Page 56 of Sea of Stars

I ducked down and began picking up the items. Everyone started walking again. Denton crouched down beside me.

“What’s going on?” he whispered.

“I overheard Harish and Garret talking early this morning while everyone was still asleep. Garret is working for King Septon II too. He was on an expedition searching for the blood daggers when he found Mahlia’s grandparents. They’re planning on killing Mahlia and then tricking Achates and Augury into le

ading them to the rest of the daggers.”

Denton processed the information as he put all the items back into his bag. He glanced over his shoulder. In a low voice, he said, “We have to tell them. I have an idea, but it’s going to take some time.”

He placed the last of the contents into his satchel. I wanted more information, but he turned and rose. We both jogged to join back up with the others. I waited impatiently for Denton’s plan to unfold. The ground suddenly began shaking, much more violently than before. I lost my balance and stumbled to the side.

I looked over at Denton and saw that he was sprawled out on the sand.

“Someone help! Something’s wrong with Denton!” I screamed.

Augury ran over, a little shaky on her feet herself. Luckily everyone else remained on the ground where they had fallen. They were enjoying their rest, and didn't seem at all concerned about Denton's health. She spread out her hair on his chest and listened for his heartbeat. His head was turned to the side, away from everyone. I saw him tilt it down slightly and whisper something into the ends of her hair. Her body froze as she listened. My own body relaxed. I thought something had actually happened to Denton.

“Achates, bring me some water! He’s dehydrated.”

Harish chuckled. He was picking at the ropes with his fingers, and staring at the ground. He acted tough, but I knew he was scared of whatever lurked underneath of us.

Achates brought over the water and crouched down next to Denton and Augury. Augury poured some water into Denton’s mouth and he slowly sat up. She tilted her head and rested it on Achates' shoulder. Her mouth was right next to his beard. She must have told him about Garret too because Achates rose with a scowl on his face.

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that human!” Achates yelled.

"Achates, no," Augury whispered harshly.

The plan had gone so well until this point. Garret turned. Even human ears would have heard what Achates had just said. He saw Achates strutting towards him and began running.

“Vellswar stop him!” Achates yelled, pointing at Garret.

Garret didn't hesitate. He quickened his pace and was running as fast as he could. His steps were small and clumsy in the deep sand, though.

Vellswar was sitting on the ground. He quickly rose and charged after Garret. Within several steps the Brutarian had caught up to the human. He leapt through the air and tackled him to the ground. Vellswar rolled off of Garret.

Garret was sprawled face first on the ground. His hands were now tied behind his back. He lifted his head and spit out sand. "Was that necessary?! You could have squashed me to death!"

Vellswar ignored him. “What did he do?” he asked, stretching his hands above his head as if he had just woken up from a nap rather than nearly killing someone.

“He’s still working for King Septon II. I overheard Harish and him conspiring against us.” I was relieved that everyone actually believed me. But maybe they had listened only because Denton was the one who had told them about the situation. I expected Harish to bolt next. Instead he sat there scowling.

Vellswar shrugged his shoulders. “What should we do with them? I have a few ideas." A wicked grin flashed across his face. He was missing a few teeth.

“We keep them with us. They could actually prove useful,” Achates mumbled. “Maybe they are important to their king. Scum like this would be important to a human king."

Garret didn’t bother arguing with us. He slowly sat up. His shoulders were slumped forward in defeat. He spit out more of the sand from his mouth and glared at us.

Augury was shaking her head back and forth. She was clearly upset that she had trusted Garret. She placed her hand on Achates' back and they began walking once again.

"Come on then," Vellswar said, grabbing Harish by the hair and pulling him to a standing position.

"Get off me, you brute!"

Vellswar's body tensed, but only for a second. I could tell that the slang term for his race upset him.

"You too," Vellswar snarled and picked Garret up the same way. When neither of them moved he pushed them both hard in the back. "Go on!"

Harish and Garret walked silently in front of the group. Mikado and Vellswar lumbered slowly behind them. In order to stay with the group, Vellswar had to take very slow, small steps. He would stop occasionally to pet Mikado. In the brutarian's presence, Mikado seemed to have abandoned his lust for revenge. It was almost as if Vellswar had some kind of enchanting power over him. Mountain dwellers originally resided in the mountains near the Iron Gates. I wondered if Vellswar had taken some from there and had been breeding them on the Azure Cliffs ever since he was exiled.

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