Shields Lady (38 page)

            Unfortunately, what he had at the moment was a very limited assortment of tools. "From the beginning?" Rakken mused as he served himself from one of the platters Miscroft had left.

He poured another glass of wine for himself while he was at it. "Well, that would take us back to a little over five years ago when I just accepted the reality of my circumstances. It was clear to me that I was going to have to live in exile for the rest of my days. An unfortunate scandal back home ensured my sentence. I determined then that my exile would be as comfortable as possible, however." He looked at Sariana with a faint smile. "For the past year I have urged you to accept the reality of your own exile, Sariana. But you insisted on clinging to your dreams of going home. If you had shown a realistic attitude, I would have taken you into my confidence much sooner. I have felt all along that you and I would make a good team. But you needed time to adjust to the notion of being stranded in the western provinces."

            "She's not stranded," Glyph pointed out coolly. "Nor is she in exile. Not any longer. In case you've

forgotten, she has recently married into a new social class. That class has a policy of looking after its own. That's something you would do well to keep in mind."

            Rakken's mouth twisted slightly. "So you have become Shield business, Sariana. If you had shown some sense when I suggested a marriage alliance between the two of us you would not be in the situation you presently find yourself."

            "What situation is that, Etion?" Sariana faced him with politely challenging inquiry. "Tell me exactly what is going on around here."

            "Very well." Etion sat forward, his expression becoming more intense. He sipped wine, ignoring his food. "Five years ago I set out to make my fortune here in the west. The bank I established has proved quite profitable. The locals are shrewd in some ways but quite unsophisticated in others."

            "Spoken like a typical easterner," Gryph muttered as he slowly put a wedge of bread into his mouth and chewed.

            "I'm afraid it's true," Etion said mildly. "Westerners proved fairly easy to manipulate in business, although I'll admit they're learning. In any event, given the foreseeable future, I tried to make the best of matters. I learned as much as I could about western history, including the legend of the Shield class. It was, I soon found out, all bound up with the legend of the origin of prisma. I quickly discovered just how extremely valuable and rare prisma is. I decided that my goal would be to comer the market. But other than that which already exists as jewelry or weapon kit locks, the stuff is impossible to find. And then I learned that the only way to get more of it was to uncover something called a prisma crystal ship."

            "I didn't even believe such ships existed until recently," Sariana put in.

            Rakken nodded. "I know. The locals have a built-in tendency toward drama. They love a good story. For quite some time I was sure the tale of the ships and the Shields' ability to work prisma was just the stuff of legend. But I needed to know as much as possible about my subject, so I pursued that legend. I ran into other problems when I tried to find out the Shields' version of the story."

            "Let me guess," Gryph said. "You couldn't get one to talk."

            "You are an extremely closed-mouth lot as I found out when I finally made a journey to one of the frontier provinces. Strong, silent types. At least when it came to discussing your past. No cooperation at all. But I persevered."

            "How did you root out Targyn?" Gryph asked with genuine curiosity. "He was supposed to have died gloriously fighting off a pack of bandits."

            Sariana gave him a sidelong glance. "Apparently Shields like a good, rousing tale as much as everyone else around here does. You had no problem buying the legend of Targyn, I take it?"

            Gryph shrugged and winced when the small action caused the twist's straps to jerk. "To tell you the truth, everyone was greatly relieved that Targyn had disappeared in a noble battle. He was becoming a problem."

Etion arched his eyebrows. "I can guess why. He's a rather obsessive individual, isn't he?"

            "Nuttier than a rackle seed cake," Gryph agreed.

Etion nodded. "He's fanatically interested in Shield history."

            "And in his own future?" Sariana asked dryly.

            "Quite correct," Rakken said. "The man has apparently devoted a lifetime to exploring the possibilities of working prisma in unique ways. He obviously must have had some natural talent to begin with, but one must credit him with being willing to develop himself." Rakken looked directly at Gryph. "He is very strong when it comes to working prisma, I take it? Stronger than most Shields?"

