398. Of favours, talents and a little threat

Cassandra Pendragon 

Helplessly I stared at the neat, shimmering, translucent columns in front of me. They could as well have been written in Ancient Chinese. Scratch that, Chinese was easier to read. A ledger… so to speak. In reality it was a crystal they had used to store the information. Who'd have thought that Aglaia and Indigorath had amassed an abundance of… well, dirt on our esteemed rulers over the last years that could rival anything Marlon Brando's Godfather had ever dreamed of? By the Great Fox, infidelity, murder, treason… the list was practically endless. "How," I stammered.

"You'd be surprised what a pretty face and a few glasses of wine can accomplish," the vixen laughed. We were still on deck, off to the side, while the crew was finally heaving the long, smooth canon barrels through the large trapdoors. With more enthusiasm than skill, I might add, which resulted in quite the ruckus and a veritable barrage of curses. Distractedly I took the bait and presented her with an ardent smile:

"Are you quite sure I don't already know?" She swallowed visibly, a faint blush rising to her pristine, alabaster cheeks.

"I… never mind." She deflated and asked quite seriously: "what do you think?"

"If used properly this is more than enough to topple a few ruling families, never mind making a single one stay the hell away from my friends. But honestly, how? Unless you've slept with every official on the islands I can't even begin to fathom how you've managed to cobble it all together."

"I'll have you know I'm quite faithful," she pouted before she shot me a sideway glance and added: "with one exception." I chose to ignore the unspoken invitation. What could I even have said? "Anyways," she continued hurriedly when she saw my reaction or rather the glaring lack thereof, "Indigorath is clever. More so than you apparently give him credit for. I brought a few seemingly unconnected tidbits home and he managed to turn them into a coherent picture. I don't think anybody realised that they had told me more than they should have. In truth they hadn't. Only when put together did the stories become more than idle gossip. I wouldn't have managed without Indi. It's probably him you should be impressed with." This time I couldn't stop myself and cocked an eyebrow:

"And yet you've invited me into your bed… for the second time now. How come?" She shrugged with a brave attempt at nonchalance but her burning cheeks gave her away.

"We've talked about it quite a few times ever since you've stood in the way of a dying mountain for us, ever since you've burned a star to keep us safe. Anyone who's willing and able to do as much doesn't count." I couldn't help but chuckle:

"Does that mean I can look forward to an invitation from him as well?" Her smile was only slightly taut.

"You're not quite as good at concealing your distaste, dare I say revulsion, as you seem to believe. If you could look at him without sneering, though…" Good Lord, apparently I had dodged a bullet there without ever knowing. I had to admit, though, it was a testament to the slug's character that I hadn't even noticed. The more I came to know of him, if not necessarily from him, the more I understood why Aglaia valued him that much. Enough to overlook his godawful, creepy appearance. Just thinking about the worm and her in the dark made me shiver. Her silky, glistening skin against his rubbery hide, slender limbs squashed under… nope, not going there.

I shook my head to dislodge the intrusive image and muttered: "sorry. I hope he doesn't take it personal." It had never been my intention to insult him. It wasn't his fault that he looked like Jabba the friggin Hut. Come to think of it, it wasn't my fault either that he made my skin crawl. But I should have done a better job of hiding it. Millions of years of experience and all that.

"How can he not? He doesn't hold it against you, though. He knows what he is. And for that matter so do I. But we can't choose the skin we're born into, can we?"

"No… unfortunately we can't. Should I…"

"Talk to him? Yes. I'm sure you'd enjoy it. Apologise? There's no need. You're not the first and you won't be the last who can't look past his monstrous heritage."

"You make me sound like a spoiled brat," I complained softly. "Then again, maybe I am. You're right, I don't need to apologise but I should. Before I leave, even. Where is he, anyways?"

"In his own way charming the dark skinned, scarred fighter you've brought. Nightshade, right? They're getting along pretty well. They have more in common than meets the eye." Of course they had. Damn it, I had all but forgotten the former Captain. With the Broken Wheel gone he must have felt like a third… well, wheel. No wonder the slug… Indigorath had cozied up to him. Luckily he wasn't privy to anything I wouldn't want the Purple Worm to know. Probably. Holy hells, I couldn't even keep track anymore of whom I had told what. Worse, I was struggling to keep up with everyone I owed, had met or wanted to have a heart to heart with, once I'd have the chance.

