The Gods of Amyrantha (50 page)

Arkady let out a short bitter laugh. 'Me? I don't think so. I've been spectacularly unsuccessful in that regard, thus far.'

'Declan has faith in you.'

'Could we not think about Declan Hawkes, please?'

The Crasii turned in her saddle to look Arkady in the eye. 'Actually, my lady, I think you should think about him. A lot. Particularly if Cayal turns up.'

Tiji, it seemed, hadn't learned her lesson from the last time they'd had this conversation. Nor was she ever likely to, given their roles had been reversed and Arkady no longer had the power to threaten the Crasii with anything.

Denied any sort of effective response, Arkady leaned back in the saddle and chose to remain silent as the sun burned the night away and the camel lurched beneath her like a small boat on a choppy swell, wishing she could decide what was worse — the idea of seeing Cayal again or the thought of
not
seeing him again.

CHAPTER 50

Warlock had thought his life couldn't get any more fraught than it already was, right up until a few days ago when Jaxyn had called him into the office of the King's Private Secretary — so recently vacated by the involuntarily retired Lord Deryon — to inform him a delegation was arriving from Caelum. Jaxyn wanted Warlock to act as Lord Torfail's manservant while the Caelish emissary and his sister were guests in Herino.

Warlock all but choked on the news, covering his shock with a coughing fit. Lord Torfail was the immortal Tryan, among the worst of Jaxyn's immortal brethren and something the Tide Lord clearly didn't have a clue about. Warlock knew about Tryan and Elyssa being in Caelum, because Tiji had told him about their presence in the Caelish palace on their way from Hidden Valley to bring the news to Declan Hawkes and the Cabal. It never occurred to him, until that moment, the news might not have reached the ears of Jaxyn or Diala.

Tides. Dealing with two suzerain is bad enough. Now I'm going to have to deal with four of them.

And then another, even more depressing thought occurred to him.

I'm never going to see my pups.

Warlock was still brooding over that realisation as he glanced across the rain-sodden lawn at the King's Spymaster, standing a dutiful pace behind Lord Jaxyn Aranville, the King's new Private Secretary, as they waited for the Caelish barge to dock. There was a

persistent rain falling, but it seemed, somehow, to be falling
around
Jaxyn rather than on him. He wasn't yet strong — or foolish — enough to announce who he was by blatantly walking through the rain untouched by it, but he clearly didn't intend to suffer any undue discomfort, either. Declan Hawkes, barely three feet from the King's Private Secretary, was drenched.

Hawkes was here at the behest of the King's Private Secretary, because of the missing Caelish princess. As usual, the spymaster didn't even acknowledge Warlock's presence when he arrived, treating him with the same ignorant disdain as any suzerain. Warlock was grateful for his disregard, while desperate to speak with him. His safety lay in his ability to fade into the background with almost, but not quite, the same skill as a chameleon. Tiji disguised her presence by blending with the background. Warlock survived by being part of it.

The trouble was, time was growing short. In about six weeks, Boots was due to whelp. Anxious as he was to do what was asked of him for the Cabal who had offered him and Boots shelter and a safe place to raise their pups, he wanted to go to be there for them, too. The added complication of the arrival of even more Tide Lords in Herino didn't augur well for Warlock's plans in that direction.

The amphibians brought the barge into the newly repaired dock with an impressive degree of control. A few moments later the gangway was pushed out from the barge and landed with a thump on the wharf, followed by several armed felines who hurried to take up position as an honour guard. Each one wore a red sash to indicate their rank in the royal household, and the weapons they carried — although shiny and impressive even in the rain — were purely decorative. Warlock knew how much the felines hated to be encumbered and their claws were weapon enough on their own to deter any aggressors. But they looked

imposing on parade and this was all about making a point. The Caelish were convinced their princess had been kidnapped and spirited over the border to Glaeba and they were here to get her back.

But before they even got around to discussing poor little Princess Nyah, the two immortals descending from the barge were about to get a very rude shock when they realised who the new King's Private Secretary and the new Queen of Glaeba were.

