Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
I waited until the thief glanced away from me then lunged forward, trying to wrestle the coin from Drake's pocket with an angry snarl. He threw a fist towards my jaw, but I blocked it, grabbing his waist and trying to get my hands on that coin while working to throw him off of his feet.
“We have to destroy it,” I demanded, but he slammed his hands to my chest to force me back.
“It's mine, you arsehole. You can't break it,” he snarled, glaring at me and pulling that fucking dagger again in a clear warning.
I wasn’t entirely sure why he hadn’t killed me yet after I’d ended up leading his men to their deaths and bringing him to claim a treasure which was cursed, but the look in his eyes said he would do it if I kept pushing him.
I was confident in my own fighting ability but it was clear that Drake had an Affinity for the fight too, and with that blade in his hand the odds were stacked in a way I didn’t much like.
Not that I wasn’t willing to die for my emperor and my kingdom, but I knew skewering myself on a blade and bleeding out in the dirt wouldn’t do anyone any good unless I managed to destroy that coin at the same time.
I was still shaken from the display of ancient magic I had just witnessed, and my brain was taking a while to catch up to convince myself it had really happened.
I growled under my breath, trying to figure out a way to right what had happened.
That being was all-powerful. I’d never even heard tales of a creature which could harness magic in the way she could aside from the gods themselves, and yet the small amount of power I’d just seen was more than enough to convince me of how dangerous it could be if it fell under Magdor’s control.
Whatever the creature in that coin was, I didn’t think it was a god though.
More like some malevolent spirit chained and bound within the coin in an attempt to control it and keep it from causing harm to all it encountered.
I wasn’t buying its act either. Of course I hadn’t failed to notice the way it had appeared as a stunningly beautiful woman, her body on display in a clear attempt to disarm us with lust and seduction, but no such tricks would work on me. I was made of steel.
The thing really did seem to hunger for someone to control it which made me think its power was somehow tethered to that coin, and perhaps it was unable to act without the guidance of the one who ruled over it.
If it truly could do whatever was desired by its master then the threat such power could pose was endless.
In the wrong hands, that thing could be used to destroy kingdoms or even an empire.
It was far too much power for any one Fae to hold, and the only clear option to me was to destroy it before it could fall into Magdor’s possession.
Perhaps she wasn’t my only threat now. Drake had claimed that power; a street thief with zero good intentions.
He may not have been as bad as the empress, but he was going to make himself rich with this creature.
I could practically see him salivating over the idea right now and then he’d pack up and take himself somewhere far away where I'd never find him again. Or worse, he’d get a taste for power and be corrupted even deeper by it.
“I don’t know what the fuck that thing is,” I said, holding my hands out and backing off a little to show him I was ending our fight. “But its power isn’t natural, and the empress is hunting for it. The safest thing we could do would be to destroy the coin and make sure she never gets hold of it.”
Drake ran his tongue over his teeth, assessing me for a moment before shaking his head.
“I don’t really see that happening, mate,” he replied.
“Even if I was inclined to let you destroy it, I seriously doubt you could. Didn’t you see the power of that woman?
She’s like a force of nature given flesh.
Hell, I wouldn’t even be surprised if she was one of the lost gods or some shit like that.
You ain’t gonna be able to destroy her, even with your fancy sword.
Besides, didn’t you hear what she said? She wants me to be her master, to command that power. I can’t say that sounds bad to me.”
“Assuming it’s not a trap,” I ground out.
I didn’t like the way he was referring to that thing as a woman either; it felt like falling for the ruse it was presenting and we had barely even interacted with it.
Even if what the creature had claimed was true and it needed a master to serve, that wasn’t to say it was incapable of tricks or cunning.
All the tales of old were filled with warnings about the word games our kind used to play to circumvent the truth.
Every creature of old learned that well too.
There were countless tales of serpents, dragons, spirits, arachnids and monsters using such tricks to lure gullible Fae to their demise, and I was fully expecting this thing to be no different.
