Liara sat beside a fire and tasted something she stirred. Several bantas and a coney roasted on a spit. "Where have ye been?" she asked.

"In yon tower."

Her eyes widened. "Ye have a sword unlike any I've ever seen."

He nodded. "Fits my hand as though 'twas forged for me... And there was this." He held up the portrait.

Andalor strode from the pool. He stared at the picture. "How came ye by a painting of Reena and Liara?"

Brader shook his head. "Look closer, 'Tis not your Queen and Liara but an ancient portrait of two who are long dead."

Valmir and Stilenta waved from the entrance to the courtyard. "Come and see the mosaic map we found. 'Tis a marvel," Valmir said.

"If it's accurate, another five days will see us to the Screaming Hills." Stilenta tugged Liara's hand.

"Let Brader go. I don't want our dinner to burn."

When Brader reached the area near the pool, he crouched and studied the map. He saw the port of Quato and the isle of the High Sanctuary. Ships seemed to move on the sea. The road from Pala was clearly marked. He blinked. For a moment, he thought he saw movement on the Pala road not too distant from the other side of the Hills. How could that be? He sank back and looked at his friends.

"Ye are right. 'Tis a marvel." He rose. "Where's Disa."

"Gathering briarberries," Stilenta said.

"Let me help her." Brader headed toward the pools.

CHAPTER 29.

From The Songs of Earda Ho hum, diddley dum, Diddley, diddley dum. Once there was a lyrcat As sleek as he could be. He spotted a glittering flitter High in a willah tree. Oh, Mistress Flitter Come to me. We will fall in love And become a family.

Andalor moved into the courtyard and reached for Stilenta's pack. He slipped out several packets of medicinals he knew could either cure or cause illness. He dropped them in the pockets of the desert robe. Not for his travel companions, but for the balalas.

Five days to the Screaming Hills. When he'd studied the mosaic map, he'd seen movement on the Pala road. He'd returned several times and seen that the small dot had changed. He had to give Reena a chance to find and destroy the White before Liara held the fabled Jewel.

"Andalor."

He turned. How much had Disa seen? "What do ye want? Have they sent ye to watch me? I'm impressed that they trust ye since ye owe me a life."

"Just as ye owe Brader and Liara one, but they won't accept those bonds." She sat on a stone that had once been part of a low wall. "I owe ye a life, but I will not give ye one at the risk of theirs. They are my friends, as ye could have been if ye could but see the truth."

"And the truth is what they tell ye? Ye will not give Reena a chance to prove she is different from those who came before ye?"

"Have ye forgotten all ye have seen and heard? Lunars have pa.s.sed since she became Queen and what has she done?"

"She cannot act because she fears Liara and the trouble she will cause."

She shook her head. "Ye do not hold a Jewel. Would that ye could, for ye would see how the Jewel and a Holder interact. She is tainted by the Black."

He grasped her arm. "Ye judge where ye do not know."

She pulled free. "Believe me when I say holding a Jewel changes the Holder. I now see things with greater clarity."

"Then why is it different for Reena?"

"Have ye ever looked at things through a piece of dark gla.s.s and seen how shadowy and distorted your view?"

"The Jewel is not gla.s.s." Andalor hurled a piece of stone against the broken wall. "I will not hold ye to the life."

"'Tis not your decision. There is a tie that only I can break."

"Then believe me when I say Reena wants for Earda only peace and plenty. She listened to my songs and stories and vowed she would change the land."

"Ye are the most stubborn man I've ever met." Disa leapt to her feet and strode away. "Do not harm my friends. Ye saw what happened to the dire wolves."

Andalor's shoulders slumped. He had failed his beloved again. If she had the Yellow Jewel on her side, he would not have to fear that she would lose in the struggle. If the Black was destroyed, Reena would die. She had told him that. What was the fate of a Chosen then?

He spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins. In the tower of the Orange Holder, he found two whimsical statues, one a lyrcat and the other a flitter. Reena had laughed when he'd sung his song about the strange courtship. He placed the pair in his knapsack and stored his lute in a sheltered niche. 'Twas all he had of his father's work and the lute had served him well. When this was done, he would return and bring Reena. Together, they would banish the ghosts of the ruin's past.

At dusk, he joined the others. To his dismay, the balalas seemed unaffected by the medicinals he'd fed them. So be it, he thought.

In the distance, he could see the Hills, but by the end of the night's journey they seemed no closer. He crawled into the tent with the other men and slept.

Rough hands jerked him upright. Nalor dragged him from the tent. All but two of the balalas lay on the ground. "Are ye responsible?"

"Mayhaps I am, but even if 'twere a natural event, ye would blame me," Andalor said.

"I should have let my men kill ye. When this ends if ye still live, your life is mine to claim."

"Do ye want to see Disa dead? She would step into the path of any weapon ye would use."

"I'll find a way to sever that bond." Nalor's fist shot out and clipped Andalor's jaw.

Andalor got to his feet. "We'll see who's standing at the end."

CHAPTER 30.

From The Lore of the Jewels And when the Black Jewel had coalesced from molten bits of all the gemstones found on Earda, she lifted it from the cooling bath. The bond formed hard and fast, absorbing her anger, hatred, jealousy and self-righteousness. She hid the gem beneath her robe and returned to the Palace of the Seven Jewels. When her sister laid the White Jewel aside to give birth to a daughter, the Black Holder acted.

The water in Liara's small waterskin sloshed in rhythm to her steps. Enough water remained in the large skin on the last of the balalas to provide another day's supply. Just as Second Moon had risen, another desert beast had collapsed. In the fall, the fullest of the large waterskins had ruptured. Three days to the Hills, but that had been when they'd ridden. Now they walked.

As she put one foot after another, she wondered if her choice of the desert route had been best. Then she thought of the dangers they would have faced on the most direct road. Pala and the possibility of an encounter with the Guards would have exposed the Jewels Stilenta and Disa bore. They would have been taken to the Queen and there would be no chance of survival. Was there one now?

Valmir took her arm. "Ye are tired."

"No more than the others."

"If I could find a large colti, 'twould be a help."

"Some animal?"

"Colti is a desert plant with a large tap root and bladders with sap that gives energy. 'Tis cold and sweet." "Sounds wonderful. Will our water last?" "It must, for there will be no more until we reach the Hills." "Must we stop at sunrise? It seems the Hills are more distant than before. If we keep on walking during the day, we will reach there sooner." He shook his head. "The sun is too strong. Besides the heat, there is the glare. Men have been blinded by the afternoon sun." He stroked her hand. "A Desert Rider learns patience with his mother's milk. Ye are being forged, as I was during my manhood trials, and will be stronger in the end."

Liara met his gaze and felt the pull. But she was not yet a Holder and to speak prematurely would mar the bond. When she had her Jewel and had pa.s.sed the final test, she would say what was in her heart. Valmir knelt in the sand. He pulled his knife and cut around a pale green fuzzy plant. "'Tis small but the bladders are full. Tonight we will all have a treat." "Even Andalor?" Nalor asked. Valmir rose. "Though I hate his actions and his beliefs, I do not hate the man." "Bosh," Nalor said. "A man's beliefs mark who he is." Liara reached for the older man's arm. "Andalor does not understand that by harming us, he harms his Queen's chances to rule. Until I bond with the White, there can be no victory or defeat. If I should fail to reach the Screaming Hills, the White will wait until another is born." "That may be too late for the land," Nalor said. Would it, she wondered. Mayhaps he was right, for the people and the land had been ravaged for nearly ten decans.

* * * By sunrise, they made camp. Valmir insisted they fill their waterskins and use the remaining water to prepare a meal for the night and for the morning.

