The Book of Gems by Fran Wilde

Author:Fran Wilde
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group

* * *

As Dev crawled through the tunnel, the hum came and went. Where once it reminded her of bugs, as foul-smelling dirt caked her skirts and jacket elbows, and dust irritated her throat, the sound became more of a chant. Could insects chant? Not in the Far Reaches. Nor in Ironford.

But perhaps the valley was different.

She paused for a moment to tie a scarf around her nose and mouth against the fetid dust. Imagine, she thought, Matthais and Vandina outside, sipping tea, refusing to experiment or look at things from different angles, while I make the discovery of a lifetime. Or at least the rediscovery. Dev knew she could not let herself feel too victorious. Not yet. Even if the idea of crawling into the fortress through its ancient sewer made her heart pound with excitement.

Her skirts stirred up more dust, and her stockings beneath grew heavy with it.

If Netherby was hiding in here, from his debts, from what he’d done to Lurai’s mother, from more than that, she would bring him out. And if he’d fled, she would find where he’d been and get proof of his findings, and his crimes. Whatever it took. There’d be plenty of evidence to bring back to the Society. If Lurai’s theory was right, and it was true there was only one way out, she would find everything she was looking for. No telling what else she might discover. Dev crawled faster.

And she wasn’t breaking the valley’s rules, not exactly. The tunnel was outside the gem line the dig master had drawn. She was following his instructions to the letter.

Plus, here was her opportunity to right some of Netherby’s wrongs. Plain and simple. Not just those inflicted on her, either. She’d find her inheritance and her research. But she’d also find Lurai’s mother.

The small, dry sewer began to rise at a steep upward angle, and Dev had to work hard to keep her bag from rolling away from her. Dust bloomed all around her anyway. By the time she reached the end of the tunnel, her head pounded in rhythm with the humming noise.

A clot of dirt fell away from the tunnel wall and raw gems glittered yellow and green in the gap. Her fingers strayed toward the stones. With one of these, she’d never have to create copies from guesswork again. She startled, the impulse surprising her. Don’t touch, Dev reminded herself. She’d promised Lurai. On her way back, maybe she’d find a way to take some samples.

Ahead, a rusted metal grate formed a crooked shadow on the tunnel wall. Beyond it, she could see an inexplicably light-filled room, and then darkness. “What is this?”

Her words echoed back to her in the empty space.

What lay ahead looked like an underground dungeon with a skylight overhead.

Dungeons weren’t common in valley stories. At least not in the ones I heard from Gran. In fact, there was only one dungeon she could recall—the pit beneath the moonstone court. The one described, ever so breathlessly, in that ridiculous “Ladies’ Guide to the Valley” pamphlet.

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