I nodded.
“Eamaliel Anguis led the team who recovered it. When he returned to Mid, the survivors of that team and a few select Guardians tried to destroy the Saghred. They failed. Lucius Cavan, the Conclave Archmagus at that time, ordered Eamaliel to hide the Saghred to keep it out of the wrong hands. Eamaliel didn’t want to spend the rest of his life sealed in a vault, so he had a beacon made so he could guard the stone from a distance. But rather than an open beacon, which would allow anyone who wore it to find the Saghred, he had it keyed to himself.”
“Not very trusting.”
“He had reason,” Eiliesor said.
“Lucius Cavan tried to take it?”
“He wasn’t even the first in line.”
Garadin always said a man didn’t have to have power to be corrupted, but it sure happened faster when he did.
“Eamaliel expected it,” Eiliesor said. “But when he hid the Saghred, he did the same with himself. Lucius charged Eamaliel with desertion, but Eamaliel didn’t see it that way. The Saghred was his charge, his duty. There were others on Mid to take his place there, only he had the connection to the Saghred. So, he devoted his life to guarding it. That was nine hundred years ago. Neither have been heard from again, until rumors surfaced a few months ago. As a protector of Eamaliel’s legacy, I take those rumors—and my duty—very seriously.”
His expression was just as serious. Cancel that, it was downright grim.
“And that duty is?” I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know.
“Find the beacon, find the Saghred, and return both to Mid.”
A question occurred to me. “If only Eamaliel can use the beacon, how were you planning to find the Saghred—that is, until I came along?”
“Eamaliel keyed the beacon to himself,” Eiliesor said. “So we’ve had to do it the hard way. As a seeker, I’m sure you’re aware that when something is moved, it leaves a trail, both magical and mundane. We followed both. They led us here.”
“And your mundane trail included…?”
“People see and hear things. People talk.”
“In other words, old-fashioned footwork. I do a lot of that myself.”
The Guardian shrugged. “Time consuming, but it gets the job done. Unfortunately the Khrynsani know as much as we do. And as far as your connection to Eamaliel goes, it appears Sarad Nukpana knows more. We’ve traced the Saghred to Mermeia, but no farther.”
“Mermeia’s not small.”
“We’ve noticed.” He paused. “There’s only so much more we can do on our own. Will you help us find the Saghred?”
I leaned back in the chair. “Chigaru Mal’Salin asked me to do the same thing last night.”
“I’m not Chigaru Mal’Salin.”
“I noticed.”
“The only way to remove the beacon is to find the Saghred.”
I kind of thought it’d be something like that.
“Just out of curiosity, what do you want with the Saghred?” I asked the Guardian. “Everyone else has plans once they get their hands on it. What are yours?”
“To keep it out of anyone’s hands,” he said. “If you agree to help us find it, we’ll decide if it’s secure in its present resting place. I would rather not disturb it unless it’s absolutely necessary. To move it means drawing attention to it.”
“And that would be bad.”
“Very much so. Lucius may be long dead, but there are others eager to take his place. If the Saghred is secure, we will leave it where it lies, along with your beacon, of course. If the beacon behaves normally, once it is touching the object to which it was keyed, you will be able to remove it.”
“Let me see if I understand this. I have to touch something called Soul Thief before I can take this thing off?”
“That is the way a beacon typically works.”
“That’s not the way I work, typically or otherwise.”
“The other option is to go though the rest of your life, greatly abbreviated though it would be, with the beacon hanging around your neck. I wouldn’t advise that option.”
“And if it isn’t in a secure location?” I asked, though I was almost certain I didn’t want to know the answer.
“Then we have the means to take it with us,” Eiliesor said. “There is a chest which held the Saghred during its time on the Isle of Mid. We brought it with us.”
“The Saghred and the beacon both in the chest.”
“That is correct.”
“But not me.” I wanted confirmation on that point.
Eiliesor’s lips creased in a smile. “Your presence would not be required.”
“And I would be free to go.”
“Yes.”
Best news I’d had in days.
He stood in a whisper of silk. “May I see the beacon?”
Unlike the goblin prince, Mychael Eiliesor asked nicely enough. I stood and pulled the beacon from its hiding place under my shirt, and held it by its chain. It was completely solid and it shouldn’t have been. I wasn’t here, so it shouldn’t be either. That should have bothered me, but it didn’t. I was already way beyond bothered.
