Free The Carnelian Legacy by Cheryl Koevoet

left ear, but you must learn to block it out.”
    “Won’t that drive me crazy? Like watching TV and listening to the radio at the same time?”
    “After a while, you will become accustomed to it. Just concentrate on what is being said in your right ear. If you cover it with some hair like this, no one should be able to detect it. All right, let’s try it out.”
    As Darian spoke to her in Crocine, Marisa could hear a man’s voice translating the words into English.
    “Ha—it actually works!” She was amazed by the tiny piece of modern technology. “Where in the world did you get such a thing?”
    He smiled mischievously at her. “Actually, the correct question to ask is ‘in which world did you get such a thing?’ Do you remember Arrie saying there are four known worlds that can be entered through a vortex?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Well, this little instrument found its way into our world from one of the other three dimensions. It is extremely valuable, so whatever you do, please don’t lose it. Now, come—we need to return to the others.”
    She gave him the thumbs-up that she could understand what he was saying, but remained silent as she followed Darian across the meadow to where the warriors waited.
    Although she hadn’t seen much yet of this strange new world, one thing was for certain—life in Carnelia certainly wasn’t dull.

CHAPTER 7
    TRUCE
    “ NOT TO WORRY , SHE ’ S all right now,” Darian said loudly as they crossed the meadow. “Talvan, find a spot to set up camp.” The copper-haired man gave him a quick nod and hurried off.
    Marisa spotted Arrie lying on the ground several feet away and saw he was still unconscious. She desperately wanted assurances he was going to be okay, but she didn’t dare ask about it in front of all the other men. Keeping her mouth shut was clearly not going to easy.
    The tawny commander returned within a couple of minutes and ordered his men to set up camp on a flat, grassy terrace not far from where they stood. It was a strategic location that would allow them to observe anything or anyone approaching the camp, and there was a river where they could get fresh water just a few hundred feet below.
    Marisa led Siena down the hill to a bucket of drinking water and removed her satchel. Exhausted and emotionally spent from their terrifying afternoon, she sat down on the grassy, sloping hillside and breathed deeply, glad for a few minutes alone. She watched the men up at the campsite as they hurried about, completing their preparations to settle in for the night.
    With a minimum amount of effort, two men cleared the area and pitched the tents. Another warrior got a fire going within just a few minutes and began to make some stew. The gold-toothed warrior stood guard high on the hill above them, but there was no sign of the lead commander or Darian.
    The temperature dropped as the sun slid down over the horizon. Marisa shivered and pulled her cape tightly around her. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized armed guards would be watching over them during the night.
    She lay back in the grass and watched as the clouds slowly changed from their orange, pink and purple hues the further the sun disappeared. The view was spectacular, and she tried to remember the last time she’d actually taken the time to watch a sunset. It had been a long time ago—too long, in fact.
    It was just starting to get dark when she spotted Arrie reclining against a dead tree stump closer to camp. Relieved to see that he had regained consciousness, Marisa stood up and led Siena back up the hill to the others. She plunked down next to Arrie and stared bleary-eyed into the smoky fire. As it crackled and hissed, she listened to the comforting roar of water rushing somewhere below them.
    “You look as if you’ve had a rough day, milady,” Arrie said, smiling weakly.
    Completely forgetting Darian’s instructions, Marisa opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it again as soon as she