by Lisa Shearin
I briefly told her about the invasion of Timurus seven hundred years ago by an off-world army that completely wiped out all life on the planet. No one knew who they were, where they’d come from, what they had wanted, why they had invaded then, and why they’d returned now.
“None of this would have been an issue for us had the Khrynsani not chosen Timurus as their fallback refuge if they were ever defeated,” I continued, “and as the place to store the Rak’kari eggs until they were needed. The Khrynsani traveled to Timurus by way of the Passages, both to regroup and to release the Rak’kari into the Void. We believe they encountered the invaders when they arrived and had to bargain for their lives—or simply made them a deal.”
“To serve us up on a silver platter to save their own miserable lives.”
I indicated the spy gem she held. “Mychael had the portal mages in the Conclave college’s dimensional studies department open a small rift—no more than a window really—on a mountainside overlooking the city of Astava on Timurus. That gem will show you the army we saw massing. The same army that wiped out the population seven hundred years ago is there again. Their banners as well as the Khrynsani flag are flying over the city. The people of Timurus had mages and magic, and while they weren’t to our level of ability, they weren’t exactly helpless. The invaders were said to control magic different from anything that has ever been recorded, so based on Timurus’s fate, no single kingdom can hope to defeat them. The only way we stand a chance of avoiding Timurus’s fate of total annihilation is to form alliances and combine our armies. All of the kingdoms agreed, with the exception of the Nebians.”
“Hardly a surprise.”
Then I told her my theory of Sandrina using Aquas as a staging area for the invaders—and wanting the Heart of Nidaar to power the portals and Gates to take the invaders and Khrynsani anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms they desired—and what we intended to do about it.
“To stop the Khrynsani and save the Seven Kingdoms,” I told her, “we need your help.”
Chapter 7
When I finished, I sat silently and waited. Agata Azul had listened to the last part without interrupting to question, condemn, or contradict, her expression utterly devoid of emotion.
“The Khrynsani have never been overly fond of me,” she said. “Should the Khrynsani and their allies gain power, my participation in this expedition of yours would be signing my own death warrant.”
“If Sandrina secures the Heart of Nidaar we’re all dead or worse,” I said. “By all, I’m referring to the population of the Seven Kingdoms. Those of us on the expedition will merely be at the front of the line, and as such will be counted fortunate by many.”
“I didn’t say I had a problem wearing a target.” She gave the slightest hint of a smile. “Any outfit worth wearing isn’t complete without one. Did you know that Sarad Nukpana tried for years to secure my assistance in finding the Saghred for him?”
I went utterly still. “I was not aware.”
“You could hardly be expected to know. His attentions increased after you left the court. Attentions that he abandoned after discovering Raine Benares’s link to the Saghred. He needed my willing cooperation, which I would never give. I owe Raine Benares my most heartfelt and sincere gratitude. I seriously doubt my gratitude would lessen the suffering she endured for those three months, but should I meet her, I would offer it nonetheless.” Agata Azul regarded me in silence for a few moments. “So you want me to drop everything to leave the day after tomorrow on a months-long voyage to an uninhabited continent, to locate a possibly nonexistent city of legend, with an even more legendary stone of power.”
“It doesn’t sound very appealing when you put it like that.”
“Is there any way it could be put to increase its appeal?”
“Not that I’ve been able to find.”
“This isn’t an endeavor I will accede to lightly—or possibly at all.” Her dark eyes held mine. “Before I give you my answer, I will know something, Tamnais Nathrach, chief mage and king’s chancellor.”
“I’ve told you all that I know, but if there’s anything else I can tell you, I will.”
“I don’t care about the details of the mission. I want to know what is in your heart, why you’re doing this. Your motivation.” She slowly leaned forward in her chair, unnervingly like one of the serpents I had imagined. “Your true motivation.”
I realized what she was asking. No, she wasn’t asking. She was demanding this as the price for her help.
“You want a mind link,” I said quietly.
“Want and must have. I have not denied my services to others merely for the satisfaction of refusing them what they want, with them knowing full well that there was nothing they could do to force me, satisfying though that was. I will not use my gift to enable evil—even if that evil began its life as an intention to do good. What is good and noble now can twist into evil later. It does not take much, as you well know. I have seen it happen, and will not be a part of it happening again. You say you want the Heart of Nidaar to keep it out of Sandrina Ghalfari’s hands. That seems like a noble enough reason, but is it really? Kesyn Badru told me that you are an honorable man. However, under enough pressure I have seen a man’s honor fail him—and me. What is in your heart, Tamnais Nathrach? What is in that subtle and darkly brilliant mind of yours? What do you truly desire?”
I moved to the edge of the chair, my hands resting on my knees. “I welcome you finding out.”
“You’re quick to agree.”
“I have no time to waste.”
“Even to discover the truth about yourself?”
“I know the truth.”
Agata Azul stood and closed the distance between us. I remained seated, my face tilted up toward hers. The gem mage placed her palms on my temples, her fingers a gentle pressure on the sides of my head. Neither of us closed our eyes.
