Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  Tyla was speechless.

  Arenia set down the newssheet she’d been reading. “Marrid here? Are you serious?”

  Parcune definitely wasn’t joking. He looked frightened. “I suppose since she’s come all this way, you’ll see her.”

  Tyla didn’t think she had much choice. “Yes, of course. Did you take her to the library?”

  “Yes, and I sent Peggy Ann to the kitchen for refreshments. I hope that’s all right.”

  “Good thinking.” She rose, trying not to worry. Marrid had been kind to her in the past, but The Eight were powerful and mysterious, and she couldn’t help feeling nervous.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Arenia asked.

  Tyla touched the knife hidden under her tunic. “No. I’ll be fine.”

  When Tyla entered the library, Marrid rose from the animal-bone couch. She wore pale green pants and a shirt with tiny gems decorating its U-shaped neckline. Her light brown hair was in the customary woodspirit braid, and despite her long journey, she looked as lovely as the last time Tyla had seen her.

  “This is a surprise,” Tyla said. “We don’t get guests these days. Folks are afraid to travel.”

  “I’m not. Woodspirits aren’t under attack, gnomes are—leaders in particular.”

  Tyla gestured for Marrid to sit and sat, too. “Forgive me. I shouldn’t assume you’re afraid of The Emanicus. After all, you’re one of The Eight. You can defend yourself better than we can.”

  “Actually, that’s the point of my visit.” Marrid paused, and her blue eyes looked troubled as she searched for the right words. “This crisis affects all of us, woodspirits and gnomes alike, but you gnomes will bear the brunt of it just as you did during The Great Upheaval. At the moment, The Emanicus is focusing their attention on more developed areas, probably assuming Amulet residents have lived through S’s reign and are more likely to be submissive.”

  Tyla nodded respectfully, not sure where this conversation was going.

  “During The Great Upheaval, most woodspirits sat back and did nothing, hoping the crisis would blow over. Even without gem powers, they could have found ways to fight, and those who did have powers didn’t get involved until the end. By then, it was too late. I’d like to think that won’t happen again, but. . . .” Her voice trailed off.

  “I appreciate your honesty . . . and your concern.”

  Brenda Ann came in with a tray of bread and cheese and two goblets of wine.

  “Peggy Ann didn’t say what ter bring. Hope this be okay.”

  “Yes, it’s fine.”

  Brenda Ann studied Marrid with open curiosity. After a moment, Tyla cleared her throat. Surprisingly, Benda Ann got the hint. “Anythin’ else ya need?”

  Tyla looked at Marrid who shook her head.

  “No,” Tyla said. “Thank you.”

  Clearly reluctant to leave, Brenda Ann shuffled off.

  “What I’m trying to say is, I’m not waiting for the rest of The Eight. I’m willing to step in now. But gnomes don’t trust me.”

  “Is that why you went to see Commander Finnack—to offer your help?”

  “Yes. And I’m done with him,” Marrid said, eyes flashing. “After the first time he refused to see me, I told myself I wouldn’t go back. But there’s so much at stake I talked myself into trying again. It’s hopeless. He’ll never trust me. You may be wary of me, but at least you’re willing to listen.”

  “You’ve been nothing but kind to me.” Even so, Tyla knew she couldn’t afford to let down her guard. Sharing information with Marrid could blow up in her face. “When you came to see Finnack the first time, I was there. I would have urged him to meet with you, but you were gone by the time he told me you’d come to see him.”

  A noise caught Tyla’s attention, and she glanced toward the door. Brenda Ann, Maggie Ann, and Tina Ann were peaking in. They saw her looking and promptly disappeared, the patter of footsteps marking their hasty retreat.

  “I knew you were there, and I should have asked to see you. I didn’t want you to miss out on something that would help you just because Finnack was stubborn, so I provided unasked-for assistance. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Tyla gave her a blank look. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “No, I don’t suppose you do. But if you find yourself in danger, you will.”

