Page 54 of The Omega Thief

Which meant it had to have two identical faces at each end. It could have many shapes, but the sides mustn’t be curved. After a slow few minutes, Attiker stepped back and looked at what he’d uncovered. The deep gold and ruby glinted off the wall. He imagined the prism, if intact, was about the size of his fist, but here came the tricky part. Getting it out of the wall slowly enough to prevent damage, but quickly enough to prevent heat loss. He also didn’t have all day, or he would run out of time.

He had no idea if Markell had been and gone, successful or otherwise. Apart from the clumsy attempt at a trap, he hadn’t seen any sign of him.

Attiker carried on. He’d emptied his water pouch some time ago, and his mouth was so dry he felt like his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. He could also feel the headache pounding his skull and knew he was seriously dehydrated.

One problem at a time.

After what seemed like forever, he uncovered the rock and stared in awe. Assuming the back was undamaged, the part still stuck in the rock, he’d found what he needed. He could see six faces. One of the identical ones facing him, and he hoped its match was the part he couldn’t see. He also couldn’t get it loose. And the uncovered part would be cooling.

He heard the dragon shift behind him and come closer. He could sense her curiosity and smiled a little. She probably thought he was insane. Which currently made two of them. He let her look while he tried to gently prize the prism away, then she came really close and nudged him.

He glanced at her, trying to show her an image in his mind of getting the prism free and intact. Smoke blew from her nostrils as her large head lowered. He almost imagined her trying to puzzle it out with him, but then she nudged him again so hard he dropped his knife. Just as he bent to pick it up, she opened her mouth, and flames scorched the wall. He stumbled back, watching as she did it again. She couldn’t hurt the rock. If anything, she was keeping it warm. She swung her head to look at him, and Attiker glanced at the prism. Not only was it glowing from heat, but the rock it was embedded into glowed, as well. Attiker reached up, and with barely a gentle tug, he had the prism—the intact prism—in his gloved hands. Without even daring to breathe, he bent to his bag and, holding the prism in one hand, undid the fastenings with the other. A blast of heat hit his face, and he winced as he got it open, but he managed to wrap the prism in the lily leaves Gerry had given him and tuck it securely between the pods. He fastened everything back up and tried not to lick his cracked lips.

Then he looked at her. He didn’t know many words in the old language of Cadmeera before they used the universal tongue, but he was pretty sure Eldara meant something like beautiful heat or endless warmth or something like that. He’d heard it sometimes when people talked about the Endless Desert. She wasn’t a pet, and it wasn’t his right to name her, but he would think of her as such in his head.

She rose to her feet and extended a leg. Somehow, his body seemed to have enough moisture for tears, and he blinked them away. He gathered his tools, secured the bag over his head and shoulder, and pulled it protectively in front of him. Then, with a few steps, she launched. He still felt like he’d lost the contents of his stomach, but it wasn’t so much of a shock, and they were rising. He opened his eyes and saw her pass her cave, and then, in moments, they were at the cliff edge, and she’d landed. He scrambled off. He hadn’t bothered to keep the gloves on after he’d fastened his bag. Her scales were hot but didn’t burn as he’d thought they might. She swung her head and looked at him, sorrow still in her eyes.

“I promise I’ll come back,” he whispered.

She looked at him, and the goodbye in her gaze made his heart hurt. She turned and simply stepped off the cliff edge. He heard the snap of her wings as they opened and turned and headed back. He was in a hurry but needed water desperately. Not that it took him too long to find it. He headed for the trees because, obviously, plants needed moisture, and after the longest two hours of his life, he stumbled into a clearing where a tiny stream ran. Thanking the goddess, he rushed to the edge and unhooked his bag carefully, lay on his belly, and cupped handfuls of water into his mouth. Then he reached down and filled his pouch. He could—

The sharp point of a knife or a sword that pressed into his back made him swear to himself in every language he knew. He knew who it was before he heard the chuckle behind him.

“Well, well. I knew if I waited long enough, you would crawl out of whatever rock you were hiding under.”

Attiker had many insults ready on his tongue, but when someone had a blade pressed to your back, it was wise to keep them to yourself. Markell removed the weapons Attiker had on him, then quickly tied his hands before he kicked Attiker so he rolled and looked up at Markell. Attiker took in the burns to his hands and face. Markell peered into Attiker’s bag, then smiled and withdrew the leaves. He opened them, and as he peered at the prism, being careful not to touch it, Attiker sighed at the malicious smile that curled his lips. “I found a prism on the ledge, but it had a damaged corner, and I couldn’t get any lower than the first level of caves. This is perfect.”

He kicked aside the pod he’d dropped, and it cracked.

“Are you insane?” Attiker blurted. “You can’t—” He cut his words off and could have slapped himself. He’d nearly given Markell the means to get home with his prism. But Markell grinned.

“I don’t need your stupid rocks. I have my own way of keeping the prism warm.” He dragged a small chest over and lifted the lid. He prodded something inside. “Hope it lives until tomorrow, but it’ll keep everything hot. The last one never even made it a day.”

“What will?” Attiker said, unable to stop himself.

Markell smirked. “Brought a fire lizard my man managed to acquire, but it didn’t like the box, I suppose.” He shrugged. “But luckily, I caught myself another one in the cave where I found the prism. It keeps running out of air, but that’s tough. I don’t care if the thing dies, just so long as it stays warm.”

Attiker’s heart beat so loudly he thought Markell could hear it. He barely dared hope. “Look,” he said desperately. “I’ll make a bargain with you.”

Markell laughed. “As if you have anything I want.”

“You let me go when this is over, and I’ll forfeit the second challenge.” He knew damn well Markell wouldn’t let him go, so it didn’t matter.

“What makes you think I can’t beat you anyway?” Markell asked.

“If you hadn’t found me here, you would have lost this one.”

Markell’s eyebrows raised. “Then what makes you think I believe you would keep your word?”

Attiker scoffed and lied through his arse. “Because I’m sick and tired of being forced into things. You think I want to live in a prison?”

Markell frowned.

“What to wear. What I can say. What I can’t say. I’m not cut out for all that palace crap. I’m a seeker because I like being my own boss. They’re supposed to have all this money, but what use is it? I couldn’t go where I liked with it.” He paused. “I just proved what I can do. I’m the sort of person handy to keep around.”

“Prove it,” Markell taunted.

Attiker hoped he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life. “The fire lizard will cool when it dies. I thought everyone knew that, to be honest, and if you seal that box, you’ll be lucky if it isn’t dead within an hour. The prism will cool and crack if you have to keep opening the box to let it breathe.” He nodded to his own bag. “They’re not rocks. They’re dragon lily pods, seeds if you like. Why do you think I have them?”

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