Orlind (29 page)

That did nothing
at all to settle Eva’s growing disquiet. She found Tren’s fingers
and tried to lace her own through them, but he was unresponsive. Of
course... he was now in character, and holding hands with his lover
while they waited for an uncertain fate was no part of his
role.

Stifling a sigh,
she realised it was going to be a lonely, as well as a terrifying,
few days.

A man appeared.
White-hair, of course; cold blue eyes; a much-wrinkled face; he was
as old as Limbane and at least as arrogant. Was this
Krays?

‘
Lokantor,’ said the woman, her manner turning
deferential.

Definitely Krays,
then. Eva’s internal celebration was short-lived; this man held an
aura of controlled, ruthless power that led her to conclude that
Ana hadn’t exaggerated. He was much more dangerous than
Limbane.

Those chilly blue
eyes barely glanced at Eva and Tren. They fastened instead on Ana,
now visibly quaking in her chair. ‘What is this?’ he asked, his
voice as dispassionate as his female aide’s.

Ana drew herself
up, making a credible effort to pull herself together. ‘I brought
you some new people. They... they work for Limbane.’

‘
That
is a recommendation, is it?’

Ana shrank back
under Krays’s cold gaze. ‘I thought... perhaps you might find them
useful.’

Krays looked away
from her at last, fixing his gaze on Eva. ‘I assume they must have
names.’

Flushing at this
rebuke, Ana introduced them. Eva felt she dwelled a little too long
on her titles and eminence.

‘
I
know of Lady Glostrum,’ Krays said, skewering her with an intent
stare. ‘Though I did not imagine her to be open to such a career as
this.’

‘
I’m
looking for something new,’ Eva said, trying to sound
unconcerned.

‘
Hmm.
Warvel I have not heard of.’ The stare he turned on Tren was more
than intent; it was outright suspicious.

Tren, bless his
acting skills, returned a stare just as cold and every bit as
arrogant. ‘I don’t find that it helps me to be talked
about.’

Krays lifted his
brows, but to Eva’s relief he abandoned this line of enquiry,
saying instead to Ana: ‘And why did you bring them
here?’

‘
Remember Tulas?’

Ana said nothing
else, but Krays seemed to take her meaning, for he turned his
attention back to Eva instead. She stared back at him, hiding her
puzzlement and fear behind her much-practiced mask of calm
confidence. Who or what was Tulas? Perhaps they weren’t the first
to act as double agents between Limbane’s and Krays’s
organisations.

An absurd
thought, that, she chided herself. Given the way these people
operated, they
certainly
weren’t the first.

‘
Limbane’s people, hm,’ Krays said. ‘Why would you wish to
betray him?’

‘
We
have no particular wish to betray him,’ Tren said in his unfamiliar
new voice. ‘Limbane is cautious, old-fashioned and stuck in his
ways. We would prefer to involve ourselves in some more... exciting
ventures.’

‘
And
yet,’ said Krays, ‘you have offered inside information in exchange
for this?’

‘
If
that is what is required,’ Tren replied, ‘we are willing,
yes.’

Krays watched
him, his thoughts unreadable. He would be sizing Tren up, trying to
guess at his sincerity, his motives. Tren was giving a fine
performance; Eva didn’t believe the Lokantor would see anything
amiss.

And Tren’s
approach was a clever one. He made it appear that they were by no
means eager to betray Limbane, that it wasn’t a habit of theirs.
Perhaps that would make it easier for Krays to trust them, at least
a little. He’d also made it clear that they were ambitious, and
ambition tended to impress people like Krays.

‘
You
vouch for these people?’ Krays said without turning.

‘
Yes,’
Ana replied, managing to sound firm.

‘
Why?’

‘
Because they remind me of myself a few years ago.’

Krays shot her a
cold look. ‘That would not seem to be a recommendation, would
it?’

Ana, silenced,
could only stare at him, like a defenceless animal confronting a
predator.

