The baron makes some more whooshing sounds which indicate he doesn’t believe Driok.
“Anyway, you didn’t come to me to discuss my security arrangements…” The baron looks at me for a beat too long. “Or yours. You came for information and it is something I love to supply.”
“So I have been advised,” Driok says evenly as I make a slow circuit of the room, like I think a guard would do.
“And of course, you came to offer me something in return.”
I look over at the baron to find he’s looking at me.
“I have a jewel I believe you would wish to add to your collection,” Driok growls. “A xardonium beryl.”
The baron’s gaze snaps back to Driok. “Impossible. There are only ten in the entire universe, and I have them all.”
“Eleven,” Driok says, and produces something from his pocket.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like the item in his hand. It seems small, but it both pulls in all the light and at the same time reflects it.
It is beautiful.
It is terrible.
I instantly want to get away from it.
The baron releases a new sound, less of a whoosh and more like he’s deflating.
“Eleven,” he repeats. “There are eleven.”
“This one has been in my family for a long, long time,” Driok says. “My ancestors wrote of finding it a thousand nova-years ago.”
DRIOK
Whilst the baron is attempting to keep his cool about the beryl, the undeniable tick of his hidden tentacles is harder than he thinks to hide.
He wants it. He wants it more than anything he’s wanted in his life.
The safety of my mate, my unborn sarkarnling, and my crew are paramount and certainly worth more than any nevving jewel. A million times more, a billion.
I curl my hand around the thing. It’s not like it ever brought my ancestors or my relatives any luck. I suspect I’ve only kept it in my hoard because it’s always been there. Parting with it will not cause me any pain, even if my ancestors are likely to return in my dreams to berate me.
They can go nev themselves because my mate is more important than any jewel. My mate who is currently inspecting a fountain behind the baron and has just been squirted in the face. I stare at the Ntahal. They are a creature well known for their greed and avarice. They lurk in every corner of the universe, dealing, making credits, getting rich on the misery of others. I hate to think what species the Gryn are given the way he talked about them.
My jewel is a bargaining chip which should get me everything I want and more. Providing my mate doesn’t fall into the gilp flowering vines and requires rescuing.
“What…” the baron burbles. “What do you want for it?”
“The information I advised I needed.”
“You can have it all.”
“And…”
“And?”
“I want a ship, supplies, and the latest star charts.”
“Anything.”
“I want the ability to choose whatever I want from the stores below.”
