Cornerstone (20 page)

“
Mama, no!” Emariya cried out. She didn't want her mother to go. Everything was dark again. She was all alone. Everything felt and sounded far away, as if she'd pulled her fur-lined cloak around her ears. Even her thoughts felt muffled. She wasn't sure if she were awake or asleep. She wanted to see her mother again; she had so many things she wanted to ask her.

“
Will she wake?” Was that Garith's voice? It couldn't be. Emariya wasn't sure if she was dead or still in Thalmas, but Garith shouldn't have been there, regardless. Unless he'd been injured at the fjord. Oh no.

“
When she's ready, I think so.” That was definitely Jessa's voice.

“
I shouldn't have left her; I saw her sitting there. I just didn't think Russell would resort to that. I thought he was just going to try to convince her to go home.” Emariya thought Garith sounded angrier than she’d ever heard him sound before.

“
It's not your fault, Garith.” Jessa's voice was kind, as always.
She's always so nice to everyone. Well, except Khane,
thought Emariya. “Khane shouldn't have left her!”
See.

Her head throbbed just above her ear. She tried to open her eyes and look to see if Garith and Jessa were really there, but instead she saw her mother again. “You're back! Please don't leave me.” Emariya felt like a small, scared little girl again. The little girl who used to hide under the covers with Jessa during thunderstorms.

“
I can't stay, sweetheart. But you can see me again, if you want to. You just have to open yourself up to your gifts. Stop ignoring them; their whole purpose is to protect you, but they can't if you don't use them.”

Emariya was confused.
What gifts? Russell said something about gifts, too,
she thought.
And that woman in the Uplands. What had she said? Oh yes, she said that I had the touch. But Russell was saying something about ‘hearing’. Like he knew that the pass had talked to me.
“I don't understand,” she complained.

“
You bear the gifts of both the Roths and the Warrens; you just have to learn to use them. Let them guide you.”

“
Would you just tell me what you mean?” Emariya whined. Why did everything have to be so cryptic? The throbbing was back.

“
Do you think she'll be happy I came?” Garith asked. He sounded so unsure of himself.

“
Yes, of course,” Jessa said.

“
If I hadn't been so
naïve
, Russell and the Separatists wouldn't have known about her, or that she was going to wed Prince Ahlen.”

“
And if you hadn't, we might not have known the truth. It will be all right. When she wakes, we'll see what she wants to do,” Jessa reassured him.

“
I can't believe her father didn't tell her and Reeve about this. I mean, it's sort of important information.”

“
I imagine he thought he'd be able to return home and tell them before it became relevant. You know,” Jessa added, “perhaps the reason he went to Sheas in the first place was to see if he could find someone to help guide Emariya in regards to the gifts of the Roths.”

“
Maybe, but still…” Garith didn't sound convinced.

“
I know. I do agree. I know she was starting to hear things. It saved her life in the Uplands. She heard a voice tell her to stop right before someone shot at us. But it was also worrying her. I think she may have thought she was going crazy. I think
I
thought she was going a little crazy.” Jessa laughed. “She said that the stone at Three Stone Pass spoke to her.” She added quietly, “Garith, is she going to be all right? I mean, these powers, will they hurt her?”

“
I don't think so. I think it will depend a lot on what she does with them. There are those who fear them being misused, but we both know Emariya would never do that. I mean, you just said that she saved her own life with them in the Uplands, even if she didn't know she was doing it. That doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.”

“
Mother said something to me before we left. It was bugging me, and I didn't really understand then. But now I think I do. She said, 'Make sure she keeps her ears open.' I think Mother knew,” Jessa said.

“
She may have only suspected, but you might be right.”

“
She also said, 'She has to chose her own path.' Emariya said the stones told her the same thing at the pass.”

Emariya was standing in front of her mother again. “How am I supposed to know which path to choose?” she asked.

Valencia smiled at her. “I have faith in you. You'll choose the right one.” And then she was gone.

“
Come back…” Emariya murmured. But the throbbing was back, and her mother was gone. She could feel a deep ache where Russell had gripped her hair. The ground was hard beneath her, and someone was holding her hand.

“
Emariya? Emariya, we're right here.” It was Garith. “Oh, thank The Three, I think she's waking up. Emariya, can you hear me?”

She tried to nod. The movement made her head feel like it was falling, and nausea bit at her throat. Summoning all her strength, she tried to turn onto her side. She felt Jessa's gentle hands behind her shoulder, helping her as she retched. Exhausted, she lay back against the ground and slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she'd been run over by a runaway horse. Slowly, with their help, she managed to sit up. She looked around for Khane and Rink, but didn't see them. Jessa answered before she could even ask. “They are fine; they went to see if they could find some firewood somewhere. I'm sure they will be back shortly.”

Emariya nodded, overcome with relief. She turned to Garith. He was looking at her cautiously. She flung her arms around his neck. “I can't believe you are actually here.”

“
I'm sorry, Riya, I should have been with you all along. But I'm here now, and I'll be with you until you send me away. But listen, we do need to talk.”

Emariya knew he was right. She had a lot of questions, and she suspected Garith might have a few answers for her.

“
Lady Emariya!” Rink ran up to her and threw his arms around her in a vicious hug, nearly knocking her back to the ground.

“
It's all right, Rink, it’s all right now. I'm fine.” She smiled at him. “How are you feeling, though?”

“
Oh, much better! My cough barely bothers me at all.” He grinned, “Don’cha worry, I won't take ill on ya. And I'll stay right by your side; if anyone else wants to try and knock you out they'll have to go through me!” They all laughed.

“
You are very brave.” Emariya hugged him.