            "Most Shields don't attempt to turn prisma into a usable, weapon," Gryph said with seeming carelessness. "It's dan-ggrous enough as it is."

"Could you do what he plans to do?" Rakken insisted.

            "Detonate prisma in a controlled manner?" Gryph shrugged. "I doubt it. Not without lulling myself and everything else within a radius of several hundred kilometers. If you want my opinion, I doubt that Targyn can do it, either."

"He thinks he can."

"The man's insane," Gryph reminded him.

            Rakken drummed his hands on the table. "I see. To be truthful, you relieve my mind somewhat. The last thing I want to do is blow up half the continent. I was almost sure Targyn couldn't manage to control the prisma he found, but one has to be cautious."

            Gryph said nothing, but he caught a quick, questioning glance from Sariana. She was remembering the theoretical possibilities Gryph had mentioned to her when he had told her why the missing prisma cutter had become Shield business. Just because a theory had never been tested didn't mean it wasn't valid. There was little comfort in telling oneself that the theory might possibly be wrong.

            "I only need Targyn to neutralize the material of the crystal ship we've found," Rakken was saying calmly. "Once (hat's done I understand the prisma will be in a usable state. Is that correct?"

            "Essentially," said Gryph. "Who found the ship? Targyn?"

            Rakken nodded. "He spent two years prospecting for it in this gorge after he faked his own death at the hands of the bandits. But when he found it, he discovered what every other prospector discovers. He needed money to excavate his claim. The ship, you see, was buried inside this cliff."

            "So he went looking for a banker. Preferably one who could keep his mouth shut," Sariana said with an understanding nod. "He thought you fit the bill because you were an easterner and not likely to gossip about the find to the locals."

            Gryph shot her a sidelong glance. "He also knew there wasn't much chance any western banker would help him. A westerner would know immediately that what he was doing was illegal and incredibly dangerous. Any local banker would have contacted a respectable Shield clan and told them what was happening."

            "But you saw the financial potential, right, Etion?" Sariana asked with what Gryph considered far too much professional admiration. The businesswoman in her was intrigued by what Rakken had done. Easterners had a definite problem when it came to putting financial matters into perspective.

            Rakken was nodding genially over Sariana's comment. "I saw the financial potential at once, my dear." "She's not your dear," Gryph said. "She's my wife."

            Rakken raised his eyebrows at Sariana. "Not according to the laws of the eastern provinces, right Sariana?"

            She carefully avoided looking at either man while she helped herself to more stew. "No, not according to the laws of the east More stew, Gryph?" she asked brightly.

            He paid no attention to the question which he sensed had been asked in order to sidetrack him. Sariana was trying to avoid violence at the dinner table. 'It was, no doubt, an ancient female custom.

            "I have a few questions I'd like answered," Gryph said.

"By all means."

"Where did you get the hired help?"

            "You mean Miscroft and the others? Oh, they're acquaintances ofTargyn's," Rakken explained casually.

"Bandits he recruited?"

            Rakken poured himself a little more wine. "I believe so. According to him the frontier bandits have always had a bad deal here. They are descended from the noble crew of The Serendipity, it seems."

            "That's the same noble crew that mutinied right after the crash," Gryph advised him. "They killed a lot of people before they were driven off. They've been living on the frontiers ever since."

            "Some would say they aren't much different than the Shields," Rakken murmured. "A bunch of outcasts who are barely surviving on the frontiers."

            Genuine rage washed through Gryph at the insult. He controlled it with a fierce dose of willpower. "Shields are not outcasts and you damn well know it, Rakken. We are an honorable class. If you choose to do business with bandits and rogues, however, you had better watch your back."

            "I always watch my back," Rakken told him. "I learned that lesson a long time ago. Before I came to the western continent. I don't need you to teach me that fundamental tactic."

            Gryph studied him for a moment aod then let the matter drop. "It was you who arranged to have the cutter stolen?"

Rakken relaxed slightly, pouring more wine for himself. "Targyn informed me we would need one to

cut open the ship and whittle the prisma into manageable sizes."

