“Okay, two questions,” I said, taking off my jewelry and tossing it on the table, much to Peri’s delight. “First, how did they get in here to steal the knife? And second, who would be important enough to get me tossed in the dungeon forever if they were killed?”
“I’ll question everyone and see if they noticed a stranger, but it never occurred to us to put a guard at the door of the changing room during your act. The kitchen is always a madhouse in the evenings, and sometimes the customers use it as a shortcut to the privy. Anyone could have slipped in here unnoticed,” Marcus said.
He was right, I realized. I’d seen it myself. Finding one particular man was a hopeless cause. We needed to concentrate on the second of my questions, the part about who they were going to kill.
“So who would be the most likely target?” I asked. “It would have to be someone important, someone whose death would further their plans.”
“That narrows it down a bit,” Reynard said, his face hard. “Putting myself in their place, there are only four men who fill their needs. Chief Lowden, Jancen, Braxus, and the king.”
“I think we can cross Braxus off the list,” I told him wryly. “But there’s one you forgot to mention. You. Everyone knows we’re…close, and you’re totally loyal to the king. There’s no doubt you’d do anything within your power to protect him. So, it would be in Strand’s best interest to get you out of his way.”
“I can take care of myself,” Reynard said. “You forget, if someone intended me harm I would know it instantly. They can’t take me by surprise, and that would be the only way Strand and his henchmen could hurt me.”
“Strand has a reputation as a superior swordsman,” I told him.
“I’m better. I’d know every thrust and parry before he made it,” he told me, his arrogant tone bringing a smile to my lips in spite of the circumstances.
“Okay, you’ll always be on guard while you’re awake, and you’ll make damn sure they can’t get into your quarters when you’re asleep. But we need to talk to the other men. I’d planned to speak with Jancen and Lowden tomorrow. Now I think we should go tonight.”
Reynard nodded. “It would be best if you leave the king to me. It wouldn’t be wise to let him know you’re a Federation agent yet.”
“I think you’re both forgetting something,” Marcus said. “We have no idea when this will happen. For all we know, someone could already be dead.”
“Maybe,” I said, heading toward the screen so I could change out of my costume. “But I still have to try. It hasn’t been that long since they took the knife, so there’s still a chance we can stop them. And while it may sound harsh, the more people who know what Strand is up to, the less likely it is he can place the blame on me.”
The two men talked quietly while I changed and folded my costume. “Are the Bashalde still camped at the gathering field?” I asked Reynard when I rejoined them.
“Yes. Normally they only stay one eightday, but Lowden has postponed their leaving this time in hopes of making further progress with the king concerning the ban.”
“Good. Peri, leave the jewelry and let’s go.”
She pouted for a second, her gaze going from me to the silver and back, then she came to roost on my shoulder and we all left the Terpsichore together.
A light rain had come and gone, leaving the air clean and full of the scent of damp earth. Most of the bigger clouds had moved on, leaving gauze-like wisps to wrap around the visible stars scattered across the night sky. Luckily, it was warm enough that I didn’t need a cloak.
Since it was still early enough for people to be out and about on the main streets of Bastion City, we kept our conversation to mundane matters or remained silent as we walked. By the time we reached the field behind the castle where the Bashalde were camped, the hem of my skirt was wet enough to be irritating, but not soaked enough to drag the material down.
I peered through the darkness at the tents huddled together, some well lit with sunstone lamps, others dark. “Which one is Jancen’s?”
“The blue-and-gold-striped tent there, near Chief Lowden’s.” Reynard gestured. “Its lamps are still on, so Jancen hasn’t retired yet.”
A young boy darted past us and the commander snagged him by the collar. “Tell Jancen that Reynard du’Marr wishes a meeting.”
With a quick grin, the boy pocketed the coin Reynard tossed him, and dashed into the tent. A moment later, Jancen stuck his head out, surveyed our somber party, and then reached back to close the tent flap before he stepped out to meet us.
