by Lisa Shearin
I ignored her last comment. “Did the Khrynsani ever seek you out to provide crystals for the temple?” I asked Agata.
“With annoying regularity.”
“I take it they were on the list of clients you refused to work for.”
“They were—and they are.”
“Have you been contacted since the fall of the temple?”
“Oh yes.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask, who wanted to hire you?”
“Unknown. They communicated with me via courier. Their letters were lengthy. My replies were quite short. There aren’t all that many ways to say no.”
“Why did they want to hire you?”
“They hadn’t reached the point of revealing exactly what they wanted. But considering that I’m a gem mage, I suspect it’s the same reason that it always has been—to locate and use a stone of power for them.”
“Speaking of stones of power,” I said, “this mage knows Sarad Nukpana.”
Imala went still. “You mean knew.”
“I wish I did. She said to me, and I quote: ‘Sarad speaks very highly of you. It was he who warned me of your strength.’”
“Do you think she may have been merely toying with you?”
“I hope she was, but…”
“I saw that bull demon carry him away.”
“Carried away doesn’t equal killed,” I reminded her. “That type of demon may play with its food, but it always kills and eats it, and not necessarily in that order.”
Imala’s silvery skin was a little paler than usual. “You’re saying that—”
“I’m saying it’s possible. When I eliminate an enemy, I prefer to see the dead body myself to ensure that it’s absolutely positively deceased. I didn’t have that option with Sarad.”
Imala looked to Kesyn. “You believe it, too.”
“I heard her,” my teacher said. He tossed his now empty pipe in one of the trays I kept here for him. “I don’t think she was lying. She planned on killing Tam and taking Aggie. She wanted to see the look on Tam’s face before she finished him off. I didn’t detect anything but the truth coming from her.”
“So he could be here,” Imala said.
“I don’t think so,” I told her. “If he warned her of my strength, that tells me he’s not here. He may not still be in the Lower Hells, but if he were here, he wouldn’t be able to resist showing himself.”
Imala gave me a level look. “Unless he’s on the Isle of Mid, showing himself to Raine.”
Chapter 14
I contacted the Isle of Mid and asked to speak with Mychael Eiliesor, not Raine.
Definitely not Raine.
I hadn’t told her about the Heart of Nidaar when I had spoken to her earlier, so I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her that in all likelihood Sarad Nukpana wasn’t only alive, he might be on the same plane of existence as the rest of us, possibly on the same island as her.
Considering what had happened this evening, I no longer had an option of keeping the search for the Heart of Nidaar a secret. Tonight had revealed that we had even more bad guys than we’d anticipated, and their interest in Agata Azul said that they knew not only about the expedition, but what we’d be searching for once we got there.
I needed every good guy I could get on my side, and good guys didn’t get any better than Mychael Eiliesor. As the paladin and commander of the Conclave Guardians, Mychael needed to know not only about the Heart of Nidaar, but also that the Khrynsani and their invader allies were after it, and that I would be going after them. He also needed to know about Sarad Nukpana.
I told him everything.
If keeping him in the dark had annoyed him—and I knew it had—Mychael showed no sign. I was a goblin, and goblins kept secrets. We hoarded secrets like a miser hoarded gold. I hadn’t done it without a good reason, and Mychael realized that.
Though there was one thing I didn’t share.
The book written by Rudra Muralin and found behind Sarad Nukpana’s Khrynsani temple bookshelf. I wasn’t really keeping anything from Mychael, because other than where it was found and who wrote it, that was all I knew. Once I had a chance to examine it, and if it contained anything Mychael needed to know, then I’d tell him.
Though if Mychael valued his life—and the continued affections of his new bride—he’d tell her about Sarad Nukpana. I gave him permission to put the blame for not telling her about the Heart of Nidaar squarely on my shoulders. I was far enough away not to worry about the wrath of Raine. Hopefully, by the time I saw her in person again, she would have calmed down. If not, I’d take my medicine.
The Guardians had had the dubious honor of being the keepers and protectors of the Saghred for the past thousand years, give or take a couple of decades. Until about five months ago, they’d done a fine job. That was when the Saghred had selected Raine Benares to be its next keeper, and Sarad Nukpana caught up with her and the stone, sending the possible fate of the Seven Kingdoms into a death spiral.
We’d thought that was all over. Two weeks ago, right before her marriage to Mychael, Raine discovered that not only had she retained much of the power the Saghred had given her, but whatever had given the Saghred its power was now inside of her. That night in the Khrynsani temple, Raine had released the souls the Saghred had held prisoner, then she had shattered the empty orb.
Or what she and the rest of us had assumed was empty.
Even after the souls were gone, her hand had still been fused to the Saghred, meaning that it had merely appeared to be empty. It still had power. The orb had been the Saghred’s body, and when Raine had been about to shatter it, the entity that was the Saghred saved itself in the only way it knew how.
The last soul the Saghred took through Raine Benares had been its own.
Only a few people knew the truth.
The entity, the power which we had called the Saghred, now resided inside of Raine. All that new power was going to take a lot of getting used to—and a lot of support from her family and friends.
