Diamond Bonds (5 page)

Di’s jaw drops.  “Th-Then, when you were behind that tree, you were shaping the ground!?”

“Yup!”  Era points along the ground between the tree and the pit.  “Don’t step anywhere along there, or you’ll fall in too.”

Jem hops over the invisible line, making her way back toward the path.  “That’s not the first time he’s pulled that off in a fight.  Don’t feel too bad, Di. I thought it was sheer coincidence the first time, too.”

Di trots after the two and exclaims, “N-No Era, that’s… that’s too strong!  You can’t do that without
years
of practice!”

“Well, it
did
take me years of practice.”

“No, I mean years and
years!
”

“More like it took him years and years to bother doing it,” Jem remarks.  “Why didn’t you do it at the beginning?”

“Hey, I needed over a minute to do that-”

“So start sooner!”

Era knows there’s little point in arguing further with his partner.  He turns to Di and says, “The technique is mostly useless.  Minutes don’t just happen in the middle of a fight.  I was lucky he opted to pin me instead of push the advantage.”

Di cautiously asks, “So, you don’t… you don’t kill people, right?”

Jem shakes her head.  “Stealing doesn’t seem so bad in comparison, right?”

Di laughs and looks up, realizing they’ve come back to the path with the ransacked carriage.  Era and Jem pause, and they signal for Di to stay behind them.  Creeping up to the carriage door, Era peeks in to find a young woman, the driver, and a guard all tied up.

“Whew!” Era exclaims, wiping his forehead. “I thought they might’ve killed you all.  Want some help getting out of there?” he asks as he leans in and starts working at the ropes binding the woman.

“Who are you?” the guard demands.  “Are you really here to help us?”

“Seems that way,” Era affirms.  “We were passing by, saw the bandits, and took them out for you.”  He gets frustrated with the ropes and scoops up some dirt to form a small blade, then makes quick work of the bindings.

Once freed, the woman stands and hugs Era before he can help the others.  “Oh, thank you so much!  I can’t believe how lucky we are you all came along!”

Era blushes and grins as she continues to hold him.  “S-Sure!  You’re welcome, Miss…?”

“Andrea!” she exclaims, releasing Era from her hug.  “What are your names?”

“I’m Era.  That’s Jem and Di.”

She offers the girls long hugs while Era unties the others.  He can’t help but notice the guard eyeing Jem with suspicion, but it’s not uncommon for the foreigner to draw attention to herself. Allerians are a rare sight this far into Valvoren.

Andrea, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to balk.  After letting go of Di, she says, “My, you’re a small one.  How old are you?”

Di proudly stands as tall as she can.  “Almost fourteen!”

“Fourteen!  Ah, to be young again.  Fourteen is dating age, you know!”  She offers Di a wink, and the schoolgirl blushes and gives Era an awkward glance.  “So what are you all doing in these parts?  Isn’t it dangerous to travel alone like this?”

Jem smirks and crosses her arms.  “That seems an odd thing to say, given what just happened to
you
.”

The gruff officer points at Jem and barks, “Careful there, missy.  I’d have liked to see you put up a fight being in that carriage when it got blown over.”  Looking around, he asks with a suspicious tone, “What’d you do with the awful lot, anyway? How’d you take them out?”

She shrugs.  “Era here’s a hired guard for me and Di, and he single-handedly scared them off.  They’re probably long gone by now.”

Everyone turns and looks at Era, who seems as surprised as they are.  He scratches his head and explains, “Uhh… yeah, I guess I know how to put up a fight!”

The guard looks him over.  “With just that tiny blade?”

Era tosses the small earth knife at the man, who cringes before he’s showered with loose sand.  “Earth shaper,” Era explains smugly.

The guard growls in response, but Andrea claps her hands ecstatically.  “Okay, okay, we have plenty of time to sort it all out.  You
must
be my guests tonight!  You won’t get much past Brentan before dark anyway, especially on foot.  I’ll feed you and give you a change of clothes, and you can sleep in my guest suite.”

