Wind-Scarred (The Will of the Elements, Book 1) (23 page)

The earth-crowned's eyes took in the
situation: the skiff idling against the wall, Kelly crying on the
floor, Ezra facing off against him. His voice rumbled, quiet and
implacable, an edge of anger sharpening the words as one enormous
hand clenched into a fist. “What is the meaning of this?”

“
You can't take her,” Ezra snarled quietly as he desperately
tried to think of anything that would give him an edge over the
earth-crowned. “I don't care what the water-seer told you, we're
protecting this girl. There's no way that you're getting her away
from-”

“
Save me, earthen lord!” Kelly bolted past Ezra and grabbed on
to one of the giant's brawny legs, clinging with terrified vigor
and burying her face against it.

The huge elementalist absently placed one
hand gently on her head, and some of the tension left his
shoulders. “What water-seer?” he asked, voice still tinged with
menace.

“
The... the one who sent you after us,” Ezra mumbled, unsure of
himself. His mind began racing. If the earth-crowned hadn't been
sent after them, then this was what... a random coincidence? The
big man could have heard Kelly crying, then jumped to the wrong
conclusion and come to her rescue. And that would mean... “You're
here to protect the girl!” Ezra blurted out, pointing emphatically
at the crowned.

The crowned glanced down at Ezra's sword,
now only inches from his chest, and growled. Ezra's eyes widened
and he hurriedly dropped the weapon. “No no no, I didn't mean to...
look, we're on the same team, okay?” Ezra gestured toward the
little girl still clamped on the man's leg. “You need to get her
somewhere safe. There's a water-seer behind us who demanded Kelly
as payment; you have to believe me, we're just trying to save her
from a life of slavery.” He looked around at their battered skiff.
Sarah was straining against her restraints, still trapped against
the wall. Mat was nowhere to be seen, down in the darkness below
the skiff's edge. The rain had moved to the friendlier side of a
downpour, but it was still coming down. “Also, I'm going to need
you to let us go. We can lead the seer off, but we have to move,
now.”

The ground rumbled ominously around them as
the elementalist shook his head. “That,” he emphasized the word,
“will not be happening until I understand what is going on here.
And even were I to let you go,” one huge, bare foot kicked the
skiff, setting it rocking as the thrusters tried to compensate for
the impact. “Your Besmirched abomination is not welcome in Beloved
territory. It was forfeit the moment you crossed the border. I'm
afraid that-”

The water all around them, on the ground and
in the air, jumped as another pulse raced through the night,
interrupting the earth-crowned. Ezra glanced around frantically,
realizing that the seer was nearly upon them. He had to say
something, do something. “Okay,” he began, speaking rapidly, “what
if I told you that we weren't... Besmirched, or whatever? What if I
told you that we were here to protect people, and that we came
from-”

“
Hawkins, shut up!” Sarah hissed at him

Ezra just kept going. “The Forbidden City.
We watch the world outside. When elementalists – you know, people
like you, or the water-seer – people with power, when they abuse
it, we come and set things right.” The rain had subsided to a soft
pattering, the clouds above beginning to lighten. “By whatever
means necessary,” Ezra finished quietly.

The crowned giant opened him mouth to say
something, then glanced around, inspecting Sarah's gun, Ezra's
sword, and the skiff critically, a contemplative look on his face.
Ezra pushed his advantage. “That's why you need to let us go. We're
trying to help people, just like you, and we can't do that if
you're stopping us.”

The big man gave Ezra a long, appraising
look. From behind Ezra, Sarah shouted, “Hawkins, get down!” She had
somehow worked her arm free of the rocky restraints. Ezra hit the
deck just as the little pistol barked three times, muzzle flashing
in the growing light. The earth-crowned moved to shield Kelly with
his body, but he needn’t have bothered. Sarah wasn't aiming for
him.

The shots very nearly caught the seer by
surprise as she rounded a nearby hill. At the last second, however,
she stumbled back on the wave she was riding and kicked up a shield
of ice, losing momentum but stopping the bullets cold.

