Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 02 (31 page)

“Are
you supposed to be able to do that?” he asked me.

“No.”
I stopped again at Phaelan’s voice coming out of my—I mean his—mouth. “A
glamour is just an illusion to trick the eye. I’ve never heard of one being
this thorough.”

Apparently
the Saghred didn’t do anything halfway.

Phaelan’s
grin was wicked. “How thorough is it?”

I
looked down, way down. Now my mouth fell open.

I
definitely felt different. I mean I was still me, but I now had things dangling
where things had never dangled before. I resisted the urge to reach down and
touch.

I was
horrified. “How the hell do you walk with these things?”

Phaelan’s
grin turned wolfish. “Proudly.”

Tanik
Ozal was red in the face from laughing so hard.

“Oh,
shut up!”

“I’m
sorry, girl . . . Captain . . . whatever.”

“Okay,
so I can do a glamour,” I told them both. “That’s all well and good to get
through the front doors, but I can’t just walk out of there with Piaras.”

Tanik’s
laughter had subsided to chuckles. He grinned and raised a finger, indicating
that I wait. He went to a chest in the corner and started rummaging through it.
He pulled out a pendant on the end of a long chain.

“Oh
shit,” Phaelan said, saving me the trouble.

A
pendant linked to the Saghred was what got me into this entire mess. I was less
than enthused about wearing another one.

“My
son’s majoring in magical instrument design,” Tanik told us. “This little
gadget was his summer school project. And unlike some of his other efforts,
this one actually works.” He paused and looked embarrassed. “Well, for about
fifteen minutes. It makes the wearer invisible, so you can get in as an embassy
guard, free Piaras, have him wear the pendant, and stroll out.”

I
just looked at him. “In less than fifteen minutes.”

“You’ll
get to find out how good you really are.”

“I’d
rather not have to find that out. Can Piaras take it off and then put it right
back on for another fifteen minutes?”

Tanik
grimaced. “Unfortunately, no. It takes about an hour to recharge after it’s
been used. My boy only got a C on this project.”

I
blew out my breath and took the pendant. “Then I’ll work with what I have.
Okay, have your crew get me an embassy guard. And make him an officer. I don’t
want to get stuck cleaning latrines.”

It
took Tanik’s boys nearly two hours to get what I needed, but
what they brought me didn’t disappoint. An elf lay
trussed and mostly unconscious at my feet. An embassy guard captain. Perfect.
High enough of a rank to get respect, low enough not to attract too much
attention. Plus he was good-looking. If I had to be a man, at least I got to be
a handsome one.

“I
need his name,” I told Tanik’s first mate.

The
man grinned and pulled a disk and chain out of the guard’s tunic and over his
head.

Dog
tags. Excellent.

Captain
Baran Ratharil. Serial number 847364. My identity for the evening. I hung the
tags around my neck. Captain Ratharil was about to take Taltek Balmorlan’s
newest prized possession out of the embassy right under his nose.

At
least that was the plan. It was my plan, I liked it, and I was going to do
everything in my ability and power to make certain that it happened.

I was
going into the embassy alone. Phaelan didn’t like that.

“I’ll
be waiting across the street,” he said, his expression as dark as his mood.

“With
six of my best men,” Tanik added.

“If
something goes wrong, there’ll be nothing you can do to help,” I told them
both. “You won’t even know I’m in trouble.”

Phaelan
almost smiled. “If you and Piaras get into trouble, everyone within a ten-mile
radius is going to know about it.”

He
was probably right.

“Phaelan,
if anything happens to me—”

“Nothing
is going to happen to you.” He said it like he personally dared Fate to defy
him.

“Okay
then, in the unlikely event that a mishap should befall me . . .”

Phaelan
scowled.

“I
want you and Tanik to promise me that you’ll do everything you can to keep
Balmorlan from taking Piaras off of this island.” I looked from one of them to
the other. “And if he does, you will find Piaras, regardless of where he is—or
how long it takes. Promise me.”

Phaelan’s
dark eyes were solemn. “I swear to you that Piaras will not leave this island
without me—and Taltek Balmorlan will not leave this island alive.”

“That’s
all I could possibly ask for. Thank you.”

I
looked down at the embassy captain. Tanik’s boys had done clean work, but they
hadn’t been gentle.

“Captain
Ratharil is going to have one hell of a headache when he comes around,” I
noted.

Tanik
grinned. “By the time that happens, he’ll be blindfolded and kept literally in
the dark about where he is. I’m not a coward, but I don’t go around asking for
trouble in the cities where I do business. When we’re finished with him, the
boys will dump him in an alley, loosen his knots, and run like hell.”

I
knelt behind the guard and lifted one of his eyelids. Dark green eyes, a few
freckles, strong features, slight stubble on his face. He hadn’t shaved today.
I hoped that didn’t violate some kind of embassy guard rule. With my luck, it
would.

“Could
you stand him up for me?” I asked Tanik’s first mate. “I need to get a look at
all of him. Tied up and on the floor doesn’t get it. Plus I need to see how
tall he is.”

“Ask
and receive,” he said brightly. “Boys, you heard the lady. Stand our guest up.”

They
stood him up and held him up. I walked around him twice, and went through the
same process that I had with Phaelan. When I looked in the mirror on the
salon’s wall, I saw two Captain Baran Ratharils.

I
straightened my/his tunic. “Wish me luck, gentlemen.” My new voice was a
baritone, commanding and authoritative. I detected a hint of arrogant jerk.
Wonderful. Ratharil was probably an asshole, hated by one and all.

Phaelan
stepped up and hugged me, man body be damned. “Good hunting, cousin.”

