Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  Kitana waved a careless hand. “Woodspirits live for hundreds of years. A political upheaval like this is a minor annoyance. It will pass.”

  “You don’t care what happens as long as it’s newsworthy,” Arenia said in disgust.

  Kitana shrugged and didn’t deny it. She consulted her notebook again. “When you learned Finnack had been targeted, how did you feel?”

  “Horrified, of course,” said Tyla. “But I don’t let fear of being targeted keep me from doing my job.”

  “I hear you have a special knife that protects you, but you shouldn’t be overconfident. Oh yes, I know about it,” Kitana said, smiling at Tyla’s reaction. “Your knife made quite an impression on the pythanium.”

  “You interviewed the pythanium?”

  “It’s a fascinating creature. Show me your knife,” Kitana demanded with a predatory smile. “Do you keep it on you? I suppose you must. What kind of gems does it have?” Kitana stood. The breghlin moved closer, even though they knew Tyla could protect herself. “It must have been one of Sheamathan’s finest pieces.”

  “It was never hers,” Tyla said, flushing with anger. “She stole it from our ancestors.”

  “So you say. What proof do you have?”

  “It was in the armory with other gnome weapons, and it has our clan’s symbol.”

  “S couldn’t use it if she wanted to,” Arenia spat. Her eyes widened in alarm as soon as the words left her mouth.

  Tyla gave a mental groan.

  “Really?” Kitana said with new interest. “And why would that be?” She held out her hand for the knife. “I’m sure you’re wearing it. Let’s see it.”

  Tyla found herself reaching for the knife. The rational part of her mind knew Kitana was manipulating her, but it was hard to fight the overpowering desire to do as she said. By the time Tyla had mastered herself, she had started to draw the knife from the sheath, and Kitana had seen the jeweled hilt.

  “It’s beautiful! What craftsmanship!”

  “Don’t try to manipulate me again.” Months ago, Tyla had pressed Kitana’s hand against S’s cage to see if the Fair Lands gems in the metal would burn her. Kitana had passed the test, but would she now? Had Kitana gone from merely unprincipled to truly evil? Maybe Tyla should draw the knife. Kitana knew about it anyway. How would it react?

  Tyla drew the knife and held it up. The blade began to glow, and then flames appeared, though not as brightly as on other occasions.

  “You’re changing. If you don’t shape up, you’ll be the next Sheamathan.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Kitana said, but she looked unsettled.

  Tyla was wearing the topaz bracelet Lana had given her. She grabbed Kitana’s arm and pressed the bracelet against her. Kitana gasped, but was it from pain or surprise? “Does it hurt?” Tyla demanded. Make her answer me honestly, she thought to the knife. Turnabout is fair play. Give her an overwhelming urge to tell the truth.

  “It feels hot!” Kitana cried. Her eyes widened in alarm, but the words had already escaped her lips. She wrenched her arm free and backed away.

  Tyla mimicked Kitana’s predatory smile. “I bet the rest of the Eight would find that disturbing . . . if they should happen to find out. I don’t own a newssheet, but I know others who do.”

  “Woodspirits don’t read gnome papers, and even if they did, they wouldn’t believe you.”

  “Are you sure? Outcasts lie, but the rest of us don’t, and your people know that.” Tyla was enjoying the woodspirit’s discomfort. It was nice to have something to hold over Kitana. Hopefully, she’d leave now.

  Kitana’s eyes dropped to the knife. “Gem-power weapons have their place, but they can be lost or stolen.”

  Tyla wanted to say that anyone who stole the knife would find it a powerless, but she held her tongue.

  Kitana studied Tyla’s face. “Of course, if it’s a gem-bonded weapon, no one else could use it, and that would be some consolation.” Kitana gave a satisfied smile. “So it is gem-bonded. How extraordinary.”

  Tyla’s heart sank. It did no good to shield her thoughts if her face gave away her secrets.

  The knife started to vibrate and tried to free itself from Tyla’s grasp. “Stop it!”

  “You don’t deserve such a weapon.” Kitana took a menacing step toward Tyla. Before the guards could move in, the Guardian appeared, blocking her. Kitana shrieked, and the knife stopped trying to escape from Tyla’s hand.