“What’s wrong?”
“We need an audience with you and Chief Lowden, in private. And Zeller can’t know we’re talking to Lowden. It’s an emergency, Jancen,” I told him.
He studied me for a moment, as though trying to make up his mind. “Does this have something to do with the Federation?”
I glanced around quickly, but no one was near. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know when we can’t be overheard.”
“Do you know the clearing with the lightning-struck tree near the middle, on the other side of the stream?” he asked Reynard. When the commander nodded, he continued. “Wait for us in the center. It’s broad enough that anyone trying to hear our conversation would have to show themselves. I’ll bring Lowden there.”
He hurried away toward the green-and-gold tent that housed the chief of the Bashalde while Marcus and I followed Reynard to the field in question. I watched a last remnant of cloud play hide and seek with the moon while we waited and noted the fog that crawled knee-high over the ground in this area.
It seemed to take forever and I’d almost decided Jancen hadn’t been able to talk Lowden into coming. Suddenly, Peri fluttered her wings and chirruped, her head pointed in the direction we’d come from. A second later, I saw two men step into a shaft of moonlight as they walked from between the trees. One of them carried a sunstone lamp partially shielded and I studied them as they made their way nearer until I was sure it was Jancen and Lowden. As far as I could tell, no one was trailing them, but there were woods all around us except for the path to the clearing.
Marcus and Reynard flanked me as the men stopped in front of us, Lowden staring at me so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d asked to examine my teeth.
“To my knowledge, we all look perfectly normal,” I told him. “Well, except for Kiera Smith. There should be a law against making women that beautiful.”
Although he didn’t move, I saw the shock in his eyes. “Yes, Chief Lowden, I’m aware that you know who and what I am.”
“Well, I don’t,” Jancen snapped. “So why don’t you tell me?”
“Of course.” I tilted my head in acknowledgment. “My name is Echo Adams. I’m an agent for the Bureau of Alien Affairs. The Federation sent me here to retrieve something that was stolen from one of our ships. I’m sorry I had to deceive you, Jancen. If I were Bashalde, I’d certainly want to be part of your family.”
He nodded. “I suspected you weren’t August’s daughter, that you were Federation. But what did you mean, ‘what’ you are?”
“I’m a GEP. That means I was created in a lab to be faster, stronger, and smarter than Naturals. And because the man who created me thinks he’s a god, he altered my genetic makeup so far as to give me psychic abilities.”
“Why come to us?” Jancen asked. “We have nothing that belongs to the Federation. We couldn’t reach your ships even if the thought occurred to us.”
“I’m here tonight because your chief is conspiring with Losif Strand, the man responsible for the stolen item.”
Jancen turned to look at Lowden, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Is this true?”
“Yes, to a point.” He gazed around our circle. “I don’t know anything about a stolen object. Strand came to me and offered a deal. He would get the king to lift the ban on Madrea if I would agree to give him an exclusive contract for the exportation of our sunstones.”
“Why?” Reynard asked him.
&nb
sp; “Every cycle my people get poorer, Commander. You know this, you’ve seen it. All we have of value are our animals and the sunstone deposits. Yet the sunstones are no good to us unless we can sell them to the Federation. At least once a cycle we petition the king to lift the ban, a ban we had no part in creating, and each time he refuses. We’re desperate. I don’t like forcing the king’s hand, but it seemed the only choice left to us.”
“You could have come to us, Lowden,” Reynard told him. “Politaus is a compassionate man. If your people need help, all you have to do is ask.”
“And give up our tents and wagons, give up our desert and build stone houses outside your cities so we can wait for handouts? Bah!” He spit to one side. “This world belongs to us as much as it does the Madreans, but does your king give us a say in its laws? No, he doesn’t. Why should we be bound by laws that we do not agree with and had no part in creating? The Bashalde are a separate people. We make our own laws. If we want to deal with the Federation, we will and no Madrean ban will stop us.”