Eiliesor closed the distance between us in two strides. I would have backed up, but there was the small matter of a chair behind me and only his silk robe between us. It was a very nice robe. Matched his eyes.
He reached out to touch the slowly spinning disk, but stopped just short of making physical contact. Like Janek, Mychael Eiliesor didn’t get to where he was by being stupid.
“Not very impressive, is it?” I managed. Suddenly there wasn’t nearly enough air in the room. “Looks can be deceiving.”
His blue eyes were on mine. “I’m not easily deceived, and I am impressed.”
I was talking about the beacon. I don’t think he was.
He looked down at the disk. “Eamaliel chose a perfect disguise,” he murmured in admiration.
I closed my fingers around the disk and dropped it into the front of my shirt. For a moment, I thought Eiliesor was going to go in after it. My look stopped him.
“A disguise isn’t worth much if everyone knows what it is,” I told him. “Too many people want to get their hands on this thing. Since I can’t take it off, they want to get their hands on me. I can’t let that happen.”
“And it won’t,” the Guardian assured me.
I didn’t like his tone. Or the narrowing of his eyes. It painted pictures of me being tossed over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried off to Mid. I chose to ignore that thought for now, and tried even harder to ignore that I think I liked that thought. For now I had the very real and immediate problems of getting Eamaliel’s handiwork from around my neck and keeping myself from becoming anyone else’s permanent guest.
Too much to do in one night. And too much to do by myself. I was good, but I did have limits. I looked up at the Guardian. I didn’t need the beacon’s help to tell me exactly what he was thinking.
“I want to put you under protective custody,” Eiliesor said.
There was a lot of that going around.
“That would involve me locked in a room with a bunch of Guardians outside, right?”
One corner of his mouth tipped upward. “I believe two would be sufficient.”
“I’ve made other arrangements.”
“The same arrangements you had last night?”
“No, these are new and improved arrangements.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it’d have to do until I came up with something else.
“I should hope so,” Eiliesor said. “As long as you wear that beacon, I can’t allow you to remain unprotected. I can’t risk Nukpana capturing you.”
“You mean capturing the beacon.”
“Unfortunately, you and the beacon are one and the same.”
“Unfortunate is right,” I muttered.
“Nukpana knows what you’re capable of now. He was caught off guard once.” Eiliesor gave me a level look. “He won’t be caught unawares again.”
He was right. I didn’t want to admit it, but I certainly couldn’t deny it. I just nodded. A couple of Guardians to watch my back might not be all that bad. The blond one I had met last night seemed like a nice, homicidal sort. And it wasn’t like Eiliesor could act immediately on any impulse he might have toward keeping me prisoner. Since my body was still onboard the Fortune, he couldn’t keep me here against my will. At least I didn’t think so. Then again, a lot of what I deemed impossible two days ago had turned out to be all too possible. The way my luck had been running, this would turn out to be one of them. And if I looked in those blue eyes for much longer, I might decide house arrest was a simply wonderful idea.
“I’m not opposed to a little extra protection,” I said. “The only way I can protect myself from Nukpana and his like is by running or using the Saghred, or more accurately, letting it use me. It happened last night, and I never want it to happen again.”
“Then we’re in agreement. I’ll have a few of my men keep you under surveillance.”
“A tentative agreement,” I clarified, like I could stop him from having me followed. “I have family and friends who I won’t endanger any longer. Some are capable of protecting themselves; some are not. Nukpana wouldn’t hesitate to use them to get to me. I can’t allow that to happen, either.”
“The young spellsinger?” Eiliesor asked.
I nodded. I didn’t like the way Sarad Nukpana had looked at Piaras last night. I liked it even less knowing what I knew about Sarad Nukpana.
“I can provide protection.”
“Thank you,” I said, and meant it. “My family is taking care of it. But I do appreciate your offer.”
“I appreciate your cooperation.” His voice was oddly gentle. At least he seemed to realize that he had just turned what was left of my life upside down. I think he expected a fight from me. I would have liked to have given him one, but the truth was I needed to save my fight for when it was really necessary. Sarad Nukpana was out there.
