Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  Everyone was in the meeting room when Felith walked in. He sat down at the head of the table. The group was unusually quiet and seemed reluctant to meet his eyes.

  “Yevin, go to town. Tell Morty and Old Squint Eye we’re leaving tonight, and take this to the news shop.” He slid a folded paper down the table to Yevin.

  “What is it?” Yevin asked, unfolding it.

  “Our news release. Eldra knows she’s supposed to send it to the local newssheets, but tell her to wait till tomorrow night. While you’re in town, the rest of us will finish packing.” He looked around the table. Rendill could be a bit clumsy. He walked with a limp and was missing three fingers on one hand after a fight at Lumpy Lew’s. “Rendill, you and Ezar pack books and scrolls. Manon, pack the Parnatti sculptures and any remaining artwork. Narrod and Hoy, carry up the crates from the root cellar. Start loading the carts, and I’ll help you after I speak with Sheamathan.”

  “She won’t be happy about the change,” Rendill said. “She may not talk to you, much less cooperate.”

  “As long as he promises to restore her, she’ll cooperate,” Manon said. “I doubt she cares who’s in charge.”

  Felith hoped so. After looking through the book of spells and seeing how much she’d already shared, he understood her impatience. She felt she’d kept her part of the bargain and expected The Emanicus to keep theirs. But Felith had no intention of restoring her. She’d never be content with merely regaining her form. She’d want to use her gem powers, and only a fool would let her anywhere near gems, especially Dark gems. She’d infuse them and become as powerful as she’d been before. He couldn’t let that happen. Not after The Emanicus had spent decades influencing government bodies and changing laws so they could take over. They would not settle for being Sheamathan’s inner circle.

  “If she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life as a beetle, she’ll talk to me,” Felith said. “I don’t plan to restore her, but she doesn’t know that.”

  “We might have to turn her back,” Hoy said. “Havinth said she’s getting to the point where she won’t share anything more with us until we do.”

  “Once we give her what she wants, we’ll have lost our leverage,” Narrod pointed out.

  “Don’t worry,” Felith said. “If she doesn’t play along, she’ll find herself on the receiving end of dark powers.”

  Hoy looked at Felith with new respect. “You’d torture her?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You’re braver than I am,” Hoy said, shaking his head. “If she ever got her powers back, I’d hate to think what she’d do to you.”

  “I’m afraid to cross her,” Ezar said, pushing his spectacles up his nose. Some of the others nodded in agreement.

  Felith gave a disgusted grunt. “Then it’s a good thing none of you are in charge.” He rose from the table. “Let’s get to work.”

  As he started toward the confinement, he braced himself for what would surely be an unpleasant first meeting. He must use an authoritative tone right from the start as he had with his fellow gem masters.

  Using the instructions he’d found in Havinth’s room, Felith disabled the red glitter ward. He frowned, thinking of the night Sethan had accused him of triggering the ward. The blasted lizards had done it and escaped. Just as well, he told himself. They’d saved him the trouble of killing them today, and considering they’d been weak and sick at the time, they were dead now, anyway.

  Felith found a cage on the floor outside Sheamathan’s cell. He hoped he could coax her into it so he wouldn’t have to touch her.

  “Sheamathan,” he said brightly. “It’s moving day.”

  The gigantic beetle crawled closer to the door, feelers waving, and he grimaced in revulsion.

  “Who are you?” she asked sharply. “Your voice is not familiar.”

  “My name is Felith. I’ll be taking care of you from now on. Havinth and Sethan . . . aren’t coming to the new site.”

  “Why not?” She sounded suspicious.

  “They lost their memories. And their gem powers.” He cleared his throat. “It was most unfortunate.”

  Sheamathan made a chittering noise. “Most unfortunate, indeed.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “What a droll sense of humor.”

  Felith opened the cell door, then the door of the cage. “We’re not leaving for a few hours, but I’m sure you’d like a change of scenery, and the others would like to see you.”

  “You expect me to get into that?”

