The Raven Ring (25 page)

Without thinking, she glanced at the place where the false Daner had disappeared, and suppressed a shudder. “I thought shapeshifters were just a story.”

“They aren’t, more’s the pity,” Karvonen said. His voice sounded hoarse and he still breathed heavily, as if he had been running, but at least he wasn’t gasping for air like a drowning man. “And they’re worse than wizards. Shit a two-by-twenty-weight of iron through the bottom of a badly patched canoe.
What
have I gotten myself into?”

“A cell in the Emperor’s dungeon, if I have anything to say about it.” Daner glared at Karvonen and shifted his grip on his dagger. “What are you doing here, thief?”

“Sitting on the Freelady’s bed, getting my breath back, after we saved each other’s necks,” Karvonen answered. He took another deep breath, then looked up to meet Eleret’s eyes. “For my half of which I thank you most profoundly, Freelady. I owe you my life.”

Eleret blinked, surprised again by Karvonen’s familiarity with Cilhar customs. Daner frowned. “Saved
each other’s
necks? I saw Eleret save yours, but when did you do anything for her?”

“When I realized your shapeshifting double was a fake,” Karvonen said, then glanced doubtfully at Eleret. “At least—”

“I knew he wasn’t Daner when I saw him move to attack you,” Eleret said. “And not until then, so yes, you did something. But how did you know he wasn’t Daner?”

“His phrasing. ‘I promise to the land’s end’ is a Rathani saying, and it isn’t used often enough for most foreigners to pick it up on a casual visit to the city. Add to that the fact that the Vallaniri trade interests are mostly in the south and east, and the way he was urging you to give him that ring—”

“What?” Daner looked from Karvonen to Eleret with an expression of outrage. “And you were going to do it?”

“Of course not,” Eleret said. “Look, it’ll make more sense if you hear it in order.” She gave a quick summary of events, finishing, “Now you know what he told us. How much of it was true?”

“About Jonystra? Nothing.” Daner fingered his dagger as if he was not sure whether he wanted to keep it in hand, put it away, or throw it at someone. “She’s not capable of talking yet, and the healer said she wouldn’t be until tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest. Once he finished with her, he hauled me over the starboard yard and back; apparently when it comes to taking care of burns, I did almost everything wrong except put her to sleep.” He shook his head. “Why do healers always expect people to know as much about their business as they do?”

“They don’t.” Karvonen shrugged expressively. “They’re just like most people—they hate it when some amateur makes their job more difficult. As long as we’re explaining things, would someone mind telling me what this ring is that almost got me killed?”

“Yes, I mind,” Daner said. “Eleret, watch him for a minute while I call someone. As soon as he’s locked up, we can—”

“No.”

Both men looked at Eleret with surprise, Karvonen’s mingled with dawning delight, Daner’s with irritation. “He’s a thief and a sneak,” Daner said angrily. “You can’t trust him!”

“Maybe not, but I owe him something.” Eleret looked at Karvonen. “I won’t say that I owe you my life, but you’ve taken risks twice for me. Once to bring me your information, and once to let me know about the shapeshifter.”

Karvonen cocked his head to one side and studied her.

“You know, I have the melancholy feeling that neither one was really necessary.”

“There’s no telling now,” Eleret said. “In any case, I won’t help Daner lock you up. But I won’t help you get away, either. You’re on your own, thief.”

“Eleret, you can’t mean to say that you believe him! He’s an admitted thief—”

“And good at it,” Karvonen murmured. “Don’t forget to say ‘good at it.’”

“—and an intruder,” Daner continued determinedly. “The sea lords alone know how he got in here.”

“Well, I know, too,” Karvonen put in. “But I can’t say. Professional secret,” he added with relish.

“You don’t even know that he told you the truth—”

“And
you
don’t know that I didn’t,” Karvonen said smugly.

Daner glared at him. “Whatever his claims, you don’t owe him anything but a cell. Which is where I intend to put him as quickly as possible, whether you agree or not.”

“That’s called the watch in,” Karvonen said, shaking his head. “You’ll never get her to help now. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t make any claims. I acknowledged a debt. Another one,” he added in a gloomy tone. “Why these things always happen to me…”

“Go ahead, then,” Eleret said to Daner.

“I thought you’d see it my way,” Daner said with a triumphant glance at Karvonen. “I won’t be long; keep him here—”

“No.”

“What?”

“I won’t keep him here,” Eleret said calmly.

Daner transferred his glare from the thief to Eleret. “Why not?”

“Because she already said she wouldn’t help you lock me up,” Karvonen said, grinning broadly. “You don’t know much about Cilhar, or you wouldn’t have wasted your breath arguing. So what are you going to do now, my lordly Ciaronese friend? The minute you’re out that door, I’m gone. And believe me, once I am, you won’t catch me.”

“I won’t have to,” Daner snapped. “Because you’re not getting away, no matter what you think.”

“I got in here, didn’t I?”

“Stop it, both of you.” Eleret made her voice as commanding as she could, hoping that surprise would make them listen even if nothing else did. If they kept to the path they were traveling, there’d be blood on someone’s dagger before morning.

“Eleret, can’t you see what he’s doing?” Daner said. “This is all some sort of trick. He’s probably after the ring too, just like everyone else.”

