The Chaos Crystal (9 page)

Jaxyn looked at Bary curiously for a moment and then fixed his suspicious gaze on Arkady. He didn't seem to be buying her lack of concern. 'I might be interested in discovering how far you'd be willing to go to protect your father.'

She shrugged. 'If you think I'm going to roll over and die on your command to protect the man whose actions ultimately led me to this sorry pass, you've badly misjudged me as well.' And then she added, turning away from him, 'Not to mention passing up a chance for some really useful intelligence.'

There was a moment's tense silence before Jaxyn took the bait. 'What intelligence?'

Arkady let out a sigh of relief she hoped Jaxyn didn't notice. She'd not been sure he'd bite, but it was all she had. Her only way out of here. Her only chance to save her father that didn't involve throwing herself at yet another man. >

She turned to face him. 'I want your word that I'll be released, as well as my father.'

'Your husband is leading an army against Glaeba, Arkady. Even if I was inclined to, I can't just let you walk out of here.'

'I know that,' she said. 'But there's nothing wrong with house arrest. You can confine my father and I to Lebec Palace until the war is done, where we can at least be warm and comfortable. There's no reason for us to be freezing to death here in Lebec Prison while you squabble with the Empress of the Five Realms about who's going to own the continent.'

'Is there anything else?'

'A pardon for my father.'

'What do you want? Personally?'

'The freedom to leave Glaeba when the war over. With sufficient means to keep me in the manner to which I was once accustomed.'

Jaxyn looked unimpressed by her demands, if you know something important enough to warrant such a concession, Arkady, why don't I just torture the information out of you now, and have a little fun in the process?'

Arkady took a step closer to the bars, if you try to harm me or my father, I will kill him and then myself. I learned quite a bit in the slave pens of Senestra, Jaxyn. Don't make the mistake of thinking I lack either the will or the means to do what I threaten.'

He studied her in silence for a moment, but Arkady couldn't tell if he believed her or not. Finally he said, 'And what do I get in return for this remarkable generosity?'

in return, I'll give you the information you need to rule the world.'

He laughed. 'You? You'll give me the chance to rule the world. How?'

Arkady took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

'I can tell you,' she said, 'where the rest of the Tide Lords are hiding.'

CHAPTER 8

'My lady, did you want help with your packing?'

Arryl looked up from the book she was reading by the glow of a lantern that sprayed a rainbow of light on the wall behind her, thanks to the prism-cut walls of her bedchamber. The chamber was huge, built on the same scale as the rest of the palace, with vaulted ceilings and polished walls and floors, softened by colourful scattered rugs from all over Amyrantha.

'Packing, Tiji? Why would I be packing?'

'Aren't you going with the others, my lady?'

'Going where, dear?'

'To Glaeba?' Tiji said, stepping onto the nearest rug with a frown. It was never a good idea to stand on the ice floors for too long, no matter how thick one's boots were. 'Declan is leaving.'

'Why?'

'The same old thing.'

Arryl smiled and put down her book on the wooden side table beside the elaborately carved bed that Tiji was sure must have been imported from Caelum where such intricate designs were popular. 'You know him better than I do, Tiji. Just what constitutes the
same old thing
for Declan Hawkes?'

'The duchess.'

Arryl looked at her blankly.

'Arkady Desean.'

'The young mortal woman who seems to attract immortals like flies to flypaper? What's she done now?'

'She's been captured by Jaxyn and taken back to Glaeba.'

Arryl nodded in understanding. 'Ah, and Declan wishes to follow so he can rescue his damsel in distress. You sound as if you don't approve, Tiji.'

The little chameleon pulled a face, annoyed Arryl could read her so easily. 'He's always getting into trouble because of her. I think he should leave well enough alone.'

'But you're afraid he won't?'

'I absolutely know he won't.'

The immortal smiled. 'And what, Tiji? You want to go along to protect him?'

Tiji wasn't amused by the immortal's patronising tone. 'I don't think it's Declan that needs protecting, my lady. It's all the other people they're likely to run across.'

