Crowned (Beholder #4)(15)

Mlinzi stopped moving. His eyes flared with orange light. “Yes. Keep us free.”

“And that’s why you’ll tell me how to recharge the gateways.”

Mlinzi kept hopping with rage. “No healing the gateways! No, no, no!”

“You don’t want the gateways healed? But that would destroy my world. I can’t allow that to happen.”

“NO HEALING!”

While Mlinzi kept railing, Walinzi merely tilted her head, staring at me with new intensity. “You’re a clever one, aren’t you? We see things, my brother and I.”

“You have the gift of foresight.”

Walinzi casually picked nits from her fur. “We see things. Different visions and futures than you do, but we have foresight, yes. Sometimes we use our gifts to—how do I put this?—cause the Sire and Lady trouble.”

“Tricksters.”

“More than tricks this time,” howled Mlinzi. “You can save us. You can free us all! Kill the Sire and Lady with the Sword.”

I held my arms up with my palms forward. “If I get the Sword of Theodora, then I’ll use it to kill Viktor, but only if he attacks. The same is true for the Sire and Lady. If you want them dead, I won’t do your dirty work.”

Walinzi clacked her teeth together in quick succession. “Do not be too quick to judge what you will do.”

“I am not killing any gods for you.”

Mlinzi grabbed handfuls of muddy earth and flung them aside. “Kill! Kill!”

“Killing is not required,” said Walinzi. “We simply ask for our freedom. And no matter what happens, you must know we’re on your side.”

My eyes narrowed. “I didn’t realize there were sides.”

Mlinzi paused, his fists overflowing with earth. “That’s your biggest problem, Elea of Braddock. You’re a fool. Of course, there are sides.”

“Our help will not be what you expect,” said Walinzi. “However, it shall be what you require.”

My stomach sunk to my toes. I’d heard statements like this from Petra before, right before she locked me up and tried to force me to become Tsarina. “In other words,” I said slowly, “I’m going to hate whatever you do next.”

Walinzi nudged Mlinzi with her massive elbow. “See? I told you this one was intelligent. She understands.” Walinzi fell forward onto her arms, setting the ground shaking again. “Our help will not come easily. But without us, you will never find the Sword of Theodora or learn how to use hybrid magick. Are you willing to bargain with us?”

Her huge orange face loomed before me. It took everything in me not to flinch or run away. However, I stayed focused on the images of so many Casters reaching out to me as I headed into the gateway. Those people deserved answers and peace. So did I. “Name your price.”

Walinzi’s eyes flared orange and bright. “You must never see Jicho again or communicate with him in any way.”

My back teeth locked. Jicho had said something about this before, back in the alley at the festival. I promised the boy I would always speak to him. Had Jicho foreseen this moment? If so, it wasn’t very good news. When Jicho warned me, he hadn’t been in the best of moods. Still, I wouldn’t go back on my promise.

When I spoke again, I kept my body stiff and straight in true Necromancer fashion. “Absolutely not. Name another price.”

After this, there was a lot of hopping about and screeching, both from Mlinzi and Walinzi. The pair swung from long orange vines, their claw-like toes almost taking off my skull as they swooped overhead. The entire time, I kept my face passive and my stance strong. I couldn’t let them see that they’d unnerved me, even though my heart was thudding so hard in my chest, I thought it might break free to clog up my throat.

“Are you quite through?” I asked.

At length, Mlinzi and Walinzi stopped their display and sat before me once more. Mlinzi bared his pointed teeth again. “Perhaps this one is too clever,” he growled.

Walinzi scrambled behind her brother and began pawing at his shoulder. “Let’s see…Another form of payment.” She paused. “Perhaps you could give us a memory.”

“A memory, yes.” Mlinzi orange eyes locked on me. “That will work well.”

A chill ran up my torso. Before, I’d had a sense of how the tricksters where playing their games. Now, I wasn’t so certain. “What kind of memory will you take, good or bad?”

Walinzi shrugged. “That’s all in one’s point of view, isn’t it?”

“That’s not what I meant. Will taking these memories hurt anyone?”

“No one will be injured,” said Mlinzi.

I frowned. There was a trick in here, but I couldn’t see it. “There are many definitions of injury,” I said.

Walinzi’s wide orange eyes became even larger. “We can only protect from physical harm,” she said. “We gods don’t understand how your kind feels about every little thing.”

“And you’ll get the memory back after you succeed,” added Mlinzi.

Rubbing my neck, I thought through these conditions. Mlinzi and Walinzi probably did have a rather hazy view of human emotions. Having them promise no injury was about as good as I could secure.

“I must say, this is a rather fine bargain.” Walinzi stopped fussing with her brother and hopped closer to me. “Do you want the Sword or not?”