I
wore a large cloak until I’d cleared the harbor area, and once I
got within a half mile of the embassy, I ditched it
and walked briskly the rest of the way. I didn’t go too fast, but Captain
Ratharil didn’t seem to be the type to tolerate dawdling, either in himself or
anyone else. I combined Mychael’s confident stride with a touch of Phaelan’s
swagger. Somehow it felt right for Ratharil.

Something
didn’t feel right for me. That something was what put the pride in Phaelan’s
stride. There were entirely too many things crowding the front of my trousers.
I had to resist the urge to adjust myself every few steps. Whenever I’d seen a
man do that before, I thought it was rather disgusting; now I found it
absolutely necessary. I ducked down a side street, reached down, and did what a
man’s gotta do.

Whoa.

When
I came out of that side street, I felt justified putting a little more swagger
in Ratharil’s step.

True
to his word, Tanik didn’t just tell me about the embassy basements, he had an
actual floor plan of the whole building. While I had waited for his boys to
bring me a guard to copy, I memorized the plans—especially the fastest ways out
of there. If it involved survival, it was amazing what I could memorize. Lucky
for me, there were several likely routes.

I was
two blocks from the embassy when I saw the Guardians.

They
were armed and armored for patrol. I wasn’t sure if Guardians routinely
patrolled the city, but that’s what it looked like they were doing now. Even if
Mychael knew where Piaras was being held, there wasn’t a damned thing he could
do about it. The elven embassy was elven soil, and even though Mychael was an
elf, he was also paladin of the Conclave Guardians. He couldn’t enter the
embassy in an official capacity, let alone search the place. Taltek Balmorlan,
Giles Keril, and the entire embassy staff including the guards, had diplomatic
immunity and any crime they committed had to go through the elven legal system.

Mychael
had to be looking everywhere for me and Piaras—that is if he’d been able to
leave Justinius’s bedside— if the archmagus was still alive. I hoped he was,
and not just for Mid’s sake. I liked the old guy. The Guardians coming toward
me could also be patrolling the streets looking for me on Acting Archmagus
Carnades’s orders.

I
wanted to duck into the shadows, but I had to remind myself that I wasn’t me,
at least not to these four Guardians. I didn’t know any of them, which was
good. I also didn’t know what the relationship was between Guardians and elven
embassy guards, and I wasn’t keen to find out. Being a captain—but mostly being
male—I decided that direct eye contact was called for. Not confrontational, but
not evasive, either. The Guardians went with a
give-us-an-excuse-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-you look.

So
much for Guardian/embassy guard relations.

As we
approached each other on the narrow sidewalk, the Guardians didn’t make room
for me to pass. I knew what was coming, so when we passed each other and one of
the Guardian’s shoulders rammed into mine, my shoulder met him halfway and just
as hard. He grunted with the impact. I didn’t. I also didn’t get a dagger
between the shoulder blades once I was past them. I guess according to man
rules that meant I’d won.

It
was just after midnight, but the elven embassy still looked like it was
expecting a full-scale attack at any moment. Taltek Balmorlan must be feeling a
little insecure this evening. He had Piaras. No one had me. That had to make
the inquisitor just a tad bit nervous. He knew what I was capable of, and he
knew how I felt about Piaras. The guards patrolling the battlements looked
ready to shoot the first thing that moved wrong. I made sure I was moving as
much like Captain Baran Ratharil as I knew how when I crossed the street and
approached the embassy gates.

There
were a major and two lieutenants on duty in the small guardhouse next to the
warded gate. I saluted the major and ignored the lieutenants. It felt like what
Ratharil would do. The major responded with a sharp salute, as did the
lieutenants after they’d snapped to attention. A disciplined and alert group of
guys. Just what I didn’t need.

While
I waited for the ward to open to admit me, I tried to clear my mind of me,
Piaras, and the desire to strangle Taltek Balmorlan and kick Giles Keril’s bony
butt from here to the harbor. I was Captain Baran Ratharil, it had been a long
day, it was after midnight, and I was tired.

The
ward parted just enough to let me in.

“Ratharil!”
It was the major.

Damn.
I stopped midstride.

“Ambassador
Keril has been asking for you for the past hour.” The major grinned and
chuckled. “I think he’s lost his reading spectacles again. You’re to go
straight to his office.”

I
saluted again, this time with less enthusiasm. “Yes, sir.”

I
went through the wards and they closed behind me with a sizzle. Forget Keril—I
was going to kick Tanik’s crew’s butts from here to the harbor. Thanks to them,
I was now Captain Baran Ratharil—the ambassador’s lackey.

Logic,
Raine. Just use logic.

I was
inside the embassy in an overly ornate, marble-floored reception hall, and I
had absolutely no idea where Keril’s office was. Not that I had any intention
of going there, but since I was trying to avoid Keril, it’d be good to know
where the little weasel was.

Continuing
to stand there looking confused would attract attention I didn’t need. I’d been
inside one or two government offices before. This was basically the same thing,
I told myself; it was just a little fancier than I was used to. In my limited
experience, the first floor was for reception and underlings’ offices. The
important people worked upstairs—or in Keril’s case, the self-important people.

Piaras
was upstairs.

I
took a deep breath, adjusted myself, and started up the stairs.

At
the top the first flight was a wide corridor, and the walls down both sides
were covered floor to ceiling in massive mirrored panels. No doors, just
mirrors. Crap.

Naturally,
the stairs to the next floor were at the other end. I started walking, and
tried to keep my mind off who or what could be lurking on the other side of any
mirrored panel. I took a casual glance at my reflection. Yep, still the
captain.

“Baran,
where have you been?”

I
nearly jumped out of my borrowed skin. I recognized the voice, which was the
only reason my dagger was still in my hand instead of embedded in the elven
ambassador. For all I knew, Ratharil may have wanted to kill his boss, but I
didn’t think now was a good time to do it, as much as I’d like to.