That was the real reason I hadn’t wanted to tell Raine anything I didn’t have to. She had enough to deal with.
But with the possibility of Sarad Nukpana’s return, that choice was no longer mine.
Raine needed to know, and Mychael would do the best job of telling her.
*
When I came back in my study, Imala and Agata had their heads together like a pair of conspirators. Believe me, I’ve seen enough of it to know it on sight. That I was the topic of their discussion was a given, but it was confirmed when they sat back with an identical glint in their eyes, which also confirmed that they didn’t care if I knew it.
“We were discussing what Agata should call you,” Imala said. “I assured her that being stuck on a ship with you for over a month will give her ample time and opportunity for name-calling. It’s merely a matter of how long it will take for her to reach the breaking point. By the time the ships reach Aquas, she’ll have all sorts of names she wants to call you.”
I ignored everything that said or implied, and turned to Kesyn. “Speaking of epithets you want to call someone, that spell you blasted those demons with could’ve killed us.”
“Not a chance. Well, not unless your shields were crap.”
“They weren’t.”
“Of course, they weren’t. I taught them to you. All I needed to do was put a little light on the subject.” My teacher tossed a marble-sized ball of intense light in his hand. “Blow a little sun where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“With that?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, size isn’t important.” He grinned wickedly. “It’s all in what you do with it.”
I nodded in understanding. “You multiplied it.”
“By a lot.” Kesyn leaned toward Agata and lowered his voice. “He tends to overthink things.”
“I’ve noticed. Though in his defense, I didn’t see a way out of our situation either.” Agata addressed me. “As little as I like it—and fo
r the record, I don’t believe I have ever liked anything less—we need each other, as unfortunate as that arrangement is. You don’t stand much of a chance of finding the Heart of Nidaar without my help, and I’m not going to be able to rid myself of Khrynsani attentions until that stone is either destroyed or permanently out of their reach. And to do that, I need you. I’m afraid we’re rather stuck with each other for the duration.”
I blinked. “Afraid we’re stuck?”
“I take it you’d rather I worded it differently?”
Imala cleared her throat. “Tam’s used to better reactions from women to the idea of spending time with him.”
“I’m going to a continent few have journeyed to and survived,” Agata continued, “to find a stone with the power a cult of psychopaths need to open passages to our world to conquer and enslave us all.” She glanced back at me. “Can you honestly say that you’re looking forward to this?”
“I have things that I would rather do,” I admitted. “As if the Khrynsani and the possibility of Sarad Nukpana being back isn’t enough, now we have someone who, if she isn’t actually from the Lower Hells, has enough black magic to have her own mini army of demon zombies at her beck and call.”
“We were lucky she put all of her effort into containing the two of you,” Kesyn said. “She wasn’t expecting an attack from the rear and didn’t prepare for it. She won’t make that mistake again. Arrogance will bite you in the ass every time. Remember that, boy.”
“I’ve never forgotten.”
My teacher snorted. “If I didn’t know you’d forgotten, I wouldn’t need to remind you. You didn’t expect someone bigger and badder than yourself. Granted, there aren’t many of them around, but one of them found you, and you’ve got a lady and a hunk of rock that she wants. She’ll be back, and she’ll have an even uglier surprise for you next time.”
Agata spoke. “We should be safe—at least from her—while traveling to Aquas. We’ll be on a ship.”
Imala and I traded an “oh crap, not again” glance.
“What?” Agata asked.
I told her. “The pirates who killed the elven ambassador and took his staff prisoner were killed by Khrynsani death curses.”
No one said anything.
Agata looked confused. “And this affects our shipboard safety how?”
“A Khrynsani dark mage tore open a Gate on board the pirates’ ship while it was in the middle of the Sea of Stillness.”
Agata dark eyes widened. “A Gate can be opened on a ship under sail?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Any higher-level Khrynsani mage can open a Gate if they know a ship’s exact location. All it would take would be to plant a tracking crystal on the ship when the Khrynsani agent initially hired them.”
“What’s to keep them from doing the same thing to our ship?”
“Extreme paranoia on our part. Anything being loaded on our ship is being checked before going onboard. And before we set sail, Kesyn and I will be going over the ship again.”
Kesyn grunted. “Work in the palace long enough and you raise paranoia to an art form. If you don’t, you’re dead, and it won’t be pretty.”
The mention of palace intrigue made me remember what Agata had said about my ancestor, Kansbar Nathrach, and the piece of the Heart of Nidaar that he’d supposedly brought back to Regor with him. The Khrynsani had searched his home nine hundred years ago—the same home we were in now. It had passed down through the Nathrach family through the centuries. The Khrynsani had searched my home two years ago, and I had a feeling they hadn’t found what they were looking for. Were they still looking for the shard? And if so, was it still here? Or did it no longer exist—if it ever had?
I asked Agata to tell Kesyn, Imala, and Barrett about Kansbar Nathrach and the shard.
