Lisa Shearin - Magic Lost, Trouble Found

“Peace, both of you,” Primari Nuru snapped. “All of you. We share the same goal; threatening each other does nothing to help us reach it. Please, let us all step outside.”

In my experience, an invitation to step outside has never been a good thing. That it came from a goblin primari did nothing to change my opinion.

The king’s guards making their way toward us through the press of guests might believe that I was the Countess of Eilde, but there would be questions, especially since I was in the immediate vicinity of a renegade goblin prince. His arm was locked around my waist. How much more immediate could you get? They didn’t know he was the prince. Yet. But ordering him to remove his mask would change our status pretty quick. Questions or detention meant delays. We couldn’t afford any delays.

“May we be of service, my lady?” one of them asked.

I sank back against Prince Chigaru’s chest and weakly fluttered my fan back and forth. “Thank you, but no. A warm night and too much dancing.” I offered a wan smile for their benefit. “And far too much excitement.”

The guard glanced curiously at the prince. I didn’t wait for his question.

“This gallant gentleman was kind enough to remain with me until my husband returned with refreshments. We’re old friends.” I reached up with my free hand and patted the goblin prince on the cheek.

I felt rather than heard the growl rumble low in the prince’s chest. I took the hint and removed my hand, but I took my time doing it.

Mychael stepped in close, putting himself in the line of vision between the Mal’Salin captain and Prince Chigaru. “A Caesolian red always works wonders, doesn’t it, my love?”

I smiled up at him. “Almost always.”

I took the glass in one hand and Mychael’s extended hand in the other. He drew me away, and Prince Chigaru had no choice but to release me. He sheathed the dagger behind his back and no one was any the wiser.

I took a healthy swig of wine as I stepped into the circle of Mychael’s arms. “Thank you, darling. I feel better already.”

“The cool air of the gardens will do you a world of good, my dear,” the primari suggested, looking every bit like the gallant gentleman’s maiden aunt.

I nodded. “I think that’s exactly what I need.”

Mychael held out his other hand to Primari Nuru, in courtly fashion. “Will you allow me to escort you, my lady?”

To the primari’s credit, she didn’t hesitate before placing her hand in Mychael’s. The Guardian’s hand closed over it. The prince drew in his breath with a hiss. Someone didn’t like his teacher’s decision.

Mychael and I, along with the primari, led the way onto the terrace, followed by Vegard and Prince Chigaru. Four of Chigaru’s goblin guards followed at a discreet distance. I recognized two of them from The Ruins. From the murderous looks I was getting, they remembered me, too. Once again I was going to be in a garden with goblins who didn’t like me.

Being outside was a definite improvement. If there was going to be violence, at least there was more room for it. What made me feel even better was Garadin holding the door open for us, drink in hand, looking completely relaxed. I knew the truth. He was relaxed because he was confident. Garadin had a spell that could take out everyone on the terrace. Piaras and Riston were waiting near the stone stairs leading down into the gardens. Piaras recognized our new friends. He started to come to me, but Garadin’s cautioning gesture stopped him.

“We need to leave the terrace, or disperse,” I said to no one in particular. “Both would be nice.”

“There is a gazebo in the center of the garden,” Mychael said. “It should give us the privacy we need to reach an equitable solution. The others could wait within sight and earshot for security purposes. Is that agreeable?”

“I don’t think that’s agreeable to anyone,” I said. “But right now, I’ll settle for just getting off this terrace.”

Under congenial circumstances, the gazebo would have been a perfectly lovely place for a quiet talk, or for two lovers to steal a few secretive moments together. Unfortunately neither description applied to us. Garadin, Piaras and the two Guardians waited near a small rose garden about ten feet behind us. Chigaru’s guards were at a similar distance in the opposite direction.

In a rustle of gossamer fabric, the primari seated herself on one of the stone benches. Prince Chigaru stood behind the bench at her right shoulder, his dark eyes still on me. I opted to remain standing, my eyes more or less even with his. Somehow I felt safer that way.

“You should not have come tonight, my primari,” the prince told the tiny goblin. “It is not safe for you here.”

“And your safety is assured?” she shot back, though not unkindly. “You should not worry about me.” She reached up and affectionately patted the prince’s hand on her shoulder. “Has Mistress Benares agreed to assist us?”

“We were just getting to that,” the goblin prince said.

“Perhaps I might help.”

Getting to that? Might help? This was all too strange for me. The prince made it sound as though we had just taken a pleasant turn around the dance floor, and now I felt like I was about to be interrogated by someone’s elderly grandmother.

I stood straighter, not that I had much choice in that dress. “You have a strange way of asking for help, Your Highness.” I turned to the primari. “Two nights ago, he ordered a friend of mine kidnapped to use as bait to catch me. I was told he would be killed unless I cooperated. We were then tied up, and taken against our wills into The Ruins where your darling prince threatened my friend with torture unless I agreed to help him find the Saghred.”

“Was any undue violence or coercion used against you or your friend?” Chigaru asked mildly.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I heard Piaras’s gasp of disbelief behind me.

“Undue violence?” My voice went up a couple of octaves. I couldn’t help it. “As opposed to justifiable?”

The goblin prince shook his head. “Merely necessary.”

“The ends justify the means?”

He almost smiled. “Precisely. So you do understand.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Raine,” Mychael said by way of warning.

I shot him a look, then took a breath and blew it out. I continued, but quieter. “Then tonight, His Most Serene Highness sticks a dagger in my ribs and says that unless I help him, he’ll kill me. Perhaps this type of behavior isn’t serious to a goblin, but we elves take that kind of thing personally. I know I do.”

The look the primari gave the prince was the same one Tarsilia gave Piaras when she caught him sneaking cookies before supper. Then the tiny goblin shook her head and actually made tsking sounds.

“He acted out of concern for our people,” she tried to assure me. “His methods may seem somewhat questionable, but his heart is in the right place.”

I was flabbergasted. “He has one?”

“It might be an appropriate time to apologize, dear,” Primari Nuru told the prince.

It was his turn to look appalled. I had to admit he did it well. He probably had a lot of practice.

He drew himself up imperiously. “For doing my duty as a prince of my people? For which I was viciously attacked.” He shot a scathing look at Piaras.

Piaras responded with a low growl, but from the sounds of things, Garadin and the two Guardians kept him from joining us.

“For not taking into consideration the sensibilities of your guests,” Primari Nuru helpfully clarified for him.

Prince Chigaru thought about that for a moment. Regardless of how he had considered us—guests or prisoners—it was clear that making apologies wasn’t something he had much, if any, experience with. He looked at me and cleared his throat. Then he stopped and thought some more. I knew this wasn’t easy for him, but unlike the primari, I wasn’t feeling particularly helpful. I was willing to wait as long as it took. I resisted the urge to cross my arms and tap my foot.