  “Yes. It’s small, but it’s the only one we have.”

  There was a long silence. He was afraid he might have to pick her up and stuff her into it.

  “When we reach the new site, will you restore me as Havinth promised to do?”

  “If you continue to cooperate, I’ll keep the bargain he made with you,” Felith lied.

  “Continue to cooperate?” she snapped. “Have I not helped you fools enough already?”

  He’d heard she had a short temper, and that was clearly true. “We must rely on you a little longer since Havinth withheld most of the information he learned from you.”

  “You have ensured he cannot share anything now. You should have learned what you could from him before removing his memory. He kept written records. I suggest you find them.”

  Felith wasn’t about to let a beetle lecture him, even if the beetle was Sheamathan. “Get into the cage.”

  She did as he asked. “Do not drop me,” she said as he lifted her.

  The cage was heavier than he’d expected. By the time he reached the kitchen, his back was starting to ache. He deposited the cage on the table, wishing he hadn’t offered to help load the carts. He was still sore from yesterday. He stretched his back, groaning.

  “You should infuse strength gems,” Sheamathan suggested tartly.

  “You’re full of helpful advice today, aren’t you?”

  Manon came in, glanced at the cage on the table, and poured himself a mug of raaka. “How did things go?”

  Felith almost said, “Better than expected,” but that would be admitting he’d been worried. “We’ve reached an understanding,” he said, hoping it was true.

  Felith had to admit Havinth and Sethan had chosen clever hideaways. No one would expect The Emanicus to take Sheamathan back to the Amulet. Sites A and B were located in an uninhabited region along a stream, a day’s ride from Aberell City. The teams could visit each other by erum or raft since the sites were a few miles apart. Site A, a cave complex, was large enough to hold not only the gem masters but also their carts and animals, if need be. Site B, near an abandoned mine, had once been a blacksmith shop. Havinth had used Outcast labor to repair the building, and it was reportedly quite nice inside.

  The gem masters got out of the carts, lit lightgems, and approached the cave, looking none too happy about their new home.

  “Given a choice between the old blacksmith shop and the cave, why do you suppose Havinth chose the cave?” asked Narrod, frowning through his black beard.

  “It’s more defensible,” Felith said. “In addition to this entrance, there are two others, not easily found, close by. If worst comes to worst, we can slip out.”

  “Havinth isn’t the bravest, so that reasoning doesn’t surprise me,” Narrod said.

  “Let’s get the essentials off the carts tonight and deal with the rest tomorrow,” Felith said.

  The group seemed resigned that he was in charge, but there was no telling how they really felt. He’d tried reading their thoughts, but their mental defenses were strong. If no one tried to kill him by morning, he’d consider it a good sign.

  While the others started to unload, Felith touched his pendant and contacted Lanimore. We’re here. I’ll contact you again in the morning and set a time to get together.”

  I assume we’re meeting at your cave.

  Definitely. I promised you equal access to Sheamathan, and I’m not hauling that miserable beetle around.

  What’s on the agenda?

 
; We need to tell operatives in the fortress cities to send our prepared message to the newssheets tomorrow night. We also need to tell our operative in Mierek to deliver the letter with the X to Klemmet. Then, we’ll target Klemmet with the Focal Gem. The sooner we subdue our enemies the better. I don’t plan on living in hiding any longer than necessary.

  It shouldn’t take long to crush our enemies, Lanimore told him.

  I hope you’re right. Ahmonell will be a much better place with our Outcast government in charge.

  Chapter 9

  Felith woke the next morning and looked around. Everyone was gone, probably having breakfast without him, he thought with annoyance. Normally, he wasn’t a heavy sleeper, so why hadn’t he heard them moving about? Had they used gem powers to keep him asleep so they could talk freely? It wouldn’t surprise him. Well, at least he’d gotten through the night uneventfully. He’d planned to set up personal wards, but in the end, he hadn’t bothered. What good would it do? Six gem masters armed with rare gems and the Focal Gem could surely break his wards.

