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Whatever this magic of Cador’s was, Tressalara wanted none of it. She had already been in one man’s power and would never willingly relinquish control to another again.
While Tressalara bared her arm and bathed it in the clear-flowing water, two frogs watched from among the reeds. “I still don’t see how we escaped from the caverns,” Illusius croaked in a language that only the wild creatures of the forest understand. “And I still don’t know why we’re here.”
Niniane’s eyes were trained on Cador, standing tall amid the busy routine of the camp like one of the legendary heroes from the mists of time. He was looking for Tressalara, while pretending not to.
“I’m not quite certain, either,” the sorceress frog replied, “but I’m beginning to get a hint. I just wish there were some quicker way for us to get around instead of hopping. I wish we couldfly.”
She tried to remember the words of the shape-changing spell, but there seemed to be gaps in her memory. Illusius filled in the blanks. Suddenly tiny pinpricks tickled their speckled hides, and they felt themselves expanding rapidly.
Tressalara hadn’t noticed any large waterfowl nearby, but a loud flapping of wings rent the air. To her surprise, a brace of birds flashed out from among the reeds and launched themselves into the sky.
Swans. One black, one white.
Lord Lector paced his chamber by flickering torchlight. The ascetic room that had belonged to King Varro was now filled with every luxurious indulgence. Two weeks had passed since Tressalara’s escape, and the wizard Rill, brought at great expense, from foreign lands before the coup, had not produced the promised results. The princess and the crystal still eluded Lector.
The first was a matter of outraged pride but also, like the second, a necessity. The need to capture both princess and crystal was great. From all reports, the insurgent army was growing by the hour. His own troops had cowed the countryside with their swift and brutal punishments, but they were not sufficient to counter a full-scale rebellion. Worst of all, according to rumor, Cador, his old enemy, had joined forces with them. Cador, the one man who could bring all of Lector’s plans and ambitions to naught.
That was where the Andun Crystal entered the picture. The crystal had been found in the legendary Mystic Lake by Saint Ethelred, King Varro’s ancient ancestor, and could be used for good or ill. Its radiance could bring fair weather, good crops, and robust health and prosperity to all. In the wrong hands, it could bring disaster, famine, and plague.
It could also be used to bend the people’s will to follow the wishes of the one who commanded its powers. Once it was in his possession, Lector knew, he would be invincible. A cruel smile twisted the usurper’s lips. If Varro, that old fool, had spent more time overseeing his kingdom and less time praying on his knees, he would still be alive.
But in order to harness the energies of the crystal, Lector needed Tressalara’s cooperation. The Andun Crystal was protected by an enchantment. If any but the true heir to the Dragon Throne touched the crystal, he would be burned to ash. If the true heir held the crystal out to another, however, that person would also inherit the power to hold and to use the Andun Crystal’s magic, without suffering harm.
He rounded on the magician angrily. “If you have such powers as you boast of, why can you not discover the whereabouts of the princess?”
The necromancer Rill scattered more ashes into the brazier. A cloud of blue smoke rose up but quickly dissipated. “It is useless. She is under some powerful protection. If I did not know better, I would swear it is the Andun Crystal itself.”
Lector cursed. “Perhaps she does have it, then.”
“No.” Rill was certain of it. “The Andun Crystal is somewhere within the castle walls. But, like the princess, it hides itself from us.”
“Imusthave one or the other in my possession to enforce my claim to the throne. I would prefer to have both.”
“It is the crystal alone that matters. Marrying the princess would only give you legal title to the crown. The Andun Crystal would ensure that you keep it.”
“I have a score to settle with her.” Lector’s hand went to the lurid wound that scarred his cheek. “Furthermore, Tressalara is sure to know where Varro hid the crystal.”
He resumed his prowling, anticipating his revenge with a dark glint in his eye. “We must have Tressalara. Once she is in my power, everything will fall in place. But first she must be found. And that,” he growled, “seems a task beyond your gifts, magician!”
“We shall find the crystal eventually.”
“Damn you, man! I need it for the coronation; otherwise the nobles will conspire against me. With it in my possession they will have to acknowledge me as their rightful king.” His mouth twisted in a bitter smile. “They will have no choice.”
Rill leaned closer and whispered in the usurper’s ear. “I have prepared for this contingency. When you take your oath, my lord, it shall be upon an exact duplicate of the Andun Crystal that I commissioned.”
Lector raised one eyebrow. “And what craftsman created this item of interest?”
The magician smiled. “A dead one. I saw no need for him to live once he had completed his task.”
“A wise plan. But only for the interim.”
“Oh, but I have another, my lord. One that will lure Princess Tressalara to the castle. Once she is here, I can use my magic to force her to lead us to the Andun Stone.” His heavy lids fell to conceal the greedy gleam of anticipation in his eyes. “And then, in reward, you shall name me Keeper of the Andun Crystal, as we agreed.”
Lector examined his co-conspirator with distaste. “Are you so sure you can control its magic? Or do you have some bizarre desire to be turned into a heap of smoldering ash?”
“This has not harmed me,” Rill responded, pulling a glittering shard from the leather pouch at his waist. It glowed in the lamplight, turning now blue, now purple, now clear, dazzling white. “It is twin to the one owned by the Laird of Kildore and was found on the shores of Mystic Lake. It is a piece broken off the original Andun Crystal, and it has proved its power to cloud men’s minds. Did I not use it to keep Jeday and Varro from getting wind of your coup?”
Lector poured himself a goblet of wine and drank it down. “Coincidence. If your shard is so powerful, why don’t I have the Andun Stone and the princess in my possession yet?”