  So far, the Guardian hadn’t gone for Kitana’s throat as it had with Rimwick, but it still might, and Tyla secretly hoped it would. “This interview is over,” she said coldly. “I’m giving you five minutes to get off the property.”

  Chapter 22

  The ride was tedious, but Eneff didn’t mind. He hadn’t been outside the O.D. in ages let alone done anything adventurous. It was exciting to see a part of Ahmonell that generations of gnomes hadn’t seen. Even though they could finally go through the barrier and see the Amulet, few would attempt the trip—not with pythanium watching the roads and questioning travelers.

  Eneff hated to abandon his shop, but he looked forward to living at Elantoth, and Kaff was excited about it, too, though he tried to hide it. How Ertz had talked Tyla into letting them come, Eneff couldn’t imagine. The elderly gnome was full of surprises.

  Having traveled this route a few times, Ertz knew safe places to stop, far from breghlin clans. Kaff said breghlin no longer captured gnomes as they had under Sheamathan’s rule, but many clans were still savage, and it was best to stay away from them. Tonight, Ertz planned to camp near a pond. He would be able to sleep inside a tree, but Eneff and Kaff would have to sleep outside on bedrolls, as they had the last two nights.

  As Eneff surveyed the darkening landscape, he spotted something glimmering that could be water.

  “There’s the pond I mentioned,” Ertz said. “Are your eyes better than mine? Do you see something along the road?”

  Now that Ertz mentioned it, Eneff saw it, too.

  “It’s a cart or carriage,” Eneff said.

  Kaff leaned forward, looking. After a moment he said, “Maybe someone else knows this is a good place to camp.”

  Eneff frowned. If the traveler didn’t leave right away, Ertz would need to find a new camping spot since his passengers were essentially fugitives.

  As they drew closer, Ertz cried, “Oh bother! What is she doing here? She’s the last person I want to see.”

  “Who is it?” Eneff asked.

  “Kitana Windan.”

  “Oh no,” Kaff moaned.

  “You infused an invisibility gem,” Ertz said, voice tense. “I suggest you use it.”

  Eneff tried not to panic. He wasn’t much good at invisibility yet.

  “I’ll expand the field to include you,” Kaff told Eneff. A moment later, Eneff could see Kaff, but the lad looked ghostly and insubstantial, and when Eneff looked down at himself, he looked the same way.

  “If she’s spending the night here, she’ll have a perimeter ward to alert her if someone comes,” Ertz said. “Let’s hope she doesn’t recognize me. She’ll assume I’m going to Elantoth and want to know why.”

  “You don’t owe her an explanation,” Kaff said.

  “No, but if I don’t give her one she’ll come up with one of her own. Quiet now, voices carry.”

  Even if they didn’t make a sound, Kitana was one of the Eight. She might sense someone in the cart besides Ertz.

  “I just felt a tingle of energy,” Ertz whispered a moment later. “We’ve breached a ward.”

  “Why are you stopping?” Kaff asked as the cart began to slow.

  “I’m not. She must be doing it.”

  By the time they reached Kitana’s carriage, they were nearly at a standstill.

  Sweat beaded on Eneff’s brow. Kaff had better not drop the invisibility field. Kitana knew who he was. She didn’t know Eneff, but he was an Outcast, and she’d wonder why he was here.

  Kitana stepped out of her carriage, and t
heir cart came to a full stop. Ertz pulled his hood forward to hide his face.

  “Is something wrong? Ertz asked in a quavering voice that sounded very different from his own.

  “Even the Eight can’t be too careful these days,” Kitana said. “I’m spending the night here, so it seemed best to take precautions.”

  “Well, you have nothing to fear from me. I’ll be on my way.”

  “Not so fast,” she said, coming up to the cart. “There’s something familiar about you. Do I know you?”

  Ertz didn’t answer.

  Eneff’s hands were shaking, and he could feel Kaff trembling beside him.

  Kitana jerked back Ertz’s hood. “Ha! I thought so! What are you doing here? And why try to disguise yourself?”

  “As you said, one can’t be too careful these days.”

  “You don’t need to hide your identity from me.”

  “I do if I don’t want to answer a lot of bothersome questions.”