  “I’ve been in danger a couple times recently. Fortunately, my knife protected me.” Tyla paused. Would Marrid know anything about the knife’s unusual power? It might not be wise to mention the Guardian, but she was anxious to learn more about it. “My knife produced a strange being that protected me. It was amazing.”

  “Was it about my height?” Marrid asked. “And did the being glow as if it was made of energy?”

  “Yes,” Tyla said, taken aback.

  “And once the danger passed, it disappeared.”

  It was a statement, not a question, and when Tyla nodded, Marrid gave her a knowing smile. Tyla finally caught on, and she was too stunned to speak.

  “I spent years perfecting that spell. Someone with enough power could disrupt it, maybe even destroy the Guardian, so don’t think you’re invincible, but it should handle anything you’re likely to encounter. If you don’t want the spell, I’ll remove it, but I hope you’ll consider it a gift . . . like the leebstone book.”

  Conflicting thoughts raced through Tyla’s mind. She had her knife, which was able to protect her, but not like the Guardian, and someone might be able to take it away from her. On the other hand, this gift could be dangerous. The Guardian might turn against her when she least expected it. No doubt Finnack would say this was a trap, but Marrid had offered to remove the spell, and if she wanted to hurt Tyla, there were far less complicated ways of doing it.

  “I thought my knife was protecting me,” Tyla said. “Now you say it’s a protective spell. I need awhile to think about this.” Before she agreed to keep it, she should discuss the matter with others.

  “Take your time. You may be surprised to learn that this was Zeetha’s idea. She’s convinced you’ll play an important part in this crisis, and she doesn’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “She didn’t come with you this time.”

  “No, she left for her primary residence a week ago.”

  “She has more than one?”

  “Most woodspirits do. When your family owns businesses with branches in all the fortress cities, it’s convenient to have multiple homes. Zeetha spends most of her time in Pantirek City, but she has homes in Mierek and Waymare, too.”

  “And you?” Tyla inquired, hoping it wasn’t rude to ask.

  “I have homes in Mierek, Ominem, and Aberell. Family members have homes in the Silver Sea Islands and all the fortress cities. Sometimes I stay with them for a few months.”

  Tyla could hardly imagine that kind of wealth, but woodspirits lived for hundreds of years, and family members often passed down businesses as well as valuables.

  “Aberell isn’t so far away,” Marrid said. “If you decide to let me help you, we can get together occasionally, but we can accomplish quite a bit without meeting in person.”

  “If Emanicus gnomes hear you’re working with me, you’ll be a target. I might be, too,” Tyla said.

  “Yes. We need to be discreet.”

  “Do you think The Emanicus has restored S to her woodspirit form?”

  Marrid frowned. “I don’t know. If they haven’t, they will eventually. She won’t keep teaching them spells and advising them unless she gets something in return.”

  “If you’ll forgive me for asking, whose side is Anatta on? Has she really tried to find S?”

  “I talked to her recently by dendrite ball. She seems genuinely troubled that the tracking spell isn’t working.”

  “Tracking spells don’t transfer when someone changes forms, so maybe that’s a sign S is a woodspirit again.”

  “I’ve never heard that. How do you know?”

  “It’s a long story, and I’d rath
er not go into it.” Tyla wasn’t ready to divulge secrets yet. Shifting the conversation to safer ground, she said, “I’ve seen dendrite balls. They’re fascinating. Do all of The Eight have one?”

  “Yes. We seldom get together in person, but we talk on a regular basis. I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but we have our gem powers in common.”

  “I wish I had a dendrite ball,” Tyla said wistfully.

  “I have connections. I could get you one.”

  “They’re terribly expensive. I don’t have the IGs for something like that.”

  “Elantoth must have public funds. As commander, you should be able to appropriate IGs for important purchases.”

  “We’ve barely begun receiving payment for gem and mineral shipments, and now that The Emanicus is taking over, I don’t know what will happen. I wouldn’t feel right about splurging on a dendrite ball.”

  “Too bad. It would come in handy under the circumstances.”

