Ana brought Rikbeek’s tiny body up close to her face and stared at him. ‘Disgusting,’ she spat. ‘Why do you keep this thing around?’
Eva didn’t reply. The sight of her poor Rikbeek shrieking and struggling in that woman’s unsympathetic grip enraged her. Without pausing to think, she grabbed the hand that held Rikbeek and yanked, twisting it around behind Ana’s back. She shoved it high, with almost enough force to break the bone. She was hoping for a scream, but Ana merely grunted.
‘Drop him,’ Eva snarled in her ear.
Ana’s head turned and she shot Eva a sideways look of hate.
Eva upped the pressure on her arm. A look of acute pain crossed Ana’s pale face and she gasped. Her fingers opened and Rikbeek shot into the air. The gwaystrel flew straight up, plastered himself to the ceiling and stayed there.
‘Thank you.’ Eva applied one last twist to Ana’s arm for good measure, enjoying the squeal of pain this evoked. Then she released the woman and stepped back.
Tren was looking at her like she’d grown an extra head.
‘Why are you here?’ she said to Ana, ignoring him.
Ana flashed her a brilliant smile. ‘No! I get to ask a question first. What are you two doing here?’
Tren caught her eye and shrugged, and she felt the illusion that disguised her fade away. He was right. If she’d been recognised anyway, there was no point in maintaining the pretence of being anything other than a partial Lokant.
Eva thought about lying. No easy lie was going to satisfy Ana. The last time she’d seen Tren and Eva, she had been in the process of waking - and trying to dominate - Pensould in his draykon form. She’d know that no coincidence had brought them to Indren’s office.
No point lying, then.
‘We’re looking for a way to destroy your former master,’ she said bluntly.
Ana blinked, then her eyes narrowed. Tren shifted uncomfortably, and Devary went still. Only Indren looked on, her expression unchanged.
Eva was gambling on Ana’s probable feelings about Krays. In resurrecting the draykon she’d been disobeying Krays’s orders, and both she and her husband had been punished for it. Krays had allowed her to think he’d let her injured husband die. Probably she still thought that. Those were some good reasons to hate a person.
‘What do you know of my “master”?’ Ana’s voice was thick with suspicion.
‘We’re aware that he - Krays - was behind the draykon bone grab a couple of moons ago. You and Griel were in charge of that operation, but you put it to your own purposes instead. When Griel was injured, you took him back to Krays’s Library; that’s why you disappeared. You wanted him to heal your husband, but Krays was very angry with you. He said no. Am I right so far?’
Ana said nothing.
‘Excellent. Krays shortened your leash somewhat after that, didn’t he? You were last seen overseeing the removal of more draykon bone from Iskyr. Its ultimate destination was either Ullarn or Draetre. Krays has - or had - workshops in both places, experimenting with the creation of some very weird technologies. His devices combine mechanics with biological matter and draykon bone. We don’t know what they’re for, though we know he uses some of them as guards around his Library building. And you’re tracered, so you’re taking a huge risk coming here. Is that enough?’
Ana grinned. ‘Why should I care about the risk? There’s no other way to free myself. I’ll either succeed or die.’ She shrugged. ‘Either way works for me.’
Eva hadn’t realised how tense she was until the relief hit. Ana was looking for a way out. They could use that.
Maybe her plan would work after all.
‘Seems we have a common cause,’ she said. She would have to be cautious. Last time they had encountered Ana, she’d given the impression that she was teetering on the edge of insanity. She’d probably fallen over that precipice by now. Making deals with a madwoman would be risky.
‘Maybe,’ Ana said, still suspicious. ‘But he can’t be destroyed.’
‘Anyone can be destroyed.’
Ana shook her head, impatient. ‘Not him. You don’t understand. He’s obscenely powerful, and completely merciless. He’ll tear you to pieces.’
‘All right,’ Eva said calmly. ‘What were you planning to do?’
