Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 02 (29 page)

I
dismounted. I had to take the moral high road sometime.

I
hate moral high roads.

I sat
on a nearby crate and crossed my arms. “Now talk. What have the Khrynsani got
on you, and why is Rudra Muralin your houseguest?”

Tam
sat up. “Talon.”

“Huh?”

“The
Nightshades took Talon.” A muscle worked in Tam’s jaw. “So no one has anything
on me anymore. Tonight, I’m going to make the Nightshades permanently sorry.”

I did
the math, made some assumptions, and when that got too convoluted, I just
trusted the answer my gut gave me. Talon’s swagger, the bravado, the feline
grace, but most of all the eyes. Tam’s eyes were black. Talon’s were
aquamarine, but they had the same bad-boy sparkle—and the same intent.

And
Tam had taken on the Khrynsani to protect him.

“Talon’s
your son.”

“Yes,
he’s mine.”

Talon
obviously wasn’t a result of Tam’s only marriage to a pure-blooded Mal’Salin
duchess. Tam liked elves. Tam liked me. Judging from Talon’s eyes and pale,
silvery skin, I wasn’t the only elf Tam had liked.

“And
he doesn’t know.”

“I
don’t want him to. Considering who and what I used to be, it’s not safe for him
to know.” Tam’s expression darkened. “Until a few days ago, no one knew.
Muralin said that unless I turned you over to him, he was going have Talon
kidnapped—and sold in the Nebian slave markets. The Khrynsani have a long reach,
so I knew I couldn’t send Talon away to keep him safe. The closer he stayed to
me, the better.”

Tam
didn’t have to spell it out for me. I knew full well what kind of slavery
awaited a half-breed as beautiful as Talon.

“If I
tried to warn you, Rudra Muralin said he would kill Talon outright. I tried to
keep Talon safe.” Tam’s eyes narrowed accusingly. “
You
were supposed to
stay in the citadel.”

The
citadel. Piaras.

Crap.

“I’ve
got to find Piaras.”

“Then
you’ll be going to the elven embassy,” came Phaelan’s voice from the dark.
Lantern light flared, illuminating my cousin leaning against a closed door.

“You
were supposed to wait outside,” Tam told him.

“You
weren’t supposed to be late.”

I was
incredulous. “You knew about all this?”

“Hey,
I just found out,” Phaelan said. His dark eyes flashed in anger. “You might say
Tam and I ran into each other backstage. He was kind enough to hit the high
spots for me. It all sounded just crazy enough to be true.”

“But
Guardians would take Piaras to the citadel, not—”

Phaelan
snorted. “If they had made it that far. Six Guardians took Piaras out the
backstage door. I couldn’t get to him without getting nabbed myself, so I hung
back. Glad I did. Those Guardians were ambushed. Within a couple seconds there
were six dead Guardians and one unconscious Piaras being loaded into a coach—by
elves who knew which end of a crossbow was up.”

“Were
they wearing fancy livery?” If Carnades was responsible, there wasn’t a hole
deep enough for him to hide in.

“Nope,
uniforms. Definitely embassy guards, and that’s the direction they were
headed.”

“Any
witnesses?”

“Just
yours truly. And I don’t think I should go anywhere near a Guardian just now.”

I
didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. “Is Justinius dead?”

Tam
spoke. “The last I saw, Mychael was working on the archmagus. Mychael is a fine
healer, but it didn’t look like it was going well. Though Mychael didn’t look
like he was giving up.”

Oh
shit.

“Gentlemen,
the Isle of Mid just got itself a new archmagus,” I said. “If Justinius dies or
until he’s in a condition to take command again, Carnades Silvanus is in
charge—and Mychael has to take his orders from him.”

Carnades
was probably living his dream, and Mychael had to be
in a living nightmare.

I
told Tam what I knew about where the Nightshades were holding the
spellsingers—and their eventual fate unless they were found.

“The
Saghred is still in the citadel’s containment rooms,” I said. “They can’t
sacrifice anyone if they don’t have anything to sacrifice them to.” This was
supposed to make Tam feel marginally better. It didn’t.

