Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 02 (32 page)

Giles
Keril stood just inside an open panel. The mirrors concealed the doors to
offices.

That
was just wrong.

I
smoothly sheathed my dagger. “Forgive me, Your Excellency. You startled me.”

Keril’s
eyes were a little wide. “When did you start carrying throwing knives?”

“Since
this evening, sir. I felt it was prudent considering the circumstances.”

“Quite
true.” He swallowed. “You are wise to be so well prepared.”

I
inclined my head respectfully. “Thank you, sir. I understand you have been
looking for me. My apologies for keeping you waiting. My errand took longer
than I expected.”

“I’ve
lost my reading spectacles again and I can’t find them.”

I
swore silently and followed him back into his office, and went through the
motions of looking around. From the looks of things, Keril wasn’t a patient
man. He’d essentially trashed his own office. I hoped he didn’t expect me to
clean it up.

“Have
you looked in all the usual places where you’ve left them before?” I kept my
voice casual, as if I had all the time in the world for this.

Keril
shot me an indignant look. “Of course.”

One
of my hands curled into a fist. “Have you been outside of your office today, in
another part of the embassy?”

“I’ve
had several meetings.”

“Where,
if I may ask?”

“Down
the hall earlier this afternoon, and upstairs this evening.”

Upstairs.
Perhaps Giles Keril wasn’t a colossal waste of my time.

“Have
you searched either place?”

“No,
I was certain they were here.”

“Sir,
I would be glad to check both locations for you, if you would like.”

“I
can look upstairs, if you would take Symeon’s office down the hall,” Keril
suggested. “I believe he’s gone for the evening but his assistant can let you
in.”

No
way, no how. “Sir, you’ve searched your office very thoroughly.” I made a show
of looking around at the disaster that was Keril’s office. “And you must be
exhausted from what happened this evening.”

The
little elf cleared the papers from his office chair and sat down with a sigh.
“I am quite fatigued.”

“Then
I insist on going upstairs for you. Was your meeting on the top floor?”

“Yes.”

“Did
you have your spectacles with you then?”

Keril
beamed in realization. “Why yes, I did. It’s been so hectic tonight that I’d
forgotten. Inquisitor Balmorlan needed my signature on a prisoner extradition
document. I would have needed my spectacles to sign it.”

Son
of a bitch.

“Then
I’m certain your spectacles are still there.” I smiled at him. “If not, I
promise I’ll turn this place upside down until I find what I’m looking for.”

There
were two guards on duty on the top floor. One was leaning
back in a chair at the end of the hall; the other was
walking toward me. A captain. Good. No salutes needed.

“Evening,
Baran,” he said as he passed me.

Sometimes
it was nice to be recognized.

“Evening,”
I replied.

“And
make it strong,” the other guard yelled.

“Yeah,
yeah, Rance. I hear you. Next time, you’re going for the damned coffee.”

It
didn’t take any acting for me to look tired, but amiable took some work. I saw
what Rance and Captain Whoever were guarding. The last room on the right was
layered and crackling with wards. Somebody had laid them on thick.

Piaras
was in there. I knew it.

From
the bars on his uniform, Rance was also a captain—and a prison mage. All they
did was ward and guard. Chances were he’d constructed those wards himself, and
if I tried to take them down, the alarms would bring everyone in the entire
compound.

He
didn’t have the key to Piaras’s cell—he
was
the key. Rance leaned forward,
the front legs of the chair coming to rest on the floor. “What brings you up
here this time of night?”

“Guess,”
I said, my voice flat.

Rance
chuckled. “What’d he lose this time?”

“His
specs. Again.” I ran my hand over my stubble. “He’s positive he left them up
here, and he sent me to look. Do you know which room he was in tonight?”

Rance
swore and jerked his head toward Piaras’s warded door. “Guess.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

“I
hate to ask, but could you . . . ?” I made a parting motion with my hands.

“Do
you know how long it took me to put those up?”

“Couldn’t
have been quick; it’s impressive work.”

“Damned
right it is. And that inquisitor’s been making me let him in and out all
night.”

“Is
he coming back soon?” I resisted the urge to look behind me.

Rance
yawned and shook his head. “Not for another hour. But the room will be empty
then and you can look for specs all you like.”

I
stood completely still. “Empty?”

“He’ll
be taking his prisoner with him. Fast ship to somewhere that’s not here. Good
riddance, too. That inquisitor’s been a pain in everyone’s ass since he got
here. But then they all are.”

“It’s
been a long day, Rance.” I tried to sound tired and speak slowly, which wasn’t
easy since my heart had just jumped into my throat. “An hour’s a long time to wait.”
I paused meaningfully. “I’d owe you one.”

“Yeah,
you would.” He regarded me for a second or two, then pushed himself out of his
chair with a grunt. “You might want to stand behind me. Wouldn’t want you to
get hit with the backlash.”

“I
wouldn’t want that, either.” I stepped behind him and reached inside my tunic
for one of Tanik’s gifts.

Rance
deftly parted a section of the wards. “There you go; that’ll stay for a minute
or two. Be quick—”

I
was, with a blackjack to the back of his head.

Piaras
was on a pallet in the corner. He was either unconscious or asleep. I was
hoping for asleep. I leaned over him, my hands gripping his shoulders, shaking
him gently.

“Sweetie,
wake up.”

Piaras
opened his eyes, took one look at the man leaning over him and calling him
“sweetie,” and punched that man squarely in the balls.

I
swore I’d never punch, knee, or kick a man in the balls ever
again—if I lived through the next few seconds.

