Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One Read Free Page A

Jecta wares
looking for a bargain. Tearians were far too lazy to create their
own crafts. They despised the Jecta, but didn’t mind paying a bit
of coin for a particularly nice piece of pottery or a trinket or
two.
    At last Jensa and Reiv arrived at the hut of
the Spirit Keeper, a dwelling much like any other except that it
was surrounded by a flowering garden of medicinal herbs. Nannaven,
the Spirit Keeper’s given name, was a wise old healer who had taken
in Reiv, Dayn, and Alicine when they were banished from Tearia for
alleged thievery. But Reiv had experienced difficulties adjusting
to Pobu, rejected not only by the residents who resented him, but
also by Alicine who had spurned his advances. The shame and
humiliation he felt after the incident with Alicine had been the
catalyst he needed to leave Pobu. But neither she nor Dayn had
taken his abandonment of them lightly. Reiv could not really blame
them. Dayn and Alicine were, after all, from a place far away, a
place that until recently Reiv had not even known existed. As fate
would have it, Dayn had turned out to be Reiv’s cousin as well as
his friend. Reiv could only hope that Dayn still considered him as
such, and that Alicine had forgiven him for the eagerness of his
hands upon her.
    When they reached Nannaven’s door, Jensa
departed, claiming the need to help her brothers finish setting up
the booth. The strange expression on her face left Reiv curious as
to whether there was another reason as well. He felt sure Dayn
would want to see Jensa; her beauty could be mesmerizing and she
had openly befriended him. But her departure with Reiv three weeks
earlier had clearly stung him. Since that day, Reiv had begun to
notice that Jensa always asked about Dayn whenever Torin returned
from Pobu with news. This day, however, she made no mention of
Dayn, and disappeared into the streets without another word.
    Standing before Nannaven’s door, Reiv felt a
rush of nausea. He knew it wasn’t from the nearly-raw fish he had
eaten. He hadn’t seen Dayn and Alicine in almost a month, and the
last time they had spoken there was much anger between them. More
than anything, Reiv wanted to make things right, to make things the
way they had been before.
    He pulled in a steadying breath and rapped on
the door. It swung open immediately and there stood Dayn, his blue
eyes alight with excitement. A grin stretched across Dayn’s face as
he looked Reiv up and down. He burst into laughter and threw his
arms around Reiv, grabbing him in a fierce hug. At first Reiv felt
uncomfortable at the closeness of his cousin, but he soon found
himself laughing and hugging Dayn back with equal enthusiasm.
    Dayn ushered him inside and poured them each
a mug of cool tea, then motioned for Reiv to join him at the table.
They sat across from each other and leaned across the tabletop,
anxious to spill all the news.
    “I can’t get over the sight of you,” Dayn
said. “You’ve changed so much.”
    Reiv looked down at himself and smiled. “I
think being a Shell Seeker suits me. You are looking well also.
Much more Jecta-like, I might add.”
    It was true. Dayn had given up his Kiradyn
tunic and trousers for a kilt-like wrap around his hips. His chest
was bare and tan, and his arms much more muscular. His pale hair
was shoulder-length now, and was pulled back and bound at his neck.
Somehow it made him look older than his sixteen years.
    “I realized my desire for conformity is
stronger than my need for modesty,” Dayn said. “But I’m not so sure
about piercing holes in my body like the others here do.” He
glanced at Reiv’s hands. “You’re not wearing your gloves.”
    Reiv looked at the mottled hands wrapped
around his own mug and realized he was not. He had not worn the
gloves in weeks now and had grown so accustomed to it, he had quite
forgotten Dayn had never seen the scars before. It seemed years
since he had refused to show them to anyone.
    “I cannot hunt for shells with gloves on,