"Jash," I said in warning.

My friend spread his hands. "Simply pointing out the benefits of traveling with sentry dragons. No fishing necessary on our part. Heck, they can even cook what they catch if you don't mind having the outside extra crispy."

The elf pirate stood his ground. "There is no way that-"

I quickly interceded. "Phaelan, I take it Raine showed you the recording of the battle dragon on the other side of that portal on Timurus."

"Yes." He didn't know where I was going, but he'd already decided not to like it. "It was one of the biggest things I've ever seen."

"Sentry dragons are the largest we have on our world. If the invader has already brought even one of those beasts with them-"

"We're toast," Jash finished.

Phaelan and I both glared at him.

"I'll wait over here with the dragons," he said. "The ladies have a better sense of humor."

"We need all the advantage we can get," I told Phaelan. "Four sentry dragons isn't what I would call an advantage, but these are the best and most highly trained that we have. Our best pilots will be going with us. If there's a battle dragon waiting for us, we probably are toast, but I'm going to give us every chance I can at survival. I know you don't have a problem with survival."

"Never have, never will." Phaelan glanced uneasily over at the sentry dragons. "The pilots will be staying with those things?"

"Those 'things' are highly intelligent, and instinctively know when they're not liked; but yes, the pilots do stay with their mounts."

Phaelan shot a sidelong glance at the closest sentry dragon, who I could swear was smiling at the elf pirate in anticipation. Of what, I could only guess. I made a mental note that that one wouldn't be on the Kraken with Phaelan.

The elf sighed. "If we have to..."

"We do. If I didn't think it was necessary, I wouldn't bring them."

"So, are any of these things housebroken?"

Chapter 20.

The harbormaster had been told of the arrival of the three Benares ships-a harbormaster who also reported to Imala.

The Raven, Sea Wolf, and Kraken wouldn't be flying Benares family flags, at least not until we cleared the Rheskilian coast. Phaelan had assured me that his brothers and sisters were experts in passing undetected in nearly any harbor in the Seven Kingdoms. He may not have liked magic, but the rest of his family had no such reservations. Glamours could be used even under sail, and the Benares family had mages on board every ship for communication, wind manipulation, and disguise. Admittedly, those disguises were most often used to get within striking distance of ships with cargos they wanted to take, but they also served the purpose of not attracting cannon fire from a nervous harbor artillery battery.

However, a Benares ship had never dropped anchor in the harbor of the goblin capital when said capital had recently undergone the overthrow of not one but two kings-if you counted Sarad Nukpana's brief reign of a few hours (I didn't)-and the establishment of a new monarch, a monarchy that was now preparing for the possibility of war against not only the Khrynsani, but an off-world army as well.

Three unfamiliar ships entering the harbor wouldn't simply arouse curiosity. The harbormaster would report them as Caesolian vessels, which in all likelihood they were-before they'd been pressed into Benares service. But to preserve the peace and avoid any unfortunate incidents, the three ships would anchor in the harbor and not approach the docks. That should prevent any violence that we had neither the time nor inclination to deal with.

The harbormaster, with two of his pilots, would be rowed out to the lead vessel to review the paperwork for the small fleet. Thus cleared, the ships would remain for the evening and leave on the pre-dawn tide. The Wraith would follow soon after.

I was on the harbormaster's vessel along with Jash and Phaelan. Jash and I were glamoured as two of his pilots. Phaelan would be glamoured so as not to be noticed at all. Under usual circumstances, Phaelan would remain to take command of the Kraken, and Jash and I would return with the harbormaster. Our situation wasn't normal. Phaelan's crew who would be manning the Kraken were still in Mid, though they'd be coming through the mirror set up in the warehouse within the hour. To avoid any unnecessary tensions, Phaelan would return to shore to be there when his men arrived.

"Once we're on board," Phaelan was saying as we were rowed out to the three ships, "there will be a veil between each ship and the harbor. Kind of like a haze. We'll still be visible from shore, but no one spying on us will be able to see any details, like faces."

"We can drop the glamours," Jash said. "Good. The damned thing makes me itch."

I just looked at him. "Itch?"

Jash shrugged. "Magic can itch."

"Mine doesn't."

Phaelan's eyes glittered. "Maybe you're doing it wrong," he told Jash.

I groaned inwardly. And the payback for the firedrakes and sentry dragons began.

We would be meeting Phaelan's siblings on the Raven, Gwyn Benares's ship. Gavyn had come over from the Sea Wolf, and both were waiting for us on deck when we boarded.

