Martin Scott - Thraxas Under Siege (ARC)

"Lisutaris thinks not," replies Coranius.

"What do you think?"

Coranius shrugs. He's a man of medium size. Sandy-haired, not imposing in any way. But he's one of our strongest Sorcerers, not far behind Lisutaris in terms of raw power.

"I can't find any trace of sorcery. But you're right, it is taking her a long time to recover . . ."

Coranius looks troubled.

"People fall sick in clusters all the time," says Tirini. "That's what the malady's like. I don't think there's any sorcery at work. We'd be able to detect it."

"We can't detect the Ocean Storm," says Coranius.

"We don't even know if the Ocean Storm really exists."

I sit down on the couch, keeping a fair distance between myself and Hanama. It's a little strange to hear matters of state security discussed in front of an Assassin. There again, she's number three in the Assassins Guild, and the Assassins Guild is an officially recognised body in Turai. In some ways she outranks me.

"I think it exists," says Coranius. And if we haven't found a trace of it, we've found plenty of traces of Orcish activity around the south of the city. Incursions by an Assassin, ships sighted off the coast, traces of spells of spying."

I remember what Dandelion said to me on the beach. The Orcs are already in the Avenging Axe. I tell Coranius. He frowns, very deeply.

"Who is this Dandelion?"

"A strange young woman with seaweed in her hair."

"Seaweed? Why seaweed?"

"I don't really know. Usually it's flowers. She has astrological signs on her skirt and she talks to the dolphins."

I'm expecting Coranius to laugh. He doesn't. He looks grave.

"The dolphins really said this?"

"According to Dandelion. But she's fairly crazy."

But Coranius isn't listening. He's already on his feet, heading for the bedroom. I follow along, and enter in time to find Lisutaris and Makri arguing fiercely.

"Damn it, give me my thazis," demands Lisutaris.

"No," says Makri. "The healer says you aren't to have any."

"The healer got sick!"

"So what? That doesn't alter anything."

Lisutaris, Mistress of the Sky, motions with her hand and her bag once more floats up off the floor towards her. Makri intercepts it, grabbing it from the air and placing her foot on it.

"Give me that bag!"

"No."

"Give me the bag or I'll blast you through the wall!" roars Lisutaris, then coughs mightily with the exertion.

"You can't blast me," says Makri. "I'm your bodyguard. Now calm down, it's almost time for your medicine."

Lisutaris sinks back on her pillow, meanwhile casting the most evil of glances at Makri, which Makri calmly ignores. Coranius and Tirini are looking rather embarrassed to see the head of their guild so discomfited. Lisutaris glares at them.

"Can't a sick woman have five minutes' peace? What do you want?"

"Thraxas reports that a woman of his acquaintance has talked to the dolphins. The dolphins say the Orcs are already in this tavern."

"Hey it's only Dandelion," I say. "I wouldn't worry about—"

"Be quiet," snaps Coranius.

"The dolphins said this?" says Lisutaris. "What were their exact words?"

I'm angry at Coranius ordering me to be quiet. I'm about to tell them they can go and talk to the dolphins themselves if they're so interested, but Makri spoils it by repeating Dandelion's words.

"You were there as well?"

Makri nods.

"Can this woman Dandelion really communicate with them?"

Makri shrugs her shoulders.

"Maybe. She did it before."

"Why were we not informed of this earlier?" demands Coranius. "The gift of talking to the dolphins is very rare, even among Sorcerers."

He looks at me accusingly.

"No one ever asked. And Dandelion is a strange woman. She thinks there's a dragon line running up from the dolphins' cave through the Avenging Axe."

Tirini laughs.

"Oh please. Not the dragon lines again."

"Do they exist?" asks Makri.

"No," says Tirini.

"Possibly," says Coranius.

"We don't know," says Lisutaris.

I'm feeling very dissatisfied with all this.

"Since when did the dolphins become so important? All they do is swim around eating fish."

Everyone ignores me.

"Makri," says Lisutaris. "Please fetch Samanatius. I need to consult with him about this."

Makri nods. She puts on her cloak then slings Lisutaris's bag round her shoulders.

"Leave my bag here!" says Lisutaris.

"No. You can't have any thazis." says Makri, then departs.

Lisutaris scowls after her.

"That woman is the nurse from hell."

Lisutaris takes a scrap of paper from the small table beside the bed, scribbles a message on it then mutters a brief spell, sealing the document.

"Thraxas, please send this to Cicerius immediately. We need him here."

"This is a lot of fuss about a few dolphins."

"Do as Lisutaris says," barks Coranius.

I walk right up to the Sorcerer and put my face close to his.

"No one orders me around in my own room, and if you take that tone with me again I'll pick you up and throw you down the stairs."

Coranius growls.

"Are you asking to die?"

"No. I'm asking you to mind your manners, and if you try using a spell I'll knock your ugly head off before you can get the words out."

It looks like I may have to do just that because Coranius isn't a man to back down, but before he can speak Lisutaris interrupts him.

"Coranius, desist. Thraxas is quite right. We're his guests and I've been taking up his bedroom for a week. He deserves our thanks. Thraxas, please send the message, it is rather urgent."

I nod at Lisutaris, then march from the room, still angry. Behind me Tirini Snake Smiter is complaining that her shoes are dirty because the place has never been properly cleaned. Sorcerers. I detest them. Apart from Lisutaris, possibly.

Before taking Lisutaris's message to the nearby Messengers Guild outpost, I answer the door to Moolifi. The Niojan singer is looking a little less glamorous than usual. Her hair is slightly dishevelled and she's not wearing any jewellery. She's holding a tray with a beaker of steaming liquid on it.

"I've just come from the kitchen. Dandelion asked me to bring this to Lisutaris."

I nod. Dandelion is caring for a lot of patients, and it's decent enough of Moolifi, who's a paying guest in the tavern, to lend a hand. I show her to the bedroom. I notice that underneath her gown—blue, well tailored, and more expensive than your standard Twelve Seas resident could afford—she's wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes, yellow with pink embroidery. Very like Tirini's, and quite similar to those worn by Anumaris Thunderbolt. The pink threads I found were a great clue. Narrowed it down to only every fashionable woman in the city.

As I walk along Quintessence Street I find my self humming "Love Me Through the Winter," Moolifi's most popular song. She's sung it once or twice more in the tavern, and it's still a great favourite. She's a good singer, no matter what Makri thinks. I shake my head at the thought of Captain Rallee pounding round the harbour, looking for buried gold. No wonder. He'll need a lot more money than he can earn if he's to keep hold of Moolifi.

After sending the message to Cicerius I wonder what to do. Tonight Glixius Dragon Killer, General Acarius and Praetor Capatius are meant to be arriving at the Avenging Axe to play cards. I hardly have enough money to sit at the table with them, and despite my best efforts it doesn't look like I'll be raising any more. With the money I've borrowed from Lisutaris and Dandelion, plus my own meagre savings, I can scrape together around 440 gurans. Not enough, faced with the wealth of my opponents.

I shake my head. Treasure and magical artefacts. I've been spending my days chasing phantoms. I should have stuck to some solid investigating. Small crimes, men cheating on their wives, petty thefts. That sort of thing. It suits me better, and I might have earned more.