The Secrets of Earth House: the Elementalists, #2 by Michelle Jarvis

Author:Michelle Jarvis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paper Mage Publishing

Eleven

There were more people on the road now. Wagons hauling goods, people pushing carts, carrying bundles, or herding animals. They were coming from the hidden farms Aggy had told her about, Ros assumed, the ones the new fields and flowers had displaced. All were moving in the same direction—the closed gate of Earth house.

“Why is the gate closed?” she asked. She’d never known any house to close their gates in times of peace, and since peace was all Ros had known in her twenty years, the sight of the closed gates sent a nervous trill rushing through her.

She wasn’t expecting an answer, so it surprised her when the guard’s whisper filled her ear. “Too many mouths and not enough food. They bring in goods to sell, but not crops, which is what we need.”

“Can’t the Elementalists grow more to feed the people?”

The guard scoffed. “Can they? Yes. Will they? Not when they’re ordered to do otherwise.”

“That makes little sense.”

“Welcome to life outside your castle, princess. Now, keep your head down and your mouth closed. The gate guards aren’t as friendly as I am.”

The guard raised Rosalinde’s hood over her head and when it fell to cover her eyes, she didn’t complain. Though she had never been arrested before, and her time on horseback and with guards had always been to gain attention rather than go unnoticed, Ros still recognized that there was something strange about the guard’s actions. Bringing in a high priority criminal, as they surely considered her at this point, should give the guards an air of pride. They would be regarded as heroes and probably rewarded. So why were they being so quiet about it? Ros expected them to show their catch to anyone who looked their way, hoping to get a promotion or at least a bit of coin for her capture. Keeping her hidden was suspicious.

As their approach grew even more congested with travelers, one of the other guards riding behind them yelled, “Make way!”

Though she couldn’t see the faces of the people they passed because of the hood, she could see their bodies turn to take in the procession and immediately scurry out of the way. Something about these guards in particular seemed to make people nervous. Even Aggy had seemed anxious around them, though she’d done her best to avoid showing it.

A few minutes later, they were sitting in front of the still-closed gates. The guards atop had refused to open for them, or the other citizens gathered outside, citing the need for their commander to give the all clear. Ros noticed a tremble in the man’s voice as he had delivered that pronouncement to the guard who sat behind her, but whatever caused it wasn’t enough to go against his order to keep the gate locked.

A loud creak scraped through the air around them as the gates opened enough for one rider to come out. The assembly parted with reluctance, and Ros could hear some grumbling about taking a run at the gates when they opened again to let the rider back in.

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