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."You are not our fetch.No, you are far more valuable than that.Part of that value lies in our trusting your discretion.""He's calling you a liar, you realize," said Chaney.Radu didn't rise to the bait.Instead, he merely inclined his head."Are you sure there is no one else here with us?"Drakkar withdrew a forked twig from a pocket inside his robe.He plucked a thorn from the head of his staff and held the two objects between his thumb and little finger.Radu parted his cloak with his stony right hand, exposing the hilt of his blade.He made no move to draw the sword, but Drakkar noted the gesture."Have no fear," he said."I cast no enchantment on you.It is merely a spell to locate that which I seek.""He's impugning your honor, man! How can you let such an insult pass unanswered?"Chaney laughed, as much at his futile attempt to bait Radu as at the man's earlier involuntary outburst.Chaney wouldn't trick him again any time soon, but he'd scored a coup—and Radu knew it.Drakkar set his staff against the bedpost and pulled a folded letter from his robe.He held it with the broken seal facing upward, then he rubbed the thorn and twig together above it while intoning an arcane phrase.Chaney moved closer to the wizard and looked down at the seal.It was the horse-at-anchor, emblem of the Uskevren.The twig wriggled between Drakkar's fingers.At first it looked as though the wizard was twisting it.Soon Chaney saw that it had a mind of its own, turning this way and that as it sought some desired object.Drakkar followed its urging.He took three steps across the room and turned toward the fireplace.He walked closer, turned aside a step, and turned back, frowning at the twig."How could she be so careless?" Drakkar asked.He reached toward an ivory coffer upon the mantle, then thought better of it and withdrew his hand.Instead, he bit off one of the thorns and crushed it in his teeth.He blew a whispered word and a sparkling red cone of glittering dust out upon the mantle.As the motes gradually vanished from sight, Drakkar smiled as though he saw something the others didn't."Not bad," he commented.He cast a third spell, this time plucking a thorn and casting it at the mantle with a few words of power.Chaney saw a rippling in the air, as if Drakkar's thorn had been a stone thrown into a still pool.Drakkar casually flipped open the lid of the coffer and peered inside.He turned it over to spill a mass of jewelryonto the floor.He made a satisfied grunt as he set the coffer aside and felt the mantle where the box had been.His fingers traced simple shapes against the stone, and Chaney knew he was feeling for some secret catch.On a whim, he reached out and touched the stone with his own ethereal hand.He didn't feel it so much as sense its shape as his fingers passed through the surface of the stone.He pushed them into the sohd surface and wiggled them in what he sensed was a hollow chamber beneath.Drakkar's searching fingers passed through Chaney's forearm.The wizard started, briefly withdrawing his hands, then he looked around and shuddered."Hmm."Chaney saw that Radu had also noticed the wizard's surprise.Drakkar resumed his search."I wonder." said Chaney.He poked a finger through Drakkar's shoulder.The trick had had no effect the last time he tried it, but maybe he'd been doing it wrong."Take.that.you.unctuous.little.pervert!"He punctuated each word with a jab to Drakkar's shoulder.He looked back to grin at Radu, who cocked his head in a silent threat.Chaney kept prodding the wizard's shoulder."Ah!" exclaimed Drakkar.Chaney triumphed for an instant before he realized that Drakkar had found the loose tile in the mantle.It slid aside to reveal a pin.Drakkar pressed the pin, then pushed the tile the rest of the way aside.In the hollow cavity of the fireplace mantle was a stack of folded vellum.As Drakkar removed the documents, Chaney saw the Uskevren seal on the first folded letter."Ah, the late Thamalon Uskevren," mused Drakkar."What trouble his schemes have wrought."As the wizard rifled through the rest, Chaney saw that not all of the correspondence was from the Uskevren.Healso noticed the bloodbeak insignia of the Talendar, the cockatrice of the Karns, and the three watchful eyes of House Foxmantle."Must be quite a party."Chaney whistled to mask his concern.While he had not been on good terms with his parents since he was a boy, he hoped neither of them would be scheduled to receive a visit from Radu Malveen."Someone must be angry that he didn't receive an invitation," the ghost added."Yes," said Drakkar as he skimmed the contents of one of the letters."Just as I thought!""What is it?" asked Radu.'Drakkar smiled slyly.Chaney recognized that look and knew the wizard was glad to have piqued the assassin's curiosity."To us, it is evidence of treason," said Drakkar."To you, it is security of employment.""How does it feel to be the lackey of a lackey, Malveen?" asked Chaney.The taunt didn't even register on Radu.His eyes were fixed on the sheaf of letters and their seals.Drakkar saw the object of Radu's interest.He chuckled in a fair imitation of warmth."Whom shall we visit next?" he asked, as he shuffled through the letters."Done," he said, flipping past the horse-at-anchor."Done," he dispensed with the Baerent flame."No need," he said as he placed the letter with the Talendar crest to the back."Ah, no matter.It is a decision my patron will be sure to make soon."Drakkar began to stuff the letters inside his robe, but Radu reached for them.The wizard anticipated the action and stepped away."Tut, tut, my good fellow.What is the matter? Perhaps you regret not agreeing to fetch them yourself? Then you might have pored over them at your leisure.Is there a name in here that interests you?"Radu regained his composure and said, "No.""That is well," said Drakkar.He secured the letters beneath his robe and strolled casually to the window.Once there, he extinguished the light on his staff and turned to face Radu."We are friends, so I will tell you something to set your mind at ease.I have found the names of nine noble Houses in these treasonous letters.Three of them have already been punished [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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