Steven Brust - Yendi

She nodded, but didn’t say anything. She was, let us say, not overwhelmed with sympathy.

“If you really don’t want her hurt, you might try helping me to stay alive.”

She chuckled a bit. “Nice try, Vlad. But you know I have standards.”

I shrugged, and mentioned something that had been bothering me for a while. “If I’d heard he was looking for you, I would have put everything on the line and hired you myself, and then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“The one who employed us didn’t need to look for us; he knew where to find us, so there was no chance of your hearing.”

“Oh. I wish I’d been so privileged.”

“I have no idea how he found out—it isn’t common knowledge. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve said what I wanted to, and I think you under—”

She broke off, looking over my shoulder. I didn’t turn around, just from habit.

“ What is it, Loiosh? ”

“ The bitch you met last time. The Sorceress in Chartreuse, or whatever .”

“ Great .”

“May I interrupt?” came the voice from behind me.

I looked at Norathar and raised my eyebrows. She nodded. I turned then, and said, “Lady Norathar e’Lanya, of the House of the Dragon, this is—”

“I am the Sorceress in Green,” said the Sorceress in Green. “And I am quite capable of introducing myself, Easterner.”

I sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not wanted here? Never mind.” I bowed to Norathar and Loiosh hissed at the Sorceress.

As I walked away, the Sorceress was saying, “Easterners! I’ll be just as pleased when Sethra the Younger goes after them. Won’t you?”

I heard Norathar say, “Hardly,” in a cold tone of voice, and then I was thankfully out of earshot. Then it hit me: I was looking for an Athyra who had been involved in the plot against Norathar. The Sorceress in Green was an Athyra. Just maybe, I decided. I’d have to think about how to verify or disprove this.

I returned to Cawti and said, “Is there anything keeping you here?”

She looked startled, but shook her head.

“Should we leave?” I asked.

“Weren’t you going to be checking on that list?”

“This party runs twenty-four hours a day, five days a week. It’ll wait.”

She nodded. I gave Morrolan a bow, then we went out the door and down to the entryway without taking our leaves of anyone else. One of Morrolan’s sorcerers was standing near the door. I had him teleport us back to my apartment. The sick feeling in my stomach when we arrived was not, I think, due only to the teleport.

My flat, at that time, was above a wheelwright’s shop on Garshos Street near the corner of Copper Lane. It was roomy for the money because it was an attic, and the sloping ceiling would have annoyed a Dragaeran. My income, just before the business with Laris had started, had me thinking about getting a larger place, but it was just as well I hadn’t.

We sat down on the couch. I put my arm around her shoulder, and said, “Tell me about yourself.” She did, but it isn’t any of your business. I’ll just say that I was right in my earlier guesses about her experiences.

We got to talking about other things, and at one point I showed her my target in the back room, set so I could throw through the hall and give myself a thirty-foot range. The target, by the way, was in the shape of a Dragon’s head. She thought that was a nice touch.

I took out a brace of six knives and put four of them into the left eye of the target.

She said, “Good throwing, Vladimir. May I try?”

“Sure.”

She put five into the right eye, and the sixth less than half an inch off.

“I see,” I said, “that I’m going to have to practice.”

She grinned. I hugged her.

“ Vlad, ” said someone.

“ What the bleeding deviltries of Deathsgate Falls do you—Oh, Morrolan .”

“ Bad time, Vlad? ”

“ Could be worse. What is it? ”

“ I ’ ve just spoken to Aliera. She has found the names of the Lyorn and the Athyra who were involved in the test on the Lady Norathar. Also, you may wish to inform your friend Cawti that the Dragon Council has authorized an official scan for tomorrow, at the sixth hour past noon . ”

“ All right. I ’ ll tell her. What are the names? ”

“ The Lyorn was Countess Neorenti, the Athyra was Baroness Tierella. ”

“ Baroness Tierella, eh? Morrolan, could Baroness Tierella be the real name of the Sorceress in Green? ”

“ What? Don’t be absurd, Vlad. She —”

“ Are you sure?”

“ Quite sure. Why? ”

“ Never mind; I just lost a theory I liked. Okay, thank you .”

“ You are most welcome. A good evening to you, and I ’ m sorry you couldn ’ t stay at my party longer. ”

“ Another time, Morrolan. ”

I gave Cawti the news about Norathar, which broke the mood, but what was I supposed to do? I went into the kitchen and got us some wine, then got in touch with Fentor.

“ Yes, milord? ”

“ House of the Lyorn, Countess Neorenti. House of the Athyra, Baroness Tierella. Are they alive? If so, find out where they live. If not, find out how they died. Get right on it. ”

“ Yes, milord .”

Cawti sighed.

“I’m done,” I said quickly. “It was just—”

“No, it isn’t that,” she said. “I only wish there were some way I could help you with Laris. But all the information I have came from him, and I couldn’t tell you that, even if it was useful.”

“I understand,” I said. “You have to live with yourself.”

She nodded. “Things were so easy, just a week ago. I mean, I was happy . . . I guess. We were secure. My reasons for wanting to kill Dragaerans are the same as yours, and Norathar, well, she just hated everything. Except me, I suppose.” I put my arm back around her shoulder. “Now, well, I’m happy that she has what she wants, even if she’d managed to convince herself she didn’t want it anymore, but me—” She shrugged.

“I know,” I said. Now, would you like to hear something crazy? I wanted, badly, to say something like, “I hope I can take her place for you,” or maybe, “I’ll be here,” or even, “I love you, Cawti.” But I couldn’t. Why? Because, as far as I could tell, I was going to be dead in a little while. Laris was still after me, still had more resources than I did, and, most important, he knew where to find me, and I didn’t know where to find him. So, under the circumstances, how could I do anything that would tie her to me? It was crazy. I shook my head and kept my mouth shut.

I looked up at her and noticed that she was staring over my shoulder and nodding slightly.

“ Loiosh! ”

“ Yeah, boss? ”

“ What are you telling her, damn you? ”

“ What you’d tell her yourself, boss, if you weren’t a dzur-brained fool .”

I made a grab for him, but he fluttered over to the windowsill. I stood up, growling, and felt a touch on my arm.

“Vladimir,” she said calmly, “let’s go to bed.”

Well, between wringing the neck of a wiseass, know-it-all jhereg, and making love to the most wonderful woman in the world—I mean, the choice wasn’t hard to make.

Thirteen

“Well, what did you think I’d do?

Kiss him?”

“ Milord? ”

“ Yes, Fentor? ” I came more fully awake and pulled Cawti closer to me.