  “Me, ask bothersome questions? I wouldn’t dream of it. Why are you driving this rickety old thing?” she asked, proving his point. “It’s a wonder you made it this far.”

  “It’s sturdier than it looks.”

  Eneff’s heart pounded as Kitana started around the cart, looking it over. He and Kaff slid forward to make sure she wouldn’t inadvertently touch them, and they almost fell off the bench seat.

  “Shovels, rakes, buckets and baskets. Have you taken up farming in your old age?”

  “My hobbies are none of your business.”

  “There aren’t many rare plants out here. I bet you’re digging for gems.”

  “With a rake? Don’t be ridiculous.”

  She came around to his side of the cart. “With all your rare gems, you shouldn’t need to come here for more.”

  “I’d like to go now.”

  “You seem awfully anxious to get away.”

  “You have that effect on me.” He snapped the reins.

  Kitana grabbed his arm. “Take my advice, Ertz. Mind your own business and leave Amulet gnomes alone. I told Elias the same, but I doubt he’ll listen.”

  Ertz stiffened. “Elias?”

  “Oh, yes, he’s out here, too. I found him visiting the Lomin clan. Isn’t that strange? I wonder what he’s up to.” She gave Ertz a penetrating look as if he might know.

  “Follow your own advice. Mind your own business and stay out of the Amulet.” Ertz snapped the reins again, and this time Kitana let him go.

  Eneff let out a long breath when they were safely away. “You can drop the invisibility now,” he said, glancing over his shoulder.

  “She didn’t sense us. I knew she wouldn’t!” Kaff said proudly as they turned visible.

  “Then why were you shaking?” Eneff asked.

  Kaff ignored him. “When I went to the Seekers’ rally, I was invisible and she didn’t know I was there. Maybe the Eight aren’t as powerful as we think.”

  “Don’t underestimate them. They tap deeper levels of power than we do,” Ertz said sternly. “There’s something wrong with Kitana,” he added. “When she touched me, I felt a chill. Not a physical sensation . . . it was an inner perception.”

  “So, what does that mean?” Kaff asked.

  “I wish I knew. The last time I felt something like that, I was analyzing a fellow who had tried to kill his brother. Someone had put a compulsion on him. I broke the spell, and he was fine after that.”

  “Most Outcast gem masters wouldn’t have the gems—or the knowledge—to create a compulsion,” Eneff said.

  “Don’t be so sure. The Gem Services shop in the O.D. was in business for just such dirty jobs as that. On the other hand, it may have been the work of an Emanicus gnome.”

  “They couldn’t do something like that to Kitana, could they?” Kaff asked. “She’s one of The Eight!”

  “Now that they have the Focal Gem and can combine their powers, I think it’s possible.”

  “And they have Sheamathan to instruct them,” Eneff said.

  “If Kitana has dealings with The Emanicus, and I suspect she does, it would be easier for them to lay a compulsion on her,” Ertz said thoughtfully.

  “She can’t be in contact with them. They don’t want anyone to know where they are,” Kaff protested.

  “She has a dendrite ball and so do they. She doesn’t need to know where they are to speak with them.”

  Eneff nodded. It made sense. Kitana Windan wanted the latest news for her newssheet, and The Emanicus wanted to disseminate information. It was a mutually beneficial relationship, and she was arrogant enough to believe Emanicus gnomes couldn’t hurt her.

  By the time Ertz found a new camping site, it was dark. They had dinner—such as it was with supplies running low—then Eneff lay on his bedroll, staring up at the sky. Tomorrow they would reach Elantoth, and thanks to Ertz, Eneff would make a new life for himself.

  Chapter 23

  The next morning, Eneff woke to overcast skies. They ate a hasty breakfast and set out, hoping to outrun the rain clouds, but bad weather overtook them. It rained on and off for a couple hours, but Eneff wasn’t one to complain even though he was damp and uncomfortable. The same could not be said for Kaff, however, who disliked long rides even when the weather was good.

  By early afternoon, the weather had improved. Kaff, bored and in a bad mood, asked to drive and Ertz reluctantly agreed. The lad had a knack for finding every hole in the road, but driving put him in a better mood, so Eneff decided it was a worthwhile tradeoff.