  Something occurred to Tyla. There was another source of IGs she hadn’t considered. When Elias had cleaned out S’s vault, he had found intaglio gems but hadn’t known what they were, nor had anyone else. It was only when the delegation had come from Mierek that Elantoth staff had learned IGs were money. If Tyla bought the dendrite ball with some of those IGs, it would seem like S was paying for it.

  Tyla raised her goblet in salute. “On further thought, I know where I can get the IGs. I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  Chapter 6

  When Tyla returned to the office, she found Olissa leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Arenia shot Tyla a warning look, but Tyla didn’t need anyone to tell her Olissa was in a confrontational mood.

  “What is Marrid doing here?” Olissa demanded.

  Tyla walked past her without answering and sat down at the desk. Olissa was in charge of security, and no doubt she considered the arrival of one of The Eight her business, but her tone rankled. “She wants to help us.”

  “Help us! How does she plan to do that?”

  “I haven’t agreed to work with her yet, so we didn’t discuss details.” Tyla dropped a javid into her mug of cold raaka and gathered her thoughts while the liquid heated. Like Commander Finnack, Olissa would be skeptical about Marrid’s motives. “Marrid has a lot of rare gems,” she said at last. “We might be able to borrow some.”

  “A lot of Dark gems . . . or so the newssheets say. We don’t need her gems. We have our own.” Olissa sat down next to Arenia, clearly determined to offer advice whether or not it was wanted.

  “She can create spells for us and teach us to use them,” Tyla said, but it was clear by the fire in Olissa’s eyes that this suggestion was no better than the first.

  “Why would she help us?” Olissa exploded. “The Eight don’t care about gnomes! The Emanicus will neutralize our best gem masters and confiscate our gems while the entire woodspirit population sits by, thinking it doesn’t affect them.”

  Tyla opened her mouth to speak but Olissa wasn’t through.

  “Haven’t you read about The Great Upheaval? Woodspirits were tired of gnome domination. They turned a blind eye to Sheamathan’s ambitions until she brought Mydorian troops through the portal. That got their attention! She started changing laws and using dark powers to control everyone, just as The Emanicus is doing now, and woodspirits finally realized they’d be affected, too. But did they lift a finger? No! They let gnomes fight Sheamathan and her mercenaries.”

  “Dirty Wretches!” Loud Mouth shrieked. Tyla smiled in spite of herself, but Olissa didn’t find it funny.

  “They didn’t have gem powers,” Tyla said, trying to be fair.

  “Neither did most of the gnomes who fought in the war,” Olissa shot back. “Woodspirits have always been ahead of us in science and technology. They could have done something.”

  “If they’d had more time, they might have,” Tyla said. “From what I’ve read, things fell apart quickly once the Mydorians came.”

  Olissa glared at her, annoyed that anyone would give woodspirits the benefit of the doubt.

  “I’m with Olissa,” Arenia said. “Woodspirits should have helped. Especially those with powers—however many of them there were back then.”

  Tyla rubbed a knot of tension at the base of her neck. “We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. I’m not defending The Eight, and neither is Marrid. She admitted they didn’t step in until it was too late, and she doesn’t want that to happen again. That’s why she came today. In fact, she’s already taken steps to help me.”

  Olissa’s brows lowered. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Tyla braced herself for another tirade. “The luminous being—it has nothing to do with my knife. It’s a warding spell.”

  “What?” Olissa sat bolt upright. “You’re saying Marrid created the Guardian?”

  Arenia looked dumbfounded. “When and how did she do it?”

  “Gems preserve us!” Olissa cried. “How far do her powers reach?”

  “When I was at Aberell, she came to see Finnack. She planned to give both of us the guardian spell, but Finnack refused to see her, so she put it on me. I had no idea.”

  “She did it without your consent? Doesn’t that trouble you in the least? The luminous being could be an assassin, not a guardian. Have you ever thought of that?”

  Tyla shrank beneath Olissa’s gaze, but only for a moment. As Commander of Elantoth, she deserved respect. “Of course I have,” she said icily. Their eyes locked and neither blinked.

  Finally, Olissa’s jaw clenched, the fire went out of her eyes, and her expression softened. “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

  This wasn’t the first time Olissa had treated Tyla like a youngone, and Tyla didn’t like it. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but don’t assume I’m a fool.”

