The Wielder Trials. Franca Ogbonnaya

opened his mouth to speak, but he thought better of it and stayed silent.

      Kahl was perplexed at his cousin’s behavior.

      “Next up is social etiquette in the human royal court.”

      What ? thought Kahl with no small amount of alarm.

      Lanead tried not to smile at the alarmed expressions on the faces of the two Dyhaeri before him. He shouldn’t have fun tormenting them but he couldn’t help it.

      “We’re really going to be assigned at court?” asked a pale-faced Mat.

      “That depends on King Jahlaniin,” replied Lanead as he handed a book titled, Etiquette Do’s and Don’ts, Seventh Edition by Tobeyi Avias to Kahl.

      Mat stared at the book as if it was a poisonous viper. “Captain, may I have a word?”

      “Certainly,” said Lanead. He wasn’t surprised to hear Mat complaining. That’s all he had done since coming on board, though the captain had to admit the older Dyhaeri’s attitude had been improving lately.

      “Alone.”

      Kahl shot his cousin a startled look.

      The Weltonian’s expression changed to one of puzzlement as Mat looked pleadingly at Kahl. After, a long moment, Kahl nodded, a hurt expression on his face as he stood up and left the cabin.

      Lanead sat up and braced himself. “All right, what’s on your mind?”

      Mat was still in his seat for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I know why Kahl and I are here. The king needs agents in the Malaquey court.”

      Lanead waited.

      “But he’s wrong to think he needs two agents. One is sufficient.”

      Lanead’s eyes narrowed. Now this he had not foreseen. “What are you suggesting?” He tried and failed to keep the hard edge out of his voice. He was darkly satisfied when Mat flushed at the tone of his voice.

      The young Dyhaeri stared at the ground for a moment as if gathering courage, then looked up and met Lanead’s gaze. “I’m the one you need.”

      Lanead blinked. “What?”

      “Kahl may have done some stupid things, but that’s just inexperience. We both know he doesn’t have the experience for espionage. It would be a suicide mission.”

      Lanead was still trying to recover. Here he was thinking Mat was about to sell out Kahl, not try to save him. “I got the impression this was a two-person assignment. You can’t do this on your own Mat.”

      Mat closed his eyes briefly for a moment. “I have never asked this of a human, but you need to convince the king that all you need is me. I cannot let Kahl sacrifice his Dyhaeri heritage for this mission. It’s not right—”

      Now Lanead was really confused. “Hold on. His Dyhaeri heritage? I don’t understand.”

      For a long moment, it seemed like Mat was having difficulty speaking. “For this mission to succeed, I suspect the agent would have to be made fully human to blend into the Malaquey court. It has been done before—”

      “I know,” interrupted Lanead curtly as a familiar dark rage almost overwhelmed him. He forced himself to shut that part of himself off.

      Mat stared at him. “Are you all right, captain?”

      It took a while before Lanead could trust himself to speak. These poor boys had no idea what was going on, and already Mat had jumped to the worst conclusion.

      And that made Lanead angry. “I’m fine.” He tried to force a smile. “No one is going to transform you or Kahl into humans to carry out this mission.”

      Mat looked skeptical. “Respectively sir, I disagree. As Dyhaeri, we would stand out among the humans.”

      Lanead knew there was no point in arguing. “You don’t believe me. Tell you what. I’ll find someone you’ll believe, and afterward, we’ll concentrate on your lessons. You’re dismissed.”

      Mat stared at him. “Yes, sir.” The Dyhaeri left the cabin, a confused expression on his face.

      Lanead spent several seconds looking at the vacant seat in front of him. It was days like this that made him wish his wife was here. Sonei had a calming influence that was almost magical.

      Well, no point wasting time. There was only one thing to do.

      His mind made up, he got up and strode over to his wardrobe. It didn’t take long to find what he needed. He changed into a one-piece, specially made Weltonian dive suit. As he walked out on deck, a crewman saw him.

      “Tell First Mate Tanet I went for a swim. Shouldn’t be long.”

      “Aye, captain.” Lanead ran to the rail and dove off the port side of the Peacekeeper.

       #

      Once in the water, Lanead held his breath as he drew wet soil from the depths towards him. His element was earth. As a child, he had been taught by Weltonians and two particular Dyhaeri how to create an airtight earth bubble. Soil usually contained moisture, and water was breathable when broken down. Once the wet ocean soil reached him, he spread it paper thin while keeping the soil vibrating so it locked in the moisture. Next, he wielded the thin layer of wet earth to his dive suit and made it airtight before he began to expand it, thus creating a pocket of slightly moist, breathable air. The earth particles were spread so thinly Lanead could see through the earth capsule.

      As soon as the bubble was to his satisfaction, he began to descend. When he reached his destination, he wielded continuously, causing small tremors in the ocean floor that sent vibrations in his chosen direction. Any Dyhaeri nearby would recognize the pattern of the vibrations.

      It was the call for an urgent message.

      He knew someone would answer, and he hoped he had calmed down by the time they arrived.

      Lanead waited only five minutes before three Dyhaeri in their bubbles swam up to him. He smiled when he realized they were also earth wielders. That meant what had to be done next would be easy. He motioned for them to combine bubbles. As expected, they looked a bit shocked at the suggestion. Usually, he would use sign language to communicate, but right now, he couldn’t care less. He had a message to deliver. He motioned again and the three Dyhaeri reluctantly agreed.

      Once all four were within the air-filled bubble, he didn’t waste time. “Tell High Priest Myltan to get his holy arse to the Peacekeeper as soon as possible or the lessons don’t continue.”

      The three Dyhaeri marines were speechless with shock. Finally, one of them spoke.

      “You wish for us to word it exactly as you said?”

      Lanead smiled coldly, showing his teeth. “Word for word. Got it?”

      The three Dyhaeri nodded hastily.

       #

      Kahl tried to read the same page again for the umpteenth time, but he was unable to concentrate. What had been so important Mat felt he had to speak to the captain alone? At first, Kahl was worried, but then that feeling soon turned to anger.

      What was Mat hiding from him? That question made him laugh though there was no humor in their current situation. Here he was, berating the cousin he had betrayed not so long ago.

      Yet he wanted to know what was on Mat’s mind.

      The sound of the door opening made him look up from his bed. He was both relieved and annoyed to see it was Mat.

      “Oh, you’re here.”

      Kahl frowned at his cousin’s body language. He looked stiff and worn out. “Mat, what’s going on?”

      At first, the older Dyhaeri refused to acknowledge him, then