The high-pitched squeal of the remaining balala woke Liara. She emerged from beneath the canopy they'd erected from half of one of the tents. "What's wrong?"

"We've lost our last balala," Brader said.

"Where are Andalor, Disa and Nalor?"

"Gone," Valmir said. "When I woke, I found Andalor gone. Disa had either followed him or is his captive. Nalor set off after them."

Valmir turned to Stilenta. "Could ye use your Jewel to help us?"

"I will if our need becomes desperate but if the Queen searches for the missing Jewels, she could discover me. I don't want to alert her." "Nor do I," Liara said. "Why did Disa follow him?" Brader reached for the kaf. "I tried to keep her but she knocked me down. I hit my head and didn't wake until Nalor roused me. 'Tis this life she feels she must give him. Valmir gave Nalor the rest of the colti bladders."

"Then we must go," Liara said.

Though the sun headed for the horizon, heat from the sand beneath her boots burned through the soles.

She stumbled. Valmir steadied her.

"How much longer?" she asked.

"One day. Maybe two."

One foot after another. Liara saw the tracks made by the ones they chased. She saw a heap on the

sand. A trick? Then she saw Disa. Brader lifted the Yellow Holder. She clutched two colti bladders.

Valmir divided the contents between the five of them. "'Twill help for awhile."

"Andalor's gone," Disa said. "What am I to do?"

"Nalor will find him," Stilenta said.

The sun rose but they continued. Liara felt the ground beneath her feet change.

"Liara."

Liara looked around and saw no one.

"Liara. Come, for there is water."

CHAPTER 31.

From The Queen's Diary She has arrived in Pala. At least that is what I have heard, but I have not seen her, not can the Guards and mages find her. Does she wait for the birth of my daughter in hopes she can steal my Jewel? Gregor says the mages will protect me but I have my own plans to lure her into my presence. When she learns her Chosen has fathered my daughter, she will come and I will be waiting.

Reena wheeled her mount and rode through the lines of mounted Guards. Her lips curled when she saw how far behind the troops and the supply wagons the carriages of the Red and Green Holder lagged. More than a tenday for a journey that should have taken five days at the most. Without the constant complaints and frequent rest stops demanded by Waika and Lippa, the journey would have been long over. She would be in the Screaming Hills waiting for her rival to appear. If only she didn't need those two for the coming battle.

She dare not let her fears show. The other Holders and Gregor would be prepared to act on her slightest doubt about the outcome. What if the Orange Holder's low-voiced comments were true? Was control of all six Holders necessary to defeat the White? Her cousin had two on her side. Would that matter?

She spotted the curve of the Screaming Hills and spurred her horse into a gallop. The gra.s.sy plain stretched toward the horizon. No trees or bushes broke the vast expanse of brown gra.s.s. Though 'twas spring, no trace of green showed.

With a wave of her hand, she signaled the Commandant and he rode to join her. "Set the camp between the horns of the Hills but at a distance from the cliffs."

"Very good, my Queen." He raised his baton and the decan captains approached and listened to his instructions.

Before the sun set, tents stood in orderly rows. The aromas of wood and food covered the scent of desolation that rose from the plains. Reena rolled her eyes when she saw the elaborate silk pavilions, one red and one green, erected for the Holders of those gems.

She entered her black tent and sat at the small camp table to study a map of the Screaming Hills. The cliffs on this side of the Hills rose in what appeared to be a sheer palisade of stone. The map showed that caves riddled the area. A noise startled her and she grasped the Black.

Gregor stood before the table. "My Queen, we must plan our strategy. My mages will be ready to a.s.sist the Holders during the battle. And my dear, I would gladly pledge my power to ye."

She tore her gaze from his dark hypnotic eyes. "'Tis not your place."

He laughed. "Do ye think the minstrel will come, or that he has remained true? 'Tis your mother and aunt once again."

Reena steeled herself to cut off his taunting words. "I will not listen to this. Do ye wish to feel what 'tis like to be controlled by the Black?"