The Draykon Series (1-3)

Orlind: Chapter Thirteen

'Well, it's confirmed,' Eva sighed, shutting off the voice-box. 'Llan's group didn't find the draykoni.'

'You aren't surprised,' Tren said.

'Not much, no.'

They were sitting together on a small sofa, trying not to stare at Ana and Griel who were sitting opposite, all the way on the other side of the room. Someone had given Ana a cup of tea, and the woman had been calmer since. Eva wondered idly where Limbane had found the perfect, if old-fashioned, porcelain tea set she was using.

They had all been cooped up in the Library for some time. To Eva it felt like weeks. They'd talked and talked; every detail of their experiences with Krays had been gone over again and again until Eva felt ready to scream. They'd slept and eaten and then repeated those meetings all over again, until at last Limbane seemed satisfied.

Whether he'd learned anything more through this exhausting cross-examination, Eva couldn't tell.

'So...' said Tren in a long sigh. 'Conclusions?'

'If they aren't on our cluster of worlds, where else could they be? As far as I know, draykoni can't cross clusters at will.'

He grunted assent. 'Got to be Krays, then.'

'Mhm.' She thought about that. 'We need to be sure, though. We might be missing something important.'

'And anyway, if we're right we're still facing the question of why Mr Krays-the-Abominable has carted them off.'

'In which case we're stuck.'

'Mhm.' Eva leaned over a little and rested her head on Tren's shoulder. 'So how do we get more information?'

'Well.' Tren dropped a quick kiss on her hair. 'These two aren't Krays's primary agents anymore. Haven't been for a while. Who are his closest associates?'

'They might know, I suppose,' she said, nodding in the direction of Ana and Griel.

'But Krays's closest associates are unlikely to betray him, even if we learn who they are.'

'True,' Eva conceded.

'That's assuming he's keeping anyone informed about his antics. Seems he's secretive.'

'Also a problem,' she agreed, snuggling a little closer. She waited.

Tren thought.

'If only there was a way get at him more directly. This dancing about on the edges isn't getting us far enough.'

'If only.'

'It's no use going back to those warehouses. We know he moves them around regularly. We'd need to get into the Library itself, and of course that's impossible.'

'Completely.'

Silence. Eva could almost hear him thinking.

'Although... no, that's far too dangerous.'

She sighed and sat up. 'It is, but this isn't a matter of choice anymore.'

He stared at her, suspicious. 'You've already worked this out.'

'A while back,' she confirmed. 'I was waiting for you to reach the same conclusion.'

'You couldn't have just told me the plan?'

'After the fuss you made about bringing Griel here? I didn't want to get into another fight with you.'

'We're going to have one anyway,' he said grimly. 'Let's make sure we're clear about this. You want to use those two, don't you?' He jerked his head at the far side of the room, where Ana and Griel still sat in eerie silence. If they could hear what was being discussed, they gave no sign of it.