Free Frey Saga Book II: Pieces of Eight by Melissa Wright Page A

mind was swimming in a current too strong to conquer. “Why?” She
waited for a more precise question. “Why did she destroy the
village?”
    “ We think that she blamed
them for the binding. Or maybe she just hated them.”
    “… why would she blame
them?”
    “ She had some breaks, or
leaks. Somehow, she’d gotten parts back and she was confused,
though she knew that she’d been bound.”
    I thought of all my years
with Fannie. “How long?”
    “ We don’t know. She was
secretive. Probably didn’t know who to trust. We don’t think she
knew of Junnie’s involvement though.” Ruby looked sorry that she
had mentioned Junnie. “But she did seem to know you were bound as
well. At least at the end, just before you… left the
village.”
    “ How?” I hadn’t even known
then.
    “ We aren't certain. But
the documents you found, they had been taken from council. And the
ones that you,” there was really no other way to say it, “stole,
they had been tampered with.”
    “ Tampered
with?”
    “ Mixed up, at the least.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a good look at them
before…”
    “ Before I burned
them.”
    “ Yes.” She tried a timid
smile.
    “ So, you think Fannie used
me to get the documents? Or do you mean she tried to frame me, to
get me into trouble with council?” I could hear my voice
shake.
    “ There is no way to know
what she was thinking, Frey, what she was after. But from what I
understand, there was no love lost there.” A sympathetic hand
touched mine.
    I struggled to remember but
it seemed so far away. And none of them were memories I’d wanted to
cherish. Something came to me and I couldn’t help but ask now, now
that Ruby was finally being open with me. I pushed down the thought
that was trying to scream maybe she wasn’t being honest, maybe it
was more lies. But I couldn’t entirely deny that feeling, after so
much betrayal. So, instead of asking directly about the spell that
placed the map on my palms, I took a side route. “Ruby, what about
the pouch? Did she know I had that?”
    She shook her head. “I
don’t know much about that Frey. But I do know one thing… the
silver medallion, the one that you found inside, it seems to match
those that Fannie had secured from the human site, the place you
read about in your mother’s diary.”
    I swallowed hard. I
wondered when Ruby had seen the medallion. In the castle probably,
maybe one of the many times I’d been unconscious, it was impossible
to know. I’d had no idea what the symbols meant but I’d never made
the made the connection to… it was still hard to think… humans . I closed that
line of thought quickly and pushed on to the first thing I could
think of. “And the ruby?”
    She seemed almost
embarrassed as she answered this time. “Yes. Frey, that was
payment. But please understand, that was before I knew
you.”
    “ Payment?” I was
incredulous. She nodded. “Payment for what?”
    “ Securing some items,
helping you, gathering the guard.”
    Bitter resentment wanted to
rise, fire was waiting in my palms, the ache was heavy in my chest,
but I kept them all still. Some part of me needed the secret, in
spite of everything. But I hadn’t forgotten her words from just
moments ago. I do not work for
anyone.
    Lies.
    She could see that I’d had
enough for now. She moved aside as I rolled away from her, curling
to a ball.
    And, after a few hours of
mental torment, I fell asleep thinking I had reached my limit,
feeling certain I was now beyond surprise.
     

Chapter Five
    Stalker
     
    Somewhere in the depths of
my subconscious, I knew what I was watching might be the final
straw, might finally split a tenuous crack, leaving me in separate,
unconnected pieces. But I couldn’t make myself look
away.
    From a perch above, I could
see what I knew was Fannie, what only I knew was Fannie, slinking slowly
toward a council member. He stood tall, his robe and tassels
unruffled, murmuring words I could not understand. I