'They? What they? I thought you said it was just Declan leaving in search of his damsel in distress?'

'Kentravyon and Cayal are going with him,' Tiji told her.

That got Arryl's attention.
'Kentravyon
is going with him?'

'And Cayal. He and Lukys and Maralyce have been arguing about it for hours, but I think Cayal's finally agreed to it.'

'What have they been arguing about?'

'I'm not sure. Something to do with Elyssa. I think she has something that will help find this crystal Lukys keeps talking about. Or she knows where it is. Or something like that. I didn't hear all of the argument. Just enough to know I don't like the sound of it.'

Arryl rose to her feet and reached for her shawl, which was draped over the arm of her chair. Tiji wondered why she bothered. It wasn't as if she felt the cold in this place, unlike her chameleon servants, who were rugged up so tightly against the cold they could barely walk.

'I think we should have a word to Lukys about this.'

'Shouldn't you talk to Declan?' 'Whatever for?'

'So you can tell him not to go. All that ever happens when he gets near that woman is trouble.' Tiji felt a little guilty for speaking that way about Arkady. She actually quite liked the former duchess. But she couldn't help the feeling that Arkady was somehow responsible for Declan's immortality even though, logically, she knew that couldn't possibly be the case.

Arryl didn't seem in the least bit bothered about the Duchess of Lebec, however. She had other things to worry about. 'Declan can follow his woman to the ends of Amyrantha for all I care, Tiji. It's Kentravyon I'm worried about.'

'But, my lady
...'

Arryl stopped and put a comforting hand on Tiji's shoulder as she passed her on her way to the door, 'I sympathise with your fears, Tiji, but Declan Hawkes is not my concern. You have no concept of the trouble Kentravyon can cause.'

Without waiting for Tiji to respond, Arryl left the chamber in search of Lukys, leaving the little chameleon standing there wondering if she wouldn't have been better off staying in Senestra and learning to deal with her own kind than foolishly believing she could achieve anything by following a bunch of wretched Tide Lords to Jelidia.

Arryl was only gone for a few moments before Tiji decided to follow her, to hear what she had to say to Lukys. Perhaps, if Arryl could convince Lukys this ill- advised expedition to Glaeba was a bad idea, Declan would rethink his absurd notion about going off in search of Arkady. Tiji's plans hit a snag, however, when she ran into Azquil in the wide hall outside Lukys's chamber.

There were times when Tiji looked at Azquil and felt nothing but gratitude towards the chameleon Crasii who had kidnapped her off the streets of Elvere and brought her back to her own people. There were times when she thought she might burst with the love she felt for him.

And there were times she considered him a blind fool for believing any good could ever come from serving an immortal. Now, was one of those times. Acting just like the good little minion he kept insisting he wasn't, her companion was on his way back to Lady Arryl's room with a fresh set of linens for his mistress's fur-lined bed.

'Tiji? What are you doing?'

'Eavesdropping,' she said, inching a little closer to the entrance of Lukys's private chamber. There were no doors in the ice palace, and with a staff of mostly slavishly loyal Crasii to wait on them, the immortals had little need to worry about being overheard.

'You can't eavesdrop on the immortals,' Azquil hissed, trying to pull her away.

'Sure I can.' She shook him off and moved a little closer to the opening. The air reeked of suzerain, making her want to gag.

'...
sending Kentravyon into the middle of a brewing war is a recipe for disaster,' she heard Arryl telling someone. Although she could smell the suzerain, Tiji wasn't sure who else was in the room until she heard Cayal agreeing with Arryl.

'That's what I've been trying to tell them,' the Immortal Prince replied.

'I disagree,' another female voice said, which Tiji guessed belonged to Maralyce. 'To ensure Elyssa's cooperation, you're probably going to need to help her win the war against Jaxyn.'

'I don't need Kentravyon for that,' Cayal said, 'I can beat that little prick with my eyes closed. Who's he got helping him, anyway?
Diala?
She's hardly a threat to a Tide Lord.'