  Someone had left an activated lightgem so he could see to get around. There wasn’t much to trip over yet since they’d only brought in the bedrolls and valuables. After breakfast, they’d carry in the furniture, household goods, food, and some of the corrustone. The place still wouldn’t look very homelike, but it would be an improvement. This section of the cave was at least forty feet across, a hundred twenty feet deep, and seven feet high. There were two smaller sections behind it with lower ceilings, and Felith had put Sheamathan back there. Last night, he had set up a mist ward to keep anyone from tracing spells back to them, and a perimeter ward to detect intruders.

  Felith’s stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since midafternoon yesterday, but breakfast would have to wait. First, he needed to check on Sheamathan.

  “Well, well. You survived the night,” she said when he came in.

  “Was there any doubt?” He wasn’t about to say he’d half-expected to wake and find himself a lizard—if he woke at all.

  “This cage is smaller than my previous cell. You will let me out today.” It was a demand, not a request.

  “I’ll let you out for our meeting this evening. Team two is coming.” He’d rather she didn’t listen to their discussions, which often turned into arguments, but they would be using the Focal Gem and complex spells, and he might need her advice.

  “What is on the agenda?”

  “We plan to target a few important leaders with the Focal Gem”

  “Good. That was my idea.”

  Felith suspected most of Havinth’s plans were Sheamathan’s ideas.

  “Will you create the pythanium today?” she asked.

  “No. That would be too much for one day. Perhaps tomorrow.”

  “I had almost forgotten how weak you gnome gem masters are. My supporters were useful in the early days, but before long I had to do virtually everything myself. It will be the same again, so if you think you can take over Ahmonell without me, think again.”

  Felith didn’t answer. She had a point. From what he had read, prolonged use of Dark gems had left Outcast gem masters weak and sick, and many had gone insane. He didn’t want to gain control of the world at the expense of his sanity, but it would be different this time. Combining their powers through the Focal Gem might dilute the negative side effects, and they would pace themselves, not using Dark gems too frequently.

  “The pythanium are a high priority. You must not delay,” she said sternly.

  “They’ll carry messages and inspire terror, but we don’t really need them.”

  “Yes you do,” she insisted. “They will make surveillance flights.”

  “Monitoring others’ activities is not a priority.”

  She flicked her feelers in annoyance. “Fool! Their main job is to guard your hideout.”

  Felith hadn’t thought about that. Gnomes couldn’t Walk With the Wind in this treeless region and catch The Emanicus by surprise. They could arrive on foot or by cart, however, and Team One, living in a cave, might not see them. A pythanium watching from above would be useful.

  “The Watcher will frighten travelers away, or at least warn you someone is coming.”

  “All right, we’ll create the pythanium tomorrow.”

  “See that you do. If my sister penetrates your mist ward, she will use the tracking spell to find me. If I were you, I would restore me to my woodspirit form. That would eliminate the tracking spell.”

  Felith had a feeling that every conversation would end with a plea to restore her. “All in good time.”

  A voice behind him said, “There you are. If you want any raaka, you’d better hurry.”

  Felith was glad for the interruption. “Yevin. Thanks for coming to get me.”

  They walked through the cave, their lightgems illuminating striations of minerals in the walls. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear any of you get up,” Felith said, watching for Yevin’s reaction.

  “Guess you were extra tired.” Yevin absently rubbed the scar on his forehead, a nervous gesture much like Havinth’s eye twitch that told Felith all he needed to know.

  “I’d better not be extra tired on a regular basis.”

  Yevin looked startled. Despite shielding his thoughts, he probably thought Felith had read his mind. Good. He’d be afraid to keep secrets from now on.

  They went outside, and Felith took a deep breath of crisp morning air. The sky was a bright blue with wisps of clouds. It was shaping up to be a fine day. His fellow gem masters were sitting around a heap of corrustone, enhanced with a gem to make it hot enough for cooking. Rendill was stirring something in a cast iron pot, the spoon between his thumb and index finger, the only fingers on his right hand.