  Sitting on the bench seat behind the driver’s box, Eneff rested his feet on an overturned bucket and somehow managed to doze off for a while. He woke when he heard Ertz say, “That bird looks familiar. I wonder if it’s Loud Mouth.” Still a bit groggy, Eneff wondered if he’d heard Ertz right. Loud Mouth? What kind of name was that for a bird? When he looked up, he saw a colorful bird flying toward them. “Beautiful bird. And quite unusual,” Eneff said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it.”

  “Raenihel had one. He left it to Tyla when she took over. It could speak, but only a few memorized phrases, most of them rude.”

  The bird circled the cart, examining them, and then landed on the seat beside Eneff. “I have orders to find an old gnome and two Outcasts,” it announced.

  Ertz turned on the driver’s box. “Loud Mouth? What’s happened to you? Your vocabulary used to be quite limited.”

  “Feridium powder. Franklin gave me some.”

  “Remarkable!”

  “Tyla sent me. There have been attacks near Elantoth, so things will look different from last time you were here, but there’s no reason to worry. The worst is over . . . as far as we know.”

  “Attacks? What kind of attacks?”

  “On the land. You will see.” The bird flew off with no further explanation.

  “We’ll know what he’s talking about soon enough,” said Ertz. “We’re less than an hour from Elantoth.”

  Eneff had thought Elantoth would be safer than the O.D., but now he wasn’t so sure. If The Emanicus was targeting the fortress, Elantoth had better have good wards in place.

  Before long, the wind picked up, and dark clouds moved in. Eneff glanced apprehensively at the sky. He had finally dried out from this morning, and he wasn’t looking forward to more rain.

  The landscape was different in this area. There was ground cover, but very few trees. Ertz had explained that Sheamathan had killed everything in a radius around the fortress so no one could approach unseen. The land was recovering, but it was desolate compared to other areas.

  “Once we reach that hill up ahead, you’ll get your first glimpse of Elantoth,” Kaff told Eneff.

  As they crested the hill, Eneff saw the fortress. It looked virtually identical to Aberell, but with no surrounding city. As for the land, if he had thought the land they had just crossed was desolate, the land between here and Elantoth was a hundred times worse. Everything was brown and dead, as if killed by a prolonged drought.
/>   “Now I see what Loud Mouth was talking about,” Ertz said. “This is dreadful! Everything was green and healthy before.”

  “Look. You can tell where their wards stop,” Kaff said. “The land close to the fortress is still green. Here comes Loud Mouth.”

  Once again, the bird landed in the cart. “Olissa will meet you and let you through the wards, but she isn’t happy about the Outcasts.”

  Eneff supposed others might wish he and Kaff had stayed in the O.D. He would do his best to fit in, and he hoped Kaff would, too.

  Kaff stopped the cart when they neared the driveway. “I left here in a confinement wagon. I didn’t think I’d ever see this place again, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. But I have to say, it’s good to be back.”

  “You’ll be able to visit your family,” Eneff said. “I haven’t seen mine in over twenty years.”

  “Here comes Olissa,” Ertz said. “She can be a bit abrasive, but don’t let that bother you.”

  Olissa wore a hooded cloak, and her head was down. When she neared the end of the driveway and looked up, Eneff could see she was young and pretty, but the stern look on her face and the fire in her eyes confirmed Ertz’s statement about her unpleasant disposition. She motioned them forward, and once Kaff was through the ward, he offered her a ride to the fortress.

  “No thanks. I’ll walk,” she said, and after giving Eneff and Kaff a less than welcoming look, she started back to the fortress.

  “Suit yourself,” Kaff muttered and drove them to the rear entry.

  Eneff grinned when Ben and Tina Ann ran out to greet them with several other breghlin and a few gnomes.

  “Now yer livin’ with us, ‘stead of the other way aroun’,” Ben said as Eneff climbed out of the cart. Ben and Tina Ann took turns grabbing Eneff by the shoulders and shaking him.

  Olissa finally caught up and started barking orders. “Take Ertz’s belongings inside. Kaff and Eneff will be bunking in the barn with you breghlin, so don’t take theirs.”