Faema’s
hair. Strangely, staring at it helped me stay upright.

“What happened?” Sai asked
again, this time with more insistence.

“I’m not sure.” I ran a hand
through my own wet, stringy hair. I was dirty, exhausted, and internally
tangled. I wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up on my sleeping mat
while my mother whispered promises that it had all been a bad dream. A
nightmare, really. “I can’t explain it. I feel torn into a million pieces and
whole all at the same time. I hear so many sounds I can hardly concentrate on
one thing. My mind wants to travel so many directions I can’t follow it.”

“What does that necklace do,
exactly?” Faema broke in.

I ignored the question, still
hurt because she had helped the mainlanders. Besides, even though I felt a
sense of pity for her, I was enjoying how unnerved she seemed every time I
stared silently at the top of her head.

Realizing I wasn’t going to
respond, Sai spoke up. “It makes Aylen the most powerful person in the world.”
His tone was casual, as though he were talking about nothing more than the
large fish he’d caught the other day. In spite of myself, I snickered weakly.

“Why would we want that?”
Faema raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not sure,” I said. Pushing
myself from Sai’s arms, I insisted, “Let’s go. Now.”

“Are you sure you can tap
into the Sea Gem on the necklace? It won’t hurt you, will it?” Sai asked.

I shrugged, pretending to
feel more in control than I was. “No more than the necklace already has.”
Closing my eyes, I forced myself to focus on the location of the pink stone
pressing against my skin. I felt its life, pulsing with an overwhelming amount
of power. Much more than my last Sea Gem. Just as I’d always done before, I
concentrated on taking sea dweller form but immediately felt the entire
necklace threatening to engulf me. I shook my head vehemently and retreated
with a shout.  Then I tried once more. And again.  This pattern continued for
several attempts until finally, I was able to work the gem properly once I
gained a sense of its individuality. It left me exhausted and shivering.

I didn’t argue when Sai led
the way out of the chamber and into the main set of tunnels. I followed slowly
behind Faema, who was still getting used to the stone she’d been given by the
mainlanders. For the first time since I’d found my Sea Gem on the beach, I
wondered if land might be more comfortable and I longed to find a protected
place to rest for a while. I wasn’t sure how safe it would be to remove the necklace
from my body but I wanted it gone. Even while I refrained from using all of the
gems on the necklace, I felt influenced by the power of each one. It was too
much to bear.

I hardly noticed when Sai
helped pull me to shore in an enclosed, tree shrouded area. A drifting cloud
covered the moon and cloaked the island as well as our location. Feeling
momentarily safe, the second my body touched sand, I released myself from the
gem’s power and collapsed. Sleep overcame me and I stirred only a little as Sai
carried me on his back through brush and trees, trying to remain undetected by
foes as he made his way to our cave.  He helped me climb into the dark cavern
where Aluce waited for us. Realizing I could finally lay still, I fell to the
ground in exhaustion.

“What did the necklace do to
her?” I heard Sai demand from someplace that seemed very far away.

“I can’t really say since no
one has ever claimed all bloodlines before. Her grandfather claimed more than
anyone before now.”

“Will she be able to control
it?”

Aluce sighed. “That’s what
I’m counting on.”

My eyelids burned as though
buckets of hot ash had been poured into them. I forced them open anyway,
managing to lift them to no more than slits.

“Aluce,” I croaked. She
turned to me at once.

“Aylen,” she said in a tone
of respect that hadn’t been there before.

“Please. Help me get it off.”

She didn’t need to ask what I
was referring to. Obligingly, she placed her hands behind my neck, and with a
flick of her fingers, gently undid the clasp. Afterwards, she removed the
scabbard and sword strapped to my waist and set it aside.

“Thank you,” I whispered,
feeling some of the burden lift as she moved the stones away.

Sai leaned close to me and
smoothed a stray strand of hair from my forehead.

I sighed and tried to force
myself to relax now that the heavy jewels and their memories had been removed.
“I never want to wear that again.” I tried to push myself up to a sitting
position but fell backwards in exhaustion.

“Can you describe what
happens when you connect to the gems?” Aluce asked me.

I thought for a minute.
“Whenever they touch me, I feel as though I’m splitting into as many pieces as
there are gems. And each piece is trying to claim dominance over the others.”

“Are you able to concentrate
on an individual stone and focus on what it can do for you?” Aluce fingered the
necklace as she spoke. Her eyes continually drifted to the jewels and I knew
she was struggling not to gape at their magnificence.

“Only the Sea Gem and that
was nearly impossible. I think the only reason I was able is because I’m
familiar with it already.” I paused, trying to find the words to help them
understand. “I’ve used it so often it felt like an old friend trying to find
its way back to me with a hundred strangers blocking the path.”

“We’re just going to have to
help you become familiar with some of the other stones, then,” Aluce said.

“There isn’t time.” I shook
my head, managing to sit up. I hugged my knees to my chest for comfort and a
place to rest my chin. “The necklace is too confusing. Maybe one gem at a time,
but when I wear them all together, they overwhelm me.”

Aluce didn’t answer but
remained silent for several minutes while she absorbed what I’d told her. Faema
sighed impatiently several times and Sai crouched near the cave entrance,
pretending to search the area for signs of intruders. I knew he was worried
about me. While it made my heart swell just a bit to know he cared, I hated
that he was distressed.

