The Chronicles of Nir

25 | Absolute Chaos

The suited man helped Maisie onto the stage first, squeezing her hand far more intimately than was appropriate before guiding Eri up the steps.

As they approached Korkin, the dwarf cast Eri a smoldering glare.

He puffed out his chest and extracted a monocle from the breast pocket of his vest. "Let's have a look at this gem, shall we?"

Reluctantly, Maisie dropped the pendant in the dwarf's gloved palm. He snatched it and held it up to the light.

"To determine its authenticity, I shall pour a drop of spirits upon the gem" he said, projecting a showman's voice to the audience as he produced a small flask from another pocket of his vest. "If it is khore, it will turn bright red and glow like the setting sun. If it is not, then it will not react at all."

"That isn't true," Eri murmured, leaning towards Maisie to speak in her ear. "Khore is highly reactive in its raw form, but once it's refined like this, it's incredibly difficult to unlock its hidden power."

"So what's he playing at?" Maisie whispered.

Eri shook his head as Korkin splashed liquid over the stone in his hand.

As expected, nothing happened.

He held it up for the audience to see. "Ah-ha! A fake!"

Shouts of anger and outrage swept the crowd, drowning out any more reasonable voices.

With a knowing smirk, Trinnian nodded to the guards waiting at the edge of the stage.

"Arrest these frauds at once," she commanded. "Kill them if they resist."

As the guards approached, Maisie pressed close to Eri, taking hold of his arm.

At the back of the auditorium, Thaddeus shot to his feet, cheeks bright red with indignation. "This is outrageous! Any smith worth his hammer knows that isn't how you test khore. If anyone is a fraud, it's that dwarf!"

He pointed straight at Korkin and the crowd gasped at his audacity.

Lady Trinnian merely rolled her eyes. "Lord Vine, I must insist—"

"Korkin is a lying cheat, and you know it!" Shaking with righteous fury, Thaddeus whirled to address the audience. "I employed him until very recently, when I discovered he'd been stealing from me all along. Do you not wonder why he has no mustache, the lack of which is a sign of great dishonor among dwarves? My companions cut it off as punishment for his treachery—the very same whom he now attempts to swindle out of precious khore!"

A few uncertain voices rippled among the crowd, but Korkin would not be outdone so easily.

"We have an accomplice!" he shouted, and pointed at Thaddeus. "Seize him as well!"

As another set of guards moved down the aisles towards Thaddeus, Maisie clung to Eri's arm with one hand while her other strayed to the dagger concealed in the bodice of her dress.

"This night is going splendidly, isn't it?" she remarked.

"It's not over yet," Eri replied. "Have you a handkerchief?"

"Of course I have a handkerchief," Maisie hissed as two more of Trinnian's guards flanked each side of the stage and closed in on them with weapons drawn. "What about it?"

"Cover your nose and mouth with it, and close your eyes," Eri said, and withdrew a small, spiky ball from his pocket. "Only a fool walks into the enemy's home unprepared," he said, and cast the ball at the ground.

Unfortunately, his aim was poor (impeded by his blindness) and the ball landed near the edge of the stage.

It shattered on impact, releasing a cloud of noxious smoke. Maisie coughed and covered her face with the embroidered square of cloth, but most of the smoke wafted over the audience, from whom screams and panicked shouts erupted.