The Chaos Crystal (49 page)

Here goes nothing.
'I saw them. Lukys and Maralyce. They had Oritha laid out on an altar in this great big chamber they've built under this place. I think they froze her.'

'You
saw
this?'

Tiji nodded.

'And there's no possibility you mistook it for something else?'

'I heard them talking, my lady,' Tiji said, wishing she could gag on the stench of such close proximity to a suzerain, but knowing she wouldn't be listened to if she did. 'Lord Lukys told Lady Maralyce that Oritha must be on the brink of death for this — whatever
this
is — to succeed.'

Arryl studied her thoughtfully, placing the skewer down as she wiped her hands on her skirts. 'Go on.'

'He said he learned that much the last time. And then he said something about her heart beating so slowly it's barely moving. And something else about her consciousness that I don't understand, other than it had something to do with resistance
...'

Tiji met Arryl's gaze evenly; at least the immortal wasn't dismissing her tale out of hand.

'Whatever they did, it's a secret, my lady. Maralyce was worried about what the rest of you might think when you discovered what had become of Oritha.'

At that, the immortal smiled indulgently at her. 'And don't you think we might have something to say about Oritha's fate, if what you claim is true?'

'Lukys said you all had your own reasons for helping, so you probably wouldn't object,' Tiji said, annoyed by the immortal's patronising smile.

'It all sounds very dire, Tiji.'

'You don't believe me.'

Arryl straightened her skirts and turned to face her. 'I believe you saw something, Tiji. But I also recall you spent your formative years apprenticed to a spymaster and are a suspicious creature by nature, with a tendency to see plots and conspiracies where there are none.'

'I know what I saw, my lady. And there's no happy slant you can put on it.'

Arryl smiled, but she squared her shoulders decisively. 'Shall we investigate, then?'

Tiji looked up at her in surprise. 'What?'

'Shall we go and investigate this dreadful accusation?' Arryl said. 'You claim Lukys and Maralyce have done something to Oritha and that she's hidden beneath the palace in a secret chamber, on the brink of death, if not dead already. I can't confront Lukys with such an absurd accusation without proof. So take me there, Tiji. Lead me to your hidden chamber and I'll see the evidence for myself.'

Tiji stared up at Arryl for a long moment. This was not at all the reaction she'd been expecting. She climbed warily to her feet. 'Are you sure?'

'Take me to her,' Arryl commanded.

Rather more reluctantly than she expected — now she'd found someone prepared to listen to her story —

Tiji led Arryl through the Palace of Impossible Dreams. The immortal followed her down the stairs to the lower levels, past the ice-carved storerooms with their amazing bounty, down the long corridor that led to the glowing green stairs carved out of the very foundations of the palace, and into the chamber with its fire-lit walls and solid ice altar. Arryl stopped on the stairs. Tiji turned to find out why, only to discover the immortal staring closely at the luminescent moss. 'My lady?'

'I'm sorry, Tiji, I just didn't expect to see such a thriving colony down here. Do you think —'

'Oritha?' Tiji reminded her pointedly.

'Of course,' Arryl said with an apologetic smile. 'Lead on, dear.'

A moment later, they stepped into the chamber. Arryl looked around in awe. The fires lighting the chamber burned around the walls as if fuelled by magic, but there was nobody here.

'What is this place, my lady?' Tiji asked, after Arryl had turned a full circle, her mouth agape with wonder.

'I have no idea,' the immortal said. 'I assume this is where Lukys intends to open his rift. The walls must be curved like this to contain the power amplified by the Chaos Crystal.'

'What about that?' Tiji asked, pointing to the altar. There was no sign of Oritha in the chamber, or anybody else for that matter. She wondered where they'd hidden the body. And how she was going to prove to Arryl what she'd witnessed.

The immortal walked toward the altar with Tiji close behind. They crossed the cavernous hall in silence, the chill seeping into Tiji's bones. The altar, when they reached it, was taller than the little chameleon — a solid block of ice resting on a slight plinth at the base. Arryl circled the altar twice, her fingers trailing on the opaque surface, and then she stopped in front of Tiji.

