"And of course, you had nothing to do with her learning this," Faro put in, his voice dense with irony. "The fact that all those restrictions on demon-kind would be gone if this change of yours takes place would have nothing to do with Adria learning of the shard."
Ware contrived to look innocent. "I? Why should I have told her these things? Of course, an ambitious person of my kind would have every reason to let this information slip, if he already had an extensive network among the freedmen. Although you are correct; the vows to serve and obey the Queen and the other laws we must obey would no longer be in effect if there was no longer a Mazonite government."
"Hmm." Xylina grimaced a little. She did not in the least believe his innocent ploy. As he had pointed out, one had to be very careful when dealing with demons, who had centuries in which to learn the ways of bypassing oaths. Nothing Ware said could be taken at absolute face value. Perhaps he had told Adria nothing directly-but he could have brought a document to her attention, or something of the sort. He could even have planted such a document where he knew she would find it.
She did not particularly like those repeated references to the fact that the laws governing the demons' behavior would no longer bind them when the change took place. And what if the change gave the demons all power of magic? All of humanity could wind up being their slaves!
"I don't suppose this is true," she said, "this tale of immortal youth-"
"Ah, but it is," Ware replied, his eyes gleaming. "Remember, dear Xylina, we may not lie to the Queen. It is entirely true. It is simply not the entire truth."
Xylina tried to think what was wrong with this-there must be something that Ware had not yet told them. "But if that tale is true, the realm is in no real danger. She can simply keep the shard forever, and never take it to the main crystal. In fact, she would not want it out of her possession for even a moment! What on earth could ever induce her to take the shard to the greater crystal?"
But something in Ware's sly and anticipatory expression told her that she had not heard the entire story. Her guess that he still had something to tell them was right. And he was waiting for her to ask.
"All right," Xylina said, finally. "How would or could this shard be brought to the great crystal against the Queen's wish and will?"
Ware smiled again, showing the sharp tips of his teeth. "Because the shard is a subtle thing, as is the parent crystal," he told them. "It has a will of its own. It slowly corrupts its wearer to its will. While it would take something like a hundred years for the shard to wholly subvert its wearer, it does not actually need to wholly subvert someone to get her to do what it wills, as I am sure you realize." Once again, his eyes went strange and full of otherness. She shivered, looking into them. "When it prevails, the person wearing it is compelled to take it to the larger crystal so that it can be merged with the great stone. Once it prevails, the bearer will make up some reason why she wishes to do what the stone wants. It is possible that Adria will convince herself that if a small shard of the crystal is a good thing to have, the greater parent crystal would be better. So you see now, the shard will inevitably prevail, if it has a bearer."
"So unless it is kept hidden away from people so that no one can mount and wear it, the shard will have its will," Xylina said, after a long moment. "There is nothing that can be done that will stop that."
"Quite true. And the present order has endured for so long only because the fragment has been hidden," Ware said, his eyes slowly returning to normal. "But the end of the era is in sight. The Queen discovered the existence of the shard, and now she knows where it is, and she means to have it. She desires eternal youth, immortality, and enhanced power-and I think that even if she knew the whole truth, she would convince herself that she could withstand the will of the shard."
He looked carefully into Xylina's face, as if he was reading her mind from her expression. "Do not think that you will stop her from this by simply not fetching the stone for her, Xylina. She will merely send someone else, as she has been sending others all along-Guards, adventurers, fortune-seekers. She has had power for so many years that she has become corrupted by it, able to convince herself that what she wants will be good for her people as a whole. And having succumbed to one sort of corruption, she is ripe to be corrupted by another. She will have the shard, and when she does, she will soon have to merge it. She will persuade herself that the will of the shard is her will, and go to find the parent crystal. And when she does-"
Silence. Then Faro spoke. "It will be the end of their world," he said, his voice like the thunder presaging a storm.
Xylina stretched, slipped off clothing she had not, until this evening, considered shabby, and stepped into a simmering white-marble cauldron of hot, soothing water.
At last she was alone. Now she could review recent events and perhaps come to terms with them.
After much discussion, Ware had brought them both to his villa, and housed them in luxury Xylina could not have imagined enjoying a day before. He pointed out that there was no point in keeping the hired guards-Faro could complete the training of his current crop of students anywhere-and if Adria changed her mind, they would be much more secure with his slaves to guard them. And, he added rather pathetically, "Since I must be with you at all times, it would be much more comfortable to be housed in my villa, than in your home." He added hastily, "It is a very good home, Xylina, but it is not what I have grown used to. It will be a bit crowded, I think."
Faro laughed, and even Xylina had to agree that her modest dwelling could not compete in luxury with Ware's villa. So they traversed the city and entered the massive gates-
And Ware showed them the true extent of his wealth.
Within moments, Xylina gave up trying to imagine how much wealth was represented there, and simply enjoyed it all.
True to his word, Ware had not made any advances toward Xylina, although Faro watched him in much the manner of a dog scenting someone suspicious. Instead, Ware treated them to a fine dinner, served as they reclined on fine upholstered couches in his sumptuous, rose-silk-paneled dining room. As he had told Xylina, he treated Faro as an equal, and he treated his own slaves with a courtesy normally shown only by one citizen to another. His slaves were all uniformly good-looking, with graceful bodies. They served Ware and his guests without a sound, though with no sign of the kind of cowed subservience Xylina had seen in other slaves of their type.
She could not identify half of what they were served, but everything she tried was so savory that her own attempts at cooking seemed like childish scrawls compared to Faro's writing. She made a comment, and Ware smiled.
"I also train cooks," was all he said, but the slave serving him at that moment smiled.
When they finished, Ware bid them good night, then had one of his silent, handsome slaves show them to their chambers.
They had a suite of three rooms, the whole larger than her entire house. There were two chambers set up for sleeping, with a private bath that led into both rooms. In order to reach the second of the bedrooms, one had to pass through the first. There was clothing laid out for them, apparel with which Xylina wished she could have found fault. But though the fabric of her waiting outfit was luxurious, the cut was just as severe and modest as she could have required. That was when her own clothing seemed suddenly shabby. She was just vain enough to enjoy looking attractive, and the rich blue silk of this raiment was her favorite color.
She and Faro exchanged a glance; he shrugged, and gestured at the bathroom. "If you would like a bath, little mistress, I can ring for a slave, or I can draw the bath myself."