Suicidal maniacs arrived uninvited.

Thus, I'd made an appointment to ensure that Agata Azul considered me a guest and not a threat. Whether I was a maniac was up to her to decide.

Kesyn had remained at my house to secure the book. My home was wrapped in wards, but one simply didn't leave a book hidden by Sarad Nukpana and written by Rudra Muralin lying around as casual reading material.

Considering who I was now and who I had been-and those who didn't like either one-I'd half expected Agata Azul to insist that we meet in secret. I wanted to get and stay on the lady's good side, so when she agreed to meet at her home, I knew a little judicious shielding would help my case. Not shielding from her crystal sentries, but from anyone watching me. Chigaru may have been on the throne, but I still had a target on my back. Several actually. Though who was I kidding? I had so many they overlapped.

Kesyn was right. No one in their right mind would want to be anywhere near me. He'd said Agata was brilliant, yet she'd accepted my request for a meeting. Maybe her sanity was questionable. Considering what I was about to ask her to help me do, I wasn't too certain about my own.

I wasn't wearing a cloak and my clothes were plain. Doing the cloak-and-dagger thing just made anyone who saw you wonder what you were up to. So no cloak, no hood, but plenty of daggers and magic at the ready. I started my trip to meet with Agata Azul from the south side of Regor near the waterfront. No one had seen me leave my house. Since I'd returned home, I had been mending fences with my neighbors, so to speak, and while I wasn't in their good graces and didn't anticipate being so anytime soon, at least a few of them would speak to me, surreptitiously, of course.

To further prevent being recognized, I magically altered my face and decreased my height, but I didn't try to hide. To attempt to hide was to attract attention. To a goblin, a person skulking about was a person begging to be followed, simply to discover what they were up to, if nothing else. I had used this disguise before and it had never attracted either suspicion or curiosity. As Kesyn would no doubt say: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I had seen Agata Azul at a distance, but we had never met. As chief mage, I spent most of my time at court. As one of the Seven Kingdoms' top gem mages, Agata Azul only accepted clients from a few, highly select friends and colleagues, and to my knowledge had never set foot inside the Mal'Salin palace. Smart lady. Staying away from court meant that not only was she talented and selective, but highly intelligent and not in possession of a death wish.

Kesyn knew her well enough to call her Aggie. Whether this familiarity was due to affection on his part-or tolerance on hers-I didn't know and would not find out by behaving in any way other than the very height of propriety and good manners. My mother had taught me better-and being a professional assassin, my mother had also taught me how not to be stupid and get myself killed. I would be availing myself of all of her teachings this evening.

What Kesyn called an introduction consisted of sending word to Azul vouching for my sanity and good intentions, and that I warranted an audience. He said that the rest was up to me. I would need more than words to convince Agata Azul to help, so I'd brought irrefutable proof-the spy gem with the recording of the Rak'kari, the monster spiders the Khrynsani had sent to infest the Void between the kingdoms' travel mirrors. I'd edited out the part where the Guardians had pulled me out of a Rak'kari's clutches and had to cut away my armor and clothes beneath to keep its acidic venom from melting the skin off my bones. I didn't think full-frontal nudity would be appropriate for a first-time meeting. I'd also brought the recording of what we had seen when we opened a rift to Timurus-an invading army with their banner and the Khrynsani flag flying from a fortress's walls.

As I approached Agata Azul's house, I kept my eyes straight ahead, but furtively glanced at the crystals glittering in the moonlight.

They were beautiful.

And deadly.

I told myself that the flickers of light from the crystals on the edge of my vision were just my imagination.

I didn't believe me, either.

I reached the front door and knocked using the fist-sized quartz mounted in a brass knocker. It tingled against my palm, meaning the quartz was embedded with a questing spell. Ingenious. Determine your guests' state of mind and level of power before opening your door to them.

The rock probably announced "nervous" loud and clear.

I was nervous, but not for the reason Azul might think. Yes, I was a little apprehensive about meeting her, but the majority of my nervousness stemmed from fear of her saying no.

I needed Agata Azul on this expedition. I needed her desperately. I had others going with us who could get us to Aquas, find Nidaar, and keep us alive while we did both. What I did not have was anyone who came even close to Agata Azul's level of skill in locating gems of power. Money was no object. I could afford to pay whatever she demanded, but I suspected that money would not be the deciding factor.