Phaelan's boots had barely touched the deck when a beautiful and statuesque brunette lifted him off his feet in a crushing hug which he enthusiastically returned. No sooner had she set him down than a handsome dark-haired elf of equal height to his sister but larger muscles hoisted Phaelan in his arms for more of the same.

After his not-so-little brother put him down, it took Phaelan a few seconds to regain enough air to speak. "Gwyn, Gavyn, this is King Chigaru's chancellor, Duke Tamnais Nathrach; and this is Tam's second-in-command on this trip, Count Jash Masloc. Tam, Jash, this is my sister Gwyn and brother Gavyn, captains of the Raven and Sea Wolf."

Hands were shaken, and pleasantries exchanged.

"Let's adjourn to my cabin," Gwyn said. "We can speak in private there."

While Jash and Imala's harbormaster agent remained on deck to receive the doctored documents confirming the three formerly Caesolian ships were perfectly harmless merchant vessels, I went below with the three Benares captains.

There were no signs that Gwyn Benares's cabin was her personal quarters. There was a rectangular table with six chairs around it and a map spread on top, a few more chairs positioned out of the way against the walls, and a small sideboard built into the hull of the ship itself.

"Would anyone care for a drink?" she asked.

"None for me, thank you," I said.

"You have to ask?" Phaelan muttered. "This morning I was on the Isle of Mid. Now I'm on the other side of the Seven Kingdoms." He tossed a meaningful glance at his siblings. "Then I was told I'll have four, flying, fire-breathing lizards on my ship-three little ones and a monster that doesn't like me. For some reason, I was not told any of this by my own brother and sister."

Gavyn grinned and poured himself, his sister, and Phaelan a whisky. "Because we knew it was a good idea and didn't think it worth mentioning."

"I can see where it's not a bad idea, but I sure as hell think it was worth mentioning."

As we sat around the table, Gavyn and Gwyn sipped their whiskey like connoisseurs. Phaelan tossed his back in a single shot.

Gavyn and Gwyn may have been the youngest of the Benares children, but they reminded me of the eldest-Mago Benares. Mago was a banker and a cunning financial genius. In the face of recent events, Mago had resigned from his position and had taken one with elven intelligence. Mago was tall, outwardly reserved, commendably cautious, and possessed a keen and quick mind. Perhaps a Benares escort would be better and more beneficial than I'd originally thought.

We confirmed the route we were taking, the stop we would make in the Lastani Islands approximately halfway between here and Aquas, and the harbor where we would moor once we arrived at the continent. It was farther north than where the previous Khrynsani expeditions had landed, but the one we'd chosen would be safer for us and the ships, and just as close to where the city of Nidaar was rumored to be.

Each ship would carry enough provisions for ten weeks-sufficient to get us there, two weeks to search, and the four weeks it will take to return. Fish would be plentiful in the north Kenyon this time of year, but we'd take only what fish we could at the speed we had to travel. As Jash had said, the sentry dragons were proficient hunters. They could feed themselves and the crews. Being at sea and having to be quartered in the ships' holds, the dragons would prefer to be out hunting. We would eat very well on the voyage over and back, and each ship was carrying sufficient salt to dry provisions for once we arrived in Aquas. Previous expeditions had reported little to no game on the coast, at least not in size and quantity to sustain the crews of four ships.

"What about the west coast of Aquas?" Phaelan asked. "Is the access any closer?"

"According to the Mylorans, there's an unclimbable escarpment running the length of the coast," I told him. "Or at least as far as they cared to explore. As far as they're concerned, no enemy came from Aquas and no fun prey showed itself, so they left it alone."

"The winds will be with us," Gwyn said. "Four weeks at the most to reach Aquas's east coast. Probably less."

"Then there's reported to be four days of desert between the coast and the mountains where Nidaar is," I told them.

Gavyn leaned back in his chair and away from the map. "Once we get there, what are your plans? Raine and Mychael weren't able to give us much by way of details."

"Wait'll you hear this," Phaelan muttered.

I told them about the Heart of Nidaar, what it was capable of, and what Sandrina in all likelihood would use it for should she secure it before we could.

To their credit, Gavyn and Gwyn Benares accepted the information without reaction, at least not outwardly.

"And you have the means to find this city of Nidaar and the stone?" Gwyn asked.

"I do. We'll have one of the best gem mages in the Seven Kingdoms with us, and we have two shards from the Heart of Nidaar itself. Magus Azul will use them to guide my team to the city. The plan is to render the Heart inoperable or, if necessary, destroy it."

"You have no plans to bring it back?" Gwyn asked, sounding more than a little surprised-and relieved.

