The Chaos Crystal

by Jennifer Fallon

  'Stop it, Cayal,' Kinta said impatiently.

  'Or what?'

  Kinta didn't answer him, turning to Declan instead. 'What are you going to do now?'

  'Continue on to Glaeba,' he told her. 'For me, nothing has changed. I'm trying to find Arkady. What about you?'

  'I need to talk to Brynden. Tell him what Kentravyon said. It will ... bother him, I think.'

  'That's something of an understatement,' Cayal said, with a short, bitter laugh. 'It's going to knock the stuffing right out of our brave and noble warrior. Imagine what it's going to feel like — after all that time he's spent looking for the true meaning of immortality — when he discovers it's all about the rat. Tides, it's a good thing he is immortal, because otherwise this news would kill him.'

  'And what about you, Cayal?' Kinta asked. 'Do you intend to aid Lukys in his quest to restore Coron to human form?'

  'Why not? If it means I die in the process, he can transform a whole flanking chorus line of Jelidian snow bears into dancing girls for all I care.'

  'Kentravyon's right about one thing,' Declan noted. 'Lukys is a brilliant judge of what motivates people.'

  'What do you mean?'

  'I mean, look at you. You're nodding and saying "Well, isn't that interesting", but nothing's changed so drastically that you're threatening to pull out of the deal. You're still willing to open the rift for him, despite the risks. Cayal still wants to die. Kentravyon seems to want to help just because he's curious. Lukys's motives may be noble enough that Brynden

  won't try to interfere, even when he learns the truth. He's got you worked out pretty well, I reckon. To align your friends and your enemies so fortuitously — that takes real talent.'

  'But not you?' Cayal said. 'Is that what you're implying? We'll all fall into line, but you're waiting to see what Arkady wants to do?' He laughed. 'Tides, there's a word for men like you, spymaster, and it's not a very nice one.'

  'How can you assume to know what Brynden will do?' Kinta asked, a little miffed by the suggestion.

  'I don't know,' Declan said. 'Not for certain. I'm basing my judgement on what I know of him, my lady. If Kentravyon is to be believed, Lukys is motivated — when you get down to it — by nothing more than undying love for Coryna. Didn't Brynden cause a Cataclysm over you for much the same reason?'

  'Mindless rage driven by insane jealousy isn't undying love, Rodent. It isn't any sort of love,' Cayal said, and then he shook his head. 'Tides, it seems wrong now, calling you that. I'll have to think of something else.'

  'You could try, you know, my name.''

  Cayal flashed a grin at him. 'Now where would be the fun in that?'

  'Will you still help Lukys open the rift, Declan?' Kinta asked, ignoring Cayal. 'Now you've heard what Kentravyon has to say?'

  Declan shrugged. 'One minute Kentravyon is telling us that opening this rift might destroy the world, the next minute he's offering up hope of a future free of immortal interference and the Cataclysms that go with it. Tides, he's even got me thinking that if we open a rift and even some of the immortals leave this world, Amyrantha will be a better place, and that may be worth risking its total destruction.'

  'If he's planning to leave Syrolee and her lot behind after the rest of us have gone, total destruction might

  be preferable,' Cayal said with a sour laugh. Then his amusement faded and he added thoughtfully, 'I wonder why he's so keen to bring Elyssa along, though?'

  'If he perfects his method for transferring consciousness from one body to another, she would be a prime candidate for the procedure,' Kinta said. 'If Lukys offered her the chance of a new body, don't you think she'd do absolutely anything he asked of her?'

  'Are you sure of that?'

  Kinta nodded. 'You know as well as I do, Cayal, that Elyssa would trade her immortality for the chance to be rid of her curse.'

  'Which is what exactly?' Declan asked.

  The two immortals hesitated for a moment before answering.

  'Elyssa was a virgin when she was made immortal,' Kinta told him, when it seemed Cayal wasn't planning to volunteer the information. 'Which means every time she takes a lover, her hymen has to be re-broken, and then it begins to heal again, almost immediately.'

  Declan winced at the very thought of it. He'd experienced enough of immortality's agonising rapid healing to imagine how painful that must be.