“You were on the beach when
you found the Sea Gem,” Aluce suddenly stated. I looked at her blankly.

“Of course.”

“But you were in the perfect
element to learn to use it. You were staring at the ocean. You had just heard
the stories of the original Vairdans, so sea dweller stories were swimming
around your head.”

“So. . .?”

“So, if you had found the Sea
Gem in the middle of a forest after you had just come from a spearing
competition, it probably would have taken you longer to learn how to use it.”

Sai whirled around. “She
needs to be in the right setting.”

Aluce nodded affirmatively.
“If we can just pick out a couple of the gems that would help her when we face
the mainlanders and put her in a situation where she would be forced to rely
specifically on them, she might be able to make parts of the necklace work for
her.”

“Not to destroy your hopes or
anything, but it won’t work,” I insisted. “Even with my understanding of the
Sea Gem, it was still nearly impossible to tap into while I wore the necklace.
How can I possibly tap into other stones I’ve never used at all?”

“I think we have time for you
to learn just a few. It’s our only option right now.”

I began to shake my head
again but Aluce held up her hand to stop me. “I’m not sure how successful we’ll
be, but we have to try. On the mainland, there are amazing instructors who will
help you with the others. Once we rid Vairda of the soldiers, we’ll get you to
the mainland and you can begin training with the necklace there.”

My mouth fell open, as well
as Sai’s.

“Her grandfather is on the
mainland. Why would she want to go there?” Sai asked, disbelieving.

“Aylen’s mission is much
greater than Vairda. It extends far beyond what she must do here on the island.
Her gifts and abilities are to be used to help her people. This island is only
a fiber of who she is.”

“You’re already asking so much
of her. You want to send her to the place where the main ruler wants her dead?”
Sai turned to me. “You don’t want to go to the mainland anymore, do you? You
got the necklace before your grandfather did and that’s all you should have to
do, right?”

Aluce waited for my response,
eyebrows raised. I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Right now, my only concern is
helping Haji and my parents. Have you both forgotten that?” Aluce pursed her
lips and Sai folded his arms across his chest. I swallowed and opened my mouth
to continue but Faema cut me off.

“I agree with Aylen.” Her
voice came out in a squeak, as though she had struggled to get the words past
her lips.

“Since when?” I asked.

“Since you became the person
everyone is counting on to get rid of the intruders in my home.” She looked
from Sai to Aluce. “You two can battle out her future however much you want
after the island is rid of these disgusting relatives of Aylen’s. Right now, I
want to concentrate on saving my home.”

I bit down on my lip to avoid
the sharp retort that leapt to my tongue. Aluce only nodded.

“Fair enough. I discovered
some information while you were getting the necklace.”

Sai shifted closer to me and
placed his fingers next to mine where they rested on the ground. “By all means,
clue us in,” he said.

 “I went back to Aylen’s hut,
thinking some mainlanders might be posted there as lookouts. There were several
and I was able to catch bits of conversation. From what I can understand, the
king wasn’t expecting much of a fight on the island. I’m sure he was at least
able to learn through whatever means he had that the island is mostly
defenseless and unarmed. I gathered they were hoping to capture Aylen and her
parents quietly. Their next plan was to find the necklace although they still
had little information regarding its whereabouts.”

“They seemed to have a fairly
good idea of its location when we were ambushed in the tunnel. Did a Wisdom Gem
tell them where we’d be looking?” I asked.

“Yes, if they had access to
one and a person who could use it in their behalf. However, the person who used
the Wisdom Gem for the king was most likely doing it against his or her will.
Wisdom Gems will only give information the user truly wants to receive. If the
user didn’t want the king to know where the necklace was hidden but was forced
to ask the stone, he’d receive a vague answer.”

“When we followed you into
the tunnel,” Faema broke in, “the mainlander only had an idea of the necklace
being hidden under the mountains. He scouted out the area earlier with the information
he tricked sea dwellers into giving him combined with what he learned from the
king. Once he felt he knew the vicinity of the entrance, he went back to get me
but you barely beat us there.”

Aluce nodded. “I also heard
them talk about Haji. They were pretty angry they’d been duped but I was
impressed. She proved herself a true friend to you, Aylen.”

“They didn’t hurt her, did
they?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. Those that I
listened to only talked about finding you. They weren’t counting on you having
a friend who would try to take your place.”

“I wasn’t either,” I said.

“Vairdan’s are loyal, Aylen,”
Sai said. “At least when worse comes to worst.”

“Can we get back on the
topic?” Faema asked, exasperated.

Aluce pretended not to hear
her. “After I watched for a while, I made my way back to Lailie. I wasn’t sure
what the other villages were like but I decided Lailie would probably have the
most information and be the place where they were focusing because it’s closest
to Aylen’s family.” Aluce paused to take a breath. “Many of the villagers were
coming out of their sleep and I managed to talk to Faema’s father. He wasn’t
thrilled to see me or to give me audience.” Aluce cast Faema a look of
annoyance. “When I told him that his daughter was in danger he was much more
willing to listen.”

“Did he believe you?” Faema
asked, chewing on a fingernail.

“Not at first. When I pointed
out the tampering of the town well and your disappearance, he was more willing
to think about what I said. I instructed him to quietly spread the word that
the island was under attack by soldiers from another land and to gather as much
of a makeshift army as he could throughout the other villages. He began sending
out messengers immediately.”