What you don't know can kill you...
It's just a pretty pendant. A harmless necklace. Everyone wears them, like a talisman.
At least that's what sixteen year old Shai Eli has always believed. But why does her community enforce a law that keeps people...
Something moved in the shadowy corner of the living room. Aliah twisted in his chair and strained to get a better look. Lantern light played on the walls and stretched shadows beyond recognition.
"Who's there?" His voice vibrated throughout the expansive room. Zev stepped from the shadows. Aliah sighed. He'd have to get used to the boy's stealth. "So?"
Zev's blonde head bowed toward the stone floor. "Lael is a mess. Rain won't stop. The river's flooding..." His voice sounded thin and strained.
Aliah drummed his fingertips on the chair with his eyebrows raised. When the young man remained silent, Aliah stood up, cupped Zev's chin in his hand and looked into his eyes. "What is it?"
Zev coughed a little and took a small step back before answering, "Twenty-one children are missing."
Aliah walked slowly across the room to the door. "Twenty-one exactly? Are you sure?"
"The Mothers found twenty-one pendants...nothing inside them, just laying on their pillows." Zev cleared his throat and continued. "And your friend Shai is out there. She's upset."
"It's the middle of the night, Zev. Go to bed. I'm going into Lael."
Aliah had just grabbed his cloak and opened the door when Zev called out to him. "I completed my first assignment. Delivered both messages just like you asked."
Aliah paused in the doorway with one hand on the doorknob. He nodded, then closed the door and headed towards Lael.
Twenty-one children missing. His heart raced. So far everything was working according to plan. But there was someone he had to see before he proceeded with the next phase.
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