I knew what she would see. I let it happen. I had no choice, not if I wanted her help. I had to have it. Without Agata Azul, the expedition would fail before it even started.
It stung to be compared in any way to Sarad Nukpana, though it was the truth. He had sought her cooperation in finding the Saghred. I needed her help now finding the Heart of Nidaar. Both were stones of power. That was where the similarities ended. Sarad was the embodiment of evil, and his intentions for the Saghred would have spread that evil over the Seven Kingdoms. He had never tried to hide what he was, and it was obvious to all who encountered him.
I had spent years running from what Sarad had openly embraced. Some thought I was just like Sarad and that I was either hiding it from everyone or denying it to myself.
I was neither.
Yes, I had once trod the same path that Sarad had eagerly run down. I had turned from that path. Yes, it still called to me, and I had used black magic since then, but only when there had been no other option. However, I had used the darkest of black magic to defeat Sarad. I had summoned a major demon against the creature, the abomination that Sarad had created. Many would say that it had been evil battling evil that night in the Khrynsani temple, and they would have been right.
It also had been the only way to defeat Sarad Nukpana. If I had had a choice, I would not have done it, but I didn’t have a choice, not if I wanted to save my family, my friends, and my people. I had chosen, and it had taken all of my black magic power to succeed.
I did not regret what I had done.
I wanted the same with the Heart of Nidaar as I had with the Saghred. I wanted to keep it from Sarad’s mother the same as I had with her son, and if I had to use black magic to accomplish that, so be it. If that made me evil and unworthy of help in Agata Azul’s eyes, then so be it. I would not cancel the expedition. I had to stop Sandrina Ghalfari, even if I had to go it alone.
“Confident, aren’t you?” Agata Azul murmured.
“I see it as determined.”
She had read my thoughts, and I had let her. This was not the link. Not yet.
&n
bsp; Her eyes darkened and her fingers tightened their hold.
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
Agata Azul went into my mind.
Chapter 8
A link isn’t about sensation—at least not initially. It’s about knowledge.
I couldn’t feel what Agata Azul was doing, but I saw and I knew.
She had clearly done a link before and knew how to find what she wanted. The closest approximation would be searching through a stack of documents, scanning each, and then moving on to the next until you found what you were looking for. Agata Azul searched my memories, her touch in my mind a methodical and careful review that was actually gentle.
I knew exactly where she would stop and take the link to the next, deeper level.
When the Saghred had forged an umi’atsu bond between me and Raine Benares.
The Saghred had used Raine as bait, knowing that I would be unable to resist the combination of her and the Saghred’s dark power. Ultimately I had resisted, and Raine had broken the bond when she killed me to force Sarad Nukpana’s soul out of my body. While Sarad’s soul had held my body hostage, I had seen inside his mind, knew what his plans were once he had the Saghred, and precisely how he planned to execute those plans.
That knowledge had extinguished any desire I might have had for the power the Saghred had been pushing me to take. Raine lacked the magical knowledge and training to use the stone to its full potential. Sarad and I had that training, and if Sarad hadn’t succeeded in obtaining the Saghred for himself, I had been the rock’s second choice. Either one of us would have been exactly what that poisonous rock had been waiting millennia for. We were prizes to be taken and used.
In seeing inside Sarad’s mind, I had seen the Saghred’s other half. The stone had wanted to be fed and used, to perpetuate a cycle of death and destruction played out on a massive scale. Sarad had devoted his life to finding the Saghred so that he could feed and use it to remake the Seven Kingdoms into his vision of paradise—full to overflowing with suffering, enslavement, torture, and death. His paradise, our hell.
Agata Azul was seeing all of this through my eyes and thoughts as I had lived—and died—through it. She saw my dark and primal desire for the power that the Saghred offered through Raine. My struggle to stay away from Raine and the overwhelming temptation the Saghred had flaunted before me.
And the time I had come closest to giving in to that temptation. Me and Raine, our bodies entwined, our magic even closer, my thoughts utterly consumed with only one goal, my breathing reduced to ragged panting. I know now that had it gone further, the Saghred would have eaten my soul. At that moment, I would have gladly given my soul to have possessed the woman in my arms. What had stopped me was knowing that I would have taken her down with me. The Saghred would have possessed and damned us both. To stop had been agony, but I had done it. We had done it.
I let Agata Azul see, hear, and feel all of it.
It might have been from the glow of her crystals, but her face appeared to be flushed when she released me.
Regardless, I couldn’t resist. I had to say it. “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”
“The Saghred knew what would break you—your desire for Raine Benares and the feeling of black magic coursing through your veins.”
“You’re not making this any better.”
“I’m not trying to. I need to determine whether you can be trusted when the Heart of Nidaar is beneath your hands and you’re tempted with its power.”
“Power doesn’t tempt me.”
“Apparently pleasure can.”
I shrugged. “I’m a man.”
“So I saw. You didn’t have to let me see that much.”
