Outside, the morning air is crisp but the grey sky holds the promise of rain later that day. Callas says, "I have some news from the council. Tennant has been discovered; if you are brought into the council by him, both of you will probably die. There is another way, though, but I'm afraid you're not going to like it."
Gaius frowns. "Just come out with it, Callas."
"The other way onto the council is through Arumaga."
"Arumaga? The dragon who tried to kill us and ripped Gavaio in half? And then tried to strand us in the middle of the ocean?"
"That one, yes."
"Are you *crazy*?"
Callas laughs mirthlessly. "I can't decide if I am or not, actually. But I do know that Morgan knows that Tennant has been betraying her, and has put Arumaga in charge of reining him in. She doesn't trust Tennant any more, but she doesn't know about the connection between Arumaga and I. If Arumaga brings you in, she's much more likely to accept you and give us the opening we need to cut her throat."
"So what makes you think you can trust Arumaga?"
"It's...complicated." Callas looks past Gaius, her gaze abstracted, and pulls absentmindedly on a lock of her hair. "I know what made him the way he is, and I know why he's doing the things he is. He's seen more sorrow than anyone should ever have to. I had to open the door for him to come back to what he was, and he may decide to step through. But it's more than that. I've watched him, and the more I watch him the more I think that in his own way he's one of the most honorable beings I've ever met.
"Plus, I asked him to trust me. And that has to go both ways, if what I'm planning is going to work--I'm going to have to walk through the last three hundred and fifty years with him and be his guide through the maze. He may decide to betray us, but that's the risk we run every day. He could have killed us on Fiji and didn't. I can't explain why I'm so certian of him, but...I am."
Gauis looks thoughtful. "You're right. I don't like it."
"He may also ask you to do things you wouldn't otherwise do. If I thought there was any other way to cut the council loose from Morrigan, I wouldn't be asking this of you. I hope you know that. The only thing I can do is ask you, as your friend, to trust me. And to trust him. You're the only one of us who they'd beleive--you've never demonstrated that you have so much as a devious bone in your body. You don't have to decide now, but I've told Arumaga that I'll send him an answer today, yes or no.
"And one more thing--Morgan has my sister locked up in Versailles with her, and has for a while now. The only way to get her out is to have someone on the inside sneak her out from under Morgan and Modred's noses." Callas' voice is filled with anger. "When I think of what they've done to her...she doesn't even have a name. And still she defies them. I can't get in, but if you can..." She trails off.
"Just let me know. I'll understand if you refuse. It's some deep shadows we're walking through, and the risk isn't just of death."
There's a call from inside, and Callas nods. "Sounds like we're wanted. When you decide, tell me and I'll take care of the rest."
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Later on in the morning Callas heard a voice in her head as Gaius sent her his response:
You know, I feel a lot better trusting Arumaga than I do Tennant. Tennant has betrayed the council to help us, and I entirely expect he will betray us in the end. Let him know that he has my trust. There is probably no sense in being devious, he's smart enough to know my motives and allegiances have not changed, but if he asks something specific of me I will do it for him regardless.
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