Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 01 (21 page)

“And
if I refuse?”

As
expected, he cast the barest glance at Piaras. I needed no further elaboration,
and I hoped the prince didn’t see the need to give it.

“Sathrik
murdered our mother with his own hands, Mistress Benares. He killed or exiled
her most trusted counselors, and he has tried to kill me on numerous occasions.
Now he has brought that shaman from the lower hells to rule beside him.” He
paused, and I could see the muscles working in his jaw. “Even more that his
diseased mind desires will be his once he has the Thief of Souls. Sarad Nukpana
only needs spilled lifeblood to open it, and a soul sacrifice to tap its
power.” His voice dropped to the barest whisper. “My brother has everything,
with even more to gain. I have nothing left to lose.”

His
eyes were jet orbs. Not only was he determined, he was desperate—and probably
willing to do things a normal person would find just a little bit insane.
Unfortunately his brother wasn’t here for him to take it out on. After being
brought up in the same house as Sathrik Mal’Salin, I could almost understand
the mentally unstable part. And on a certain level, I could understand and
almost sympathize with his motivation, but not with what he was trying to do.

“Your
decision is quite simple in my eyes,” he continued. “You are either for my
brother, or you are against him.”

“I
don’t see myself ever being for Sathrik Mal’Salin.”

“Then
you will find the Saghred for me.”

I
hesitated. Not the best move, but I didn’t want to get what I was about to say
wrong. Such things have a way of blowing up in your face. Especially when I say
them.

“From
what I have heard of your brother and Sarad Nukpana, and from what I have been
told of the Saghred, getting the three of them together in the same room is the
last thing anyone wants to happen.”

“Then
we are in agreement.”

“Understand
my dilemma, Your Highness. I’ve heard what your brother and Sarad Nukpana are
capable of. I do not know you, or your plans.”

“My
plans are no concern of yours. Regardless, you are hardly in a position to
bargain.”

“True.
But you say that my friend and I will not be harmed, that we will be released
once you have what you want. You’re asking for my complete trust on your word
alone. I’ve never dealt with you, so don’t take this personally, but the elven
people have had bitter experience with the word of a Mal’Salin. It’s often been
open to interpretation, usually by the Mal’Salin who has just given their
word.”

There
was an angry hiss behind me, and the sound of a blade clearing its scabbard.
The prince didn’t move. The guard next to Piaras didn’t move. I certainly
wasn’t going to move. I also wasn’t going to get too excited about my chances
for long-term survival. I didn’t hear the blade go back where it came from, and
I really didn’t want to turn around and find out where it was.

The
prince had been resting one of his hands on an intricately carved armrest. It
snapped off under the pressure of his grip. I hoped it was wood rot, though I
knew better. I tended to have that effect on people.

When
the prince spoke, his voice was calm. “Unlike most of my family, my word is my
sacred bond. You can believe that or not. But I had you brought here at great
risk to my people and to myself because my brother gets close to his goal, and
the Guardians grow increasingly desperate, as do I. So you see, Mistress
Benares, neither one of us has any choice.”

I
didn’t consider getting cozy with an object nicknamed Soul Thief much of a
choice.

Prince
Chigaru’s dark eyes drifted down to where the amulet rested against my chest
beneath my doublet.

“Remove
it.”

I
made no move to comply. “I can’t take it off.”

“I am
not interested in what you want, Mistress Benares. I have given you every
opportunity to end this without any actions we would both find distasteful.”

“She
can’t take it off. It won’t let her.” Piaras’s voice was strong and quavered
only slightly.

Like
a spark beneath cold embers, I felt the power flare to life under the young
spellsinger’s words. The danger was there, and it was real, palatable in the
room’s chilled air. I didn’t know if Piaras realized what was happening, but
the prince knew something was different. He had been schooled in the magical
arts too well not to know. But I don’t think he recognized Piaras as the threat
he was. Yet. The last thing I wanted was for Chigaru Mal’Salin to see Piaras as
anything other than harmless. I needed a distraction.

I
pulled the amulet from beneath my shirt.

Piaras’s
response was immediate and impassioned. “No!” He lunged for me, but was restrained
by the two guards.

I
forced myself to ignore him. Fortunately, Prince Chigaru didn’t have that
problem. His attention was instantly riveted to the amulet gleaming in the
firelight. I took a deep breath. Mission accomplished. It brought up a whole new
problem, but I was prepared to deal with that any way I had to. I had a feeling
it wasn’t going to be pleasant for anyone in that room, including myself. I
didn’t care. My hands were untied, there was a window in the room, and I was
more than ready to leave. I could feel the amulet stir, its warmth spreading
through my body. I think it had had enough, too.

The
prince had stood and was now leaning over me, his hands resting on the armrests
of my chair, effectively pinning me in my seat. His hair fell in a dark, silken
curtain around us both, concealing us from sight. He made no move to touch me,
or take the amulet. He just stared at me in a way no one had ever looked at me
before. It was awe mixed with recognition of elemental power and an
overwhelming desire to possess it. I didn’t like his look one bit. I stared
back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a large dust-covered vase on a side
table. It wasn’t close enough for me to get my hands on, but I didn’t need my
hands to introduce it to the back of Prince Chigaru’s head. It was a pleasant
image and I treated myself to a small smile. The goblin misunderstood it
entirely. His problem, not mine.

“It
has bonded to you,” he breathed. “The Soul Thief itself shines through your
eyes. You glow with the power of death.”

I
recoiled, more from his words than from a Mal’Salin prince only inches from my
face.

