Deals and Dangers

by Kay L. Ling

  “It must have worked. You’re here,” Tyla said.

  “Yes, it worked. For all the good it did. Everyone was gone when I got here, but they left the cage, and that’s more than a little troubling.”

  “With Anatta’s help, we should be able to find them again,” Tyla said, feeling hopeful until she saw Marrid’s expression.

  “I talked to her a little while ago by dendrite ball. She’s no longer getting a response from the tracking spell. She thinks that means they’ve changed S back into a woodspirit.”

  “That would explain why the cage is still here,” Olissa said unhappily.

  “Aberell officers put her in a sack when they moved her to The Emanicus,” Arenia said.

  “Yes, but the tracking spell would still be working in that case,” Tyla said. “I’m afraid Anatta’s theory makes sense.”

  “Taking her anywhere as a beetle would be a problem,” Marrid said. “They’d have to maintain the mist ward on a moving cart.”

  “They must have done it when they brought her here,” Arenia said, clinging to the hope that S was still a beetle.

  Tyla shook her head. “I doubt they bothered. We were the only ones who knew they were evil, and we never dreamed they’d leave and take S with them.”

  Arenia sighed. “I didn’t think about that.”

  “Let’s not panic,” Adin said. “As long as no one gives her gems, she’d be no more dangerous than she was as a beetle.”

  “But what are the chances of that?” Olissa asked.

  “Close to zero, I’d say,” Tyla said. “One way or another, she’d make them give her gems.”

  “After they reach the new hideout, maybe they’d turn her back into a beetle,” Riven said.

  That wasn’t likely, and they all knew it.

  “Your captive may know what they had in mind,” Marrid said.

  All eyes turned to Tabik.

  “Release him and let Marrid have a go at him,” Loud Mouth said.

  There was something Marrid needed to know first. “Tabik thinks I used dark powers and turned my gem masters into a bird and a zek.”

  Marrid laughed. “I wouldn’t have thought of that, but I can see how he’d jump to that conclusion.”

  Olissa restored Tabik, and when he came to himself, he found himself looking up at a woodspirit.

  “I’m Marrid, one of The Eight. I could crush you like an insect if I wanted to, so answer my questions honestly.”

  The gem master’s mouth worked loosely, but no sounds came out. He looked bewildered.

  “I hear you’re an Emanicus leader. Who do you report to?”

  “What?” he croaked.

  “It’s an easy question,” Marrid said. “Answer me!”

  “I-I” he stammered. “Leader? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t play games with me. I’m not a patient person.”

  “Where am I? How did I get here?” His eyes roved over the group. “What is E-Emanicus?”

  “Oh, come on,” Serrom muttered in disgust.

  “Don’t waste our time, Tabik,” Tyla said. He looked at her, and there was no recognition in his eyes. Tyla’s breath caught in her throat. No. It couldn’t be.

  Olissa moaned, “Don’t tell me. . . .”

  Marrid placed her hand on Tabik’s head. “He’s not shielding his thoughts. He’s as empty-headed as he sounds,” she reported with a frustrated sigh. “His gem powers are gone, too. They got to him.”

  Tyla’s heart sank. “I should have thought of this. We should have put a ward around him.”

  “I’m to blame,” Olissa said. “I’m head of security. He was my responsibility.”

  “I doubt you could have prevented this,” Marrid said, looking down at Tabik. “We’re not sure even The Eight can withstand the Focal Gem.”

  Tyla had planned to share the story of how her team had found the hideout, but she was in no mood for it now. The gem masters had a two-day head start. Without the tracking spell, there was no point in trying to follow them. It was time to go back to Elantoth.

  “If the ground is dry enough for travel, I’d like to start back to Elantoth today. And even though Tabik isn’t much use to us now, I’m still taking him with us.”

  Tabik seemed unconcerned that others were deciding his fate.

  “Where will we put him?” Arenia asked.

  “The dungeon,” Olissa said. “Even now, with his powers and memory gone, I want him locked away.”

