Calder wasn’t sure if the quartermaster was trying to irritate him, or trying to defuse a dangerous situation with levity. Either way, he could play his part. He turned to the Guard captain.
“You can feel free to leave him tied up a little longer. Good for discipline.” To Lucan, he added, “So you can tell me what was so important that you risked execution or capture for the chance to say it.”
Lucan met his eyes calmly, and Calder caught a brief impression of the man’s Intent. He was absolutely at peace, ready to die if he accomplished his mission.
Calder shivered.
“My life is the least of what’s at stake,” the Consultant said. “I’ve already inspected the Optasia, with every intention to sabotage it so you couldn’t use it. Now, I’ve changed my mind.”
And I’ve got Nakothi in my bathtub, Calder thought. “Have you?” he said.
“Yes. You have to destroy it.”
Calder spotted his hat where it had fallen to the ground, picked it up, and placed it on his head. If nothing else, the gesture gave him time to think.
Lucan could easily be lying, but the timing was too good. Jerri had spent significant effort trying to persuade him to sit in the Optasia, and all the Guild Heads seemed to agree. The only argument he had against it was a vague unease, along with the desire to prove he wasn’t dancing to some Elder’s tune.
Now, it seemed like the Consultant was offering him exactly what he wanted: a reason not to trust the Emperor’s ancient artifact.
“Consultant Lucan, we might have something to discuss after all.”
Before taking Lucan into the Emperor’s chambers, Calder had a quick, quiet discussion with the Guard captain.
“He’s not going to attack us,” Calder insisted. Not only did the Consultant’s Intent suggest that he was perfectly content helping, but he’d had a chance to kill Calder in cold blood. He hadn’t taken it. Lucan had earned a measure of trust.
“We’re at war with his Guild,” the captain said stubbornly. Her orange eyes flared. “We were encouraged to ignore even the Emperor’s orders in the interest of keeping him safe, and as far as I’m concerned, this is directly relevant to your security.”
From what Calder had read of the man, the Emperor was not used to being ignored. “Did you ever actually ignore him?”
“Of course not. He was the Emperor.”
With that, the captain proceeded to disregard Calder’s wishes and have Lucan searched and bound. The Guards took his shears, the veil over his mouth, and an impressive array of smaller weapons secreted all around his person. Everything from his handkerchief to the lint in his pockets was confiscated, in case it might possibly be invested; which, in normal circumstances, Calder would have applauded. In this case, he insisted they hurry.
He wanted to find the truth about the Optasia as soon as possible.
Finally Lucan was ready, absolutely unarmed and hands bound. Before taking him into the Emperor’s old room, Calder pulled the Guard captain aside once again. “Please send someone to retrieve my wife. Don’t bring her in yet, but keep her close. I may have some questions for her.”
This time, he was thankful that she didn’t raise any objection. She only nodded and passed the orders on to a lesser Guard.
Together, Calder and Lucan stood before the Optasia. Though the room around them had been ruined in the confrontation between Teach and Jerri, the throne itself was spotless. Its matrix of steel bars sat polished and gleaming, and Calder felt a vague sense of readiness radiating from the device. As though its Intent was receptive and eager, ready to be used.
“It enhances your perception,” Lucan said. “The Emperor had a network of relays built all around the world, statues that look like him. When you connect to the Optasia, it’s like your own Intent separates from you, but magnified a thousandfold. Sitting on this throne, you can Read a building on the other side of the planet.”
“No wonder he controlled the world,” Calder muttered. He couldn’t help a little flash of jealousy. He understood better than most how powerful the Emperor actually was, but the man also had access to this? It was a wonder he’d ever died.
“Well, he didn’t rely on this. He sealed it away from himself. Rumor has it that he even employed…watchers, to make sure he never used it. And if he did, to kill him if it drove him insane.”
Calder stared at Lucan, sure he’d caught the Consultant in a lie. “He had this device, but he never used it?”
Lucan faced the Optasia while emitting sadness and regret, as though remembering his own execution. “One time, that I know of. I gathered that he used it more often when it was built.”
“Because of the Great Elders?” If there was one weapon the Elders would have feared, it was this throne.
“Have you tried Reading it?” Lucan asked.
Calder thought back to Jyrine, insisting that he join his Intent with the device as soon as possible. “You might say I was warned not to.” Anything Jerri wanted that badly, the Great Elders must want as well. And it pained him even to think that.
“I did,” Lucan said grimly. “It’s like staring into the eyes of Kelarac himself.”
“Kelarac doesn’t have any eyes,” Calder responded, deliberately casual. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Lucan’s reaction.
Between the Consultant’s Intent and minor flickers in his expression, Calder was able to piece together his emotions. He was confused at first, and then suspicious. Not the reaction of someone who had met Kelarac before.
It was good to be sure.
“It’s common knowledge,” Calder explained. “Haven’t you read Fisher’s Treatment of the Aion Sea?” He wouldn’t have, as Calder had made up the title on the spot, but Lucan brought the conversation back to business.
“Feel free to Read this for yourself. It’s a conduit straight to the Great Elders. The Emperor was afraid to use the device, lest he draw too much attention, but now…anyone who sits in that thing might as well feed themselves to Kthanikahr.”
Might as well feed themselves to Kthanikahr. Kthanikahr, the Worm Lord, was a monster even by the standards of the Great Elders. His body could be seen even now, a miles-long worm half-exposed where it had burrowed in and around a towering mountain. Myth held that Kthanikahr digested his victims alive over a thousand years.
And Jerri had tried to get him to sit on the throne.
Calder forced his anger back when he noticed the wince on Lucan’s face. If the man was a strong enough Reader to rock the stone outside like storm-tossed waves, he would certainly pick up on Calder’s anger. He was probably causing the Consultant a nasty headache.
“Thank you,” Calder said. “I don’t believe I need to do that. Let’s say I have every reason to believe you’re correct.”
Calder leaned over to the Guard captain. “Bring me the Consultant the alchemists have in recovery. Meia.” The captain saluted and left.
“Consultant Lucan,” Calder continued, “I would like your opinion of a small personal matter. Please observe, after which I have a few requests to make of you.”
Lucan glanced back at the mesh of silvery bars. “Will you destroy the Optasia?”
“I think you’ll find this discussion very relevant,” Calder said. Whether he destroyed it or not depended largely on Jerri’s behavior. Lucan didn’t seem satisfied with that, understandably, so Calder gave him a friendly smile. “As a show of our good faith, I’d like to introduce the newest addition to my crew. I believe you’ve met.”
The Guard captain returned in seconds, perfectly on time. Calder once again reminded himself that the woman deserved some kind of reward. Meia hung over her shoulders, clearly unable to support her own weight, and so close the two women really did look like sisters. Both blond, and if Meia turned her eyes orange, it would have been impossible to think they weren’t related.