Page 16 of Obsidian Dream

“Enjoying house arrest?”

“If you ignore the guard as a shadow, it has been awfully pleasant.A chance to catch up on my reading,” Chaucer responded, as if he was talking about the weather.There was still a sallow tint to his skin, but he was looking far better than he had seventy-two hours ago.He tapped his wrist innocently, a hint that he knew they were keeping permanent tabs on him.There was no mark on his skin, but it was where Khalida had ordered the doctor to insert the tracker.

Talik tsk-tsked.“The dungeon is always an option.According to my memory, it is positively freezing at this time of year.”

Chaucer lips twitched.“I will take your word for it.”

“Are you both done?”Khalida interrupted, glaring at both of them before she turned to Chaucer.“When did you become a jerk?”

Khalida struggled to reconcile the timid, bookish Chaucer prone to fainting at the sight of blood with the Atlantean before her.

“When he decided to become a traitor?”Talik interrupted.“Seems like he has shed his old skin and has finally revealed his true self.”

Chaucer sighed as he clenched his fist under the table.“Would you prefer me to act like the Atlantean you expected?Would that get me out of house arrest?”

Talik laughed.The sound swirled around her, comforting her.

Khalida rolled her shoulders back, brushing up against Talik as she stared down Chaucer.“We need your help.”

Chaucer looked taken aback, his eyes widening for a second before he quickly recovered and an emotionless mask fell into place.It had been too brief and raw to not be an honest reaction.Chaucer may be a Delacroix, but he had not inherited the same coldness or ruthlessness that seemed to be second nature to Dante.Some sort of decency, something buried deep within Chaucer, had made him stop and prevented him from betraying Rieka.Khalida didn’t think if the roles of Dante and Chaucer had been reversed, that Dante would have afforded Rieka the same curtesy.

“What do I get out of it?”

Talik shifted, the mood in the library instantly changing to a darker tone.“You get to stay alive.Rieka may have spared your life, but I would hate for you to have an unfortunate accident.”

“Always the thug, even in your designer suit.”Chaucer tilted his head, his gaze inscrutable.“I will need access to the archives.”

“We haven’t told you what we want,” Talik replied.

Warmth spread through Khalida at the hint of the word “we.”It wasn’t something she took pride in, harshly reminding herself that they were not friends.

Chaucer smirked.“You are only talking to me because Idris is unable to give you the information.And while Rieka has declined to agree to my execution, my intrinsic value is having more information about the Anki and the wayfarers than the rest of you.”

Chaucer was smarter than she previously had given him credit for.

She slowly removed the scroll, careful to keep it out of Chaucer’s reach, but close enough that he would notice the transforming glyphs.Holding the scroll up in the moonlight, it appeared more fragile than in the infirmary.Over the last couple of hours, the edges of the scroll had darkened.

Chaucer looked transfixed.

Khalida dangled the scroll in front of him, determined to get an answer.“How do we find the Anki?”