'I see nothing odd here, Tiji. No dead bodies. No conspiracies. Nothing but an empty room and a chameleon with a very active imagination.'

'I know what I saw, my lady,' she insisted stubbornly.

'Did you tell Azquil about it?'

'Yes, my lady.'

'And what did he say?'

'He said I should mind my own business.'

'Then he is a very wise lizard.'

Tiji frowned, certain of what she'd seen, and frustrated beyond words that nobody would believe her. 'I didn't imagine this, my lady, and I'm not making anything up. Lukys and Maralyce were standing right here. "I wonder if the poor girl had any idea she was going to die today?" That's what Maralyce said.'

'Pity you didn't stay to hear the rest of it, Tiji,' a voice called from the entrance. 'Then you might not be as concerned.'

Tiji spun around to see Lukys crossing the chamber from the entrance, with — to Tiji's astonishment — a perfectly healthy Oritha on his arm. She'd been so busy trying to convince Arryl that Oritha was dead, she'd not smelled the Tide Lord approaching. Oritha was smiling as they neared the altar, not in the least afraid or concerned.

And clearly not dead. Or anywhere near it.

Tiji, on the other hand, was starting to fear she was going mad.

'Tides, you poor little thing,' Oritha said as they stopped by the altar. 'How it must have looked to you, hiding back there in the shadows.'

Arryl's eyes widened in surprise. 'You mean she really did see something?'

'I imagine your little chameleon has told you exactly what she saw,' Lukys agreed with smile. 'It must have seemed quite gruesome, I suppose.'

'What are you talking about?' Tiji demanded. 'You were killing her. Maralyce said so.'

'I believe Maralyce was urging me not to make a mistake, Tiji,' Lukys said. 'Oritha is mortal, you see, and when we open the rift, she'll not survive if she's in this chamber and unprotected. I can, however, protect her by encasing her in ice, so that when the rift opens and we step through, she will be alive when we emerge on the other side. We wish to leave this world as we found it, Tiji. The only one who will perish is Cayal, who will be holding the crystal. And you may recall, he actually
wants
to die.'

'But
...
she was dead
...'

'No, I wasn't,' Oritha said. Then she laughed,
'Clearly
I wasn't, if I am standing here now, assuring you of my wellbeing. Didn't you hear what Ryda said? In order for me to survive the rift, I need to be encased in ice, and in order for me to be able to survive
that,
my husband must be certain he can revive me. We've practised a number of times now, and each time I have emerged from the process completely unharmed.' She took Lukys's arm and smiled up at him. 'My Ryda would never allow any harm to come to me. Would you, darling?'

'Of course not,' Lukys said, smiling down at her.

She must he on the brink
of
death for this to
succeed,
Tiji remembered Lukys telling Maralyce.
Her
heartbeat needs to be so slow it's barely moving, her consciousness so completely immersed there will be no resistance
...
Maybe Lukys was telling the truth. Maybe he really
was
just practising freezing Oritha and then reviving her, so she'd survive the rift and the journey to another world. After all, Oritha was standing here in front of her, alive and well
...

Arryl turned to the little chameleon. 'Tiji, I think you owe our host an apology.'

Tiji glared at Lukys and Oritha. 'But
...'

'An apology, Tiji,' Arryl insisted.

Tiji turned to Lukys and said through gritted teeth, 'I'm sorry, my lord.'

'For spying on you, and accusing you of murdering your wife,' Arryl added with an expectant look.

'I'm sorry for spying on you, and accusing you of murdering your wife,' Tiji echoed dutifully. She turned to Arryl when she was done. 'May I go now?'

'I think you should,' Lukys said. 'And please, don't come down here again uninvited. As I'm sure Lady Arryl will tell you, the moss we're using to light the stairwell is very sensitive. I don't want it being harmed or contaminated inadvertently by strangers wandering in and out of here.'