            "You're talking about a ship that's been neutralized. My guess is Targyn wants to try cutting into a live ship to see if he can manipulate the weapons individually. That's suicide, Rakken."

            "I realize the time has come to get rid of Targyn. But until I found another Shield, I needed him." "Wait a minute," Sariana said sharply. "This matter of the cutter interests me, Etion. You knew the

Avylyns had one, didn't you? You asked me about it on a couple of occasions."

            "I was aware of it, yes."

            Gryph frowned as he realized the direction in which Sar-iana's astute reasoning powers were leading her. "Forget it, Sariana. We've got more important things to discuss."

            She paid him no attention. She was scowling furiously at Rakken. "You used me, didn't you? You used the information I gave you to set up the theft of the cutter."

            "I'll admit that having you in the Avylyn household was convenient," Rakken admitted without any show of remorse. "Don't look so upset, Sariana. It was just business."

Sariana inclined her head proudly. "I see. Business."

            Gryph sensed her burning anger and deliberately tried to project a command to control herself. He knew he had been successful when she glanced at him, annoyed, and then went back to her meal.

            "Who ordered my informant killed back in Serendipity?" Gryph demanded softly. Rakken made a careless motion with his left hand. "We learned that Brinton had gotten too close to

the truth. Targyn said we had to get rid of him. He gave the orders to the same two men who had already secured the cutter."

"And then you sent those two men after Sariana."

            Rakken leaned forward, folding his elbows on the low table. "By then I realized Sariana had not only hired herself a Shield, she had, under local law, managed to get herself married to him. Targyn explained to me just what that meant. I knew by then that I was eventually going to have to get rid of Targyn. You seemed the obvious candidate to replace him."

"You figured you could use Sariana to control me," Gryph concluded.

            Rakken smiled slightly. "She proved difficult to nab. The first try in Serendipity failed miserably. One of Tar-gyn's men died and the other nearly drowned in wine."

            Sariana drummed her fingers on the metal table. "Was the second try in Little Chance?" Rakken nodded. "Ah, yes. The House of Reflections fiasco. I must admit, that was a last minute plan

put together with local talent who proved most unreliable. But we couldn't just pick you up off the streets of Little Chance in broad daylight. When you headed for the fairgrounds we improvised. The attendant was paid well to look the other way while an elaborate joke was played on a visiting eastern tourist. It was easy to find three young toughs who were more than willing to terrorize said tourist. The goal was to frighten you witless and then drive you to a certain corner of the house. There's a hidden exit there. I had a man waiting to snatch you and bundle you off through the back gates of the fairgrounds. But once again you slipped through my fingers, Sariana."

            "By then you knew we were on the trail of the cutter and you reasoned we would head for the gorge," Gryph said slowly.

            "It was a logical assumption. Targyn and I decided that the easiest thing to do next was sit back and wait until you found us. Which you obligingly did very eariy this morning." Rakken peered intently at Gryph. "Tell me the truth. Can you kill Targyn?"

"Maybe. If I had my weapon kit."

            Rakken looked thoughtful. "If you fail, he'll turn on me. Ours is a very precarious partnership, to say the least."

            "What makes you think I won't turn on you if I'm successful?" Rakken glanced at Sariana. "As long as I have her, you'll behave yourself." Sariana spoke. "I think I'm getting a bit tired of being used by everyone concerned in this mess." Rakken smiled thinly. "Don't worry, my dear. I am a reasonable man. Once Targyn is out of the way I

will be more than willing to discuss the financial aspects of our new relationship."

            Sariana tilted her head, her expression intently curious. "You're willing to cut us in on the prisma deal?"

            "I would much rather do business with you than hold you hostage, Sariana." Rakken gave her a level glance. "I know you very well. More than that, I know your background. I was raised under similar circumstances. You have been trained to think in terms of finances and good business policy since you were in the cradle. One year of living in Serendipity hasn't changed you in that regard. I think you will be very interested in negotiating with me for your cut. Am I right?"