Broken (31 page)

Above the jeweler’s door hung a rustic old sign that read, “Rhombus” and next to it, a crude diamond carved into the wood.

“Rhombus?” she asked Octavion.

“It is the shape there. It means diamond. Some of the villagers know an older language and cannot read well. It is best to keep things simple for them.” He led her to the door and then took a few steps back. “You will need to enter alone, Kira. Explain that it is for me and he will know which ones to show you.”

Kira pushed out her lower lip in a juvenile, over exaggerated frown. “You can’t even come in his shop?” If she thought it would have done any good she would have stomped her foot.

“No, my love. This is also his home. Besides, I have some shopping to do of my own. I will not be far.” Then he motioned with his hand for Kira to go in.

She straightened her back—hoping it would bring her more courage—then turned and rapped three times on the door. She heard footsteps approach from the other side. At first they were light and she could barely hear them, but as they grew closer they became heavy and almost creepy, like she’d imagined a giant would make. She turned to question Octavion, but he’d vanished into the crowd.

Traitor
, she thought.

When the latch twitched, Kira stepped away from the door. Her eyes were fixed on the space at the top of the doorway where a man’s face would be to match the daunting footsteps, but when it opened and she saw the man standing there, her mouth about hit the ground.

He was not much taller than Arela—a stub of a man who was almost as big around as he was tall. His mousy brown hair jutted out in all directions and his beard went almost to the middle of his belly. But despite his unusual appearance, the first thing that drew Kira’s attention to him was his smile. Even with the fullness of his beard she saw his heartwarming grin peeking through. His cheeks were red and shiny and he had a glint in his eye. She laughed inside, for her first impression was a miniature—rather rustic—Santa Clause.

“Lady Kira,” he said in a chirpy, high pitch voice. “I should have guessed you would find my establishment eventually. I am Kueelok.”

He took her hand and led her into the room. She’d expected it to be dark and dreary, but there were candles everywhere illuminating the gemstones meticulously displayed around the room. It was like being in a candy store; every nook and cranny filled with gems and crystals. Some were piled in glass jars, but others were cut perfectly and mounted in unique settings of silver or gold, resting against pieces of black fabric. He had crystals of every shape and color hanging from the rafters on delicate strings of silver or leather cording, each one reflecting the glow of the candles. They cast tiny flashes of color that fluttered around the room—as if fairies danced about.

He led her to the center of the room, then turned to face her. “I trust you have something in mind.” He looked at her with anticipation.

“I need a . . . I mean . . .”
Well crap!
“Um,” Oh, she was making such a great first impression. She took a deep breath and continued. “I want to talk to Octavion.” She finally blurted out. Then she pointed to her forehead. “In here.”

He chuckled. “Yes, yes. It is as I suspected.” He motioned for her to follow him to the far side of the room. Once there, he pulled out a small bench, slid it up to a table and offered her a cup of tea.

Kira didn’t know if refusing would be rude or misunderstood as an insult, so she accepted his offer and waited for him to pour her a cup. She smiled when he placed a mismatched set of ceramic mugs on the table with more chips along the rim than smooth places to drink from. She graciously took her first sip, testing the temperature with caution. It was perfect—a sweet aroma of honey, cinnamon and cloves.

“This is wonderful,” she told him.

“Yes, yes. I get it from the market. A sweet young thing makes it for me. Are you acquainted with Ussay?”

“Ussay made this?” She knew she’d made the tea for Mara, but had no idea she’d made a business out of it. “Does she have a place in the market where she sells this?”

“Yes, yes. Her mother and aunt sell her goods in the market for her. She prefers her station in the castle, much more rewarding, or so I am told.”

He drank his tea in two big gulps, then disappeared behind a black curtain. Seconds later a series of crashes followed by mumbled expletives came flooding out.

Kira chuckled under her breath. “Everything all right back there?”

“Yes, yes. All is well.” Another crash rang out before he appeared with a small, black leather bag drawn with a gold string. He brushed a cob web from his beard and dusted off his shoulders. “Been quite a long time since we needed such a thing in the kingdom. Wish I had a better selection, my lady.”

“That’s all right. Whatever you have will be fine.”

She watched as he fumbled through a large box in the corner of the room, finally pulling out a small swatch of black fabric, a brown bottle of liquid and a dirty old rag. He brought the items to the table and began setting his display. He laid out the fabric before sliding the stones out into his hand. One by one he touched the rag to the tiny bit of liquid he’d poured into the bottle cap, and polished each stone. He set them onto the fabric, pulling three small candles from a shelf to illuminate their full beauty.

Seven stones shone on the black velvet cloth. One she recognized as tiger’s eye and another she thought to be ruby. As he introduced each by name, she studied their unique qualities. The ruby looked similar to Lydia’s, only smaller and cut in a long tear drop shape. A blue sapphire and an emerald caught her eye, but they were almost small enough to be set for earrings and she wanted something more substantial. The tiger’s eye had been cut into a rectangle but her memories of Shandira using a similar one against her were too fresh in her mind and she refused to touch it.

The three remaining stones had names she didn’t recognize. One was pink, marbled with bits of grey, the second an almost fluorescent yellow with a rough texture. It reminded her of a lemon—not exactly what she wanted to wear around her neck the rest of her life.

The last stone, black as onyx, didn’t shine at all. To say she was a little disappointed with the selection would be an understatement. She didn’t feel like she needed to choose between which ones she liked the most, but rather choose the one she hated the least. She picked each one up and examined it closely, skipping the tiger’s eye.

“I wish Octavion could help me pick one out. He’d be much better at this than me.”