Di gets an excited look on her face before Jem breaks in. “Sorry, we need to keep moving-” Her eyes light up as she processes Andrea’s words.  “Wait, a guest
suite?
”

“Yes!  And I’ll have my butler whip up a fine meal.  Please stay!”

“A butler!?” Jem repeats as she offers Era a goofy grin.  “Sure, why not?  We’ll go with you!”

Di claps in excitement, but Era knows full well what Jem has in mind.  Rarely is a thief invited into a luxurious home.

*              *              *

“What an amazing fight!” Andrea exclaims after Jem finishes an embellished version of their conflict with the bandits.  “I can’t believe you’d risk your lives like that for strangers!”

Jem sits opposite Andrea in the carriage as the men out front continue to guide them on their way, gleefully telling her story. “Well, we
did
get lucky, but it all worked out in the end.  Era’s a good bodyguard.  So strong and manly, after all,” she says, not hiding the sarcasm.

Andrea excitedly gasps.  “So, are you two-”

“No!” Era and Jem emphatically state in perfect unison.

Andrea frowns.  “O-Oh, you two just seem so perfect for each other.”  Looking at the blushing Era, she asks in a disappointed voice, “So you really are just a hired guard?”

Era nods fervently and gives the answer he’d been scripting in his head. “Jem and Di are sisters who were visiting relatives in Yugar.  I was hired to escort them back home to Hensi.”

Di panics at Era’s terrible lie, and the maiden glances back and forth between the Allerian and Valvoran in confusion.

Jem quickly adds, “We’re adopted sisters, obviously.”

Her curiosity piqued, Andrea says, “I’d love to hear about it over dinner.  Still, that’s quite a journey for sisters so young.  Why not travel by train?  If you have the money to hire a guard, you could surely afford a few tickets.”

Jem shoots Era a nasty look for having to patch so many holes in his story.  “My sister’s stomach is weak and can’t handle train rides,” she explains.  Di puffs her cheeks at being used for such an excuse.

“Oh my,” Andrea says, taking everything they say at their word.  “Well, you two have a good guard for the journey, at least.  And an earth shaper?  I don’t think I’ve met one before today!”

Era beats his chest and brags, “Yep!  My father was an even better earth shaper, too.  One day I hope to be as skilled as him.  He’s one of the greatest… ummm… bodyguards who ever lived!”

“Your father sounds wonderful!” Andrea exclaims.

He nods enthusiastically.  “He told me once that the world is full of lovely women, and I should always stand up to protect them.  But only the most beautiful ones!”

Andrea laughs, taking it as a joke, but Di decides he must be serious.  ‘
Just what kind of man is his father?
’ she wonders.

“O-Oh, my!” Andrea exclaims, grasping at her neck and shoulders.  “My necklace!  I just noticed… it must have come off in the commotion back there!”

“Oh, Andrea!” Jem moans.  “I’m so sorry, but I think I saw one of those nasty bandits making off with a necklace in his hand.”

Andrea gasps.  “That necklace was made with imported emeralds!”

“I-Imported?  From Alleria!?” Era asks.  “I’ve never heard of importing things like that.”

“There’s certainly a market for such things, and emeralds are only mined over there.”  With a sigh, she says, “Well, I suppose it’s not worth stressing.  The important thing is that we’re all safe!”

That the woman could shrug off such a loss sickens Jem.  The poor Allerian leans her head out the window to find the road winding through croplands.  “Didn’t realize the hill country was so rich with crops,” she comments.

“Oh my, yes,” Andrea replies.  “This year is important, too.  Next season is the year of the dark ravagers.”

Di raises an eyebrow.  “That sounds ominous.”

“Naturally, you would be oblivious to the plight of the common folk,” Jem snidely states.  “Dark ravagers are little flying bugs with major appetites.  They show up once every seven years, devour our crops, and lay eggs that will hatch in seven years.”

“Ew!” Di exclaims, wrinkling her nose.