Afterward, I didn’t feel nearly as bad about never having heard of him, as Barrett had no recollection of any ancestor by that name. Barrett’s family had served my family for nearly two hundred years, and Barrett knew as much about the Nathrach family history as my parents. If they knew it, Barrett would know it. He didn’t.
I frowned. “So Sarad and Sandrina destroyed our home out of spite.”
Then Barrett and Kesyn shared a suspicious-looking glance.
“That’s not entirely accurate, Your Grace,” Barrett admitted.
My eyes narrowed. “What is it?”
“This may have had nothing to do with what happened here,” Kesyn said, “but it could explain a few things.”
Barrett spoke. “After Sathrik Mal’Salin had you declared a traitor to the crown, he confiscated this house and its contents. We managed to get some of the family valuables out; the rest we had to leave in the armory vault in your rooms and hope they weren’t discovered. There simply wasn’t time.”
I clenched my teeth as the anger built. My family had been forced to flee our home, grabbing what they could, risking capture, torture, and death by remaining one moment longer than necessary. I had repaid Sarad Nukpana—or so I thought. Like rats, they had taken over my home; and like rats, they had escaped.
Not for long.
I took a calming breath. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to risk yourselves. Possessions can be replaced; my family cannot. And yes, Barrett, you are family.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. What you saw when you returned from the Isle of Mid was much improved over what we found when we first got back into the house.”
“It was worse?”
That earned a whistle from Kesyn. “Oh yeah. It was all too obvious that the house had been searched from top to bottom. And when they didn’t find what they were looking for, they went deeper—as in holes in the walls, floors, and ceilings.”
Since my return, my mother had told me that even after Kesyn was no longer my teacher, he had still maintained close ties with my family. I had abandoned them. Kesyn Badru had not. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Barrett stepped up next to Kesyn. “With all due respect, Your Grace, what purpose would it have served?”
“Most of it was done by Sandrina,” Kesyn added. “Sarad was busy with his plans for kingdom domination, so Sandrina appointed herself demolisher in chief. She oversaw the search for whatever they were looking for. And they were looking for something. Hard. However, I got the impression that they didn’t find it.”
“Do you think it was the shard?” Agata asked him.
“It was right after Sarad had been outmaneuvered once again to get his hands on the Saghred. Though if they were looking for something like that, it wouldn’t have been something they could have achieved with a simple burglary. They would have needed you out of your house permanently.”
I knew exactly what he was saying, and so did Barrett and Imala. I didn’t know if Agata Azul knew the story of my wife’s death, but I wasn’t up to telling her.
Sandrina Ghalfari had poisoned my wife Calida. It had been the first step in forcing me out of court and then out of the kingdom. I knew they’d wanted me out to open the way for Sathrik to kill the queen, his mother. What if it was more? What if it they simply needed me out of my house so they could ransack it for a piece of the Heart of Nidaar? Did my Calida die in agony for a sliver of rock?
I didn’t say any of this out loud.
I met Imala’s eyes. She knew.
“According to the histories, Kansbar Nathrach brought it back from Aquas with him,” Agata said. She then told them about one or more of the objects brought from Aquas being cursed and causing storms and sickness on the return voyage, and that all objects were thrown overboard. That may or may not have included the shard. “However, once Kansbar returned to Regor, the Khrynsani captured and tortured him, and when he wasn’t forthcoming about the shard’s location, they watched him for the rest of his life, short though that was.”
“No shard?” Imala asked.
“Not that anyone knew of.”
“The house has always been in the Nathrach family,” Barrett said.
“And if Sarad and
Sandrina still didn’t find it here,” I noted, “chances are good that he hid it somewhere else, or it doesn’t exist anymore.”
“You forget a third option,” Agata pointed out. “A rather obvious one.”
“Which is?”
“Barrett, you said that you removed some of the family valuables before the house was confiscated and ransacked. I assume that included the family jewels?”
“It did.”
“I take it they’re back here now?”
“They are.”
“Would you mind if I examined them? Being a gem mage, if a shard from a stone of power is among them, I should be able to find it.”
Chapter 15
Who knew my family had so much jewelry?
There were chests of it. They weren’t particularly large chests, but they were still chests. I couldn’t help but think that Phaelan Benares would love to come across these on a ship he’d just taken.
Thanks to my family’s quick thinking, the Nathrach family jewels were all here rather than adorning Sandrina Ghalfari. My armory had survived as well, with the addition of the jewels and art my parents couldn’t take with them. It had remained undiscovered during Sarad’s sacking of my family home.
We goblins are most proficient at hiding things, be it money, jewels, alliances, dead enemies, or inconvenient emotions.
Imala had returned to the palace, leaving my house security in the capable hands of her team. Kesyn had adjourned to the nearest couch to take a nap.
I looked closely at the jewels spread on the table before me. They were easily worth a fortune.
My mother would possibly know if one of the pieces had a stone that flickered like flame. But my parents and Nath weren’t due back from the country until tomorrow. Since Talon was going on the expedition with me, he would be coming back home via mirror in a few hours.
Mother had only had me and Nath; there’d been no daughter to pass the family jewels down to. Considering how Nath and I had turned out, that absence had to be a source of disappointment to her.
