Alora: The Wander-Jewel (Alora 1)

“Would that gift be helpful? We could have brought someone else from Laegenshire,” she suggested.

“There’s no one in Laegenshire or in all of Stone Clan with the gift. Valor was chief of discernment, but we lost him in Vindrake’s last attack. Alas, we have no others who have the gift—at least none we know of.”

“Look!” said Alora. “Those four men! There’s something wrong with them. Why isn’t Morvaen signaling for the attack?”

Alora pointed at four men riding through the canyon on horseback. They rode casually, making no threatening movements toward their weapons. Morvaen watched them with intense interest, peering from behind a rock, but gave no signal to attack.

“Are you absolutely certain? They don’t have a bondmark I can sense.”

“They’re masked, just like those men that were in Laegenshire that day.”

“Send me back to Graely so I can report to him. I’ll signal when I’m ready to come back. No! Wait! Three riders are approaching from the other direction. Do you sense anything about these men?”

She concentrated, trying to sense something from the three men. “No. They feel fine to me. At least they don’t feel evil.”

Graely stood up and called out to the three. He crawled down from his perch and spoke to the men. There was some arguing and raised voices, and eventually they continued on their way.

As he climbed back to his hiding place beside Kaevin and Jireo, Raelene told Alora, “Take both of us to Graely so he can question you if need be.”

Immediately, they stood before Graely, who listened with surprise to Raelene’s report. “This could be a wonderful development if she’s truly gifted with discernment. We’ll set a watch to the rear, so we won’t be ca

ught by surprise if they come back.”

“Maybe if I talked to my father,” said Alora. “Maybe he would stop all this. He really seemed to want a chance at a relationship. He might listen to his own daughter.” Alora could feel Kaevin’s and Jireo’s disapproving eyes boring into her back as she verbalized her thoughts to Graely.

Graely’s brows knitted together. “Alora, surely you don’t believe him. He wishes to use you for his own purposes.”

“I’m not saying he hasn’t done evil things. I just don’t want to believe he’s beyond redemption. He might be willing to change... for me. And surely he wouldn’t hurt his own daughter.”

Raelene spoke, blinking her watery eyes. “The man who kidnapped my daughter, raped her, and caused her death, will not be allowed to take my granddaughter from me as well.”

Alora swiped at a tear trickling down her cheek. “Half of me came from him. If I believe he’s so evil he can’t ever change, what does that say about me?”

Her grandmother pulled her into an embrace. “Vindrake wasn’t born evil. He became evil through the decisions he made and the evil influences in his life. You are pure of heart, influenced by the love of your aunt and uncle. And you’ve made good decisions. Even the decisions I disagree with weren’t made with malintent.”

Graely patted Alora gently on the shoulder. “If anyone could ever make him change, it would be you, Alora. But I’m afraid you’re simply too late. Thirty years ago, you might have had a chance, but then he began implementing his bond of fealty on all of Water Clan. Now he’s done such evil things I believe he must have destroyed his soul.”

If I ever get the chance, I’m still going to try. She tried to change the subject. “Who were those three who went the other way? The ones you argued with? They felt okay to me.”

“They were Forest Clan, simple travelers. I warned them about Vindrake’s men ahead. Tried to convince them to turn back from the danger, but they don’t trust me. They refused to listen. I only hope Vindrake allows them to pass unharmed since they have no connection to you.”

“You don’t think he’d hurt them for no reason, do you?” she asked.

“No one can predict his actions or understand the motivations behind his evil.”

Chapter Ten

“It wasn’t difficult to force the prisoners to talk, Master Vindrake,” Abaddon said with a sardonic grin. “As we suspected, Graely and his group are waiting in the canyon. Graely is located low on the east wall. He warned them against us, but they didn’t listen. I assume they now regret that decision.”

“And did they see the girl?” Vindrake tried to hide his eagerness. He might appear weak if his men perceived how great was his desire to capture Lena and gain her loyalty. He could never allow anyone to gain a tool to use in leverage against him.

“No, they didn’t see her. But our plan will work even if she’s not present in the canyon. Once you have kidnapped someone, she will come to you.”

“Yes,” Vindrake agreed. “Especially if we can take someone important. Perhaps we can take Graely alive. He’s wounded, is he not?”

“The prisoners reported he has a bandaged shoulder.”

“Yes. Yes, we will concentrate our efforts on Graely. But truly, anyone will do for ransom. If we cannot capture Graely, we should at least be able to kill him.” He allowed himself to relish the thought. “Of course, if we happen to see Lena, we should take her. But Graely is not foolish enough to leave her exposed.”