Jancen had started nodding halfway through Lowden’s speech, but I ignored his agreement. “I’m not here to interfere in the internal politics of Madrea,” I told him. “That’s for you to work out with the king if we survive long enough.”
Both men stared at me. “Why wouldn’t we survive?” Lowden asked.
“You don’t trust Strand, do you?” I asked the chief.
He hesitated. “No, I don’t. He’s becoming more arrogant and secretive every day. If there were any other way to contact the Federation, I would have nothing to do with him.”
“You have good instincts,” I told him. “Strand intends to depose Politaus and replace him with Braxus. When he does, they’ll wrest control of the sunstones away from the Bashalde.”
“But Braxus’s infirmity makes it impossible for him to rule,” Jancen protested.
“Which brings us to the item they stole from the Federation,” I replied. “It’s a black quartz crystal infested with a very powerful alien life form, a life form capable of wielding psychic forces the likes of which you’ve never seen before. And only a specially prepared female can communicate with or use this crystal.”
“A female like you?” Lowden asked.
“Yes, like me. But Strand couldn’t control an adult female like me. I’d break him into tiny pieces if he tried. So he’s been kidnapping and bringing in young girls with psi abilities to try and use the crystal. He’s killed four so far, and is holding two more captive. Unless I stop him and retrieve the crystal, they’ll die, too.”
Both men looked horrified. “Why do you allow his heart to still beat?” Lowden growled, his hand going reflexively to his sword hilt.
“Because we don’t know where the girls are, or where he’s hidden the crystal. Plus, Strand isn’t a lowly black marketeer, as he’s presented himself to you. He’s the leader of Helios One, and there will be political ramifications if I just kill him without proof of his crimes.”
This time, I was the one who hesitated. “You’ve gone this far, you might as well tell them the rest,” Lillith said. “Their lives are at stake, too.”
She was right, they really should know. I took a deep breath. “We have a bigger problem than just the girls. You see, Strand has very badly underestimated what being locked up in a stasis box will do to the crystal. She’s beyond angry, and she’s gathering more power every day. The next chance she has, she’s going to strike out and nothing will stop her. Take my word for it, when she strikes, there will be nothing left of this solar system but a dust cloud.”
They were silent for a minute, then Jancen spoke. “Is there no way for you to stop this crystal?”
“I’m going to try. And there’s another crystal on another planet that has formed a symbiosis with a woman like me. They are watching Madrea, and will do what they can when the time comes. We hope it will be enough.”
“So you are our only chance of survival,” Lowden said. “If anything happens to you, we’re doomed.”
I nodded. “Pretty much, unless you have another plan.”
“Strand has launched a plot against you.” The words rushed out of him. “I don’t know what it is, only that he plans to get you out of his way. He assured me you wouldn’t be harmed or I wouldn’t have gone along with him. Now everything has changed.”
“Yes, we’re aware of his plot, and that’s the other reason we decided to seek you out tonight,” I acknowledged. “Strand had someone steal my knife. We believe he’s going to murder someone important and see to it that I’m blamed for the death. Both of you are potential targets, as are the commander and King Politaus. You should be on your guard at all times. And before I forget, do not trust Zeller. I don’t know what he’s been promised, but as you suspected, the man is betraying you to Strand. He knows about the crystal and Strand’s plan for its use. I suspect he was the one who threw the knife at me the other day in Cammi’s tent.”
Jancen went stiff, seeming to grow several inches at the mention of Zeller’s name. “There is only one thing he covets. Leadership of the Bashalde.” He turned to Lowden. “You must send your son into hiding immediately. Zeller is your cousin. The only thing that stands between him and his goal are you and Jolem. We can’t risk losing both of you.”
“It will be done as soon as we return,” Lowden agreed. “I will personally see to Zeller.” When he reached for his knife, both Reynard and Marcus braced themselves, but the chief merely offered the blade to me hilt first.