‘
The
problem is a simple one to resolve,’ Krays decided, with a smile
that turned Eva’s stomach. ‘I must establish the extent of your
proposed loyalty to me. How far are you prepared to go?’

It wasn’t really
a question. Neither Eva nor Tren made any answer; they merely
waited for his next words.

‘
I’ve
a great desire to see Limbane’s Library again,’ he said. ‘It has
been many years since my last visit. In fact, there is one
particular place... does my old friend still maintain a private
study?’

Eva felt a
prickle of foreboding. Limbane’s reading room was, she was
convinced, the one place in his Library he would protect to the
death from Krays’s interference.

But Tren didn’t
hesitate. ‘He does.’

‘
You
will take me to it, then. At least one of you will have access to
the Map, I am sure?’

Eva wished she
could have a moment, just a minute or two, to discuss this with
Tren. But she wouldn’t get that chance; she’d have to follow his
lead. ‘I have access.’

‘
Then
arrange it. Your first task, as my supposed newest associates, is
to ensure I may safely visit this study when Limbane is not in
residence. I must be able to get in and out with minimal
complications.’ He gave a chilly smile. ‘If you are as trusted as
you say, it should be no problem for you to arrange
this.’

‘
That
will be possible,’ Tren said immediately.

‘
Excellent. Then go and do it now, please.’

Eva’s heart sank.
There would be no getting out of this. They must perform this task,
or lose the chance to win Krays’s trust, and therefore lose their
chance at his secrets. But with most of the Lokants absent, it
couldn’t have been worse timed. Finding his rival’s Library all but
deserted, would Krays merely ransack the reading room and leave it
at that? Or would he take the opportunity to seize control of the
Library?

Nor did she want
Krays to learn about Limbane’s interference in his campaign in
Glinnery. They couldn’t afford to wait until the Lokants were
finished in the Seven and had returned to the Library. That would
take too long, and they might only return after the Seven had
fallen to the draykoni and it was too late anyway.

She couldn’t warn
the Lokants, or they would come back en masse, abandoning
Waeverleyne to its ruin. The only other option was to find a way to
conceal the absence of Limbane’s people from Krays. That would mean
keeping him confined to the reading room, but how could they
possibly achieve that?

Chapter Twenty

The Lokants were
not slow to organise themselves. Llandry watched them arrive in
their numbers, each one calm-faced, alert, and not looking in the
least concerned that they had been thrown into the midst of a
battle. They were so devoid of emotion, in fact, that they were
almost like mechs themselves. That thought gave her a
shiver.

Her parents.
Travelling west, they would soon run into the circle of whurthag
mechs that were approaching the city - if they hadn’t already. Dare
she hope they had somehow missed them? That thought fluttered
optimistically in her muddled brain for about three seconds before
she discarded it.

She wished, most
fervently, that Eva was here, for her ladyship would have set off
immediately to find them and shepherd them safely to Irbel. But she
wasn’t, and she had asked Llandry not to call her again. Llan had
no wish to imperil Eva and Tren if they were in Krays’s Library by
now. Llandry would have to steel herself to approach one of these
intimidating strangers with her request. Searching among the sea of
pale faces before her, she at last spotted Limbane.

But he wasn’t the
mild-mannered gentleman she’d first known. He was grim and
imposing, barking orders to groups of Lokants in turn. As Llandry
watched, they divided themselves into many small groups and began
to prepare their mystifying equipment. She couldn’t hear Limbane’s
orders over the tumultuous background noise.

Pensould’s arms
slipped around her waist and his voice murmured in her ear. ‘Ori
has taken Avane back to the village. You must come too, Minchu.
It’s dangerous here.’

She nodded,
knowing he was right. Iver had set up his headquarters on the edges
of Waeverleyne, far from the landmarks that attracted the primary
attentions of the draykoni invaders. It was, therefore, relatively
quiet out here; but “relatively” didn’t mean much.

I can’t leave
yet, Pense,
she told him silently.
Ma and Pa are walking
straight into the whurthags!