'Don't forget Lyna is in Glaeba too,' Maralyce said.

'Still nothing and nobody I can't handle on my own. And, I suppose, if worse comes to worst, the Rodent will be there to lend a hand.'

'Exactly,' Arryl said. 'So why are you letting Kentravyon go with them? With the Tide coming in the way it is, the mere presence of that many immortals in one place is likely to cause trouble.'

Tiji wasn't sure what Arryl meant by that, but even though she couldn't see him, she could hear the smile in Lukys's voice when he replied. 'I do appreciate your confidence in me, Arryl, my dear, but why do you assume for a moment that I have any control over Kentravyon? He's heard Declan is leaving for Glaeba. He knows Elyssa is in Caelum and has the location of the Chaos Crystal. He also knows the only living soul she's likely to give it up to is our very own Immortal Prince. Kentravyon would like to move on, and he trusts neither the suicidally-depressed Cayal nor the dangerously inexperienced Declan Hawkes to retrieve the crystal before the Tide peaks and our chance is lost for another hundred thousand years.'

'He thinks he can do better than anyone else, I suppose?'

'The man thinks he's God, Arryl,' Maralyce pointed out impatiently. 'Of course he thinks he can do it better than anyone else.'

The little chameleon smiled. Even to Tiji, that sort of logic, however misguided, made perfectly good sense.

'Come on, Tiji,' Azquil urged in a whisper, tugging at her sleeve. 'Come away before someone comes out here and catches you spying on them.'

She shook him off, anxious to hear the rest of the conversation. A part of her wanted Arryl to convince the other suzerain to stay here in Jelidia. Another part of her wanted Arryl to agree to go with them. If Arryl left the palace, Azquil would want to follow his

immortal mistress to Glaeba and Tiji could finally get out of this cold miserable place too.

'Things are unstable enough already. This is going to cause nothing but trouble,' Arryl predicted. Although she was inside the chamber where Tiji couldn't see her, there was no mistaking her voice.

'Trouble we won't be around to add to,' Lukys replied, in a tone that sounded like a man soothing a skittish horse. 'We're not just leaving because we're bored, Arryl. We're doing the mortals of this world a favour. No world can flourish with so many immortals on it, constantly vying for power. You saw that yourself the other day. Look what having this many of us here with the Tide returning is doing to Jelidia.'

'Perhaps you should do what Kentravyon suggested to me once,' Cayal said. 'Each one of you should find your own galaxy to rule.'

'Didn't he mean his own
world
to rule?' Arryl asked.

'No. I'm pretty sure he said galaxy.'

'Kentravyon's desire to rule a galaxy notwithstanding,' Lukys said in an eminently reasonable tone, 'it gets down to this: we need the Chaos Crystal. Elyssa has the means to find it. You, Cayal, if you can swallow your pride — and perhaps your gag reflex — have the ability to get the information from her. Declan, for his own reasons — and they're reasons I don't necessarily agree with, I hasten to add — is heading in the same direction. Between the two of you, if you can manage to cooperate, I think you'll find you have the power to rein in Kentravyon's excesses, should he get a little fractious on the way.'

'Me and the Rodent?' Cayal said sceptically. 'Working in concert? Even if I was willing to do anything in concert again with that insufferable bastard you spawned, Lukys, the last time we iced Kentravyon it took half-a-dozen of us to bring him down.'

'It took that many of us to
immobilise
him,' Lukys said. 'That's not what's needed here. You just need to keep him
...
reasonable. I'm sure you and Declan have enough between you to be able to curb his enthusiasm if the need arises.'

Tiji frowned. Just how powerful
was
Declan, now he was immortal? It was no secret Cayal was among the most powerful Tide Lords to have ever walked Amyrantha. The Great Lakes of Glaeba were testament to that fact. But Kentravyon was not an immortal to be trifled with, either. If Lukys thought Declan and Cayal between them could control the mad Tide Lord, that must mean Declan was either
as
powerful — or even
more
powerful — than Cayal.