Элейн Каннингем - Silver Shadows

Foxfire nodded and then gathered her into his arms. Arilyn went to him, remembering everything, and regretting nothing. Her elven soul would always be linked to this forest. Perhaps, in some future age, she would return, her essence giving strength to the elven sword. But as she had said to her dear friend, her heart lay elsewhere, and so did her path.

It was after midsummer when Lord Hhune’s carriage rolled through the northern gates of Zazesspur. He had enjoyed a very eventful interlude in Waterdeep, the rival city to the north. Granted, some of his plots and plans had withered on the vine. It did not appear as if the northern outposts of Zazesspur’s thieves and assassins guilds would take hold—a pity, for these were favored tools of the Knights of the Shield. And he, Hhune, had been labeled as a member of this hostile group and barred from Waterdeep. The Knights had also lost their capable agent in Waterdeep. The Lady Lucia Thione had been unmasked and exiled. It would be many long years before the Knights of the Shield again managed to place an informant so high in Waterdhavian society.

Even so, Hhune felt certain he could turn these losses into personal gain. Although he could not enter the northern city again, there was to be no disruption of shipping between Zazesspur and the north. And Waterdeep was still reeling from a series of disasters: crop failure, incursions of monsters stripping the forests of game and the fields of cattle, political uncertainty. Zazesspur’s goods and surplus crops would find an eager, almost desperate market. Finally, he had with him the deposed agent, and he had spent much of the trip southward mentally devising various uses for her.

Lucia Thione, formerly the ranking agent of the Knights of the Shield in the north, was a rarity in Tethyr: a surviving member of the old royal family, albeit a very distant relation. The tide of royalist sentiment in Zazesspur was swelling, and who knew what heights an ambitious man might reach with such a consort at his side? In addition to her purple blood, she was a woman of rare beauty and keen business acumen. At one time, Hhune would have counted himself lucky merely to spend time in her company. He was ecstatic to find her utterly in his power!

Of course he had said nothing of this to her. Lady Thione fully expected to meet her death in the land of her forebears, and she had spent the trip trying to subtly insinuate herself into Hhune’s good graces. It was gratifying to him to have this beautiful, nobly bred woman pursuing his favor, and he intended to allow her to work for it!

Eager though he was to install his “guest” in his country estate, Lord Hhune set a brisk pace for his town offices. Business must always come before pleasure. He strode in, nodded to the clerks, and called for his scribe.

To his surprise, the young Calishite brat—the royal apprentice Balik’s men had saddled him with—came to his bidding.

“Good day, Lord Hhune,” Hasheth said. “I trust that your business in the Northlands went well?”

“Where is Achnib?” Hhune demanded.

The lad’s face darkened. “He is dead, my lord,” he said bluntly. “May all traitors and thieves meet the same end. But you need not hear of this from my lips. Word of your approach reached us this morn. Duke Hembreon awaits you in your office.”

Hhune’s boots suddenly seemed rooted to the floor. Amid the changeful winds of Zazesspurian power, the Duke stood as unbending as a sycamore. His was an ancient family with vast wealth, and he himself was a grave, distinguished man whose impeccable sense of honor and duty extended to all he did. Therefore, Hembreon tended to view his position in the Knights of the Shield as noblesse oblige. He was also one of the most important leaders of the group, Hhune reminded himself as he shook off his immobility.

The duke stood as Hhune entered the room and gave him his hand. “You have performed a great service to the people of the city.”

“I live to serve,” Hhune said smoothly, but he cast a quick sidelong glare at his young apprentice. Hasheth gave him a subtle nod, as if encouraging him to play along.

“As you requested, Lord Hhune,” Hasheth began, “in your absence I strove to ferret out who among your men might be in league with the Nelanther pirates. It was Achnib, as you suspected. Two of these pirates are even now in the city’s dungeons—men who have sworn that Achnib hired them, paying with information of shipping schedules and routes.

“Nor was that his only crime. He was stealing from you, skimming the profit from the caravans and hoarding coin. What he planned to do with such is beyond belief.”

“Achnib was always ambitious,” Hhune said in a sage tone, hoping this would fit into the incredible scenario the younger man was weaving.

“The scribe was not content with selling information to the pirates. He began to traffic in armed ships with a warlord known as Bunlap. Worse, there is a faint trail which attempts to place this crime at your door.”

“Indeed?” Hhune managed, marveling at the young man’s audacity.

Incredibly, Duke Hembreon seemed to swallow the absurd recitation. He rose and extended a hand to Hhune.

“By your efforts, the city has gained use of a fleet of some fifteen ships. All Zazesspur owes you thanks.”

Hhune murmured a response and saw the duke on his way. Then he turned an ominous, narrowed gaze on his apprentice.

“Much of what I told the duke was true,” Hasheth said earnestly. “Achnib was skimming, and he was in league with the mercenary captain. But he lost his nerve and hoped to scuttle away in the confusion after your involvement with Bunlap and his logging operation became known. He attempted to buy passage to Lantan. To protect your interests, I had both Achnib and Bunlap killed, and turned the ships over to the Lords’ Council as confiscated goods. They would have found out about them, regardless. Better this way, and be a hero rather than a culprit.”

“You seem to be unusually loyal,” Lord Hhune pointed out suspiciously.

“What good would have come to me had you been brought low?” the young man said, reasonably enough. “Besides, the Knights were pleased by my initiative and permitted me to enter their ranks, and so, in protecting your interests, I served my own.”

Hhune shook his head, apparently stunned by all this. “What of Duke Hembreon? How did you learn the identity of such a powerful man among the Knights?”

“Palace intrigue,” Hasheth lied, thinking of the coin in his pocket. He wanted to impress Hhune with his many connections and his own importance. “One of the few benefits of being born a pasha’s son. There is more that you should know. The Harpers have been inquiring into your affairs. I thought it best that this matter was concluded, and quickly. The Harpers would not be contented as easily as Duke Hembreon.”

“Well done,” exclaimed an amused feminine voice. Hhune looked up; he had almost forgotten about Lucia Thione. “You have a talented new ally, my lord. Perhaps you would consider another? With three such minds, what could we not accomplish in Tethyr?”

Hhune regarded the beautiful woman and the hawk-nosed youth and decided that he could do worse.

“Meet my new apprentice, my dear,” he said to Lucia. “And Hasheth, this is Lucia Thione. Surely you recognize her family’s name and realize that it must not be spoken outside of these walls—at least, not until the mention of it can advance the fortunes of us all.”

For a moment the trio regarded each other intently. Relief was bright in Lucia’s beautiful eyes, now that she knew what Hhune had in mind for her. The lord saw also that she understood his purpose in making this introduction. The knowledge of her identity offered both potential power and grave danger—and the secret bound them together. It was a subtle way of accepting her offer, while reminding her that her fortune was bound indelibly with his. Hhune also noted the soft, warm look the woman cast over the impressed lad; this amused him. If Lucia was willing to use her charm to advance her position in Tethyr, so much the better for him.