“I regret my part in the troubles that Strand has brought to Madrea,” he said. “If you’ll allow it, I’d like to replace the knife that was stolen from you. If the need arises, Jancen and I will bear witness to your innocence, and the Bashalde stand ready to aide you with your mission. Whatever is required of us, we will do without question.”
“Thank you.” I took the knife and sheathed it. “I accept both the knife and the offer of assistance. If we make it through this, I’ll personally see to it that the Federation supplies a trained mediator for talks between you and the king.”
Marcus arched a brow at me, but I didn’t have time to react.
“Echo, I’m picking up a heat signature—” The rest of Lillith’s words were cut off as Peri hissed, her eyes going blood red as she launched from my shoulder like a rocket and shot toward a section of woods to our left. From her mind I got the image of a man releasing the string of a bow that was aimed directly at Lowden.
The whistle of the arrow was already loud when I went into overdrive. Luckily, Lowden wasn’t that far away. In two steps I grabbed him and tossed him out of danger.
Unfortunately, I was busy moving him and didn’t have time to stop the arrow. It hit me in the right shoulder, going in my back with the tip protruding in front just below my clavicle.
I staggered and dropped out of overdrive, the pain fierce and hot as it surged through me, taking me to my knees. From the direction of the woods a man screamed and then came the sound of something large crashing through brush.
There was a moment of silence as everyone took in what had happened. Of course, Reynard was the first to react.
“Echo!” Fear laced his voice as he dropped down beside me.
“I’ll be fine,” I told him through clenched teeth. “Just get it out.”
The others gathered round as he examined the arrow. “You saved my life,” Lowden said, voice shaking. “How can I ever repay you?”
“Find Zeller,” I ground out, “and kill him. He’s the one who shot the arrow. There’s no way he could have heard us, but just the fact that we were meeting must have told him we’re joining forces.”
“Let me get a healer,” Jancen said, his brow furrowed with worry.
“I don’t need one,” I told him, and then winced as Reynard jostled the shaft.
“I need to break off the fletching,” he told me. “It’s going to hurt when I push it through.”
“It already hurts.”
“This will be worse.” With no f
urther warning, he snapped the end off the arrow and shoved it through my shoulder with his left hand, the right one pulling from the front.
A shocked gasp escaped my lips, and if I hadn’t already been on the ground, I would have fallen. Blood, hot and sticky, coated the front of my top and ran down my back, but slowed quickly as the pain was gradually replaced with soothing warmth.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. That’s much better.”
Lowden and Jancen were staring at the spot where the arrow had entered, awe on their faces. “It’s healed,” Jancen whispered. “Your skin is just slightly pink where the arrow pierced.”
Lowden glanced at my face. “I wasn’t sure I believed all they told me about you.”
“Believe it,” I told him, pushing to my feet while Reynard steadied me with a hand on my arm. “And they don’t know the half of it. I’m not even sure I know everything I’m capable of yet. My creator didn’t let me in on his design plans.”
I glanced toward the woods as Peri winged her way back across the clearing, radiating smug satisfaction. “She scratched him up some before he got away,” I told them. “Lillith, are you tracking him?”
Jancen and Lowden both looked around. “Who is Lillith?” Jancen asked when they saw no one else.
“My ship. She’s a self-aware artificial intelligence.” I paused to listen to her response. “She says she tracked him to the river using the heat his body gives off, but when he got wet it cooled him down and she lost him.”
“Leave Zeller to me,” Lowden said. “I’ll send my best men to track him on foot. We’ll find him.”
“Then we’ll leave you to your hunt,” I said. “I’m in desperate need of something to eat. That’s the only downside of healing so fast.”
“Come with us back to the gathering,” Jancen said. “It’s closer and it would be our honor to see you fed.”
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine until we get to Marcus’s house. I’m sure you both have a lot to do tonight.”