That was all the time Mat needed. Ezra saw
him dash forward, lobbing something toward the seer as he yelled,
“Ezra, sword!”

The earth-crowned glanced worriedly back at
the water-seer, and rumbled, “Now wait just one-”

Ezra scooped up his blade and lofted it to
Mat just as some kind of sonic explosion thumped through the early
evening. The wave that the water elementalist had been riding
abruptly exploded into tiny droplets, sending her plummeting toward
the earth. She gasped, but made an odd swooping gesture with both
hands as gravity claimed her. From all around, water leaped up,
solidifying into a ramp of ice beneath her feet. The seer slid
gracefully to the ground, lips peeled back in a snarl of rage.

“
Peace, lady seer,” the giant intoned. “There's no need
for-”

Evidently, she didn't hear him. No sooner
had her feet touched down then she spun, robes billowing as her
legs kicked into the air. The path of ice she had ridden to safety
shifted back to liquid, following her kick and flying toward Mat in
pressurized blast just as he deftly plucked Ezra's sword from the
air. The earth-crowned spat a curse and lifted one hand in a
stopping gesture. A spire of stone suddenly jutted up in the
water's path, safely diverting it away from the young man.

Mat stared at the barrier in shock as
Sarah's gun sounded again. The seer twirled, deep blue eyes wide in
fear as she tried to dodge, hands reaching for any water she could
pull to protect her. For a split second, Ezra felt the thrill of
victory... but every bullet suddenly veered from its course,
striking the ground just below the skiff and throwing up little
showers of mud and wet dirt.

“
Enough!” the earth-crowned roared. Behind him, Ezra heard
stone shift and slide, and suddenly the enormous, solid wall that
had stopped their skiff dead flowed like liquid, crashing in a wave
around them all. Earth moved unnaturally around his body, pushing
and encasing him. Ezra's head broke the surface, and he looked
around wildly to find Mat and Sarah, also encased in rock to the
neck, on either side of him. The skiff was gone, buried beneath the
flood of earth. Some ten meters away, the water-seer was struggling
against similar restraints. She threw her head back and screamed in
frustration as the cloud cover broke, letting in a few rays of
sunlight that set the last drizzle of the storm
sparkling.

Ezra watched in awe and
terror as an enormous throne of granite rose up silently from the
ground, forming a triangle with the furious seer and the Sanctuary
team.
Set up almost like a
courtroom
, Ezra thought. He took a careful
look around and his stomach dropped.
And
that would make us the defendants
. The
crowned gently set Kelly on the arm of a massive stone chair, then
lowered himself into the seat, expression stern. His fist slammed
against the free arm, and the earth rumbled in answer, a makeshift
gavel.

“
This foolishness has gone on for too long already,” his deep
voice resounded from the earth and stone around them. “We shall
settle this in a civilized manner. Gaav shall preside over this
case.”

“
Uh oh,” Ezra breathed, watching the earth-crowned with wide
eyes.

“
Hawkins, what's going on?” Sarah asked carefully.

“
Um... we may be on trial.”

Mat stopped straining against the stones
that held him firmly in place. “Wait... what? Trial? Ezra,” he
hissed, “what are you talking about?”

Ezra swallowed hard. “Well, from what I've
read, an earth-crowned is a kind of wandering judge. They can
settle disputes as they see fit, anywhere, anytime.” He glanced
nervously at Mat and Sarah. “Their word is law.”

“
So,” Sarah began, hysteria coloring her voice. “We have an
elementalist, trying us against another elementalist, and we're
supposed to just-”

“
Silence,” Gaav, the earth-crowned, spoke with absolute
authority. “We shall begin with opening statements. I warn you all
to be truthful in your words. The earth will not abide any lies.”
He turned to the seer and nodded solemnly. “Lady seer, if you would
be so kind, please give us your testimony.”

The water-seer shot Ezra a hateful glance,
then turned serene eyes back to the seated elementalist judge. “My
lord,” she began respectfully. “The lives of these three are
forfeit. I ask that you stand aside and allow me to collect that
which is the domain of Water.”