“Can
Carnades order Mychael to turn over the Saghred?” Phaelan asked.

“He
can. But Mychael won’t do it.”

“Sounds
like mutiny.”

It
would be mutiny, though Carnades would probably prefer to call it treason. He
could have Mychael locked up in one of his own containment rooms and pick a
paladin who’d give him the Saghred, and anything else he wanted.

I
couldn’t let myself think about Mychael right now. I had to get Piaras out of
that embassy. One catastrophe at a time.

“Tam,
I wish we could—”

Tam
held up a hand. “I know. You’d help if you could. You have to get Piaras. I
understand. I have to get my son back.” His dark eyes were hard and resolute.
“Once Talon’s safe, I’m going after Rudra Muralin.” He grinned in a cold flash
of fangs. “I have a busy night planned.”

Tam
sounded like he was looking forward to it. I would have, too. I guess I’d have
to settle for having left my teeth marks in Muralin’s ear.

Tam
went to one of the racks against the wall and pulled off the sheet that was
covering it. There were costumes zbeneath. We were in a prop room two levels
below the stage. Tam selected two cloaks, one black and the other dark green.
He tossed the black one to Phaelan and held the green cloak open for me. I
stepped up to him and he swept the green velvet around me and I fastened the
clasp.

“I
won’t be going in alone,” he assured me. “I have men I can trust. They’re good
in a fight.” He almost smiled. “And they’ll love the chance to get their hands
on Nightshades and Khrynsani in one night.”

Phaelan
opened a low door in the far wall. Beyond was a pitch-dark tunnel that Tam said
emptied five blocks from Sirens, well away from the chaos that was probably
still going on upstairs.

I
held out my hand and stared at my palm. I’d seen lightglobes created, but I’d
never done one myself. Since the Saghred had come into my life, I’d found all
kinds of new things that I could do. Lightglobe making was small magic. It
should be no problem.

After
a few moments, a pinpoint of white light flickered to life from the center of
my hand, beneath the skin. It was no larger than a firefly. It spun, weaving a
trail of light until a globe, the size of my fist, hung suspended above my open
hand, glowing steadily. It floated a few feet down the tunnel, then stopped,
hovering, waiting for us. I felt a little thrill of accomplishment.

I
looked up. Tam was gone.

Phaelan
stepped into the tunnel. “We men aren’t good at good-byes.”

“I’ve
strolled past the embassy a couple of times,” Phaelan said.
Even at a whisper, his voice echoed off the tunnel
walls.

I
didn’t like tunnels. I liked it even less that I had never seen the elven
embassy. Phaelan had scoped out the city soon after we’d docked. Pirate
instincts, I guess. He’d been all around the outside of the embassy. I’d rather
have a detailed floor plan of the inside, but I’d take what I could get.

Water
dripped and ran in thin rivulets down the cracked walls. Cracks weren’t good.
Last year, I’d taken a contract job for the Mermeia city watch. They needed my
help in finding a smuggling ring’s hideout. In my search of one of Mermeia’s
many tunnels, I opened an innocent-looking metal door and a canal’s worth of
water just fell on me. Though the same water that fell on me made it easy to
find William Lark’s smuggling ring. My opening that door caused a tunnel wall
to collapse. The canal flooded the place and shot Bill and his gang out the
Dock Street sewer tunnels like rats out of a hole. I don’t know how I managed
to avoid the same fate. It was a sight my night-mares wouldn’t let me soon
forget.

The
only thing I wanted to know when I went into a tunnel was how soon I could get
out.

“For
a place that’s supposed to be a safe haven for elves, it didn’t look like it’d
be safe for me,” Phaelan was saying. “Too many guards, and too many of those
magical . . .” He wiggled his fingers in the air.

“Wards.”
I sounded as drained as I felt. “They’re called wards, Phaelan.”

“Whatever.
They were red, they were sizzling, and they were at every gate entrance. Like I
said, not a friendly place, for elves or anyone else. I know I wouldn’t be
welcome.”

