A Curse of Gems by BRITTANY FICHTER

Author:BRITTANY FICHTER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BRITTANY FICHTER

30

THE ONE THING

Lucas’s heart sank as he watched more than twenty torches light the forest around them. Men dressed in sashes and billowy pants and tunics of bright colors surrounded them, short-swords in hand. Lucas was a formidable swordsman, but, as with the village, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself and two women from this many foes.

Please, he prayed, as he and the Taistille made and held eye-contact, don’t let me lose them. For their sake, keep us safe.

One of the men, probably in his late third or early fourth decade, stepped forward and began calling out in a language Lucas had never heard before. Several of the younger men handed their torches off and began to advance upon Lucas and the women, who were now at the center of the Taistille circle. One began to loose the mule, and another set eyes on the women. Three of them stalked toward him.

He could take three easily. King Everard had trained him to fend off as many as five at once. But these men weren’t likely to watch their brothers go down. Their eyes were too sharp, too focused. Briefly, thoughts of what they might do to Jaelle and his mother sped through Lucas’s mind, prompting him to send up another volley of prayers.

“We mean no one harm,” Lucas called as they began to advance. “We only mean to pass through the forest.”

This only seemed to bring them faster, which was why he was shocked when Jaelle’s cry was received so differently.

“Stop!”

Everyone, even the Taistille leader, paused to look at her. She was holding up a thick circle of leather about the size of her fist with some sort of crest stamped upon it. Then, to Lucas’s horror, she removed her scarf. Diamonds came tumbling down, and even worse, she continued to speak.

“Your sehf bestowed this on me!” she shouted. “She said if I were ever in need, to give this to the first Taistille troop I saw, and you would deliver it to her!”

No one moved for a long moment. But after the elder warriors exchanged a round of wary glances, one of them stalked forward and snatched the medallion from Jaelle’s hands. He squinted at it and turned it over again before gesturing to some of the younger men, who jogged up to him. They spoke for a moment in hushed tones in a language Lucas didn’t recognize, and Lucas wished he could understand what the man had said to them as four of the young men took off, each in a different direction.

As they obeyed, the man did something that couldn’t have surprised Lucas more. With the toe of his boot, he buried the diamonds that Jaelle had let loose in the dirt, careful not to actually touch any of them. Then he waved the others on, but he remained by Jaelle and Lucas’s sides as the other members of the circle spread out. More lights began to flicker on as lanterns and more torches were lit. And rather than a Taistille army, the light revealed all sorts of wooden vehicles.

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