  “Marrid, you wanted to come for a visit. This would be a good time,” Tyla said. “Working independently, we found the hideouts. It’s time we worked together.”

  “I agree. I’d be happy to come.”

  “They got to Tabik before you could question him, but we have another inmate,” Tyla said. “We haven’t—”

  “Tyla!” Olissa’s tone and angry gaze would have silenced anyone else, but not Tyla.

  “You’re head of security, but I’m commander. I want Marrid to question him.”

  “We have to be careful, especially now,” Olissa said.

  “And we need information, especially now,” Tyla retorted.

  Marrid wisely stayed silent and let Tyla and Olissa fight it out.

  “Marrid might learn something of critical importance,” Tyla said.

  “Fine,” Olissa said stiffly. Do as you think best.”

  “We have an Emanicus gnome in the dungeon,” Tyla told Marrid. “We think he’s fairly high up in the organization.”

  “Really? I can’t imagine how you captured him. I’m sure it’s an interesting story.”

  “It is. I’ll tell you everything when we get to Elantoth. Get up,” she told Tabik. “You’re going for a very long ride.”

  Chapter 41

  Three days earlier.

  Felith couldn’t eat another bite of moldy food. The others thought he was being generous, giving them the best food while he ate moldy bread and spoiled vegetables. He hadn’t enlightened them about the benefits of eating rotting food. Even if his dinner weren’t repulsive, he wouldn’t feel like eating. He’d been using oracle gems today, and he had an uneasy feeling. Something bad was about to happen.

  Everyone had been on high alert since Eldra’s visit. It seemed best to take Nierek’s predictions seriously. Felith had moved the carts and maraku into the cave so the area would look uninhabited. The smell of manure was hard to endure, and if nothing happened in the next few days, he would move them back outside.

  Felith went outside, scraped off his plate, and dropped it in the tub of wash water.

  “There you are,” Narrod said. “Are you feeling all right? You’ve barely said two words all day.”

  “I’m fine. You won’t get the dishes clean in that water. I’ll bring you some from the stream.”

  “Now we know you’re sick,” Hoy quipped.

  Felith picked up the bucket, and started off to the stream. He seldom helped with chores, but physical activity might relieve his nervous tension. There was no reason to worry, he assured himself. Anyone looking for an Emanicus hideout would find the stone building, not the cave. Tabik and Lanimore would face the intruders, not him. And both groups had a perimeter ward, so unless attackers dropped from the sky, there would be ample warning.

  When Felith reached the stream, he dipped the bucket in the water, thinking how much safer he had felt at their old headquarters. Sometimes, he missed those days, but eventually their present trials would be a distant memory, and it would all be worth it. Their master plan was in motion, and thanks to Sheamathan, they were on an accelerated timeline. He didn’t like or trust her, but he didn’t have to. She was a tool, an implement, like this bucket.

  Felith sloshed water on himself as he trudged up the bank. The damp robe felt cold against his legs. He would dry himself by the corrustone when he got back.

  His rizumen pendant grew warm, signaling a message. Probably Tabik or Lanimore with some new complaint, he thought, frowning in annoyance.

 
; Nierek was right! A frantic Lanimore told him. We have company! Tabik immobilized all but one, and she’s in a warded closet where she’ll do no harm.

  Is everyone all right?

  We’re fine, just a little shaken.

  How many came? Are they from Aberell?

  No, they’re from Elantoth. There are seven, including the one in the closet, their commander, Tyla.

  Tyla! Didn’t her knife defend her?

  Apparently not. Tabik has it.

  By all accounts, the knife has formidable powers. The Watcher claimed it produced a luminous protector. It’s strange that it didn’t this time.

  I wonder who else knows where we are. She must have told others.

  Good point. We must leave immediately. Others may be on the way. Pack whatever you can’t live without and be ready to go in twenty minutes. My team will be there soon.

  Felith broke the connection, heart racing. Blast it! He’d known something bad was going to happen. What would he tell Sheamathan? She would think they were incompetent fools, allowing their enemies to find them. As far as he knew, the mist ward was blocking attempts to trace Focal Gem activity back to them, but even so, Tyla had found them. Would they still be vulnerable at their next hideout?