“Yes, yes. Perhaps we should venture outside to ask his opinion. I must warn you, however, it is more likely that the stone pick the person than the person pick the stone.”

Kira tried not to decipher the little man’s riddle as she followed him out the door and into the street. Octavion leaned lazily against the wall, twirling a length of leather lace in his hand.

She looked at him curiously. “What is that for?”

He winked then stuck it in his pant pocket. “Later,” he whispered. “Did you find a stone?” he asked loudly enough so Kueelok could hear him.

She turned up her nose and made a face. “Not really. I can’t decide. I thought you might help.”

Kueelok had scooped the whole lot of gems in the black cloth and now held it open in his palm with the stones piled in the center. Octavion fumbled through them, examining each one with care, holding it up to the sun and testing its weight in his hand. Then he’d hold it near Kira’s face, examine it again and quickly put it back. It didn’t take long for him to veto the entire handful.

“You are right. Not a good one in the lot. Is this all you have, old man?”

Kueelok scrunched his face in disgust. “It is, Prince Octavion. It has been too long since we have needed such a stone.”

Octavion rubbed the whiskers on his chin as he looked at Kueelock who was clearly uncomfortable in the presence of his prince. He fidgeted like a young girl waiting for her prom date.

Finally Octavion spoke. “I seem to remember you finding a rare gem when I was a boy. Dug it up near the entrance to Fire Canyon. Would you still have it in your possession or have you sold it?”

Kueelok looked confused at first, but then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers in the air. He uttered a chain of words Kira didn’t understand and then disappeared into his shop again. When he came out, he held a small wooden box in his hands. He presented it to Octavion with his biggest grin yet.

“I am not certain of its charming strength, or if it will even hold a charm, but if it serves your needs, it is yours.”

Octavion opened the lid of the box so it blocked Kira’s view. He sighed. “It is more beautiful than I remember. The shape you have chosen is magnificent.”

Kueelok jumped up on his toes to get a better look and pointed into the box. “There are two smaller stones as well. They were left over after the first cut, so I polished them.”

Octavion smiled. “I would, of course, want those as well.” He put his hand into the box and carefully withdrew the larger stone. He held it in his fist, closed his eyes and mumbled something under his breath. As he did a warm glow seeped from between his fingers, then dissipated.

Kira took a step back. “Whoa.” She’d never seen him use his powers as a Jayde before and it was rather shocking. “How . . . I mean what—Whoa.”

Octavion smiled, then opened his fingers revealing the stone. It didn’t appear to be different. Holding it between his thumb and forefinger, he presented it to Kira.

Cold to the touch, she took the stone in her hand and studied it. As it warmed, she realized it seemed familiar to her. So many times she’d found peace and love looking at what this replicated—Octavion’s eyes. Deepest blue, the stone sparkled in the sunlight. Shaped into an elongated tear, Kira thought of it as a happy tear.

“It’s perfect,” she said.

Octavion reached down, put it between his fingers again and held it up to the sun. “Look again,” he said.

Kira squinted to see it better. The radiant glow of the sun brought out tiny veins of gold throughout the entire stone—even more like his eyes. She took the stone back and held it tightly in her palm.

“Now, go away,” she demanded. “I want to see if this thing works.”

He smiled. “As you wish, my lady.” Then he simply melted away. He’d only been gone a second when she heard his thoughts.

Can you hear me now?

Kira laughed. He sounded like a stupid cell phone commercial.
Yes, now come back, I miss you.

He reappeared instantly, barely warned of his arrival. “How long will it take you to set the stone?” he asked Kueelok. “I would like a unique setting, perhaps thin strands of silver embracing the stone,”
like my arms embracing her
, he thought only to Kira. “And a silver chain, just long enough to graze her collar bone,”
where I desire her the most
.

He made her blush without even trying.
Stop that
, she begged.

He shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye and winked.
Make me
, he teased.

“Two days, maybe three,” Kueelok said, bringing the couple out of their private conversation. “Will that do?”

“That will be fine.” Octavion held out his hand for the stone, which Kira handed back reluctantly. He slipped it into the box and gave it back to Kueelok.

Kira and Octavion spent the better part of the day going from one place to another. Most of the shops were set up outdoors, like a flee market, so it made it easy for Octavion to shop with her. About halfway through the day, Kira realized that, even though they’d made several selections and Octavion had asked the vendors to have the items sent to the castle, he hadn’t actually paid for anything.

“What kind of money do you have here, coin or paper?”

“We have gold coin,” he explained. “Some merchants prefer to barter their services, but when someone comes from another village they usually pay with coin.”

“So when these merchants bring my things to the castle, someone will pay them?”

“No,
we
do not pay for our things,” he said as though he were a spoiled middle-aged geek still living at home with his
mommy
.

“What do you mean,
you don’t pay?
”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It is our way. Everything in the kingdom is ours. Why should we pay for something we already own?”

“Are you serious? That’s insane—not to mention wrong.”
Talk about uncivilized
.

Kira had raised her voice slightly, causing him to look around to see who watched. He turned to her and whispered. “Can we discuss this later, please?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I will send everything back.” She turned and walked away from him.

He quickly caught up, grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. “Kira, do not do this. It is our way. It is considered a privilege for royalty to desire their goods. They will brag about it to other merchants and to their customers, which will cause more of their wares to be purchased. It is actually good for their business.”

Kira folded her arms and stood her ground. “You pay or it all goes back. They work hard making everything with their own hands. They should be properly compensated, regardless if it is for royalty—which, by the way,
I’m not
. So, technically, I should pay for my stuff. Maybe I should get a job at the
royal palace
.” She stuck her nose in the air and looked away.