take a Dragon Thunderbus and do what must be done If Jardaine resists arrest shoot her Shoot Jal-Maktar too In the grand ballroom upstairs Jardaine and her underling Nick the Troll were hurriedly moving chairs from the plush carpet so that Becky could lie down Fire Sprites flickered in their sconces casting shadows into the high rafters Becky yawned and sat down on the carpet Jardaine glanced at the girl with an anxious grin We’ll have this cleared away in no time she said You’ll get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow we’ll begin our preparations to leave for the Pole How long do you think it will take Becky asked wearily The Elf’s name was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t quite recall it She lay on her side with the mossy carpet pressed against her cheek I’ve forgotten what to call you she murmured You can call me Astrid Jardaine said and my friend’s name is Nicholas of time I prefer Nick the dark-haired Elf piped in like how I arrived in the nick How long will it take before we can go after my brother Becky asked If those Elves Tuava-Li and her Mage want to hurt him we’d better hurry Jardaine turned and swept across the carpet to where Becky lay I know how worried you are she said But we must be properly prepared for the journey While you sleep we’ll work on acquiring the maps cold-weather provisions weapons and the Arvada for travel We’ll be on our way as soon as we can
There’s something else Becky said Princess Asra she’s my friend and she’s here in the palace somewhere Do you think you could find her and tell her I’m okay Asra you say Jardaine said through gritted teeth You know an Elfin Princess called Asra Becky nodded Uh-huh She’s my best friend I’ll look into it Jardaine said and if she’s here I’ll do what I can to find her for you In the meantime though I want you to close your eyes and not give it another thought Thank you Becky said with a sleepy smile I’m really glad to know that
there are Elves like you who want to help people Nick moved the last of the chairs into the corner of the room and Becky stretched out on the carpet With a gesture from Jardaine the Fire Sprites drew their flickering light down to a dim glow Becky was already asleep by the time Jardaine and Nick exited through the massive ballroom doors and hurried down the corridor How does that child know Princess Asra she said anxiously And why would she call the Princess her best friend If Macta and Asra are still alive they have the power to completely destroy our plans Nick We’ve got to get out of Helfratheim before the girl finds out what’s going on Jal-Maktar struck Macta and Asra with his fist and they vanished in a puff of smoke Aye but he didn’t kill them He said he was going to deal with them later He sent them somewhere else that’s all For all we know the three of them could be conspiring against me right now Halt a voice cried out Stop where you are both of you Weapons clattering a handful of Imperial Guards squeezed together midway up the stairs Their eyes darted around knowing that if Jardaine were here Jal-Maktar might well be nearby Jardaine sneered down at them from the banister She wasn’t sure which of them had dared to bark orders at her they all looked equally fearful and wary Fools don’t you know that Jal-Maktar is right behind me Which of you will order him to stop She put a hand on Nick’s shoulder and whispered I’m going to conjure up the image of one of Jal-Maktar’s monsters It takes an enormous amount of energy to do this Hold on to me in case I lose my balance I can’t afford to fall down Nick complied thrilled that his Master had confided her weakness to him Jardaine pressed her eyelids shut and bowed her head She pictured a huge tar skinned creature with a dozen bobbing heads and with a sharp exhalation of breath she sent the image of the monster into the minds of the guards cringing below Jardaine’s knees buckled as the guards shrieked and turned on the stairs panic-stricken and raced for the exit She opened her eyes and realized that Nick still had his arms around her shoulders She could feel his hot breath on her cheek Let go of me she hissed and pushed him away Are you all right Nick asked Aye Jardaine said stiffening Prashta’s stooges are gone aren’t they Nick’s eyes were wild with delight How did you do that my Mage There
was nothing there but the soldiers ran like frightened rabbits Can you teach me to make monsters with my mind Jardaine snorted Bah Tis magick not for the likes of you Don’t get too excited though The soldiers will be back Prashta will send them with reinforcements next time and I may not have the strength to fool them again We’ve got to get over to the techmagick labs and see if they have any weapons I can use against Prashta’s forces My bag of tricks will take us only so far The pair met no further resistance between the palace and the Techmagicians labs The door deep in shadows was ajar Is anyone here Jardaine cried There was no response Jardaine turned toward the narrow doorway in the corner We don’t want any surprises she said starting up the staircase We’ll take the back way Prashta’s troops could surprise us at any moment On the second floor they entered a glass-walled room stacked with mechanical gear A ghostly blue glow came from a box propped on a table Cables snaked their way from the back of the box down the table legs and across the floor In the gloom Jardaine could see a figure in a lab coat cowering under the table Come out of there she commanded Tis no use trying to hide Let me see your face Your Hi-Highness the Elf stammered creeping from his hiding place I mean Your Grace I mean my Mage I am at your command Indeed you are Jardaine said Though I’m the Mage of Helfratheim I have enemies within the palace I’ve come in search of weapons with which I may defend myself The Techmagician gulped His best weapons were already in factory production and there was little that remained in the Experimentalists labs to share with the Mage He placed a trembling finger on his chin and gazed around Then he crossed the room reached into a vat of liquid and fished out a ceramic rod A thin segmented worm was coiled around the tip He held it up for Jardaine to see Touch the end of this device to your enemy’s flesh he said and they’ll be shocked as if struck by lightning The worm holds an electric charge for twelve hours Indeed Jardaine said wrinkling her nose Is it lethal The Techmagician shrugged That depends on the length of contact Jardaine took the device in her hand What else What else The Techmagician’s heart was pounding Ah there are