  'If she's not quick about it, it heals while she's still trying to do the deed,' Cayal added with a grimace. 'That's caused some problems in the past, let me tell you.'

  Kinta nodded in agreement. 'She kills her lovers now, as soon as she's climaxed, I hear. That way she can get rid of them at her leisure and doesn't have to explain to the poor lad why — in his moment of ecstasy — her hymen has grown over his manly pride and joy and the only way out for him now is to be surgically removed from her.'

  The image that created in his head was one Declan could well have done without. 'So what happens when she takes an immortal lover?'

  'We heal up just as fast,' Cayal said. 'We can take the fun if we can take the pain. It's not something I've ever felt the need to try, however.'

  'Hence the reason for Elyssa's unrequited love for our poor Immoral Prince,' Kinta said, smiling at Cayal. 'She really has never gotten over her crush on you, you know.'

  'Well, at least you have a reason now to get her to cooperate,' Declan said.

  'I'm not sleeping with her,' Cayal said. 'I'd almost rather go on living.'

  'You don't have to,' Declan pointed out, wondering why he was bothering to help Cayal with anything. It wasn't as if he cared about the fate of the Immortal Prince one way or another. And he certainly didn't want to do anything that might result in the destruction of Amyrantha. At least, he hoped that was the case. Perhaps Lukys knew his son better than he thought. Perhaps, for that one chance to be rid of Cayal, Declan was willing to aid his quest for immortal suicide, even at the risk of destroying Amyrantha.

  He didn't have time to dwell on his motives now, however, and Cayal was looking at him, expecting an explanation. 'All you need to do is tell her what Kentravyon told us. Tell Elyssa that Lukys has a way to transfer her consciousness into another body — one without the problems she has now. If Kinta's right, you won't have to coax the Chaos Crystal from her; she'll hand it over willingly and follow you all the way back to Jelidia like a little lost puppy.'

  Kinta nodded in agreement. 'He's right, Cayal. She would.'

  Cayal thought on it for a moment as he walked, but Declan couldn't tell what he was thinking. The water, however, was starting to lap at his bare feet. 'Tide's coming in.'

  'Well, thank you, Rodent. I don't think the rest of us noticed.'

  'I meant the water,' Declan said, looking down as he took a step sideways to avoid the next wave. 'There's Kentravyon.'

  The others looked in the direction he was pointing. Kentravyon was kneeling by a rock pool some way up the beach, poking around in it with great interest. He must have felt them approaching on the Tide. No sooner had Declan spoken than Kentravyon looked up and beckoned to them.

  'Look!' he said, holding out his cupped hands. Declan reached him first and discovered Kentravyon holding a handful of molluscs, only they were like no molluscs he had ever seen before. The shells were rubbery and flaccid and bent to fit the form of Kentravyon's cupped hands.

  'What is that?' Kinta asked as she peered at Kentravyon's offering.

  'Proof there's a King Tide on the way.'

  'Ah, molluscs,' Cayal said with a sage nod. 'The famed universal indicator for Tide magic'

  Kentravyon glared at Cayal, not appreciating his flippancy. 'Look at their shells.'

  'They're not solid,' Declan noted, puzzled by the phenomenon.

  'This always happens when there's a King Tide coming. The sea is getting warmer. It changes the water; turns it into a weak sort of acid. The crustaceans are always the first to go.'

  'But the Tide hasn't peaked yet,' Declan said, as the implications of some
thing so apparently minor occurred to him. He was learning very quickly that nothing on Amyrantha happened in isolation, and, however obscure, there was always a connection to the Tide, even if it wasn't immediately obvious. But an ocean without crustaceans? Tides, that was almost inconceivable. What of the larger fish who relied on

  them for food ... and the even larger fish who relied on those fish for survival?

  'I should be getting back,' Kinta said, frowning. Declan suspected she was thinking along the same lines as he was. 'And after I think of a way to explain where I've been all night, I need to get back to Ramahn and talk to Brynden. He needs to know about Lukys's plans, as well as ... this.' She frowned at the flaccid mollusc in Kentravyon's hand then turned to Cayal. 'Do I have your word you're heading for Glaeba, Cayal, and don't plan to stay around here looking for trouble?'