  “Up at last,” Hoy said.

  Yevin shot Hoy a warning look.

  “I assume you’ve had enough time to talk,” Felith said coldly. “I went to see Sheamathan to give you a few extra minutes.”

  Narrod glanced at Manon, but the scholarly gnome refused to meet his eyes.

  Felith got a bowl and mug from a crate and helped himself to raaka. “What’s for breakfast?”

  “White mush,” said Rendill. “It’s ready now.”

  Felith wasn’t fond of cooked grain, but they had it twice a week since it was easier to make than bread. The team ate in awkward silence, and when they finished, Hoy said, “I scouted the immediate area. The river isn’t far from here, and the water is clear.”

  “I wonder how deep it is,” Ezar said. “Did Havinth say in his reports?”

  “I haven’t had time to read them,” Felith said. “Whoever wants to help me is welcome to. You can start today. Unlike Havinth and Sethan, I don’t believe in withholding information and keeping secrets.”

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true, he supposed. He hadn’t told them Rimwick had planned to neutralize Havinth and Sethan, then take over as commander, making Felith second-in-command. Now that Rimwick was missing, there was no reason to tell them. Rimwick should have returned after checking the hideouts to make sure everything was ready, but he had secretly gone on a side trip to find Sheamathan’s Dark gems, and he must have run into trouble. Elias might have found him snooping and turned him into a beetle as he had done to Sheamathan.

  Now that the coup over, Felith realized he really didn’t care what had happened to Rimwick. He was commander now, which was only fair, considering he had neutralized both leaders by himself.

  Ezar, the oldest member of the group, went off to tend the erum. Everyone else unloaded the carts and brought in the team’s belongings. After arranging the furnishings, they made a corrustone circle in the rear and placed rugs around it for a seating area.

  Manon and Hoy volunteered to read Havinth’s notebooks. While they were doing that, Felith copied spells from the notebook for Team Two to memorize. The day sped by, and as the sun began to set, he realized he needed to infuse gems for strength and stamina. Team Two would be here soon, and he must be at his
best.

  He had just put the gems away when he felt a jolt of energy that told him someone had breached the perimeter ward. “They’re here. Let’s go meet them,” he told the others.

  All nine had come. There were three under thirty—Orsek, Pren, and Erett. Vink and Gragg were in their forties as were Team Two’s leaders, Tabik and Lanimore. Amik and Wem were somewhere around seventy. Both had white hair and beards, but Amik had a full head of hair while Wem had only a fringe, and his shiny scalp had a number of lumps.

  “It only took about ten minutes by raft,” Lanimore said.

  “Not bad. Come in and make yourselves at home. We spent the morning getting settled, and I’m pleased with the result.”

  Team Two filed inside. They looked impressed with the orderly row of beds and the pleasant sitting area around the corrustone. There were two small tables, three bookcases, and a few trunks that doubled as seats along the cave wall on the right.

  “Where’s Big Bug?” Pren quipped, folding his arms over his brown beard, which reached nearly to his waist.

  “Her cage is in a section of cave behind us,” Felith said. “If no one has any objections, she’ll attend our meeting.” Tabik and Lanimore were used to having exclusive access to her, but that was about to change.

  “Sure, let her come. At this stage of the game, everyone should get acquainted with her,” Tabik said.

  Lanimore nodded. “Besides, we may need her help tonight.”

  “Come with me. I’ll show you where we keep her. She’ll be happy to hear familiar voices.”

  “Has she given you any trouble?” Tabik asked, as they walked.

  “No. But she loves to order me around, and she insists I turn her back into a woodspirit.”

  “What did you tell her?” Lanimore asked.

  “Don’t worry. I’m stringing her along as Havinth did. She claims to be worried that Anatta will find her. I think she assumes Anatta won’t restore her and we will.”

  “Anatta might, if only out of family pride,” Lanimore said. “It’s embarrassing to have a beetle for a relative.”