“You really need to hire a cleaning service, Tam,” I said. “Other than that, nice house, very impressive.”

The goblin raised one dark brow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Piaras and I were guests at your out-of-the-way cottage last night.”

His expression darkened. “I suspected who would be staying there, so I thought it prudent to ask her a few questions. Apparently, I should have asked more. What she did tell me, I really didn’t like, but it wasn’t enough to refuse her request. I probably should have. Was she there last night?”

“Not that I know of,” I said. “But her wards were. She left her prince in a cozy, well-protected nest.”

Tam frowned.

“Did she mention what they were doing in town?” I asked.

“She was predictably elusive on that point. Knowing about Sathrik’s visit told me that the less I knew about Chigaru’s visit, the better.”

“Did she ask anything of you other than your house?”

“No.”

“So she didn’t mention the beacon or the Saghred.”

“Not a breath. I found that out from Mychael.”

“Thanks in part to you,” Eiliesor told me, “things have moved faster than we anticipated. We’ve had to catch up. Fortunately, the Khrynsani are still a few steps behind.”

“I’m sure my former teacher thought I’d refuse to help if I knew the entire plan,” Tam continued. “She would have been right. She’s honorable and would never knowingly harm anyone, but she has the misfortune of thinking that Chigaru Mal’Salin shares her morals. I’ve met the prince, and while he’s a far superior alternative to his brother, he’s still a Mal’Salin. My teacher has been known to turn a blind eye in some instances.”

“He told me he only wants to keep the Saghred from his brother,” I said.

“You spoke with him?”

“It wasn’t my idea.”

I gave him the shortened version of last night’s events.

Tam was incredulous. “And you came walking in here by yourself?”

Phaelan cleared his throat indignantly. “Me and eight of my best men hardly constitute ‘by yourself’.”

“Could you or your eight best defend Raine from a Khrynsani attack?” Tam snapped.

“Could you get a spell past your front teeth when there’s a fist coming at it?” Phaelan shot back.

“My escort was more than adequate,” I told them both. “And Paladin Eiliesor has arranged for a pair of his Guardians to become my new shadows. The two waiting outside, right?” I asked Eiliesor.

“That was the plan.”

I spread my hands. “See, plenty of protection.”

“Why her?” Tam asked Eiliesor.

“I have a theory,” was all he said.

Since that theory involved a nine-hundred-year-old Guardian being my father, it was a theory I didn’t want to think about, so I changed the subject.

“What about your spellsinger?” I asked Tam.

“What about him?”

“Who, what, when, and why did he take up kidnapping as a second career? He paid Ocnus Rancil to set me up. Since when is Ocnus working for him?”

“Ocnus works for the Mal’Salins,” Tam reminded me patiently.

“Yes, I know that; but what is Ocnus doing working…” I paused, thought and concluded in the span of two seconds.

“Your spellsinger is a Mal’Salin?” My voice felt the need to rise a couple of octaves; I felt the need to let it.

“Rahimat is my late wife’s nephew.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Then again, I could.

“Uncle Tam?”

“Well, yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t see where it would improve the situation any; so, no I didn’t.”

“You mean improve your situation.”

“Same thing.”

“Hardly.”

“I had no idea Rahimat was working for Chigaru Mal’Salin, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Tam said. “Though I’m sure his being in Mermeia isn’t a coincidence. Planting him to spy on me isn’t like Primari Nuru, so I’d imagine it was the prince’s doing. She trusts me; the prince does not. Rahimat was on summer break from the Conclave college. He’s a spellsinger, and he told me he wanted to earn some extra money, so I put him to work.”

I had to bite my tongue. Uncle Tam wasn’t Rahimat’s only source of summer fun money. Most kids get a normal summer job. Mal’Salin teenagers kidnap and dabble in world domination. I guess they had to get on-the-job training somewhere.

“I wonder if he’ll show up for work tonight,” was what I said.

“From what you’ve told me, it’s unlikely,” Tam said. His eyes darkened even further. “But if he does, I can guarantee he’ll wish he hadn’t.”

Eiliesor sat on the edge of Tam’s desk. “I’d like to know more about the note you received from Ocnus Rancil.”

“Sure. Which part?”

Tam snorted. “The part that compelled you to abandon all common sense to go meet with him.”

I squared my shoulders. “That would be the same part where he claimed to know the location of the Saghred.”

“What?” Eiliesor was suddenly like a hound on a scent.

“Except he didn’t directly refer to the Saghred,” I added. “He called it an ‘artifact.’ Knowing what I know now, I think it’s the same thing, right?”

“It is. Do you remember his exact words?”

“Don’t have to. I still have the note.” I handed it to him.

The Guardian read it. “It sounds like Master Rancil may have stumbled into some very valuable and dangerous information.”

Tam grinned. “From what I heard last night in the Goblin District, Ocnus didn’t just stumble; he fell face first. He ran out of the District this morning and hasn’t been seen since. Word has it Nukpana is looking for Ocnus. Hard.”

“If Rancil knows the Saghred’s location, why wouldn’t he just sell the information to Sarad Nukpana?” Eiliesor asked.

“Knowing Ocnus, he probably made the offer,” Tam said. “But if he’s up to his usual tricks, Nukpana wasn’t the only potential buyer. And with the Mal’Salin family split into two camps, working for the family has become even more complicated than it used to be.”

Phaelan tossed back the last of his drink. “Sounds like he’s holding out for the highest bidder.”

“Ocnus is known for playing both sides of the fence, so that wouldn’t surprise me,” I said.

Tam chuckled. “Sarad Nukpana doesn’t like to be played.”

“Anything from the rumor mill on where Ocnus has gone to ground?” I asked. If Tam didn’t know, I had a real good idea.

“Not a peep.”

“Considering who’s after him, Ocnus has every reason to claw his way under the nearest rock,” Phaelan noted.

I smiled. It was a slow smile, and it was borderline malicious.

“I think I know just which one to turn over.”

Chapter 16

No doubt Ocnus had always wanted to be popular. Now I wanted to talk to him. So did Sarad Nukpana. But somehow, I didn’t think that was the kind of popularity Ocnus had in mind.

Tracking the goblin snitch was simple enough. From time to time, Ocnus found it prudent not to be among his own people. Nothing like having a deal go sour to compel you to make yourself scarce. When the Goblin District was the last place he wanted to be, Ocnus had three favorite places to drown his sorrows: the Blind Bandit, the Sly Fox, and the Sleeping Giant. The Blind Bandit had burnt to the ground last month, the owner of the Sly Fox wanted to get his hands on Ocnus almost as much as Sarad Nukpana did, so that left the Sleeping Giant. Sure enough, Ocnus was in residence at the bar with his two hobgoblin bodyguards in tow.

Bodyguard work came easily to hobgoblins. When you’re huge, furry, fanged, and yellow-eyed, you don’t need much else as a deterrent. Ocnus’s muscle-bound bookends were good at one thing—being big. To their credit, they did it very well. But speed, either of thought or action, wasn’t a burden either one carried.

The Sleeping Giant was a dockside dive located on Cutthroat Alley. I know what it sounds like, but the locals liked the name. In fact, they thought they were being downright civic-minded by calling it what it really was. It told the nonlocal what was likely to happen to them if they dawdled there. If a nonlocal chose to ignore the warning that was their business, or life.