  'Torlenia's not worth fighting over, Kinta,' Cayal said. 'Besides, the spymaster here won't be happy until he's found his girl again and begged her forgiveness for being such a prick. And Kentravyon's fixated on finding the Chaos Crystal. You can tell Brynden to save his posturing for someone who'll notice. We're not interested in Torlenia.'

  Kinta nodded and turned to Declan. 'It was fascinating making your acquaintance, Declan Hawkes. Perhaps, at some time in the future, we will have a chance to talk again. I know Brynden will be very interested to meet you.'

  'Just don't let him catch you eyeing off his woman,' Cayal advised.

  Kinta glared at the Immortal Prince. 'Tides, I don't know what I ever saw in you, Cayal.'

  'The same could be said for you, Kinta.'

  Kinta apparently thought answering that remark was beneath her dignity. With a farewell nod in Declan's direction — while pointedly ignoring Cayal — she turned and headed back along the beach to her chariot. Kentravyon was talking to the molluscs now, trying to engage them in a conversation in which they didn't seem inclined to take part.

  Cayal sighed dramatically. 'And so, the first meeting between the Rodent and the Charioteer ends

  without bloodshed. You know, I think that means she liked you.'

  'I thought you were going to think of a better name for me than Rodent?'

  'I will ... I will. Rodent just has a certain ring to it. Did you have a childhood nickname I could use?'

  'None I'm ever going to tell you.'

  The Immortal Prince smiled. 'I shall have to coax it out of Arkady then, when we find her. Assuming we find her alive, that is. I mean, Jaxyn may have had his evil way with her by now, then killed her and left her out for the crows. Or worse, she's decided one prick is as good as another, and they're now firm friends and she's bestowing her considerable charms on someone who appreciates her.' He clapped Declan on the shoulder, smiling even wider. 'Do you know, I think you'd rather she was left out for the crows.'

  'It truly is a miracle that nobody has found a way to do you in before now,' Declan said, shaking Cayal's hand from his shoulder.

  Over by the chariot, Kinta took the reins and climbed aboard. She turned the horses inland without looking back. Just then the sun set fire to the horizon, turning her into a dark, shrinking shadow outlined against the morning light.

  Not getting any sense from the molluscs, Kentravyon tossed them aside, waved to Kinta once and then turned to the other Tide Lords, smiling. 'I've always liked that girl.'

  'Is she yours?' Declan asked.

  'Mine?'

  'Well, you claim we're all descended from the five original immortals. I was just wondering, that's all, if the reason you're so fond of Kinta is because she's one of yours.'

  Kentravyon didn't answer immediately, content to stare at Declan thoughtfully for a moment. Then he shrugged, ignoring the question, and opened his arms

  wide. 'Shall we move on, lads? The day is new, the Tide beckons, the Chaos Crystal awaits us and I've a hankering to do a bit more fishing. We can use my cloak to travel until we find something more suitable.'

  'I still think skinning the Rodent alive and using his hide is the preferred option,' Cayal remarked, falling into step beside Kentravyon.

  Declan thought of a score of responses to that, none of which would have achieved anything other than alert Cayal to the fact that his needling had hit the mark, so he said nothing. Instead, he followed the other immortals up the beach to continue their journey toward Glaeba, wondering if, when he got there, he should find a way to contact the Cabal.

  And what their reaction would be to learning that not only was the ocean turning on them with the rising Tide, but that — for the Tide Lords — it wasn't about the Tide; it was all about a rat.

  PART 2

  'What is the reason,' said I, 'that the

  tide I see rises out of a thick mist at one

  end, and again loses itself in a thick

  mist at the other?'

  'What thou seest,' said he, 'is that

  portion of eternity which is called

  time, measured out by the sun, and

  reaching from the beginning of the

  world to its consummation.'

  'The Vision of Mirza' — Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

  CHAPTER 21

  'What is this place, your grace?'