"I need a break," I muttered under my breath. "A day would be lovely, a century deserved." And here I was, spreading my wings to rush head first towards the next walking calamity. How often could you even smash your head against a wall without either breaking? With a frustrated sigh I told the vixen: "just as well." I returned the whitish crystal to her, the sparkling lights dissipating as soon as it vanished into her dress. I breathed in deeply, the rising stench of the city more than enough to tell me were getting close without turning around. A quarter of an hour, tops, before the ship would touch down amongst the skeletal remains of the harbour.

"You never really meant to leave after a week, did you," I asked out of the blue. Aglaia frowned in confusion:

"Where's this coming from?" 

"The only sentence Indigorath uttered where I know he was telling the truth. I'm hunted and we need help. I guess his family is closer than you want us to believe. How bad is it?" She eyed me shyly before she explained in a single breath:

"Bad. They haven't bothered us for a while… for years but one of the advantages of your little quest is that it's very hard to do anything major amongst the islands without us knowing. Have you… have you heard about the brewing war to the north?"

"I… you probably don't mean the fey and elves, do you? Right, the central atoll. I've heard they are clashing over one unimportant island or the other. Supposedly they've found a new metal there and everyone with a claim is getting ready to forcefully take a slice of the pie. Is that about right?"

"Pretty accurate, except it isn't some kind of metal. Who's told you that? Anyways, it's more like a crystal that can be worked like metal. From what I know it's capacity for mana is practically limitless and… whatever is stored inside doesn't dissipate, not in the slightest." It was my turn to frown. A perfect magical battery? No wonder they were bashing their skulls in to get their hands on it. If what she said was true a tiny morsel of the stuff could make or break a kingdom. Think about it. Have your mages pour their energies into it whenever they've capped their stores. After a single rotation you'd have doubled the mana available in your empire and it's only going to grow from there. Holy fuck… materials like that did indeed exist. My own spear and the weapons Reia was still cradling like newborns close by were made of something similar. But usually they could only be found in the void, a crystallisation of transcendent forces turned solid over time.

I would have loved to laugh it off, chuck it up to a mortal's exaggeration, but… Ancalagon, the Arete family, the cataclysm… goddamn Gabriel. There had been so much transcendent intervention on our world over time that it had probably become as saturated as Earth. More so… Amon! No wonder we hadn't heard of him in days. He wasn't licking his wounds, chances were he was out and about, desperately trying to get his hands on the stuff. It wouldn't save him if we were ever going to come face to face but I didn't even dare imagine what he could cook up with a resource like that. Establishing a bridge across the ocean would turn into a trifle… unless Gabriel intervened. Damn it, I really had to find my sister and beg. Beg her to swallow her grudges, at least for a while, and help us. If she wasn't prepared to fight with us, something I thought about as likely as Michael suddenly discovering his conscience, she might be persuaded to prevent anything from crossing the waves. I shivered when I imagined what she would ask for that little favour. A pound of flesh? An eye? My youth? There really was no telling.

"Cassy," the vixen asked worriedly and gently took my hand. "What's the matter? You're pale like a sheet."

"I… are you quite sure you aren't mistaken," I rasped. "How did you find out?" With a satisfied twinkle in her eye, that could have driven me up the walls considering my stomach felt like I had just swallowed something really cold and really wiggly, she said:

"We were handed a piece when it was discovered. We were lucky. Indi has it embedded in his forehead. So… yes, I'm quite sure. He's been pouring his strength in for months now and the pea sized thing isn't even remotely full. I don't know if there's a limit… you're the only person I can think of who might be able to find out. But I'd rather not have you blow off my husband's head." The ghost of a smile tugged on the corners of her mouth but when she saw my rigid expression she immediately continued:

"That's also the reason why we want to leave again… if you'd have us, we'd like to return, though, but we can't allow his siblings to get their hands on that island. They're backing different lines of the royal family, hoping to claim the prize for themselves." Never mind the damned slugs, they could have the island for all I cared, but I couldn't allow Amon to get his hands on it. I'd rather raze the entire atoll to the ocean flower, burn it into oblivion and ash and live with the heartache.