"We've learned from our experience with the Saghred," Tam said. "Just because the Heart of Nidaar is said to be self-sufficient-"

"Not a soul-eater," Phaelan clarified.

"-doesn't mean we can risk it falling into the wrong hands," I finished. "We don't know anything about its capabilities, other than it was said to have powered the entire city of Nidaar. If it could do that, it can do more. Guarding and hiding the Saghred cost far too many lives through the centuries. We're not doing that again."

"And the city is abandoned?" Gavyn asked.

"Unknown. We assume so, since there were no reports of civilization from the most recent expeditions. However, the last recorded expedition was over three hundred years ago."

"Sandrina Ghalfari has the same knowledge about Nidaar as you do?"

"Yes. I've read every book and document the Khrynsani had concerning Aquas and Nidaar. Yesterday, I came into possession of a book discovered in a secret compartment behind one of the library's shelves." I grinned slightly. "Before it was hidden, the temple's librarians had been most helpful by cataloguing the book and marking it as pertaining to Nidaar. It's magically encrypted, and I haven't had the opportunity to break the encryption to study it. I'll rectify that as soon as we're at sea."

"Is there any chance of this book going boom?" Phaelan asked.

"I'm familiar with the type of encryptions used," I assured him. "Of course, I will take every precaution with shields. Safety will not be an issue."

I didn't mention the author's name or whose personal shelf it'd been found behind. Phaelan wouldn't react well to hearing them, and to tell the truth, I didn't want to say them. Words had power. Names of mages even more so, rather like summoning an evil genie from a bottle. Just because Rudra Muralin was dead and Sarad Nukpana was still (hopefully) a prisoner in the Lower Hells, didn't mean either one couldn't cause trouble. Sarad Nukpana had eaten Rudra's soul, and Sarad was apparently very much alive. If Sarad was alive, Rudra's soul was still inside Sarad, along with the souls of six of history's most evil mages.

No, I wouldn't be casually tossing any of those names around.

I didn't see the need to share any of this with the Benares siblings. There was nothing they could do about it, and they would sleep better not knowing.

I would be losing enough sleep for all of us.

Chapter 21.

We got back to the warehouse with only a few minutes to spare before Phaelan's crew would start coming through the mirror from the Isle of Mid. The mirror mage was clearly relieved to see us, especially me.

"The Guardians are signaling, Chancellor Nathrach."

"Whenever you're ready."

The mirror was tall and wide enough to admit two people shoulder to shoulder. Phaelan's crew would come through one at a time. The mage's arms were extended toward the mirror, palms out, fingers spread wide, eyes focused and unblinking. The mirror's surface began to ripple as it was activated on the other side. The ripple turned to a swirl, quickening until the entire surface pulsed.

The first pirate stepped through.

Phaelan was there to greet each and every one. To watch him, you'd never suspect that he was anything other than completely comfortable with having his crew cross a continent with a single step.

Another man had just stepped through when, without warning, the mirror went completely opaque.

The mirror mage blanched and hissed a word I completely agreed with as he struggled to regain the link. "It's gone, Your Grace."

Phaelan swore and sprang forward.

I stepped between him and the mage. "Your men are fine. They're still in Mid." I met the mage's eyes over Phaelan's head for confirmation.

He nodded tightly. "Captain Benares, mirrors have safety measures built in. If anything goes wrong on one end or the other, both mirrors will automatically shut down to prevent the next person from coming through. Nothing is wrong on this end."

"Everything is normal here," I agreed. "It would have to be on the Mid end of the connection."

That didn't reassure any of us.

We knew what had happened the last time a mirror connection going to and from Mid had malfunctioned. Exterminating the spiders once didn't mean there couldn't be another Khrynsani--spawned infestation.

The crewmen that had made it through were standing in a group, completely still, their attention on their captain. Phaelan's reaction would govern how they would react. Right now they were elven pirates who had just been ordered to step through a mirror into the goblin capital, and to top it off, the exit mirror was in a warehouse sharing space with fire-breathing dragons. I didn't know which one had scared them more: the mode of travel, the destination, or the welcoming committee. I was suddenly feeling exposed. Yes, I could handle the pirates who had already come through, but I'd have to use some nasty magic to do it, which would make an already bad situation critical.

The elves knew who I was and what I could do. They were heavily armed and so was I, but Jash and I would be woefully outnumbered. We could even or better those odds with magic, and they knew it.

This was Phaelan's move to make.

Phaelan's eyes were on mine, and mine were on his.

We had a standoff.

Our mirror mage broke the tense silence. "Sir, I'm trying to contact the Guardian mage on the other end to find out what happened."

I nodded once, my eyes still on Phaelan's.