Page 55 of Sea of Stars

“Look, I told you I worked for the king and you didn't seem to have any trouble believing that, old man," Garret said. "So believe me now when I tell you, again, that I didn’t know Trench. If he was on a quest to kidnap the girl, I would have known about it. He wasn’t working under the king’s authority. I swear.”

What Garret didn’t mention was that the person on assignment to deal with Mahlia was sitting right next to him. Even if Garret was holding out parts of the truth, he didn’t seem to be lying about the other human named Trench. Picturing traveling to the Iron Gates sent chills up my back, though.

“I think Garret is right,” I said. “Maybe the humans aren’t to blame for this. We need to go north.” I knew I had to agree with him. He and Harish had agreed to find Mahlia before searching for the daggers. They wouldn't try to head in the wrong direction. If they knew that King Septon II wasn't involved in her disappearance, then I had to believe them. I just needed to make sure once we got to Mahlia that they wouldn't get close to her.

Garret looked at me strangely for a second. “Wait, we forgot about Breghton’s prediction.” He turned and grabbed Harish's knife out of Augury's satchel. Before any symbols had a chance to ignite, he quickly tossed it toward me.

I reached my hand out and grabbed hold of the handle. The steel blade erupted with the strange blue symbols. I read it slowly, trying not to misread the markings. “Not one, but two, shall rise from the ground below. You’ll save the one by taking a gift from the fellow.”

I looked up at the watchful eyes around me. “She’s here! She’s somewhere in the desert,” Achates said excitedly.

“The ground below could mean anywhere. All the ground is below,” Harish said grumpily.

“That’s the point, you idiot," Achates snapped. "You have to read into the words. The prediction was set here in the desert. So it’s the ground below us right now.”

“So you expect us to just wait here for another clue?” Garret asked. “That’s ridiculous.”

“They’re not clues,” Augury said. “They’re the truth of the future. They are what is to come. You wouldn’t understand, human.” Augury had seemed rather calm earlier, but now her voice was filled with disgust.

“Fine,” Garret huffed. “I’ll just get my own prediction and head on my way then.” He reached out for the knife in my hands.

I couldn't let Garret go off by himself. If he found Mahlia, he'd kill her. I had to stop him, but before I could react, Augury started yelling.

“Humans are not meant to know the future!” Augury screamed, pulling out the original Assassin’s Dagger from under her skirt and slicing Garret’s arm.

Garret pulled his sword from its sheath and drew it up in front of him.

“Stop!” Denton yelled, running over and pulling the dagger from Augury’s tight grip. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying. The dagger is too powerful for her. It’s been against her skin for too long. She’s been corrupted.”

I cursed under my breath. Denton should have just let Augury kill the traitor. Then I wouldn't have to worry about watching him so closely.

Augury kneaded her hands together. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled repeatedly and sat down on the ground.

“Achates is right,” Denton added. “Mahlia is somewhere in the desert. Now we just need to figure out where.”

Garret still had his sword out. “So what, we just wait in the desert while the ground rumbles? I don’t want to know what lies beneath the sands. It’s suicide!”

“That’s exactly what we do,” I said. “Whatever is down there is most likely the second thing rising from the ground, and it has something that will help us save Mahlia. ‘You’ll save the one by taking a gift from the fellow.’ ”

“You’re mad.” Garret looked around and saw that there seemed to be a sense of agreement between us. “You’re all mad!”

“Are we in agreement to stay in the desert then?” Vellswar asked, unaffected by Garret’s words.

Everyone but Harish and Garret nodded their consent.

“Off with you then,” Achates said, pushing his hands through the air, showing them that he wanted them to go away. “Go back and play with the humans. We’re going to wait for whatever’s under the earth to escape. In the meantime, if I recall correctly, there’s a drop spot in this desert just south of here.”

Garret was quick to respond to this bit of news. “You expect us to go out on our own? No way. We stick together. If this doesn’t work, then we will all travel to the Iron Gates. All I want is to save Mahlia.”

Achates pulled down on his beard as he thought. We were all waiting to hear what he had to say, but instead he angrily grabbed his bag and walked away. He was heading south, deeper into the desert.

Chapter 20

The sun was hot as we trudged forward. The top of my head was burning despite my thick hair. I lagged behind the group, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Denton was heavy and he couldn’t keep this pace for long. I just had to wait for him to slow down and join me. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, removing the sweat before it dripped into my eyes.

Before I knew it, Denton slowed and started to fall behind. When he was right in front of me, I reached out, pulled his satchel from his arm, and knocked it to the ground. The contents spilled out in all directions. Denton turned and the rest of the group stopped.

“So clumsy, Denton,” I laughed. "Go ahead, you guys. I’ll help him clean it up."

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