Deals and Dangers by Kay L Ling

Author:Kay L Ling [Ling, Kay L]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-20T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 39

Tyla woke in the middle of the night, shivering on a bare wooden floor. For a moment she couldn’t remember where she was, and then it came to her. She was in the Emanicus hideout. The roof had developed another leak. Rain was dripping on her forehead, and the building was cold again. No wonder she’d been jolted from her sleep.

Moving to avoid the leak, she used her knife to bring the room back to a comfortable temperature. They had left one lightgem activated, and bluish light spilled over the team who slept peacefully despite their unpleasant surroundings. The wind had died down, and the snow had shifted to rain. Normally, its gentle patter would have been soothing, but not tonight. It was an annoying reminder that Emanicus gnomes had created this storm and were probably at their new hideouts by now, safe and warm. Eventually, Tyla fell back to sleep.

When morning came, there was no cheerful sunshine, only a cold gray light, and it was still raining.

“Won’t this cursed rain ever end?” Riven asked, frowning at the leaking ceiling.

“It’s not so windy now,” Loud Mouth said. “That’s a good sign.”

Olissa went to the door. “Let’s see if it’s warmed up any.”

Tyla expected a blast of cold air like the night before, but when Olissa opened the door, a warm breeze swept through. Tyla was encouraged until Olissa said, “We’ve got problems.”

“Now what,” Bentiz muttered and went to see for himself.

Tyla joined them at the door. “Oh no.” The stream had overflowed its banks, and water was coming this way. “We had better move the cart to higher ground.” She pictured the maraku in ankle-deep water, the cart up to its axles in mud.

“I’ll fly a few miles and check the weather,” Loud Mouth volunteered.

“That would be great. Thanks,” Tyla said. “We’ll have breakfast while you’re gone, but I’ll save you some.”

Olissa closed the door. “We’d better revive Tabik. He’ll die if we leave him immobilized too long.”

They had propped him in a corner so he’d be out of the way.

“Wait!” Tyla cried. “I have to tell you something. He thinks Loud Mouth and Bounder are gem masters.”

“What?” Olissa asked, laughing. “Why would he think that?”

“Because he’s never heard of a talking zek or a bird as intelligent as Loud Mouth.”

“Good thing Loud Mouth isn’t around to hear that,” Bounder said. “Compliments go to his head.”

“So, he thinks they’re transformed gnomes?” Arenia asked, still confused.

“Yes. That’s a natural conclusion when you don’t know about feridium powder,” Tyla said.

Arenia nodded. “I never thought about it, but I guess so.”

Everyone, including Bounder, gathered around Tabik.

Tyla said, “It’s in our best interests to let him think they’re gem masters, so I didn’t tell him the truth. He thinks I transformed them, using Dark gems.”

“You? Use Dark gems? That’s funny,” Arenia said. “Should I check you for witnesses?”

“It gets better. He thinks some of us plan to use Dark gems against The Emanicus.”

“I’m glad you didn’t set him straight,” Olissa said. “Let him sweat.

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