“Gain information for me?” echoed Xavo. “Why?”
“Because I have hurt your cause,” explained Lady Mystic. “Now I will try to make up for that. As a disciple, you will learn many things that the ordinary person will not, but there are still some things that you will not be privy to. I know a great number of people on this island, and I know a great deal about them. I will get information for you that no one else can supply.”
“Like what?” questioned Xavo.
“Like how far along the shipbuilding schedule is,” grinned Lady Mystic. “Or perhaps where the ship is sailing to that next carries Clarvoy. How long they plan to be away from the island. There are many things that I can find out.”
“Alright,” conceded Xavo, “but I do not want you endangering yourself. If Vand finds you spying on him, he will be able to figure out too much. He will discover about the air tunnels and me. We cannot allow that to happen.”
“If Vand does get suspicious,” promised Lady Mystic. “That is when I will take another body. I will never tell him anything. I promise you this. Even if he throws me to Dobuk, Vand has gotten his last bit of help from me. I will give him no more.”
* * *
The lectain who entered the Emperor’s office wore the colors of the Ragatha clan. Emperor Marak smiled and shook his head as he waved the officer to his desk and dismissed the guards.
“Not good enough,” smiled Emperor Marak. “You still walk the same.”
“I will have to work on that,” smiled Fisher. “I have important information for your ears only. Is it safe to speak?”
“It is,” nodded the Torak. “Where is the information from?”
Fisher handed the Emperor a paper and let him read it.
“The message was delivered to Rhoda via an air tunnel,” Fisher stated. “It is the exact method of communication that Aakuta uses, but the voice was different. The keyword was given, and the air tunnel was equalized so that the sender could hear responses. He stated that he had done so because of the seriousness of the message.”
“What else was said besides what you have handed me?” asked Emperor Marak.
“These are his words verbatim,” assured Fisher. “No one knows anything about this except you, me, and Rhoda. He was very explicit about this to Rhoda. He would not even allow Polema to hear the conversation.”
“Does he distrust Polema?” asked Emperor Marak.
“I don’t believe so,” answered Fisher. “I think he is just being extremely cautious. He knows that Rhoda would never reveal the message if she were captured. I think they bonded during her captivity on the island.”
“That makes sense,” nodded the Emperor. “He wished to speak to the mage who had already resisted torture and survived it. Alright,” he mused, “we can assume that Aakuta had to take another body to survive on the Island of Darkness. That is why his voice is different, and we know that Vand’s mages have that capability. Zygor used it to take over Lord Damirath’s body.”
“Rhoda said that she knows of no one else who would be aware of her birthmark,” added Fisher. “At least not anyone that she knows of. There was a period of time when she was naked and unconscious on the Island of Darkness, but she also said that Aakuta used to tease her about it. The voice also used the keyword that Aakuta had previously specified. I feel confident that this new source is indeed Aakuta.”
“Then let’s assume that is true,” accepted the Emperor. “His message is very grim. If there is a spy in Lyra’s inner circle, all of our plans are in jeopardy. She must be informed.”
“In such a way that she does not reveal the origin of her knowledge,” Fisher pointed out. “I don’t want to lose Aakuta as a source. His information is becoming more valuable every day. If we inadvertently expose him, we will have no idea what Vand knows or is up to.”
“This creates a serious problem,” frowned the Torak. “We know that Vand’s mages can assume another’s identity. If that is how they managed to infiltrate Lyra’s inner circle, the spy will be someone that Lyra knows and trusts. It could be anyone. How do we narrow it down? We cannot even ask StarWind or HawkShadow to investigate. It could be one of them. It could be anyone.”
“Except the Star of Sakova,” nodded Fisher. “The message would have been much different if they had taken over her body.”
“I doubt that Kaltara would allow that,” Marak shook his head. “I am sure that she must have some protection against such magic, even if we are not aware of it.”
“So she is the only person that we can trust south of the Kalatung Mountains,” sighed Fisher. “This is a serious problem.”
“It is,” agreed Marak, “but you have just given me the solution.”
“I did?” chuckled Fisher. “And what solution is that?”
“Ukaro,” answered Marak. “My father is well respected and accepted in the Sakova. He is also not possessed by Vand’s mage. I will send him to speak to Lyra privately. It will be his task to uncover the spy.”
“That might work,” nodded Fisher, “but do not have him expose the spy. We can use Vand’s tool against him by providing disinformation.”
“That is assuming Ukaro finds the spy,” nodded Marak. “That is a rather tall task for anyone to accomplish.”
“Were I a wagering man,” smiled Fisher, “I would put my gold on Ukaro. You do not get much past a Chula shaman, and Ukaro is one of the best.”
“What do you make of this mention of Zaramilden?” asked Marak. “Why would that potentially change their attack plans?”
“I don’t know,” admitted the spy. “I was puzzled by that on my way here. It is possible that they were going to attack the city to gauge your response a second time.”
“I don’t think so,” frowned Emperor Marak. “I think attacking Zaramilden had been part of their plan. I just can’t imagine why evacuating the city would alter anything. I can see it as one less objective, but the message implies more.”
“It does,” agreed Fisher. “It would be nice to bounce this off of others, but we must be careful about revealing what we know.”
“I agree,” nodded Marak. “I will not endanger Aakuta, whoever he may be right now. Our failure to get the information he just sent would have resulted in a massive disaster in the Sakova. I want more information out of him, not less. Forget about Zaramilden. That will be my problem to decipher. I am sure that you have other things to keep you busy.”
“I have a lot on my plate,” admitted Fisher. “I may be out of touch for a while. If you need me, contact Rykoma. I will try to check in with him regularly.”
The Emperor’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at Fisher, but he knew better than to asked where the spy was going. If he had wanted Marak to know, he would have said so.
“Travel safely, my friend,” smiled Emperor Marak. “May Kaltara keep watch over you."
Chapter 21
Myka
The citizens of Angragar shouted and pointed skyward as the mighty dragon soared over the city. While women screamed and children ran to hide, the dragon cackled and dove towards the ground. As the dragon raced downward towards the city, the men fled, dragging the women with them until the streets of the ancient city were empty.
Myka grinned and came out of her dive, leveling out just over the tops of the buildings. She winged through the air until the city had passed beneath her, then she circled lazily and landed in a large clearing outside the city. Rejji came running out of the trees and halted right before the dragon’s snout.
“What did you do?” scowled the Astor. “I could hear the screams from out here. Did you fly over the city?”
“Sort of,” Myka said distractedly. “I was rather high in the sky and saw something moving about below. I figured that I should dive down and check it out. It just happened to be a city.”
“Clova chips,” frowned Rejji. “There is nothing wrong with your eyesight. You could tell the sex of a wasooki from higher than you were flying. You just wanted to terrorize the citizens.”