"Gods," I cursed softly, my trepidation slowly turning into anger. Good, considering the days ahead I preferred wrathful to weepy any day of the week. I closed my eyes and turned away, waiting for the flashing sparks of silver and blue to fade away. "You can't stay here," I finally pressed out, my voice thrumming with just a hint of power. "But you won't go alone, either. If Sera wants to become a part of this family she'll have to work for it and risk her scaly hide," I added more calmly as I went through our options. Viyara and Aurelia would have been my preferred choice but there was no way in hell the dragoness…

"Assuming makes an ass out of you and me," her voice interrupted me scathingly and my eyes flew open. The delicate hybrid had walked up without me realising and was apparently more than happy to scold me publicly. "I'm not going to leave you without a reason but that's different. There's a chance Quenda and Narros will insist on accompanying me, though. They've come here because of me in the first place and while they can't complain while I'm with you I don't think they'll let me run off on my own." That wasn't going to happen either way. 

"Neither will I. Take them with you. That's what? Two true dragons, a Purple Worm, a kitsune, Aurelia and you? Even if I'm right and the Emperor is already there you'll always have a chance to call for help." "Call you and Ahri, you mean…"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. And you will. Promise me, young lady…"

"Umm…," Aglaia tapped my shoulder and interrupted timidly. "I think I'm lost… what's going on?"

"We're trying to decide who'll keep your tails from being clipped," Viyara explained curtly and rolled her eyes. "I thought you were oh so well informed? You did figure out who has had our angels on the run ever since I've met them, didn't you? It's hardly imaginable that he won't come knocking, if he isn't already close by. A potentially limitless reservoir of power has a tendency to attract unsavoury characters. And Amon surely is close to the top of the list. Come to think of it… why isn't everybody and their kin already lining up for a fight? A discovery like that should draw in dragons, fey and whomever else you can think of like moths are drawn to the light." The vixen's head swayed from left to right pensively and the colour gradually drained from her cheeks.

"Most likely because they don't know? The discovery was an accident four weeks ago. An old goldmine caved and the miners were buried. When they desperately searched for a way out they went deeper and accidentally stumbled across a sparkling vein, deep within the mountain. It was fluorescent so they brought a few pieces to light their way. Two made it out in the end. Their story can't have spread much further than to the neighbouring islands. We only know of it because we have enough dirt on the local duke to ensure he shares every interesting tidbit with us immediately. That's also how Indi got his sample. It's one of the two the miners had with them."

"What happened to the other one," I asked but she only shrugged.

"No clue. The duke claimed the second miner had sold it but he didn't investigate. Even from a preliminary analysis he knew that this would produce ripples far beyond his pay grade. He's determined to keep his head down and sway with the wind."

"Then… how can you be sure that Indigorath's siblings are getting involved?" She flinched.

"Three of them have chased us off. That's hard to forget or misinterpret."

"And you still plan to return," I asked incredulously.

"To be honest, we thought we could convince you to come along." With a dazzling smile in Viyara's direction she added: "but I'm sure your precious ward will keep us safe just as easily."

"You don't know who might have gotten wind of a substance that could potentially change the world, but you had the time immaculately dissect who I am," the dragoness retorted suspiciously. "I can't remember Cassy or me telling you…" Aglaia raised her small hand.

"I didn't need you to tell me and we haven't payed off someone close to you, either, if that's what you're anxious about. It's just written all over her when she talks to you. As for you…" her words trailed off but the mischievous albeit slightly forced wink she added made sure Viyara was aware that she had seen through the dragoness' own tumultuous emotions quickly enough.

"Great," the slender hybrid huffed, a small tongue of golden fire with an unyielding core of silver escaping her luscious lips. Turning to me she asked curiously: "not all kitsune can sprout wings, can they?" I grinned.

"No, they can't. Which is why you won't throw her overboard."

"A pity," she hissed, the flames much more pronounced this time around as they slithered uncomfortably close to Aglaia before they petered out. "I'm starting to understand my relatives, though. Being mocked by your breakfast isn't a desirable experience." With sparkling eyes the vixen pretended to quiver and took a step back, inclining her head submissively.

"It hasn't been my intention to mock you, mighty dragoness. Pray tell. How can I ever repent for my mistake?" Even though her inflection had only been half serious Viyara's face splint into a predatory smile. Apparently she was going to take her by her word, no matter what.