There
was a scuffle in the shadows, then a grunt as Piaras hurled himself at the
goblin prince, taking both of them to the ground in a tangle of limbs. The
guards, no longer distracted by their prince’s attention to me, tried to pull
Piaras off, only to receive kicks for their trouble. One flick of thought and
the vase flew from the table into my hands. It was large and metal and made a
satisfying solid sound when it came in contact with the guards’ heads. The
wrestling mass parted briefly and I was rewarded with a clear shot at Prince
Chigaru’s shoulder. It wasn’t the body part I had in mind, but I wasn’t in a
position to be picky, so I took it. The doors crashed open and more goblins
poured into the room—armed goblins who weren’t happy to find their prince on
the floor. Armored hands slammed me back into my chair, and a sword point made
sure I stayed there. Piaras was jerked upright, both arms wrenched behind his back.

The
prince stood and slowly wiped blood from his lip. His eyes were blazing. Piaras
didn’t flinch or look away.

Prince
Chigaru addressed the guards. “Secure our guests in the room upstairs, post
guards, then report back to me.”

The
door closed and locked behind us. The lock sounded all too
substantial, and the footsteps of our guards didn’t
fade away down the corridor as I’d hoped, but not really expected. Prince
Chigaru’s guards were following his orders to the letter. I was considered too
valuable right now.

We
were in what had probably been a guest bedroom. It had been finely appointed in
its day. Now, the brocade upholstery was threadbare, the velvet bed hangings
thin and tattered, and the heavy smell of damp and mildew hung in the air. There
were a few other pieces of furniture, but most were covered with dingy sheets,
dust, or both. Two lamps had been lit on the mantle, but the fireplace was dark
and cold, as was the room. The only other source of light came from a sliver of
moonlight peeking through a pair of etched glass doors.

I
made my way around the room, knocking on walls, checking for hidden doors. All
activities anyone watching would expect of a new prisoner. My stroll ended at
the glass doors. They led out onto a small balcony, and were locked, but the
lock could be easily picked. Another Benares family talent. It also had other
attractions. I moved on, not wanting to draw attention to our most likely exit.
Apparently Prince Chigaru hadn’t planned too far ahead for holding prisoners.
Lucky for us. It was probably also the reason why we were being held in the
same room. Lucky for me. I didn’t want to escape only to have to search for and
free Piaras.

When
I had looked down into the garden, I saw that our host had made up for any
oversight. Five armed Mal’Salin royal guards were posted below to make sure
things didn’t get interesting. I didn’t sense any surveillance in the room
itself, but there would probably be someone watching or at least listening to
us soon. There were too many places in the wall that would perfectly conceal a
pair or two of prying eyes. But I wasn’t going to wait around for them to
arrive. I was going to remove us from Prince Chigaru’s royal hospitality as
soon as possible.

The
prince assumed that between the guards and The Ruins, that I would be
disinclined to try to escape. My first rule was never assume. This went nicely
with my second rule—always try to escape. While I occasionally failed at the
first, I had always succeeded in the second. Tonight wasn’t going to be an
exception.

Piaras
was standing perfectly still in the center of the room by a settee at the foot
of the canopied bed. While this sort of thing didn’t happen to me all the time,
it wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence. But I thought I could safely assume that
Piaras had never been taken prisoner by Mal’Salin royal guards, led bound and
blindfolded through The Ruins at night, threatened with torture by a goblin
prince, then topped off the evening by attacking the aforementioned royal. I felt
my lips curl into a quick grin. Come to think of it, those were all firsts for
me, too.

Piaras
was watching me, his liquid brown eyes wide and intent. I knew he was probably
scared to death, and with good reason. Prince Chigaru wasn’t happy with him, and
I know the guards he kicked were less than amused. Piaras was still alive
because the prince thought he could use him to compel me to find the Saghred
for him. And he was right. I wouldn’t allow them to hurt Piaras. That left one
option: get out of here as quickly as possible. I went to the settee and sat
down, motioning to Piaras to sit beside me. We were facing the outer wall. No
one could be watching from there and reading lips. Then I used my version of
the spell Garadin used last night to keep Piaras from overhearing our
conversation. If anyone was spying on us, I was going to make them work for it.

Piaras
sat, opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. I think he was more than
a little overwhelmed. I was feeling a little that way myself.

I
took his hand and gave it a light, reassuring squeeze. “I’m not happy here
either,” I said in the barest whisper, my lips close to his ear. “Don’t worry,
we won’t be staying long.”

“How?”

“Through
the glass doors. There’s a trellis on the outside wall that should hold our
weight.”

“Are
there any guards?” he asked.

That
question surprised me. Good. He may be scared, but he was keeping his wits
about him.

“Five.”

He
started to stand, probably to take a look for himself. I tightened my grip on
his hand.

“Someone
could be watching. Let’s not give ourselves away yet.”

He
sat back down and drew a deep breath. It shuddered as he exhaled. Probably the
first good one he’d had since we were brought here. The hand I held trembled
slightly, as did the shoulder touching mine.

“I’m
sorry,” he finally managed.

“For
what?”

“For
being worthless.”

I
just sat there for a moment, waiting for that one to make sense. It didn’t.
“Where did you get that idea?”

“I
haven’t done anything. All night, I haven’t done anything to help.”

“What
do you call what you did downstairs?”

“Stupid.
I just made things worse. I could have gotten us both killed.”

No,
just you, I thought. Prince Chigaru needed me—at least for now. I didn’t say
that out loud, but I’m sure Piaras was well aware of how close he had come.
Besides, he was feeling bad enough.

“It
was a little impulsive, but you were just trying to protect me.” I draped a
sisterly arm around his shoulders, and gave him a quick hug. “It was also very
brave. There just happened to be a couple dozen goblins on the other side of
the door when you did it. Not your fault.” I tried to give him a smile.
“Neither one of us was hurt, so don’t worry about it.”