I took a deep breath and waited.

Minutes passed.

There was no sound on the other side of the door.

I knew she was home.

One, I had an appointment. Two, she'd see me, from curiosity alone if nothing else. Three, this was some kind of a test. One that I couldn't afford to fail.

Mages of Agata Azul's power were living divining rods for crystals of power.

I needed her help.

I waited. Perfectly still. Imperfectly patient. I glanced down.

Beneath my feet was a slab of crystal, now faintly glowing.

I sighed. Then again, why even bother opening the door when she could know everything without having to?

Nearly a minute later, the door did open, and I was looking directly into the eyes of a woman as tall as my mother, who was tall even for a goblin. Her height wasn't surprising; her age was. I would guess she was in her mid-twenties. I had assumed that with her level of power, she'd be older. Her features were strong, but feminine, attractive rather than beautiful. Her cheekbones were high, her lips full, and her hair an ebony sheet that fell nearly to her waist. But it was her eyes that drew my attention and kept it there. Not through any level of craft, but from a vitality that shone from within with a keen intelligence and sharp wit. A humor that seemed to be enjoying my confusion.

I dropped the glamour from my face.

I inclined my head in a bow. "Magus Azul, I presume?"

"You were expecting someone else?"

"No. But I thought-"

"I answer my own door. Good help is hard enough to find these days. I'm not about to risk losing one to an incendiary spell intended for me."

"I'm not armed with an incendiary spell."

Agata Azul looked me up and down with clinical detachment. "No, you aren't."

"Fire magic isn't my specialty."

"I should hope not. An uncivilized way to kill someone, besides completely lacking in creativity."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Don't just stand there," she told me, "come in so I can close the door."

I did, and once inside and the door closed behind me, I dropped the glamour from my height.

Mages of Agata Azul's level usually wore ornate robes. She was wearing a tunic, trousers, and boots. While the leather and fabric were the finest quality, it was a form-fitting cut that allowed for maximum speed and movement. My mother would have called what Agata Azul was wearing formal working clothes. My mother was a semi-retired mortekal, a title goblins reserved for assassins of the highest caliber. Agata Azul was dressed for confronting any situation, but looking good while doing it. Mother would have approved. And since I couldn't help but notice how the soft leather accentuated every curve, I approved as well.

"Am I not what you expected, Chancellor Nathrach?"

Honesty was all I had. "No, you're not."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure."

She gestured me toward the front parlor. "You may as well make yourself comfortable while you decide. I've given my servants the night off, so if you require refreshment-"

"No, thank you. That won't be necessary."

The sentry crystals weren't the only source of heat. The simmer I'd felt since being allowed past her wards came from Magus Agata Azul herself. The gem mage was a banked fire, her power burning brightly under a perfectly controlled exterior.

I didn't sense that she felt threatened by me. If she had, her gate wards had been sufficient to fry me as I passed the threshold. Just because she wasn't afraid of me didn't mean her defenses were down. On the contrary, the lady looked ready for anything I could have brought to her doorstep.

Her dark eyes gleamed with unspoken challenge.

This was a test, a test I no longer needed to pass. I wanted to pass it.

Chapter 6.

There were no lights in the house. The only illumination came from crystals. Crystals in wall sconces, on tables, and piled in braziers standing in corners.

Considering Agata Azul's skill level, it was the same as being in a house full of trained attack werehounds. No soft, flickering glows came from these rocks. All around us, crystals of all shapes, sizes, and colors flared and faded, only to flare again, giving me the intensely unsettling impression of agitated serpents, weaving hypnotically forward and back, ready to strike at the first wrong move. All at Agata Azul's command.

She may have been home, but she didn't feel secure. And here I was about to ask her to sail right into the teeth of the beast.

For most people, turning your home into a guarded fortress meant that you were afraid of something. My initial impression of Agata Azul told me there was little that she feared. Thus arming her home to this extent indicated that she merely wanted to kill anything that came at her and get it right the first time. This was a woman who did not play games, at least not of the life-and-death kind.

I was no expert on magic- and power-infused gems and stones, but I'd had a crash course over the past few months, courtesy of the Saghred. While Agata Azul's collection didn't give off Saghred-level vibes, I'd be foolish to discount the energy that filled the room-or the lady who had painstakingly collected them.