I
couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t move—at least not out of the fetal position I was
in—and chances were good that I was going to throw up.

Piaras
was headed for the open door and wards.

“Raine,”
I croaked. “Me.”

Piaras
stopped, looked, then stared in disbelief, his eyes huge.

“Raine,
I’m so sorry . . . I didn’t know it was you. I didn’t mean to . . . Are you
hurt badly?” His words tripped over each other in a rush to get out of his
mouth. His feet did the same getting to me.

I
suddenly became aware that I still hurt, but not in quite the same way as
before. I took my hands from where they’d been clutched between my legs. They
were my hands, not Ratharil’s. My body, not his. My dangly bits were gone. My
eyes went as wide as Piaras’s.

I’d
lost Ratharil’s glamour.

Oh
no.

Rance
was going to come to; Captain Whoever would be back anytime; and Balmorlan
would be here within the hour.

Breathe
deep, Raine. Calm down.

I
could breathe, but calm was not going to happen. Fine. Nerves could be
productive.

Piaras
helped me up.

Captain
Rance was lying motionless just outside the door. Guess who was about to become
my second glamour subject of the evening.

I
reached in my pocket for Tanik’s kid’s pendant and gave it to Piaras. “When I
tell you to, put this on,” I told him. “It’ll make you invisible for fifteen
minutes.”

I
went to the door and peered out into the hall. It was empty, and better yet, I
didn’t hear boot steps indicating the impending arrival of coffee and trouble.

“Come
on, let’s—”

“They
said I murdered the archmagus,” Piaras said hoarsely.

I
looked back over my shoulder. Piaras was still standing in the middle of the
cell, the pendant dangling loosely from his hand. He looked like he was about
to be sick.

Any
nerves I had gave way to cold rage. “Who said that?”

“Inquisitor
Balmorlan and the ambassador.”

“They
lied,” I snarled. “You didn’t kill anyone.”

Hope
flared in Piaras’s dark eyes. “He’s alive?”

“We
don’t know yet.” Best to tell the truth. “Regardless, it wasn’t your fault.
Your song was used to cover up the real attack.”

Piaras
stood there, absorbing what I’d just said. I could see his anger building.
“They tried to force me to sign a confession. Admitting that I’d done it with
your help.” His voice had taken on a steely edge. “Balmorlan said you were on
the catwalk above me with a goblin spellsinger. I knew he was lying, but I
didn’t know what had really happened.”

“That
goblin attacked Justinius, not you. I was trying to stop him.”

Taltek
Balmorlan had just joined Rudra Muralin on my personal shit list.

I
looked back down the hall. Still empty. “Let’s get out of here first, talk
later.”

We
carefully stepped past the wards and out of the cell. I stared down at Rance,
quickly memorizing every detail, internalizing his appearance. I pushed outward
with a touch of power. I looked down.

And I
was still me.

Oh
crap.

Personal
pep talk time. Just relax, Raine. You and Piaras are perfectly safe; no one
wants to lock both of you up or use and abuse you for the rest of your lives;
the Saghred’s not going to eat your soul or drive you crazy. Everything’s good;
everything’s fine.

I
tried again. No dice.

“Dammit!”

Sometimes
nerves weren’t so productive.

If
you ignored his clenched jaw, Piaras looked surprisingly calm. “It’s not going
to work, is it?”

I
rolled Rance over, started stripping him of his weapons and giving them to
Piaras. “Doesn’t look like it. We’ll just do it the old-fashioned way. I talked
my way into this place. If I have to, I’ll blast our way out. You wouldn’t
happen to know any quick and
really
dirty spellsongs, would you?”

His
slow grin told me he did and that he’d welcome the chance to use them.

“Are
these sleepsongs or slam-people-into-walls songs?” I asked.

Piaras’s
grin broadened. “Dealer’s choice.”

I was
glad to see that grin and the resolve growing behind it. I smiled up at him.
“Phaelan’s been teaching you cards, hasn’t he?”

Piaras
tucked the last dagger into his belt. “And most times now I win.”

And I
thought I had corrupted the innocent.

I
gave him the blackjack. “Put on the pendant, and let’s see if at least that
works.”

Piaras
slipped the chain over his head and vanished along with all of his new lethal
toys.

I
nodded in approval. “Okay, this could work nicely.”

“What
could work?”

Piaras’s
voice coming from Piaras’s invisible body. Creepy.

“We’ve
only got fifteen minutes—or less if that pendant craps out on us,” I told him.
“Listen up.”

Everything
was right where Tanik Ozal’s embassy blueprints said
it’d be, including the narrow service stairwell
Piaras and I were now in. I’d told him my plan, but the reality of any plan was
that it was subject to change at any time for better or worse.

My
plan had just lost most of its options. There were several exits we could have
taken from the embassy, but those were for Captain Ratharil strolling out of
the embassy with his new invisible friend—not for Raine Benares, elven public
enemy number one.

We
were moving fast. Any moment, that captain would return with coffee and find
Rance, or Rance would come to and sound the alarm himself. Our minutes were
numbered. So I was nothing short of stunned when we reached the first floor
without running into anyone. There was a definite advantage to after-midnight
jailbreaks. I’d have to remember that. According to the blueprints, we had to
cross an open office area at the back of the embassy, as well as the main
corridor, to reach the entrance to the basements and the tunnel that was our
final goal.

That
tunnel led to the harbor and freedom.

“Piaras?”
I whispered.

Silence.

“Piaras!”

“I’m
right here.”