“So
you’re saying you’re not going to help me.”

“On
the contrary. You know I love to go where I’m not welcome.” His grin was slow.
“Our friend has been inside the embassy, but never through the front door.
Better yet, he wants to help us.”

“Tanik
Ozal.” My lack of enthusiasm was evident.

“The
very friend.”

“Ozal
is not our friend.”

Phaelan’s
grin vanished, and I saw a glimpse of the Captain Benares who struck terror
into the hearts of every merchant in the seven kingdoms. “Tanik would try to
screw me over on a business deal, and I’d cheerfully do the same to him. It’s
business; it’s expected. What happened to Piaras is personal; it’s family. Tanik
will do everything he can to help. And he would never turn a brother pirate
over to the law—and especially not to any stinking mage.”

I
opted not to remind Phaelan that I was officially now a stinking mage.

I’d
like to have shared his confidence, but it’d been my experience that with
someone like Tanik Ozal, allegiances changed direction as often as the wind.

But
Piaras was in the embassy. I needed information. Tanik had information.

So
I’d roll the dice and take my chances.

The
tunnel ended in someone’s storeroom. I assumed it was someone Tam trusted or
did business with. I was glad they weren’t working tonight since we didn’t have
Tam with us to do the introductions. The door at the back of the storeroom
opened onto a narrow, and blessedly empty, side street. The street beyond
wasn’t empty. It was one of Mid’s main thoroughfares. Great. Just great.

I
stopped Phaelan with a hand on his arm. “Wait.”

“What
for?”

“The
streets are crowded, and chances are I’m now at the top of more than a few
wanted lists. The two of us walking side by side to the harbor is going to look
odd. I have an idea. I don’t like it, but it’s probably the safest way for us
to attract as little attention as possible.”

“Dazzle
me with your brilliance.”

“I’m
shorter than you and smaller, and my cloak is very nice. Fortunately, it’s also
got a deep hood. So it’s obvious that I’m a woman. It’s also obvious that
you’re a man.”

“Thank
you for noticing. Your point is?”

“Anyone
looking for me is going to expect me to either be alone, or with you, my
cousin. So I don’t think we should act like cousins.”

Phaelan’s
grin was slow and wicked. “You’re a naughty girl.”

“I’m
a girl whose not about to get recognized and arrested. To keep either from
happening, I think that from here to the harbor, I’m officially your doxy for
the evening.”

“I
don’t do doxies.”

“Phaelan,
you do anything female, attractive, and breathing. Just don’t let your hands
get carried away while play-acting and I won’t have to stab you.”

“Deal.”

“Good.”

Phaelan
put his arm around me and pulled me close to his side. It worked out well. My
right hand was free, and so was Phaelan’s left. I was right-handed; Phaelan was
a lefty. We’d have to separate to draw any substantial weapon. But if we ran
into that much trouble, our charade was officially over anyway.

The
nighttime streets of Mid were full of students, in groups and in pairs. The
taverns and nightclubs were doing a brisk business. A door to one of the clubs
opened to admit a young couple, and the sound of a spellsinger drifted out into
the street. His voice was low, his song simple and beautiful. Phaelan tightened
his grip on my waist and hurried me past.

“How
far is the elven embassy from Tanik’s ship?” I asked.

Phaelan
didn’t stop, but he did slow down. “That’s risky, cousin.”

“I
thought ‘risk’ was your middle name.”

"It
is. I mean it’s risky to let you anywhere near that embassy right now.”

“I’m
not going to do anything.”

“I’ll
believe that when I don’t see it.”

“I
just want to be sure Piaras is there. No use breaking in if Balmorlan has
already moved him.”

“Good
point. So that means you’re not going to blast holes through the walls.”

“No
blasting. You have my word.”

Phaelan
smiled and it was warm, no trace of bravado. “You’re a Benares, Raine. Never
forget that our word isn’t worth the air it’s spoken into unless we want it to
be.”