“Yeah,” he agreed and it was clear that was the reason why he hadn’t asked anything of the thing yet, so I supposed I had to give him credit for that.
He may have been utterly lacking in manners or morals, but the thief was no fool.
“But if it’s not a trap and it really is some old magic left here hidden in this place, just aching for a master then I’m pretty sure I’m it.
Because I’m sick of having nothing and working my damn arse off to try and keep myself fed while watching Egos take the bulk of everything I earn for myself.
I’m sick of my luck never holding and my fate being carved out before me in such a predictable way.
You know what I can expect from my life?
I have years ahead of me where my looks and skill will keep me in the position I hold now, thieving and running the streets and working tirelessly but never keeping enough of what I take to truly set myself up for good.
Which means my future either ends in my brutal death through violence, or my return to the streets when I can no longer keep up with the demands of my lifestyle, or the possibility of whoring myself to some wealthy woman and conning her into marriage, or at least keeping me around on a permanent basis so that if I ever make it to old age I have some small hope of being able to die warm in a bed.
Can’t say any of those prospects have ever held much appeal to me.
This coin in my pocket could just be my way outta this shit.
So I’m not likely to be giving it up to you to destroy now, am I? ”
His words were blunt and full of honesty.
He couldn’t lie here and he didn’t even seem ashamed that he wanted the power of that thing for anything other than his own gain and greed.
But maybe that was okay. Maybe I could still do something which would help Osaria and make this trip to the middle of the cursed desert worthwhile.
He might have had a point about me not easily destroying that thing too, but that didn’t mean I had to just give up on the idea of it.
I ran a hand over my short hair, trying to figure out a way to twist this situation into something other than an utter failure.
Not to mention convincing him not to leave me out here to die in the desert when he left.
If I couldn’t strike at the coin right now, then perhaps I could encourage him to use it to my advantage and the advantage of the entire kingdom for good measure.
I just had to figure out how to appeal to the better nature of a man who proudly claimed to have no such thing.
“Alright,” I muttered, taking another step back and dropping my hands. “I can see you’re determined to keep it.”
Drake flashed me a grin the moment he saw the fight going out of me and he stuck his dagger back through his belt, running a hand over the stubble which lined his jaw.
He turned to lead the way back out of the cave and I fell into step beside him, though I noticed he made sure to stay out of reach in case I made a move against him again.
The empire could fall at the hands of this thief. Who knows what he'll do with that power?
“Mate, I'm gonna be so rich,” Drake cooed and an idea stirred in my mind as he laughed to himself.
He was greedy. He'd ask that thing for wealth, maybe even power.
And there was one small, tiny possibility that I could try to convince him of which might mean his goals could align with my own.
I had to give him a nudge that might determine his actions.
I couldn't lie in this place, but I didn't have to. Not if I picked my words well, and after all, wasn’t that what the Fallen had been best at once upon a time?
Creating a cage of words that bound you up in them and made you walk the path they desired regardless of lies or truths.
I was going to channel the Fae of the past and work a miracle on this selfish motherfucker one way or another.
“Drake,” I growled, drawing my shoulders back as I jolted him out of some dreamed up vision as he tried to decide on his first command for the strange creature which resided inside that coin.
He fell still, looking at me like he was expecting more arguments, but I knew that wouldn’t work with him. He wasn’t a reasonable man, but he was a selfish one and I could work with that.
“You can't go back to The Den,” I said. “Egos will kill you if you show up without your men and no jewels to offer him.”
Drake scoffed. “Who says I'm going back? I can go anywhere I want if the power of this thing is real. But where will I go…” His eyes glazed over again and I grabbed hold of his shoulders to make him pay me attention.
He scowled, warning me back with his dagger which he’d somehow managed to pull on me in the blink of an eye and I dropped my hands, knowing I need to play this well. That he wasn't going to do anything I said unless I made it seem like it was his idea.