Warlock glanced at Declan again, but the spymaster looked relaxed, albeit rather wet, his thumbs caught in his belt, watching the docking as if was nothing out of the ordinary. If he was worried or even remotely interested in this historic meeting, he gave no outward indication of it.

Two cloaked figures appeared at the head of the gangway, but Warlock couldn't make them out clearly through the rain. Then Jaxyn's posture altered slightly, as if something had alerted him to the impending danger at almost the same time as Warlock sensed the suzerain on the boat. It was obvious the pair on the boat felt the presence of another immortal, too. The female leaned into her companion and said something to him. He shook his head and then offered her his arm and the two of them walked down the gangway to confront their welcoming party.

Jaxyn held his ground on the lawn, forcing the others to come to him. Standing just behind and to the left of Jaxyn, Warlock studied them as they approached. The pair were exactly as Cayal had described them. Tryan was almost too handsome to be male, while his sister, although her body was as perfectly formed as immortality could make it, was a bland, pale creature with wide-set eyes and a jawline that disappeared into her neck before it ever managed to form a chin.

They stopped a pace from Jaxyn and stared at one another for a long, tense moment, before Jaxyn

stepped forward and offered Tryan his hand. There were too many mortals here watching for any of them to say what they really wanted to.

'Lord and Lady Torfail, I presume? Welcome to Glaeba.'

'You're
Lord Aranville?'

'Fancy that.'

'Well, that explains a lot,' Elyssa said, glowering at Jaxyn. 'What have you done with her?' 'Done with whom?'

Tryan glared at him. 'Really, Lord Aranville, are you that dense?'

'Ah, you mean your missing princess? Terrible tragedy. I hear the wedding can't proceed until she's found. How that must break your heart, Lord Torfail. And your mother's, too.'

'We want her back!' Elyssa hissed, but Tryan jerked her arm sharply to shut her up before she could add anything further.

'I'm sure you do, Lady Alysa,' Jaxyn agreed. 'And to that end, allow me to introduce Declan Hawkes, the King's Spymaster.'

Right on cue, Declan stepped forward and bowed to the visitors from Caelum. 'My lord, my lady.'

Jaxyn clapped Declan on the shoulder. 'I have put Master Hawkes in charge of the investigation to discover if the suspicion that your betrothed has been brought across the lake into Glaeba has any basis in fact. Trust me, if Princess Nyah is here, our spymaster will know where to find her.'

'That's a bit like asking the fox to guard the chicken coop, isn't it?' Tryan asked. 'He's probably the one who's got her stashed somewhere. On your orders, I wouldn't be surprised to discover.'

'My lord, you may rest assured,' Declan said, his manner so earnest even Warlock believed him, 'Lord Aranville has
never
given me any such order. If your princess is in Glaeba, he knows nothing of it.'

Tryan seemed unimpressed by the assurance. 'You seem to have the hired help nicely trained, Lord Aranville. Do they jump through hoops and play dead when you command it, too?'

'Oh, yes,' Jaxyn replied, clearly considering himself the victor in this first encounter with his immortal brethren. 'Shall we get out of this rain and go somewhere we can discuss this in ... a less public forum?'

Tryan nodded his agreement, as if only just realising that in addition to the many Crasii forming the honour guard to welcome them to Herino, there were a lot of humans within earshot who were not ready to learn the truth.

'This is Cecil,' Jaxyn said, motioning the Crasii forward. 'He will show you to your rooms and see to it you have everything you need.'

With a glare at Jaxyn, they turned to Warlock. The stench of the suzerain was on them both. It made his stomach churn, but he was getting used to the sensation now. Besides, Warlock had another distraction. As he turned toward the palace, he caught sight of Jaxyn leaning toward Declan Hawkes.

Only his sharp canine hearing allowed him to hear the Tide Lord telling the spymaster, 'Whatever you have to do, Hawkes, if that child is in Glaeba, I want you to find her.'

'Are you so anxious to appease Caelum, my lord?'

