When Alaire opened his eyes, he found himsel Kai enveloped in a cloud of bright stars, points of light that were pulsating with the harp's music. The untuned strings played a haunting melody that echoed in the drifts of light, of green, blue, red, weaving a spell of life.
The music stopped, interrupted by a shrill, rasping cough.
Kai!
Kai inhaled sharply as his eyes widened with fear, and his lungs struggled for air. He gasped again, claw- ing at the stained snow with one bloodied hand as the other reached for a sword that wasn't there.
Alaire had a moment to exalt -- a single moment of joy at his accomplishment.
Then the harp fell from Alaire's hands as a wave of exhaustion seized him and dragged him down into darkness, while stars of a totally different kind clouded his fading vision. Vaguely aware of someone calling his name, he fell into nothingness.
Chapter Naitachal flung the note back on the bed. Why did he have to leave now, of all times? In the moment it took for the note to sink in, his annoyance darkened to fear.
Something was wrong, something very wrong...
He cursed Alaire, cursed himself, cursed their -- and most of all, cursed the Prince.
Soon, it would be time for supper, but if he attended, the rituals of dinner would trap him for gods knew how long. He had little time to waste now.
Wearied by the situation, the Dark Elf sat down heavily on a chair, rubbing his face. As he sat, ponder- ing the circumstances, he had a terrible premonition about Kai and this latest venture into the tavern dis- tric And not about Kai alone; he sensed that Alaire was in danger too. To probe this further he would have to invoke powers that were illegal here, and he wasn't willing to jeopardize the diplomatic mission or his freedom by bringing the Swords of the Magicians down on them.
I must see Captain Lyam immediately. If anyone can help me in this mess, he can. He might even know where they Poking his head out the door, he glanced down the hallway. Palace guests and noblemen filed toward the great dining hall. If he left now to look for Lyam he might be dragged into a nonsensical conversation before he even got to the stairs. No, oh no. And going somewhere besides the hall, in view of everyone, would attract unwanted attention.
Then he sighed. There is, of course, another way out of the room besides the door.
When he opened the window, a biting wind ripped into the room, reminding him to don some- thing a little warmer than his usual black cloak. He put on a thick dieren coat and a pair of flexible leather gloves, and climbed over the sill to a narrow ledge along the castle wall, and closed the window behind him.
Their room was only three floors up, but ice had formed on the ledge, and the wind was particularly stiff out here. He had second thoughts about this rather foolhardy venture, but decided to continue.
Wasn't he an elf? Didn't he have twice the agility and strength of any human born?
Wasn't he a complete idiot?
Two doors north, one floor up ... a corner suite. He peered up through the gathering darkness. That must be it up there. The only room with a light. Gods, I hope he's there.
He found a section of the ledge above him that had no ice, and pulled himself up, a move which would be difficult for most humans.
His muscles complained bitterly at him; elven he might well be, but he was not accustomed to gallivant- ing about on ledges in the middle of snowstorms. He swore, gritted his teeth, and forced himself up and onto the ledg He lay there for a moment, panting with effort.
But that was the worst part; in moments he was looking in the window of Captain Lyam's room. A warm room, with a fire raging in the stove. The Cap- tain was sitting at a desk, with his back to the window.
Good thing I'm not an assassin, Naitachal thought as he let himself in through the window.
"Please close the window behind you, Ambassador,"
Lyam said politely. He hadn't bothered to turn around. "There is a rather stiff chill in the air tonight."
The Dark Elf stepped down to the pine floor and closed the windows behind him. "I hope this is a dis- creet enough entrance, Captain," Naitachal said, lazily, impressed despite himself with the Captains compo- sure and keen senses.
Lyam rose as soon as he stepped into the room, and offered him a cup of heated, spiced cider. Naitachal accepted it with a sigh of gratitude and went to stand beside the stove for a m Elven or not, it had been cold enough out there to freeze the ears off a marble horse.
But as he took his place beside the fire, he saw that what he had thought was Lyam's calm nonchalance was something of a mask. The Captain was obviously concerned about something. Naitachal had a shrewd notion he knew what it was, too.
"Kai has vanished again," the Captain said, abruptly.
"Jehan informed me -- after Kai ran off -- that he had set a servant to watch him. I sent a watcher after the watcher. My own man just sent me back word that he found Jehan's 'keeper' dead, with blood spilled in such a pattern as suggests an attack. Because of the amount of blood, we suspect a second person died."
"The Prince?" Naitachal asked, his mouth going dry with fear. He remembered his earlier premonitio Lyam shrugged. "We don't know. The Swords o Association are searching the tavern district now."
What? Naitachal stared at the Captain. "Wh Swords?"
The Captain returned the stare, and the Dark Elf had the impression he was looking for signs of deception. "Someone, probably an unlicensed mage, worked some powerful magic in that area. Sir Jehan dispatched the Swords to track the perpetrator down.
Then they discovered traces of that same magic at the scene of the killing." The Captain shook his head sadly.
"As we speak, the entire force is searching for the mage responsible."
Naitachal's gaze didn't waver. "And if they find the source, what then?"
"They will arrest him. Or both of them." Lyam stared at the Dark Elf broodingly. "Mark you, they do not know who the mage is at the moment, but if it was your apprentice, the traces will still be upon him. They will charge Kai with treason."
Naitachal's knees felt a little weak. The Dark Elf seated himself in a chair, opposite Lyam.
Captain Lyam continued. "Is there anything you would like to share with me?"
Naitachal maintained his mask of calm. "I know nothing of the incident. However, I returned to our room to find a note, left by my secretary. Appar Alaire went with the Prince for another night on the town. To the tavern district, I believe he said."
Lyam nodded. "This we already know. Paavo Seneschal, saw them both getting into a carriage a few hours ago. The driver let them off near the district."