What do you
mean to do?
Pense’s mind-voice was full of
misgiving.

I
want some of these Lokants to help me. They could carry my parents
straight out of the forest and all the way to Irbel in an instant,
then bring Pa back too. And if Ma and Pa are in trouble with the
whurthags, they’ll know how to deal with it.

They look
busy,
Pense commented, watching the Lokants’
activity.

If
they won’t help us, we’ll go ourselves in our draykon forms. Never
mind what the commander says!

Pensould sighed,
but he didn’t argue. ‘Better do it now,’ he said out loud as the
Lokant teams began to move.

Biting her lip,
Llandry summoned her courage and ran forward to grab at Limbane’s
sleeve. If only she wasn’t so much smaller than almost everyone
else! It always put her at a disadvantage.

‘
Limbane! Please, I need to borrow some of your people, just
for a little while.’ She blurted out the whole story, talking fast,
praying he wouldn’t dismiss her.

Limbane listened
in silence, a slight frown creasing his brow. ‘Do you think this
“help” they’re looking for in Irbel will be granted?’

‘
Ma
will persuade them,’ Llandry said with perfect
confidence.

Limbane looked
out at his Lokants, thinking it over. Reaching a decision, he
nodded. ‘I can give you two, Llandry, but this can’t take long. I
need everyone on this.’

Llandry could
have wept with gratitude. ‘Thank you! I promise, it won’t take
long.’

He nodded his
head once, and raising his voice shouted: ‘Rael! Melle!’

Two Lokants ran
up, one a youngish looking male and the other a somewhat older
female. Both were wearing tool belts and carrying weapons. In
addition, Melle had a set of unidentifiable devices strapped to her
torso.

‘
Lokantor,’ they both said together.

‘
Brief
secondment. For the next... hour,’ Limbane said, checking his
watch. ‘Help Llandry get hold of her parents, will you?’

Llandry was
relieved when Melle smiled at her, though Rael remained immovably
grim. ‘Yes, sir,’ they both said, and with a nod, Limbane walked
off.

‘
Let’s
have the problem,’ Melle said. ‘Fairly sharpish.’

Llan repeated her
story. Fearing that she sensed reluctance, even annoyance, in
Rael’s silent manner she emphasised the importance of her parents’
errand two or three times.

‘
No
problem,’ Melle said when she’d finished. ‘Get to someplace safe,
all right? If we’re bringing your dad back here, no sense in
dropping him somewhere dangerous.’ She glanced up as she spoke,
indicating the vast, dark shapes that were fighting over the centre
of the city.

‘
I’ll
be in the village,’ Llan promised, and started to give directions,
but Melle held up a hand.

‘
I’ll
find you. Go. Careful, now.’ With that, the two of them vanished,
leaving Llandry alone with Pensould.

‘
I
wanted to go with them,’ she said in a small voice.

‘
Nonsense, Minchu, for you could not be of use. Let them
concentrate on extracting your parents. Meanwhile, Melle’s advice
is sound. We must go.’

Llandry allowed
him to shepherd her out of Iver’s base camp and back towards the
village, skirting around the most violent conflicts. It wrung
Llandry’s heart to be climbing over the piled rubble of people’s
homes and shops. Blood, old and fresh, stained areas of burned or
trampled ground, adding queasiness, sadness and profound dismay to
her discomforts. She forged ahead through the war-torn landscape,
grimly turning her attention away from the carnage and the battle
that still raged over the centre of Waeverleyne.

‘
I
think you should rest a little, Minchu,’ Pensould said as they
reached the village. ‘You are tired, and opportunities are
scarce.’

Llandry didn’t
object, but she gripped Pensould’s sleeve. ‘Come with me? I don’t
want to be alone.’

Pensould smiled.
‘Come to think of it, I could stand to rest a little
myself.’

‘
Only
for an hour,’ she cautioned. ‘There should be news of my parents by
then.’