The Unearthing (Book I of the Tebel Chronicles)

Chapter 8

Cyan froze. She felt afraid – very afraid. She finally realized that she was trapped. Every avenue she had tried since running away had had Joel waiting. And she knew what he wanted. She was right to be afraid. Joel met her eyes, his own, cruel and resolved.

Cyan's nerves went to full alert. Was he going to take her today then? Would she be able to get back to Joanne? To the police? But if she ran . . . then she realized that no one was expecting her. No one would miss her. She glanced back up at Joel. He grinned at the sudden fear in her eyes.

'Joel, I need more time! Please, give me time! I'm not ready...' she tried to keep her voice steady.

'You know how this works, Cyan. You know you've only had time to consider our offer because of me. Roger wouldn't have been so patient.'

Cyan's eyes widened. She remembered Roger. She had met him when Joel and Roger had visited her first foster home. She remembered all too clearly what her first foster father had looked like after he'd been murdered in the alley next to their house – she'd been the only one to volunteer to go with her foster mother to identify the body. Not Roger! She pulled her arm away, but Joel gripped it again and started walking Cyan down the street. 'Afraid you're outta time, Cyan, and I'm outta patience.'

'Let go! You're hurting me!' She tried to pry his hand off her arm, but he just held her tighter.

'Don't worry,' he sneered, 'it won't be long before you'll be begging to join us, once you see what the alternative is for you.'

Cyan struggled but it was useless. His fingers dug cruelly into her thin arm. People were watching, some even looked on sympathetically, but they all looked away soon enough and she knew it was useless appealing to them.

'Where're you taking me?' she asked needlessly. She already knew.

'Back to the hotel. The manager wants to chat with you. If you make a scene though, I'm taking you past Roger first. You choose. He always likes to break in the newbies.'

Reality yanked Cyan from her panic as she awoke, dripping with sweat. It took a second knock at the door to make her realize what had woken her. She shook her head trying to expel thoughts about Joel and Roger.

'Cy,' came Kael's voice, 'we wanted to know if you want to come to the market with us? If you'd rather sleep, that's good too.'

'No, I'm coming,' she called, tripping over bedding to get up. Anything but being alone with her memories for the morning.

The three wandered together through the desert city as Kael and Jesse bought supplies for the next stage of their trip. The two men had debated leaving Cyan in the inn with Kael but in the end, decided it would be quicker to go together. The men kept close to Cyan as they walked through the market looking at the stalls. They bought her a new travel veil so she'd be free to look around without fear that people would notice her strange eyes. She saw that Jesse wasn't wearing the sash that indicated the authority he had demonstrated over the auctioneer. Cyan was more than a little frustrated with how little she understood about what was going on. Who were Jesse and Kael? How did they know about her strangeness to Tebel?

The bustle of the market filled the small town as traders yelled to passers-by in jovial voices. Unkempt street children darted between people and Kael warned Cyan to watch her purse, to which she responded that the thief would be sorely disappointed if they tried to pickpocket her since she had no purse. The aroma of spices wafted through the thick desert air – cloves, peppers and garlic were some of the fragrances she could recognize, but there were many that were foreign. Cyan loved looking at the beaded jewelry and tapestries sold by merchants who tried to detain her with their rapid sales promotions. Her protests of having no money didn't seem to abate their enthusiasm and desire to push their goods on her. Eventually she was too afraid to look properly, although what she couldn't help staring at were the animals. Tall animals with long necks made Cyan think of camels, despite no humps; little sheep with coarse, short hair and fat squat rodent-like animals tussling each other in a large cage, were just some she could take in. Kael laughed at Cyan's wonder as they walked through the stalls. Even though the two men were noticeably worried about her being in the open, Cyan enjoyed the day. She found Kael even more amusing and good-natured in their freedom, but Jesse was curt and she could tell he was wary of her. They spent the afternoon relaxing on the inn roof as the sun set, sending new shades of reds and oranges soaring over the canyon. The desert stretched for miles around the south of the city and Cyan allowed its warm breeze to wash over her. Even with the memories of her despair at being lost on those sands, something drew her heart to the desert. The stars were starting to appear in sprinkles above, dismissing the day and its glorious sunset. The first of the moons was already sending a blue sheen creeping across the sands, chasing the oranges toward the horizon.