She noted my interest. "I specialize in sentry crystals. Goblins have what I like to call a healthy paranoia. That's a good environment for a business like mine. At the same time, I work by referral only. During Sathrik's reign there was an increase in the demand for weaponized crystals."

"You make weapons?"

"Only for clients who wouldn't abuse them, and for defensive use only. Needless to say, that considerably narrowed the pool of potential clients. There are other gem mages who aren't so selective. For them it's all about the money and power. I have lines I will not cross for any price."

"I assure you, that isn't why I'm here."

"Please be seated, Chancellor Nathrach."

There weren't many chairs in the sitting room, and every one of them would put crystals at a guest's back. This may or may not have been another test, but I was going to treat it like one-or at least show Agata Azul that I trusted her.

I sat in the chair with three of the most lethal-looking crystals in the room directly behind me.

So there. I trust you not to kill me horribly.

The gem mage raised a bemused brow.

I shrugged. "At the very least you won't have your pet rocks reduce me to a puddle, because it would be impossible to extract my remains from the upholstery." I glanced down. "It's a lovely fabric. Caesolian silk?"

"Woven with rose gold thread." One side of her mouth slowly curled upward. "Though if I decided you needed killing, I would sacrifice the chair as a cost of doing business."

She sat in the chair directly opposite mine. I couldn't help but notice that the crystals behind her chair glowed a warm and welcoming pink.

I think mine were hissing.

A flicker of light drew my attention to a walking cane leaning against the side of Agata Azul's chair. The gem on top was the size of a child's fist and appeared to be a sapphire. I seriously doubted it was merely a cane. Agata had shown no trace of a limp, and the cane's shaft was just large enough to contain a slender sword. The lady was armed and stylishly so. Again, I approved.

Agata Azul leaned back in her chair. "And what business does the chancellor to the new, young king wish to discuss with me this evening?"

"Time-sensitive business, so I'll get right to the point."

"What delightfully unexpected behavior from a king's adviser."

"A great many things have changed at court, Magus Azul. With much more to come. We don't have time for anything else."

"Refreshing." All signs of amusement vanished. "I wish you luck-and a lifespan longer than a bottle fly."

"That is but one of my goals."

I not only needed Agata Azul on the expedition, I needed her as an unswerving ally. Mages such as she didn't grant their support and allegiance lightly. Being goblins within a hundred square miles of a court ruled by any Mal'Salin, regardless of his or her attested sanity, any loyalty was given in private or not at all.

What I would be asking was about as public as it could possibly be.

I decided to tell her everything.

I began with the peace talks that had been held on the Isle of Mid last month, and the Khrynsani's attempts to sabotage those talks and cripple all mirror travel, essentially isolating all seven kingdoms from each other.

"I'd heard all mirror travel had been suspended," Agata Azul said.

"Rak'kari infestation."

"Those things actually exist?"

"I can personally vouch for it, and I brought spy gems to prove it." I pulled the two spy gems out of the pouch at my waist. "One of the first attacks was on Markus Sevelien, the director of elven intelligence, when he came through a mirror from Silvanlar to Mid. The elven ambassador and his staff had been attacked on their ship before they could even reach Mid. The ambassador was killed and his staff taken captive. The gold used to pay the pirates was goblin imperial, the bags marked as having originated from the royal treasury. And the Rak'kari are a goblin black magic creation."

"Someone was trying to frame you."

"Not only me, but the new goblin government. Mal'Salin monarchs aren't known for honesty as far as their intentions toward other kingdoms are concerned."

"It is still as it has always been," Agata Azul mused. "The other kingdoms will believe we aren't going to invade them when they wake up without goblins on their collective doorstep."

"Precisely. And who would it benefit the most to have the other six kingdoms unwilling to trust, let alone sign a peace treaty with the goblins?"

"The Khrynsani, for one."

"Right again." I rolled the spy gem in my fingers. "To help Mychael Eiliesor determine whether the Rak'kari attack on Markus Sevelien was an isolated incident, or if the entire Void-and therefore all travel mirrors-had been infected, I volunteered to step through the Guardians' mirror that led to the palace here. The same one Imala Kalis and I would have used to get to Mid. After Mychael alerted us to the attack on Markus, we used the Passages instead."

Agata Azul blinked. "You traveled the Passages? By choice?"

"Considering the alternative of becoming food for a nest of giant spiders...yes, I found the Passages the more appealing option."

"And Imala?"