‘I want to get rid of him,’ Ana replied, her face twisting. ‘He won’t release the likes of me until he leaves this world altogether. I can’t even be sure he’ll leave me alone then, but it’s my best hope.’ She whirled away from Eva and strode across to Indren’s desk. ‘I came here to talk to her.’ She bent over the desk and stared into Indren’s face. ‘I hear you’re the person to speak to about that.’
That shook Indren as nothing else had done. Her face paled and she half stood up, as if to run away. ‘What? Who told you that?’
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Ana spat back. ‘Is it true?’
‘Does Krays know?’
‘How in the Lowers should I know?’ Ana yelled. ‘Answer my question, damn you!’
Indren sat down again very slowly. Eva could see her shaking even from the other side of the room. ‘I... have some connections, yes.’
‘Fine. Sign me up.’
‘Ah... to what?’
‘Your secret insubordination group, or whatever it is you have going on.’
Eva stepped in. ‘I’ve a better idea.’
The room fell silent as everyone looked at her.
‘You’re coming with us,’ Eva said, looking squarely at Ana. It wasn’t a question. ‘Did you know there’s a rival Library? Some of the other Lokants hate Krays just as much as we do. We’re helping them, and you’re going to help us.’
‘Um, Eva? I don’t think this is a great idea...’ Tren was staring at her as if she, too, was off her head.
She shot him a look. ‘Don’t undermine me when I’m busy subverting the enemy, okay? Thank you.’ She looked back at Ana. ‘Oh, and your husband’s alive. Krays lied to you about that. Help us out, and I’ll tell you where to find him.’
Ana’s suspicion melted into instant fury and she flew at Eva. ‘Liar!’ she shrieked. ‘I’d know it if he was alive! He would have found me!’
Eva stood her ground. ‘Not if Krays lied to him as well.’
Ana stopped suddenly, barely a foot away. She stared at Eva, her face a mask of anger. Eva stared back, radiating calm.
‘Tell me,’ Ana said softly. ‘Now.’
Eva smiled. ‘You can still access the Map?’
Ana nodded.
‘He’s in Ullarn.’ She quoted the address for the quiet suburban house they’d found Griel hiding out in.
Ana closed her eyes. Her form faded to translucency, just for a split second. Then she was gone.
Silence reigned for a few moments. Then Indren spoke.
‘That went well.’ Her tone was deeply sarcastic.
‘Yes,’ Eva said simply. ‘It did.’
‘What? You gave all of us away and you got nothing out of her!’
‘I got plenty.’
Indren snorted and sat back. Her Nimdren accent grew thicker when she was angry. ‘What kind of “help” were you planning to get from her anyway?’
‘Information, mostly.’
Another snort. ‘Nice idea, but she’s gone. How are you going to get your information now? We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t go straight to Krays and tell him everything, try to win back his favour.’
Eva sighed, pulled out a chair and sat down. ‘She won’t do that.’
Tren spoke with a kind of strained calm. ‘Perhaps you’d explain what exactly you expect to happen next? What was all that about?’
‘I made her angry,’ she said. ‘Oh, she was angry before, but what do you think will happen when she finds out I was telling the truth? That Krays kept the two of them apart out of pure cruelty? And when she discovers what Krays did to Griel during that time, she’ll be incensed.’
‘Excellent,’ Tren murmured. ‘Making the crazy woman furious will definitely help
our cause.’
‘Tren,’ Eva said seriously. ‘Put yourself in her place. What would you do?’
He thought about it. ‘I’d want to castrate the bastard.’
She smiled. ‘Precisely. All she wants right now is to run. After this, she’ll be right with us on attacking the man directly. She’ll give us anything she can if she thinks it might hurt him.’
Tren nodded slowly. ‘All right, I see your point. But the crazy part? She’s not thinking like a rational person.’
‘All the better. They’ll go all out for revenge, and that’s in our interest.’
Tren stiffened. ‘They?’
‘Of course. We can’t recruit one without the other. And we might well need them both.’
‘You’re almost as crazy as she is,’ Tren said in disbelief. ‘Are you forgetting the part where he tried to kill you? That wasn’t long ago! He almost killed me!’
‘And we’re going to turn all that murderous rage on Krays.’