  Arenia said hesitantly, “If the Guardian is dangerous, it seems your knife would have warned you by now.”

  Tyla hadn’t thought about that. Once she’d learned the knife hadn’t produced the Guardian, she hadn’t given the knife another thought. “You’re right. It should have produced flickering flames, a bell in my head—something. And if Marrid meant me any harm, the knife should have reacted to her today. Marrid says if I don’t want the spell, she’ll remove it. I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Don’t make any hasty decisions,” Arenia said. “Think about it.”

  “Assuming you keep it, I won’t be the last to lecture you about the potential dangers,” Olissa said. “No one trusts The Eight.”

  “Everyone thinks your knife creates the Guardian. Why tell them otherwise?” Arenia asked.

  Tyla nodded slowly. “I could keep its true nature a secret, at least for a while.” Her mind shifted to the other important topic she and Marrid had discussed. “Marrid offered to get me a dendrite ball. I told her to go ahead. If we form an alliance, it will be easier to stay in touch. It would also be useful for contacting former officials, like Aram DeBiggin, who probably hear things that aren’t in the newssheets.”

  “Don’t count on him talking to you,” Olissa said. “Growing a third arm has frightened him into silence.”

  “He might open up in a private conversation.”

  “Maybe,” Olissa said doubtfully. “There are others with a dendrite ball, if not.”

  “The only inside news I get is from fortress officials. I don’t know what we’d do without the Pedestal Room,” Tyla said. “I’ll never forget the day Arenia discovered it.”

  “You didn’t know it was here? How did you find it?” Olissa asked.

  “Through an old floorplan of the fortress,” Arenia said. “I saw a symbol on the back wall of the cellar, and I wouldn’t have known what it meant except the same symbol appeared on the first floor, right where we’d found a hidden room.”

  “All the fortresses have a Pedestal Room, so S must have suspected Elantoth had one, but thanks to the wards, she never found it,” Tyla said.

  “Pedestal Rooms didn’t exist unt
il midway through The Great Upheaval,” Olissa said. “They were created expressly for the war, and Sheamathan and her forces never knew about them.”

  “How did the fortresses communicate before that?” Arenia asked.

  “Commanders had rizumen pendants. Others had communications gems that worked over short distances. But they needed a central place to send and receive messages, so they made the Pedestal Rooms.”

  For the second time that day, Parcune burst into the office, looking alarmed.

  Now what? It couldn’t be Marrid again, could it? “What’s wrong?” Tyla asked.

  “The pythanium’s back. And it’s asking for you.”

  Tyla felt a stab of fear. One near-fatal encounter with the Watcher was enough.

  “I’ll go,” Arenia said. “It thinks I’m you.”

  Tyla shook her head. “It’s only seen you once, and we look a lot alike. I doubt it will know the difference. In any case, I’m not letting you endanger yourself again.”

  “It had already spoken to Arenia by the time you talked to it,” Olissa pointed out. “Did it say you looked familiar?”

  “No,” Tyla said thoughtfully.

  “I doubt I made much of an impression,” Arenia said. “It delivered its message and left.”

  “Between the glowing knife and the luminous being, it’s far more likely to remember you, Tyla. As long as it doesn’t see either of those today, it won’t connect you with the gnome it met on the road.”

  “Why did the Guardian appear? Did the pythanium try to hurt you?” Arenia asked.

  “We’ll discuss that later. I need to get going. Where’s the pythanium now?” she asked Parcune who was still in the doorway, looking increasingly worried.

  “It landed on the terrace, probably hoping to avoid Bounder. We’d better not keep it waiting.”

  She followed Parcune from the office, and when she saw he planned to accompany her to the terrace, she said, “You don’t need to go with me.”

  He looked uncomfortable abandoning her, but when she didn’t waver in her resolve, he said, “All right. Good luck.”

  She hurried on without him, telling herself that if she didn’t draw the knife, and she kept her distance, the Watcher wasn’t likely to remember her.