'Appease be damned,' the Tide Lord replied in a low voice. 'I want you to find her and then I want you to kill her. Under no circumstances is that man to be allowed to take the throne of Caelum.'

'If you would follow me please, my lord, my lady?' Warlock said, one eye and both ears fixed, not on the Caelish suzerain, but on the conversation going on between Declan Hawkes and the Tide Lord.

'Wouldn't it be quicker and easier to just kill Lord Torfail then?' Hawkes asked. 'I mean, we've no idea

where the child is, but I can locate Torfail for you in a snap.'

Tides, that man likes to live dangerously.

Unfortunately, before Jaxyn could answer the spymaster's loaded question, the feline honour guard fell into place around them, forcing Warlock and the visitors from Caelum to turn for the palace and he heard no more of their conversation.

Once they were dry and changed, Warlock led Lord Torfail and his sister through the palace to the office of the King's Private Secretary. Tryan strode into the room, slamming the door behind him with such force he almost amputated Warlock's tail before he could snatch it clear. He then turned on Jaxyn, wasting no time on pleasantries. 'We want her back!'

'I don't have her,' Jaxyn said, looking not at Tryan, but at Elyssa. He smiled at her as if she was something rare and lovely to behold. 'It's been so long since we've seen each other, Elyssa. You look charming in that colour. I wonder why I never noticed it before.'

The young woman beamed at him, which infuriated her brother. 'Tides, Lyssa, you're not going to fall for that, are you? Jaxyn's lines are older than he is.'

'He was just being polite.'

'No, he was trying to distract you. Pay attention. Where is she, Jaxyn?'

'Hard as this may be for you to grasp, Tryan, my old friend,' Jaxyn said, taking the seat behind the desk. 'I really have no idea where your child bride is. And to be honest, until you sailed into my kingdom an hour ago demanding her back, I really couldn't have cared less about her fate. Would you like some wine?'

Jaxyn snapped his fingers at Warlock, who was waiting by the door. He hurried to the sideboard, filled three glasses which he placed on a silver tray before turning to offer the wine to the suzerain, taking care to

serve Jaxyn first. It wouldn't hurt to let Jaxyn believe Warlock was loyal to him above all others of his kind.

'Your
kingdom?'

'It will be soon enough.'

'Why should I believe you, Jaxyn?'

'What reason do I have to lie?'

'You could have taken the little girl to stop Tryan becoming King of Caelum,' Elyssa suggested, taking the wine Warlock offered her without so much as glancing at him.

'Still the family's master strategist, I see.' Tryan frowned, but Jaxyn's sarcasm went right over Elyssa's head. 'Look ... I had no idea you were even in Caelum, just as I'm quite sure you had no idea Diala and I were here in Glaeba.'

'Diala's here, too?' Tryan asked, taking a seat opposite Jaxyn. He smiled coldly. 'So you're the Minion Maker's minion, these days?'

'Only in her wildest dreams. I hear mummy's going to let you be king this time.'

'Only in Tryan's wildest dreams,' Elyssa said, taking the other seat. 'Mother is going to change the laws once Tryan is married to Nyah so she can be empress again.'

'And you're going to let her, I suppose? How forceful and manly of you, Tryan.'

'Don't think you can insult me and I'll run away crying, Jaxyn. Are you sure you don't have the girl?'

'Quite sure.'

'Someone in Glaeba does.'

'Then we'll just have to find her for you,' Jaxyn promised.

'This spymaster of yours, is he any good?'

'Who? Hawkes?' Jaxyn shrugged. 'He seems capable enough. I've not been here long enough to be certain. His mother was a whore, so the rumour goes. You and he have quite a lot in common, now I think about it.'

'Well, I hope you're right,' Tryan said, ignoring the jibe about his mother. 'Can't say I'm blessed with the same good fortune in Caelum. In fact, I'm still not entirely certain our spymaster, Ricard Li, isn't the one responsible for Nyah's disappearance.'

'Then why aren't you back home, tearing his fingernails out with a pair of horseshoe pliers, and leaving me in peace?'