Tren, seemingly, had run out of words. He settled for staring at her, incredulity all over his face.
‘It is a heavy gamble, Lady Eva.’ Devary had said nothing so far, merely listened, but now he addressed her seriously. ‘How can you be sure they will react as you intend?’
‘Because I think human nature is essentially predictable, at bottom. Crazy she might be - in fact I think they both are - but the revenge instinct is a powerful one. We haven’t hurt them; Krays has. Who are they going to side with?’
‘I hope you’re right.’ He held her gaze for a long moment, serious but not accusing.
‘She’s still gone,’ Indren pointed out.
Eva stood up. ‘And she will be back. I will return in two days, and I have no doubt she’ll be waiting for me.’
‘Let’s hope she doesn’t cut me to pieces in the meantime,’ Indren muttered. ‘You know, just for the fun of it.’
‘Dev will protect you,’ Eva said, not bothering to hide her scorn. Really, the woman’s attitude was pathetic. ‘Look, we’re at a disadvantage here. We’re only guessing at what Krays is doing and why. Maybe our guesses are right, maybe they aren’t. If Limbane knows anything else, he isn’t sharing. We need someone who is, or has been, close to Krays. They’ll have information we can only guess at. And we may be able to use them to get at him.’
‘How?’ Tren again, not incredulous now but suspicious.
She hesitated. ‘We can talk about that later.’
Tren sighed. ‘I’m going to hate it, aren’t I?’
‘Probably.’
The conversation ran in circles after that. The same doubts were repeated, and Eva gave the same answers. Eventually she grew tired of it.
‘Ready to go?’ she asked Tren.
‘Guess so.’
‘Great.’ Taking his hand, she whisked them both away, back to the Library.
‘You made an enemy out of Indren, I think,’ Tren said.
She shrugged. ‘I do not care if Indren Druaster hates me. I just need her to do her job, and she has reason enough to do that anyway.’
She had taken them both to her room, more out of habit than deliberate design. Tren hovered near the doorway, refusing the chair she offered him.
‘Next time, do you think you could discuss this with me first? Maybe I can avoid heart failure.’
She crossed to him and stood quite close.
‘I am sorry about that. Truly. I meant to tell you, but... I knew you wouldn’t like it, so I put it off. I had no idea she would turn up today, but I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. The biggest problem with my plan was how in the world to find her.’
Tren nodded. ‘Okay. And this new plan?’
She winced. ‘Is only half-formed, if that. I need a day or two to work on the details.’
He sighed. ‘Then you’ll share?’
‘Definitely. Promise,’ she added when he didn’t look convinced.
‘Just... don’t do anything crazy without me, please? Your schemes may be borderline suicidal but I’d rather be involved than not.’
She chuckled. ‘You think I have a death wish, and you can still say that?’
‘Yes, because if it comes to it I’d rather you didn’t die.’
‘And you’re my preserver.’
‘Well. Not exactly. If anyone needs rescuing it’s usually me. I’d rather I didn’t die either.’
‘I’ll rescue you if you’ll rescue me.’
He grinned. ‘Deal.’
‘Agreed.’ Eva began to pull away, but he gripped her fingers tighter and his free hand went around her waist.
‘Don’t leave yet.’
Eva lifted a brow. ‘I wasn’t going anywhere.’ Her current position gave her a good view of Tren’s green eyes, looking seriously down at her without a trace of his usual smile. His dark hair curled messily over his collar, and she stifled an impulse to brush it back into order.
Tren tightened his grip on her, as if afraid that she might run away. ‘Do you like me, just a little bit?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘More than a little?’
She nodded. ‘Much more.’
That appalling hope sprang up in his eyes again. ‘How much more?’ he whispered.
‘Too much for my peace of mind.’ She tried a teasing smile, but Tren declined to be put off by such tactics anymore. He pulled her closer, one fine, long-fingered hand cupping her face.
He was going to kiss her. A rush of excitement accompanied this realisation; Eva had an instant to pull away, but she did not. She didn’t want to.