  Felith abandoned the bucket and ran back to the cave as fast as he could. When his teammates saw him without the bucket, running as if his life depended on it, they leapt to their feet.

  “What’s wrong?” Narrod asked.

  Felith was wheezing too hard to say more than a few words. “They’re here. Gnomes from Elantoth.”

  “Here?” Manon cried in alarm, looking around.

  “At Team Two’s,” he clarified. It took him a few seconds to get his breath, then he said as calmly as he could, “Everything’s under control, but we have to leave immediately.”

  “If they found us, maybe they found the other cells. How do we know our backup locations are safe?” asked Ezar.

  “The cells stay in touch with one another, so unless they were all compromised at once, someone would have contacted me. Start packing, and get the maraku hitched up while I tell Sheamathan.”

  “Fools! I knew this would happen,” Sheamathan cried when she heard the news.

  “I’m sorry we have to evacuate, but give us credit for incapacitating our enemies,” he said. There was no pleasing the insufferable beetle. “You should see the humor in the situation,” he told her icily. “Tyla used to keep you in a warded closet. Now she’s in one.”

  Sheamathan had no sense of humor. She continued to berate him. “Apparently, your wards were not strong enough.” She circled her cage, chittering angrily. “It is not completely your fault. Tyla would not have found you if it were not for me.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “You are as stupid as you look! My tracking spell! Someone breached your mist ward, detected my tracking spell, and used it to find us.”

  “I see,” he mumbled, looking for holes in her logic. Was this a new ploy to convince him to restore her? Her reasoning made sense, and if she was right, they had a problem. The mist ward was not infallible, and it would be hard to maintain it while traveling.

  “You must restore me—now,” she said in the demanding tone she used all too frequently these days. “You should have done it long ago. You can wait no longer.”

  Panic threatened to shut off Felith’s breath. He didn’t want to do it, but there was no other way to disengage the tracking spell, and she was a liability to them in her present form. He could kill her, but they might need help or information later. He could leave her behind, but that was the most dangerous option of all. If someone found and restored her, she would destroy The Emanicus.

  Felith wiped cold sweat from his brow. The choice lay with him, and he’d be responsible for the consequences.

  Hands shaking, he opened the cage door.

  Everything would be all right as long as no one let her have any gems, he told himself, grasping at any assurance that this wasn’t a disastrous thing to do. They would use personal wards so she couldn’t seize their gem pouches, and he would ward the gems and Parnatti sculptures. Once they reached their new hideout, they’d lock her up somewhere. It would all work out. Everything would be fine.

  Felith wet dry lips. “Come out.”

  The beetle scuttled from the cage, rustling her wings excitedly. “Finally, you are being sensible,” she said. “Hurry before you change your mind.”

  He was having second thoughts. Woodspirits were beautiful to look upon, their faces perfectly formed, their bodies graceful. They were arrogant and insensitive, but they weren’t evil. And yet Sheamathan was. She was heartless and deadly. He must never forget that.

  “You need not worry what will happen once you restore me,” she told him. “I will have no gem powers, and even if I did, you have the Focal Gem.”

  Yes, this was true. Together, they were more powerful than she was. But she was more experienced, and she was also adept at spells.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked, an edge in her voice.

  Felith took the transformation gem from his pouch. It nearly fell from his trembling fingers. Good thing the beetle’s eyesight was poor or she would see how frightened he was. He braced himself and projected the gem’s power.

  The beetle disappeared. In her place stood a beautiful, black-haired woodspirit in a black gown. Her flesh had none of the typical greenish cast. It was pure white, the flesh of a dead thing. She wore a silver circlet around her neck.

  For a moment Sheamathan stared down at him, pale lips slightly parted. He looked into her black eyes, so like bottomless pools of water, and felt a nameless dread that threatened to overwhelm him. But then she laughed, a cheerful sound inconsistent with the malice in her eyes, and he could almost believe she was as harmless as any other woodspirit.