“That’s why the sixth harvest is so important,” Andrea adds.  “Our storehouses must be packed or we will face starvation.”

Jem shields her eyes from the setting sun and asks, “Is that Brentan up there?  I didn’t know you had such an impressive wall.”

“We’re proud of it, for sure.  My father funded the project ten years ago.  It keeps our village safe from brigands and the like.”

“That’s impressive,” Jem says with interest.  “Is your father the mayor or something?”

“No, no.  Father is a businessman from Nadar,” she says.  “He made his money when they moved the capital and established the road through the Impals.  Business flourished, and he benefited.  He retired here right before the war started.”

Era glances at Jem, whose eyes have already glazed over as she envisions a lifestyle entirely opposite her own.  It’s hard not to envy those who stumble into such luxury, and the thought makes him wonder about Di.  The girl must have a noble heritage.

“It’s a humble place to retire,” Jem comments as she watches the farmers packing their tools for the night.  “Your money must have tripled the local economy.”

“It’s certainly been a boon,” Andrea says proudly.  “The wall’s construction was started during the war, both to keep the economy going and to protect us in case the Allerians-”  She cuts herself off and offers an apologetic glance to her Allerian guest.

Jem laughs aloud.  “I’m no stranger to these conversations.  Given how far the Allerians made it past the border, the wall was a good idea.”

Andrea looks relieved.  “Well, it wasn’t used during the war.  Its construction took longer than anticipated, and the truce was drawn so abruptly.”

Di looks confused.  “Why was it abrupt?”

“The late king was killed in a battle across the border,” Jem says flatly.  “The Valvoran army was thrown into chaos, the Allerians pushed in… don’t you know your history?”

“I-I knew all that!” Di insists.

“Really?” Jem asks with a smug grin.

“Yes!  The new king mustered his forces and defeated the Allerians west of Maaman,” she says in response.  “He offered a truce, supposedly in spite of a significant strategic advantage.”

Era glances to Jem, who has turned to watching the passing crops.  It almost seems like her breathing has escalated as she tries to tune out the conversation.  She doesn’t like talking about the war, and he wonders about the nature of her sensitivity.

Andrea chimes in, “I was just a teenager at the time, but I can still remember the fear melting away from the hearts of the villagers.  It was most fortunate timing.”

The carriage slows to a stop at the town gate as a guard makes an inspection.  He chats with the driver and proceeds to open the carriage door.  “G’evening Miss Andrea-”  He abruptly pauses when he sees Jem.

“Good evening!” Andrea replies.  “Please accept Jem here, as well as Era and Di as my guests for the evening.  They saved my life in an act of true courage today.”

Jem offers a smug smile and a wave, but the guard doesn’t return the gesture.  He reluctantly closes the door and waves them on.  The carriage starts to move again, taking them into the town.

Andrea appears distraught over the encounter.  “My, I didn’t realize you would cause such a stir.”

“I cause a stir everywhere I go!” she says proudly, placing her hands behind her head.  “People love me.”

Era grins.  “You never fail to draw attention, that’s for sure.”

The road leads into a wooded lot, and the carriage pulls up to an impressive house built into the city wall itself.  It stands two levels high, and its roof meets the top of the wall.  The second story has a much smaller footprint than the rest of the house, providing a walk-out deck that can be accessed from the top floor.

Jem lets loose a whistle.  “Woods in a walled city?”

“I thought we were getting out of the forest,” Di pouts.

“Ha, there are probably fewer trees inside the house,” Era chides.

The driver and guard hitch the horse to a nearby fence post and head back toward the main city.  As her guests stretch, Andrea approaches her front door, which is made from the same stone as the wall, and it swings open to reveal a scrawny but tall old man.  “Miss Andrea, thank goodness!” the butler exclaims as he embraces his mistress.  “Aren’t you quite late?  You had me worried!”

“Oh, Connor, stop it,” Andrea says while pushing him back.  “We just had a late start this morning is all!  How are you this evening?”