“Well, well, don’t we have a lot to say?” the Resai boy answered after some time, his voice low and dangerous. “At least I don’t have trouble fitting in. You can’t even get that worthless Nesnan to like you, can you?”
The poison in his voice stung harshly, and Mahryn turned bright red, the color drowning out his freckles. Scede and Pahrdh had to grab Rhudedth and Jahrra, for they had lunged forward in anger. Jahrra wasn’t thrilled with the fact that Mahryn liked her, but there was absolutely no need for Eydeth to drag it through the mud like that.
The evil boy sneered in triumph and continued on, “The truth is I’m here with my family. While my father is taking care of business in town, I decided to take a ride down the country road. You have no idea how surprised I was to find the small herd of nags tied up in the grove of trees above. You see, my father sent me ahead to scout the area; he just bought several miles of coast between Hassett Town and Soarna Point.” He grinned and continued on in his droning tone, “Father insists that this land is worth the price he paid, but from the looks of it, and from the looks of how much you enjoy it, it must be worth less than the Nesnan’s life, which isn’t saying much.”
Gieaun and Scede looked deterred, and Jahrra looked simply horror struck. She didn’t care that he referred to her as “the Nesnan”, she was used to that. It was his implication that the Eight Coves had just been purchased by the most notorious landlord in southern Oescienne.
“What did you say?” It was the first time she’d said anything aloud since Eydeth’s arrival, but she wasn’t going to keep quiet any longer.
“That you’re worth nothing?” Eydeth sneered, eyeing his mustard-gloved fingernails indifferently.
“No, stupid, about your family acquiring this land?” Jahrra snapped, becoming more irritated by the minute.
“Hmmmff,” Eydeth snorted, returning both hands to the reins of his semequin.
“It’s ours now. We figured that we had best be investing in the coast, in order to be absolutely sure that our merchant ships aren’t attacked by worthless ruffians.”
Gieaun, Scede, Pahrdh, Rhudedth and Mahryn glared at Eydeth, but held their tongues. Jahrra, however, jumped to her feet and marched towards her life-long enemy.
“You can’t do that,” she declared quietly, stone-faced, her clenched fists shaking with rage.
“My family can, and they did, and you and your fan club are going to have to move out of here immediately. You’re trespassing and I have free authority to shoot any trespassers. And believe me I won’t hesitate to do so.”
He glared down at Jahrra, almost daring her to make a move. Jahrra searched his eyes, and it appeared, as she had suspected, that his fear from the night of the Fall Festival had finally faded.
“I’ve seen your archery first hand, Eydeth, and I assure you, my semequin can shoot better than you can,” Jahrra retorted, her eyes flashing.
The laughter that followed drowned out Eydeth’s seething remarks, but Jahrra kept her sight locked on her enemy’s face. How dare he?! How dare his family! They can’t just go around buying up land wherever they see fit!
Eydeth saw the storm brewing on Jahrra’s face, and his lip curled in a horrible grin.
“I have also told my father about a very nice fishing lake to the south. He has always wanted his own lake for vacationing, lake monster or not, and I think the boardwalk will come in handy when my entire family visits. We might even hunt down and kill that monster. It would make a nice addition to my father’s trophy room.”
Jahrra could no longer contain herself. Hesitating not a second longer, she flew at Eydeth with the speed of a deer. The charge caught everyone off guard, but instead of jumping up at him like everyone expected, she stopped abruptly and waved her hands in front of the white semequin’s face, causing it to rear in agitation. Eydeth tumbled clumsily from his saddle and slammed into the rough pebbles below. He quickly got up, cursing in anger and brushing off as much of the sand as he could.
“There!” Jahrra shouted. “That’ll teach you not to sit so smugly on your high horse!”
Eydeth grabbed the reins of his spooked semequin and managed to scramble back up.
He glared down at Jahrra, eyes burning, and spat, “When I run in the Great Race this fall and win that prize money, I’ll use it to buy that dump you live in and you and that stupid old lizard can live in the Wreing Florenn!”
Jahrra just glared back at him, refusing to let this pompous boy get the better of her.
He then turned and faced everyone, his voice raised but breaking, “I’m warning you all again, this is private property. If you’re caught here again, there’ll be dire consequences!”
Eydeth gave them all one last furious glance and then expertly turned his semequin around and began the steep climb back up the narrow trail.
“Oh, how I despise him!” cried Rhudedth.
“He thinks he owns everything just because his father does,” put in Pahrdh.
“How can anyone be so horrible?”
Jahrra looked over at Rhudedth, who looked to be on the verge of tears.
“It’s a good thing this place is too far away to visit often,” Gieaun added sadly. “I really hope he can’t buy Ossar Lake like he says he can. I thought we had finally turned him away from there.”
“Come on,” Jahrra said blankly, still numb from what had just happened. “Let’s get out of here.”
The six friends slowly made their way up the steep path, trying to think of anything but what had just happened. A cool salty breeze picked up and pushed the loose hair from Jahrra’s sun-burned face. Her jaw was set stubbornly and her forehead was creased in frustration. She had been unsettled by Eydeth’s and Ellysian’s treatment of her after the night she was attacked, but she would do anything to have those uneasy looks back. It was better than being scorned again.
“How did Eydeth possibly make it down here on horseback anyway?” Pahrdh wondered out loud, his sigh disappearing on the wind.
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Jahrra snapped.
She immediately regretted her outburst. It wasn’t Pahrdh’s fault Eydeth had ruined their day. She shook her head to clear it and turned her head to face Pahrdh. His lips were drawn tight, looking both irritated and apologetic at the same time. Jahrra smiled. He had received a lot of sun as well, his reddened face now matching his ruddy hair.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not mad at you, I’m just, just, well, sick and tired of it all.”
“I know,” Pahrdh answered reservedly. “I know.”
Jahrra took a deep breath as she and her friends crested the top of the cliff. She could hear Gieaun and Rhudedth ahead of her laughing about something, but it didn’t lighten her black mood. Instead of forgetting about the whole thing and joining in with her boisterous friends, Jahrra dwelt on Eydeth’s glorious return to his usual self. The awful Resai boy may have fallen back into his habit of humiliating Jahrra and her friends, but she wasn’t about to lay back and take it like she used to. Now it was time to do something about it, something bigger than lying about the Witch of the Wreing, something bigger than the lake monster. Jahrra had something much more important and much more dangerous in mind.
I’m going to enter that stupid Great Race, she thought to herself. I can beat Eydeth. Yaraa and Viornen have to be better trainers then the one he’s got. I can’t let him win and take Lake Ossar from us, to use his money and status to take my home from me. I’ve got to do something.