  Take care, he warned himself, and drew infused powers to strengthen his personal wards. His hands were still shaking, and his skin was slick with sweat.

  Sheamathan gave him a slow smile, reveling in his obvious discomfort, and walked away.

  Felith followed her to the main room where the team was packing. Ezar looked up just as Sheamathan walked in, let out a terrified squeak and passed out, landing on a crate of cooking pots. Alerted by the clatter, the others looked up, and there was a collective intake of breath when they saw Sheamathan.

  “Do not let me disturb your preparations,” she said languidly. “I will wait outside.”

  Felith made a frantic motion for someone to follow her. It wasn’t wise to leave her unattended. Unpleasant duties typically fell to Ezar as Felith’s second-in-command, but the elderly gem master was out cold.

  Narrod muttered, “I’ll go.”

  Felith rolled Ezar off the crate and felt for his pulse. It was very weak, so weak Felith could barely feel it. Of all the times to succumb to a fainting fit, Felith thought in disgust. He took out healing and strength gems and tried to revive the old gem master. “This is no time for lying around. Get to work or we’ll leave you behind.”

  “Give the old fellow a break,” Hoy said. He hoisted a crate and carried it out.

  Ezar finally opened his eyes and said weakly, “I thought I saw the woodspirit in her real form.”

  “You did,” Felith said.

  “Yeah, and Ezar isn’t the only one who’s going to be shocked,” Yevin said. “Better warn Team Two.”

  “Don’t tell me my business,” Felith snapped.

  Ezar struggled to his feet. “Why did you restore her?”

  “I had to. Think it through.” Ezar looked confused so Felith explained. “The opposition breached our mist ward, then used Sheamathan’s tracking spell to find us. Don’t worry. I have everything under control.”

  “Do you,” Ezar said, clearly unconvinced.

  Felith frowned. He shouldn’t have revived the old fool.

  While the others finished packing, Felith paced the floor, wondering how to break the news to Tabik and Lanimore that
Sheamathan was a woodspirit again.

  Chapter 42

  Tyla and the team had barely gotten out of the carts when most of the staff came out to greet them. The Anns still had orelia feathers behind their ears, and of course, they claimed credit for the team’s safe return. Tyla just smiled, knowing better than to argue. Besides, who was to say the feathers hadn’t been a factor?

  Marrid pulled up in her carriage and got out. The Anns gave Tyla a “what is she doing here” look, and they were even more wary of Tyla’s captive who was clearly an Emanicus gem master. Ben gave an angry hiss when he recognized Tabik.

  Paying no attention to the staff’s hate-filled stares, Tabik looked around with a curious gaze, taking in everything without a word.

  The place would be abuzz with gossip, Tyla told herself. Nothing would get done until everyone had heard about the mission and learned why Marrid and Tabik were here.

  “I know you have a lot of questions, and I’ll hold a meeting to answer them,” Tyla told the group. “Loud Mouth and Bounder, go get Franklin. I’ll try to reach Elias. They’ll want to hear about the mission.”

  Tyla and Olissa escorted Tabik to the fortress, and he continued to act as if he were on a sightseeing expedition. Even when they took him to the dungeon, he didn’t seem concerned.

  “I bet Rimwick knows Tabik,” Tyla said. “Let’s put them near each other. Maybe Rimwick will have second thoughts about belonging to such a ruthless organization when he finds out they stripped Tabik’s memories.”

  “I doubt it,” Olissa said.

  A few weeks ago, Olissa had convinced Rimwick that The Emanicus had been defeated, and he’d admitted there were cells throughout Ahmonell. But when she’d tried to get more information from him, particularly about their plans and goals, he’d grown suspicious. A master of deception himself, he realized she’d tricked him, and he refused to say anything more.

  Rimwick was lying on the slab in the back of his cell. Olissa called, “Wake up. You have company.”

  Rimwick turned his head, and shock registered on his face, but only for a moment. Tyla was sure he’d recognized Tabik. “Leave me alone. I don’t want company.”