“
You have a contract for their lives, then. Very well, show me
this contract and I shall bear witness to the completion of your
duties.”

The seer's cheeks flushed slightly at this.
“You misunderstand, my lord. They attacked me without
provocation-”

“
That's a lie!” Sarah shouted. The earth around her rumbled and
her face paled as Gaav glanced in her direction,
frowning.

The water elementalist made an exasperated
sound. “They did witness me disposing of an undesirable, and in
retrospect they may have thought me to be threatening them in some
way, however-” The prison of rock and earth that held her in place
shifted with a horrible grinding sound. The seer gasped in pain
before it settled.

“
You're lying,” the crowned stated simply.

The water-seer stared hard at him for
several seconds. “Yes,” she continued, voice chilled. “I had reason
to believe that they were in league with a proven criminal and was
in the process of apprehending them for questioning. They fought
back, using forbidden weaponry,” she nodded toward Sarah. “You've
seen proof of their blasphemous technology yourself. These three
should be made an example of, not giving this mockery of trial.”
The seer spat out the last words acidly.

Gaav nodded his head solemnly, turning to
the team from Sanctuary. “And your testimony?”

Ezra gulped and glanced between his
teammates. Sarah was busy glaring at the water-seer. Mat shook his
head in defeat. “In for a credit, I guess,” he nodded to Ezra.
“Your call, man.”

Ezra took a deep breath and began their
defense. He told Gaav about the Guild of Sundry, about how they
kept watch, protected the people they could and avenged the people
they were too late to help. The windstorm that killed the village
elders, their infiltration of the town, and subsequent action
against the would-be wind-scarred there. By the time Ezra reached
the seer's entrance, he had joined Sarah in glaring at her. The
storm above them had finally dispersed, and the sun was just
beginning to dip below the horizon. Ezra explained the terms of the
seer's contract in short, harsh statements, gritting his teeth
against them. “We just couldn't leave her like that,” he finished
quietly. “She was good and kind and free. It wasn't right.”

Gaav mulled this over for some time. “Well,”
he rumbled, “you certainly seem to believe that's all true. And
your equipment does seem more advanced than anything I've heard of,
even across the border amongst the Besmirched.”

“
You see,” the seer hissed, “they admit to it! Violating the
Treaty of the Elements, imposing their-”

Gaav gestured toward the woman, and the
earth around her shifted, clamping her jaw shut. His eyes were
still fixed on Ezra as he interjected, voice contemplative.
“Supposed Treaty, lady seer. There has never been any proof that
the Forbidden City even exists, outside folklore and obscure
histories.”

The stones shifted again, allowing the seer
to speak. She remained silent for a moment, eyes darting between
Gaav and the trio, coming to rest finally on Kelly. A wicked smile
spread over her face. “Indeed, earthen lord, you are correct. The
girl, however, is mine,” her voice was velvety soft, pitched
intimately low. “The boy admitted as much, by his own words.” She
locked eyes with Ezra, holding his horrified gaze. The light pink
of freshly healed skin stood out starkly across her nose and above
her eye. “I have a life contract on her. These others may go, but
the girl shall remain.”

Gaav stared at the water-seer, expression
unreadable. “So, what he said was true? You saved this child's
brother, and now you will take her as a handmaiden, to do with as
you see fit.” Ezra looked at the big man in shock. Kelly began
whimpering softly, edging back away from the water witch. The
earth-crowned couldn't be... he wouldn't...

“
Oh yes,” the seer breathed softly, eyes fixed on Ezra as her
smile turned predatory. “Yes, I'm sure that the traders in
Eastpoint will be very happy to find an appropriate use for a
pretty... little... girl,” she pronounced the words with
infuriating precision and satisfaction. “I shall insist on
it.”

Ezra wracked his brain, trying to come up
with something. “What about a, um... transference of debt!” Ezra
stammered out. The thought crystallized in his mind the moment he
spoke the words. He knew what this water-seer really wanted, wanted
badly enough that she would forget all about the little girl and
her little town in the middle of nowhere. Gaav gave him a slow,
appraising look. The water-seer allowed herself a contented
smile.