Tren dipped his head and his mouth met hers. At first he was gentle, but he wasn’t satisfied with a polite kiss. He pulled her hard against him, kissing her more deeply. His hands were shaking, a tremor which soon spread to the rest of his body.
She had resolved on keeping her distance, until this mess of a problem was over. She still didn’t know what to do about Tren, and she was far too distracted to work it out at present.
It would be easier to stick to that resolution if he wasn’t so cursed attractive. In spite of her efforts, her heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy. Hardly aware of her own actions, she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back with at least equal fervour. His lips began to travel down her neck, and his hands slid below her waist...
‘Tren...’ she gasped. ‘We don’t have time for this.’
Tren made a sound of protest. He was trembling violently by now, his breathing ragged and too fast. ‘We’re in the Library,’ he muttered against her neck. ‘The only thing we have out here is time.’
He had a point. Eva fought one last battle with herself, a fierce internal altercation that she swiftly lost.
Then she gave up, throwing her worries aside with immense relief.
‘This does not mean we’re getting married,’ she said against his hair. ‘Okay?’
Tren pushed her back towards the bed. ‘Just stop talking.’
And she did.
***
‘Now look what you’ve done,’ Eva muttered sometime later as she collected her discarded blouse. ‘I’m feeling misty and starry-eyed when I should be focusing on more important issues. Like sinister Lokant-types with no discernible morals, armies of attacking draykoni and a potential pair of psychopathic allies.’
Tren’s only response to that was a dreamy smile.
‘And so are you,’ she sighed. ‘Perfect!’
‘I don’t know,’ Tren said, rolling his shoulders. ‘I feel a lot better.’
‘Uh huh.’ Fully clothed again, Eva went to her mirror and began fixing her hair. Most of it had come out of its bindings, for some reason.
‘Besides,’ Tren continued, ‘it’s your fault.’
‘Mine?’
‘Yours,’ he repeated firmly. ‘You should not, under any circumstances, have been wearing trousers.’
She rolled her eyes, but any response she might have made was cut off by a pounding at the door. Tren went to answer it.
‘Yo
u might want your shirt first,’ she said.
He looked down at his bare - and, she thought, very attractive - torso in surprise. ‘Er, yes! Good point.’
The search took a while.
Whoever it was knocked again, more urgently. Eva went to the door instead.
‘Llan,’ she smiled. ‘How’s the training going?’
‘Fine,’ Llandry said, breathless as though she’d been running. ‘Listen, Pensould tried the voice-box again and this time my father answered. The draykoni are gone.’
Eva blinked. ‘What... all of them?’
‘Every single one. They just left, right in the middle of an attack.’
Tren appeared at her shoulder. Mercifully, he’d managed to locate his shirt. ‘Where did they go?’
‘No one knows. Maybe somewhere else in the Seven, though no one’s reported that. We need to get out there right away.’
‘Oh? What’s the plan?’
‘Pa wants us to go look. If they’re in the Seven, we’ll find them. If they aren’t there, we’ll try the Off-Worlds.’
‘And if they aren’t there either?’
Llandry shrugged. ‘They’d have to be, wouldn’t they? I think Pa’s concern is whether they’re finished or just planning something worse. And he said Grandpa wants my help with the animal problem.’
Eva nodded. ‘We’ll go right away, all right? Get everyone to the chart room and I’ll meet you there in a moment.’
Llandry nodded and left again at a run.
Eva shut the door, thinking. Llan was right to be agitated: what ought to be good news didn’t seem that way somehow. The draykons wouldn’t just give up, not unless they were being badly beaten, and she doubted that was the case.
‘Not good,’ said Tren. ‘It sort of smacks of Krays, doesn’t it?’
‘In that it’s sneaky, mystifying and inspires a vague, nameless dread? Yes, it really does.’
‘Lovely. More mysteries.’
‘We’ll deal with it. Got your headgear? Let’s go.’
Chapter Ten
Llandry found Aysun and his team holed up in a hidden building tucked well under the forest canopy a little to the west of the city itself. She went straight to her father and hugged him. She’d never seen him look so tired and grim and grimy; he was barely recognisable. But he softened a little when he saw her.
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