Song of the Saurials - Kate Novak [90]
"Is Akabar aware of your interest in him?" Finder asked.
"But of course," Xaran replied. "Akabar and I are old friends."
"That's curious," Finder replied. "I remember speaking with Akabar after he'd witnessed the destruction of the beholder head of the fiend Phalse. He told me he'd never seen a beholder before."
Xaran's eye stalks all stood on end, and its central eye squinted angrily.
"Phalse!" it exclaimed and spat on the ground with disgust. Finder had struck a nerve by mentioning the fiend. "The servant you created, the one you call Alias, did well to rid the world of that bottle imp." More calmly, the beholder added,
"I'm sure what Akabar meant was that he'd never seen such a ridiculous-looking beholder head as Phalse's. Each of Phalse's stalks ended in a mouth, you know, instead of an eye- a thoroughly disgusting-looking creature."
Olive, whose attention had been focused on all the orcs staring at her, was suspicious of something the beholder had said. Xaran's hatred of Phalse wasn't surprising, since Phalse was pretty despicable, and it could just be a coincidence that Xaran should know both Phalse and Akabar. But how had the creature known about Alias? Even if it had heard some of the tales Olive told of Alias's adventures, it couldn't have known that Finder had created Alias. Out of loyalty to Alias, Olive had never revealed the swordswoman's origins. How had Xaran known that, and where had it gained such thorough knowledge of Nameless-the location of his workshop and his all-consuming desire for immortality?
"So. What guarantee do I have that you'll make me immortal once I've done all you ask?" Finder asked.
Wait a minute, Olive thought. For all his faults, Nameless never thought of Alias as a servant. He always referred to her as simply Alias. The only being that ever called Alias "the servant" was…
"I will make you immortal before I send you after Akabar Bet Akash," Xaran said.
Moander! Olive remembered.
"Finder!" the halfling whispered urgently.
Finder put a heavy hand on Olive's head as a signal for her to remain quiet.
"Then how can you be sure that I'll return with Akabar?" he asked.
"There are ways to ensure your good faith," Xaran said cryptically.
"Finder!" Olive said more loudly, tugging on the bard's sleeve.
"Don't worry," Finder whispered hurriedly to the halfling, then addressed Xaran again. "I'm not leaving without my companion. She is far too useful to me to trust in the care of your… troops."
"Believe me, I had nothing so… crude in mind. Take this," Xaran said. He unrolled his tongue from his mouth. Resting on the end of his tongue was a green, spine-covered burr about the size and shape of a horse chestnut burr.
Finder reached out and took the bur. It was covered with a sticky substance, and the tips of the spines had tiny hooks on them.
"What is it?" the bard asked.
"Your immortality," Xaran explained.
Olive pinched Finder's thigh. The bard glared down at the halfling.
"Excuse me, Xaran. I have to confer with my companion."
"Is she interested in a similar deal?" Xaran asked, turning several eyestalks in the halfling's direction.
"No thanks," Olive replied. "Life would be dreadfully dull without the constant terror of death hanging over me," she said glibly. "I just wanted to remind Finder of something."
The bard bent over the halfling. "I have everything under control. Olive," he whispered. "Please trust me."
"He called Alias 'the servant,'" Olive hissed back.
"So?"
"That was Moander's name for her, remember?" Olive said softly.
"Olive, you're getting paranoid," Finder said.
"Moander used vines to control Akabar," the halfling reminded him, trying to keep her voice from being overheard. "The vines made him talk and walk and cast spells, all against his will. Kyre had a flower in her hair. Xaran's got moss on its head. What sort of self-respecting beholder wears moss on its head?" the halfling demanded.
Finder scowled for a moment, but when he looked up at Xaran again, he couldn't dismiss Olive's fears.
He tossed