“As I said, we don’t have time for anything else.” I half grinned. “Though at this point, you can call me ‘Tam’ if you’d like.”
“I believe ‘Chancellor Nathrach’ continues to be appropriate.” She returned to her chair and sat, her features inscrutable. “The legend surrounding the Heart of Nidaar doesn’t mention any manipulative qualities. However, until we find it, we won’t know of any other defensive measures it can employ. We will proceed with caution.”
“Are you saying you’ll help?”
“I am. I told Kesyn if you passed my test, I would agree.”
“He didn’t mention that.”
“Of course he didn’t. You expected him to? That was one of his more annoying qualities during the time he was my teacher. He preferred to let his students discover the consequences of their mistakes on their own.”
I scowled. “Like having an ill-prepared spell blow up in your face.”
She smiled. “But it made you prepare properly next time, didn’t it?”
“How long were you his student?”
“Until it became obvious that my abilities were out of his specialty. However, we’ve stayed in touch.”
“This wouldn’t be the first time he kept things from me,” I said. “I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Do you have the shard for me to examine?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The shard, the piece of the Heart of Nidaar.”
“How could I have a piece of the Heart of Nidaar?”
Agata Azul stared at me in disbelief, obviously wondering if I was a few arrows short of a full quiver. “I assumed you were organizing and leading the expedition not only to deny the Khrynsani of the stone, but to continue your ancestor’s work.”
I waited for my brain to convert words into meaning. It didn’t happen. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The Heart of Nidaar. An ancestor of yours by the name of Kansbar Nathrach was on an expedition that went looking for it. The name is not familiar to you?”
“No, we have the same surname, but other than that, I’ve never heard of him. How long ago was this?”
“Approximately nine hundred years. In your defense, he may not have been a direct ancestor, perhaps a distant cousin. It’s a hobby of mine to know about powerful gem mages and stones of power. The Heart of Nidaar is said to be as flames captured in stone.”
“You’re saying that this Kansbar Nathrach was a gem mage?”
“Not that I was aware, or that gem historians know of. Just that he had been on a voyage to explore Aquas. But as with any group who went there, they also looking for the lost city of Nidaar. Gold is a great motivator. By necessity and curiosity, I’m a keen student of history, especially goblin history and gem lore. It’s said that those who ignore their history are doomed to repeat it. We goblins have proven to be exceptional at that. We pick and choose what parts of our history to remember, and it is rarely the parts where we made monumentally bad errors of judgment. According to the histories, Kansbar Nathrach was quite the adventurer.”
“Many of my family have been.”
“This one was captured and tortured by the Khrynsani.”
I scowled. “That also has happened more than once, most recently to my parents and brother.”
“I had heard. I am sorry.”
“We made them pay with interest. Finding the Heart of Nidaar before the Khrynsani do can help us ensure that it does not happen to anyone’s family ever again.” I thought for a moment. “I wonder why I’ve never heard about him—or why he wasn’t mentioned in the books I’ve read.”
“It wasn’t exactly what one could call a successful trip. In fact, if something could go wrong, it did. It was said that the expedition was cursed, especially the return voyage, when they carried with them objects taken from Aquas. It was determined that more than one of the objects was responsible for their bad luck. All of the objects were thrown overboard. Once they were disposed of, the sickness and storms vanished.”
“So Kansbar Nathrach threw the shard overboard?”
“The shard wasn’t mentioned in any account,” Agata said. “The stories emerged after his death. When the expedition’s survivors returned to Regor, Kansbar Nathrach was taken prisoner and tortu
red by the Khrynsani. He was released, but was closely watched for the rest of his life, short though it was.”
“How did he die?”
“Impaled on his own sword.”
I raised a brow.
“An investigation deemed it to be suicide.”
“Uh-huh.”
“The king at the time, Omari Mal’Salin, ordered the investigation himself.”
“A known Khrynsani puppet, a known and insane Khrynsani puppet.”
“After the investigation, Omari confiscated Kansbar Nathrach’s house and property.”
“That sounds familiar, as well.” Sathrik had taken all of my property, too.
The pale stone Agata Azul wore around her neck flared as glass shattered in the front and back of the house, immediately followed by the thumps of something hitting the floor. A second later, two more hit the roof.
I knew those sounds. Gas or incendiary canisters.
Chapter 9
Agata Azul’s house was protected by crystals of every kind, but somehow the canisters had broken through.
I jumped to my feet and reached for Agata to shield us both, and was met with a sharp pop as my arm went numb.
“What the—”
The oval stone around her neck glowed fiercely. “I can shield myself. Do the same.”
An instant later, twin detonations threw us to the floor, blasting apart the wall separating us from the front hall and showering us with plaster and splintered wood. I shielded as more explosions tore through the house, my shield buckling with each impact. Agata’s crackled with the same energy that had permeated the crystals in her sitting room.
Flames and smoke rapidly filled the house. I didn’t sense a firemage on the scene or any other kind of magic, just a well-orchestrated and executed operation. If I hadn’t been the target, I could almost admire their work.