'Don't worry. I'm not coming back here,' Tiji mumbled, and then she turned and fled toward the entrance, her silver skin flickering with embarrassment and anger.

Azquil was both furious and mortified when Tiji told him what had happened with Arryl, Lukys and Oritha. Although he claimed to be a Scard, he had an unhealthy attachment to these wretched immortals that left her wondering about him. His complaint this time, however, was more because he had told her to let the matter go, and she had defied him, than it was about accusing Lukys of murdering his wife.

'If you'd been there, you'd be on my side,' Tiji insisted, as she realised this was the first real argument she'd had with Azquil.

'If I'd been there, I would have saved you from making a complete fool of yourself,' he said, his skin a dull grey colour that indicated he was quite incensed with her. 'Tides, Tiji, what were you thinking? Accusing a Tide Lord of
murder?'

'Well, yes
...
because
that's
never happened before, has it?'

Azquil threw his hands up angrily and turned for the door of their small private chamber. Unlike the majestic rooms belonging to the immortals, there was only room in here for a bed and a narrow cupboard.

Tiji didn't really mind, normally. It was so cold in the palace, the only safe way to sleep was snuggled up against another live body for warmth. 'It's impossible to talk to you in this mood.'

'Leave then!' she said, biting back tears that had more to do with Azquil's anger than defending her position. 'Go wait on your precious immortals! You care more about them than me, anyway! I'm leaving this wretched place!'

Azquil refused to dignify her accusation with a reply, or acknowledge her threat to leave. Instead, he stalked out of the room, snatching his hooded jacket from the bed as he left, which meant he wasn't going to be back for a while.

Tiji paced the small, cold room angrily once he was gone, continuing the fight with him in her head as she rehearsed everything she intended to say to that wretched lizard when he came back to apologise.

Assuming she didn't carry out her threat to leave, which didn't seem like such a bad idea right now.

The candle had burned down quite a way before Azquil came back to Tiji's room. By then Tiji had exhausted herself by pacing and crying and was lying on the bed, curled into a ball, wishing sleep would take her and offer her some solace. There was a storm outside; it had been gathering all afternoon. Tiji didn't know if it was magically induced or a natural phenomenon, but she could hear the faint howling of the wind and ice throwing itself at the solid bulk of the palace. It seemed colder, too, but that might be her imagination working overtime, goaded by the blizzard.

She saw the flickering light of a lantern coming into the room, and feigned sleep so she wouldn't have to say anything to him until she was ready. A few moments later, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, but when she opened her eyes, it wasn't Azquil who'd come to wake her.

It was that wretched Crasii feline, Jo jo.

'You must come with me,' Jojo told her.

Tiji sat up, blinking in the candlelight. 'Why?'

'Azquil is hurt. He slipped on the stairs. He has broken his leg.'

Tiji jumped to her feet and reached for her jacket, which was lying across the end of the bed. 'Has someone told Lady Arryl? She'll be able to heal him, won't she?'

'It was Lady Arryl who sent me to fetch you,' the cat told her. 'You must hurry.'

Tiji didn't need any further encouragement. Her anger at Azquil forgotten, she followed Jojo closely. She wasn't surprised so much at the news that someone had slipped and broken something on these treacherous ice stairs, but that it hadn't happened sooner. She hoped Jojo was right about the broken leg. The immortals could heal a great deal, but if Azquil had broken his neck
...
well, she wasn't sure that even with the Tide nearly all the way up, immortals could cure death.

'When did it happen?' she demanded of the feline as she hurried to catch up.

'I don't know.'

'How did it happen?'

'I don't know.'

'You're a real big help, Jojo, you know that?'

Jojo didn't answer Tiji, but headed unerringly toward the stairs that led to the lower levels. The palace halls were silent and shrouded in darkness at this time of night. At least, it was as dark as it could be in a palace made of polished ice. The lamplight fractured as it hit the walls, sending back a spray of rainbow lights that were as pretty as they were useless when it came to lighting their way. Tiji hurried behind Jojo, wishing now that her last words to Azquil hadn't been uttered in anger.