  Stellan pulled the bag from the back of his packhorse before answering Boots. Swaddled in furs against the fine snow that was falling, the canine Crasii was standing at the entrance to the ruins. She was clutching Missy to her chest, and looking up at the remains of a building so ancient and overgrown that the weathered caryatid supporting what was left of the stone roof struts were barely recognisable as female figures. The two male pups were tucked into a pannier that Boots had already unloaded and placed in the shelter of the ruins on the crumbling top step. Above them loomed a rocky outcropping — a useful feature as it was that landmark which made this place possible to find. Stellan had only been here once before, and that was years ago. He was a little surprised he'd been able to find it again.

  'I suppose it was a temple or something like that, left over from an age before the last Cataclysm,' he said. 'That's what Arkady thought it might be.'

  'She's been here too?' Boots sounded surprised.

  'We visited this place once, a long time ago,' Stellan said, remembering how excited Arkady had been to see these unexplained ruins. 'It wasn't long after we were married. Nyah's father brought us here, actually. We were visiting Cycrane on official business for the Glaeban crown. The Prince Consort knew of Arkady's interest in history and hoped she might have some idea of the ruins' original purpose.'

  'Whatever happened to the Duchess Arkady, your grace?' Boots asked, turning to look at him curiously.

  'I wish I knew, Boots,' Stellan said, dumping the pack on the step beside the pups. 'I've not had word of her since I left Torlenia.'

  'Do you think she's all right?'

  'I hope so. I sent someone to search for her who will look after my wife — if he can find her. Under the circumstances, that's the best I could do, I'm afraid.'

  Boots smiled at him encouragingly. 'I'm sure she's safe. At least I hope she is. I liked your wife, your grace. We all did. She was always good to the Crasii.'

  Stellan nodded in agreement. With everything that had happened recently, it was easy to forget there was a time when Boots was his slave and Arkady the mistress of his estate, who had performed the duties of a duke's wife better than he could ever have hoped.

  'I'm sure Arkady has found a way to survive, Boots. Now let's get you and the pups inside before you all freeze, eh?'

  The Crasii nodded and moved toward the entrance. One of the pillars holding up the roof had crumbled under the weight of its age so they were required to step over the tumbled snow-covered stones to enter the main hall. It was dark inside but noticeably warmer, simply because they were out of the wind. Stellan lifted the pannier with the two sleeping male pups over the stones, putting them on the floor on the other side and then went back outside and pulled a torch from the pack. He lit it with his flint and held it high, lighting
the hall as he walked back inside. A carpet of dead leaves covered the floor, the walls were draped with creepers and the surprisingly sound roof, further back inside the building, was criss-crossed with cobwebs.

  'You weren't kidding when you said nobody comes here, were you?' Boots said, looking around with a frown.

  'This is not ideal, Boots,' he said, 'but with the lake frozen solid and no boats available, this is the best I can do on short notice. I'm a guest in this country, you know. I don't exactly have the wherewithal to send you home.'

  She shrugged apologetically. 'I'm sorry, your grace. I should be more grateful, I suppose. Is this all there is, or is there somewhere a bit less exposed around here where we can make camp?'

  Stellan indicated further into the hall with the torch. 'There are rooms off the main hall that should be sound and a staircase down to the lower levels, if I remember correctly. I'm not sure how safe it is down there, though.'

  Boots looked around the hall thoughtfully. 'Might be safer than being up here; someone might spot the smoke from our fire and come to investigate.'

  'Fair point,' Stellan agreed. 'Although you'd be very unlucky to have anybody stumble over you here. The weather doesn't exactly lend itself to idle strolls along the lakeshore at the moment.'

  'Still, I think I'd feel safer if we were a little bit less vulnerable to a chance discovery,' she said. 'We're not that far from the city here.'

  Stellan thought her fears unfounded, but he also recognised the needs of a protective mother trying to keep her pups safe. If he didn't assuage her anxiety, Boots might well decide to bolt and make her own way home as soon as his back was turned, and that would, without question, prove fatal to her and her pups.

  'Very well, Boots,' he said, turning to pick up the two sleeping pups. 'Let's look a little further inside and see what we can find.'

  Two hours later, Stellan was on his horse, riding back toward Cycrane, mentally rehearsing the story he'd invented to explain away the loss of Boots and her pups.