“
Milady.” Khane was standing back a bit from everyone else. Emariya looked up at him. “I'm so sorry, Milady. I went t’ relieve myself and I turned back t’ the fire and you were gone. I heard you scream, but the campsite had become such chaos, I couldn't figure out which way they'd taken you. I'm mighty glad you're all right. Please forgive me?”

Emariya nodded. “It's all right, no harm done.” She forgave him easily. At least now she would have Garith to help protect her, as well. Judging by the way their journey was going so far, she was going to need it.

Looking at Garith, she said, “All right. Out with it. Everything. What in the world are these Stones everyone keeps talking about?”

Beside her, Rink gasped, “Well I'll be—she really don't know.” He shook his head in disbelief.

Together, Garith and Rink told her what they knew. Garith told what he'd learned from the Separatists. Rink had heard about the three gifts and the Cornerstones from his father, but he didn't know of the prophecies foretelling the dangers of the lines merging, and didn't put much stock in it. “Sounds to me like gibberish,” he said.

“
I don't know,” Jessa spoke up. “That would be an awful lot of responsibility for one person to contain all three gifts. Someone could be corrupted by all that power. It's why Eltar isn't led by one, but by Council. Can you imagine one ruler, with the ability to hear of his enemies plans, see the outcomes of battles before they happened, and wield the power of earth?”

“
Milady, my father told me stories of when your mother came to Eltar. He heard from Lord Calkirk that when your mother presented herself to the Council, she did it in the hope of peace for all of The Three Corners. She thought it was possible to utilize the gifts, to unite the three. She said that apart, all three lands were weaker, a corner broken off of the whole. Each land wants for something, but if they were one again, everyone would have what they needed.”

Khane spoke up. “And she died without having united even two of the three. In fact, the fighting got worse, not better. There will never be peace between the three. Milady, this marriage is your best hope for peace for Eltar. Don't worry over the whole of the three. And don't forget, Sheas has your father. I think we need to concentrate on the task at hand.”

Emariya could see the truth in his words. She just wanted to protect her own land and save her father. She wasn't ready to pick up her mother's crusade. She realized she hadn't told them what Russell had said. Quietly, she told them, “Russell all but admitted he killed my mother. All because she was a Stone.”

Jessa hugged her hard.

Khane's eyes darkened. “Then the sooner we put some distance between us and them, the better.”

“
I am almost positive Prince Ahlen knows of the gifts, and there is a good possibility he knows of the lore of the three Cornerstones. Riya, the Separatists didn't know that any Second Stones existed. They thought Valencia died before having children.” Garith gulped. “But the prince knew about you. He asked your brother for your hand.”

Emariya looked at him; she could tell he was trying to convey something important. She wasn't sure if her brain was still fuzzy from being unconscious or what, but she wasn't grasping what he was saying.

Garith took Emariya by the shoulders. “Emariya, how did he know? Lord Warren purposefully kept you and Reeve a secret from Thalmas and Sheas. Somehow, the prince found out and I think he is trying to use you to create a merged bloodline. He may be plotting to try and take over Eltar and Sheas. We have no guarantee that he would content himself with an alliance, and given what we know about the Stones, I don't think we can risk you going to Castle Ahlen.”

“
But Garith, how can I not go? Not only did I give my word, but I need his help if I am to convince Sheas to release my father!”

“
Not necessarily, Sheas has held ill will against Eltar for your mother's death. But it was the Separatists that killed her, not Eltar. If we go to the Roths and tell them—”

Khane interrupted, “Have you forgotten? The Roths no longer control Sheas. Rees Hendel does. The Roths hide in exile.”

Garith spoke up again, “But the whole reason the Roths were overthrown was Rees's anger at the loss of Valencia, wasn't it? It's exactly why they might react differently if they knew about Emariya and Reeve and the truth of Valencia's death. Obviously he must have cared deeply about Valencia to take such drastic action. As much as Emariya looks like her, he couldn't deny she is Valencia's daughter.”

“
The only thing Rees Hendel cares about is power. His power is vested in Sheas’s anger over the loss of their heiress. He'd be as likely to kill Emariya to hide the truth as he would be to welcome her,” Khane spoke angrily.

Emariya had been listening to them. But one thought gripped her with fear. The Separatists may not have known that she existed before, but now they did. And it wasn't just her they knew about now. “We've got to warn Reeve,” Emariya said. “Russell will probably send men to the castle, thinking we’re headed there. But I think he will also go after Reeve. He was very worried that I might be able to warn him, using my mother’s…” she hesitated, “…gift,” she finished, using the word she'd heard the others use, but it felt strange to say it. She really wasn't sure how she felt about what she'd learned. It was nice to have an explanation for the random voices she was hearing, but she wasn't ready to embrace it as a gift just yet. “Why would Russell worry that I would warn Reeve if he wasn't planning to go to Warren's Rest?”

Jessa and Garith looked troubled. Finally, Khane spoke up. “I think your brother would care more about you getting the resources to get your father home than you coming back to warn him without reinforcements. He's got the whole of Warren's Rest there to help protect him.”

“
So did my mother!” Emariya snapped. She felt trapped. Either choice she made, someone was at risk. “Sorry,” she said. She shouldn't have yelled at him; she knew he was only trying to help. And he was probably right. If he could talk to her right now, Reeve would tell her not to worry about him. He would urge her to continue on to Thalmas. She sighed. “I just don't know,” she said in frustration.

Garith titled his head back, looking up at the sky as if seeking answers before he glanced back at Emariya. “I really don't think you should risk going to going to Castle Ahlen until we find out more about Prince Ahlen's intentions. Even if his intentions are pure, it could be dangerous for all of us if you marry him. We just don't know enough about the prophecies, or how he found out about you in the first place. Obviously the Separatists can't be trusted, but that doesn't mean that their lore is wrong.”