“I’m never like everyone else,” Karvonen objected, and paused. Then, too casually, he asked, “What ring?”

“This one,” Eleret said, holding out her right hand. She kept her fingers curled into a fist, just in case.

“Eleret, are you crazy?” Daner demanded as Karvonen studied the ring with an expression of casual interest. “What do you think he came here for?”

“I came to give her some information,” Karvonen said patiently. “I’ve told you that several times.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I do,” Eleret said, surprising herself as much as Daner. “But if you won’t take his word for it—”

“Take his word? He’s a thief!”

“But the City Guards said the Aurelicos were honorable ones,” Eleret said uncomfortably. She couldn’t bring herself to say aloud that she rather liked Karvonen. In the past, when she had needed to know whether to trust someone, she had relied on the knowledge and experience of her family and friends, as most Cilhar did. Here in Ciaron she had little to depend on but her own instincts, and she couldn’t hold those up to Daner as a reason to believe Karvonen.

“An honorable thief is a contradiction in terms.”

“Well, Karvonen seems pretty contradictory to me.”

Karvonen’s eyes widened; then he grinned and bounced to his feet. “A fairer compliment has never been paid me, Freelady,” he said in Cilhar, bowing with fluid grace.

“What was that he said?” Daner asked suspiciously.

“He thanked me,” Eleret told him, allowing some of her irritation to show. “Daner, do you intend to stand there all night? Because that’s what you’ll have to do, if you won’t trust at least one of us.”

“It’s not a matter of trust.”

At least he didn’t sound quite as determined as he had a moment earlier. “Then what is it a matter of?”

“Pride,” Karvonen suggested with an air of innocent interest.

“Keep out of this,” Eleret said, exasperated. Karvonen was behaving like the kind of person who’d poke a willow wand into a wasp’s nest for the fun of watching, never mind the stings. And just when she was starting to get somewhere with Daner, too.

“I can’t,” Karvonen said even more innocently than before. “I’m what you’re arguing about, aren’t I? So I’m in the middle whether I want to be or not. I’m just trying to enjoy myself a little.”

“If you’re not careful, you’ll enjoy yourself right into a cell.”

“All right,” Daner said abruptly. “He can go, but only because you say you owe him a favor. And this cancels it.” Setting his knife back in its sheath at last, Daner looked toward Karvonen. “Don’t come anywhere near Eleret again, or I’ll hand you over to the Emperor’s Questioner. Understand?”

Karvonen blinked, then looked reproachfully at Eleret. “I thought you said he wasn’t your boyfriend.”

“What?” said Daner, completely at a loss.

“He isn’t,” Eleret said. “And you’d better leave while you have the chance.”

Daner glared at Eleret. “What did he mean?” he demanded, jerking his thumb at Karvonen.

“That little speech of yours sounded an awful lot like a fit of jealousy to me,” Karvonen replied. “I’m sure you’d agree, if you could consider the matter rationally.”

“Karvonen you idiot, get
out
of here,” Eleret said as Daner’s face reddened and his right hand dropped to his dagger’s hilt once again.

“Sorry, no.” Smiling, Karvonen sat deliberately down on the bed and swung his feet up on the covers. Clasping his hands behind his head, he leaned back against the nearest bedpost, a picture of casual relaxation, and said, “Think it through, Freelady. When you owe someone a favor, you don’t get to decide how to pay it off.”

Daner growled and started forward. “Don’t worry, Freelady,” Karvonen said without moving, as Eleret caught at Daner’s arm. “He’s not likely to kill an unarmed, unresisting man, or even wound him, particularly not on top of your bed.”

“You—” Daner stopped short, staring at Karvonen, then began to laugh. “You’re right.”

“Well!” Karvonen sat up and returned Daner’s stare, then gave him a half-bow that managed to look graceful in spite of Karvonen’s semi-reclining position. “I underestimated you, my lord. Or perhaps ‘misjudged’ is the better word; what do you think?”

“Oh, misjudged, certainly,” Daner said, still laughing. “Since it seems I did the same to you. That way, we’re even.”

Eleret looked from one to the other, baffled by the sudden air of amity. “If that’s settled, Karvonen had better leave now.”

“Oh, no.” Karvonen leaned back against the bedpost once more, looking stubborn. “I’m not going anywhere, not for a while, anyway.”

“Why not?” Eleret and Daner said together.

Karvonen favored them with a charming and impartial smile. “Because I want to collect on that favor first. Tell me about this ring of yours, and the lady downstairs who can’t talk yet, and whatever brought you to Ciaron in the first place. It’s a fair trade, information for information, and when you’re done we’ll call your side of the debt canceled. Agreed?” He looked at them expectantly.

EIGHTEEN

E
LERT STARED AT
K
ARVONEN
in disbelief. Beside her, Daner stirred, and she realized that she was still holding his arm. She let go quickly, too quickly, and Karvonen cocked an eyebrow at her. Her face warmed, but she forced the muscles to remain still, refusing to acknowledge it. Karvonen’s expression grew more sardonic, and he gave Daner a sour look.

“I don’t think ‘contradictory’ was the right word for him, Eleret,” Daner said, frowning. “‘Audacious’ would be a better term. The idea of trading information with a thief—”

“Well, I can’t steal it out of your head,” Karvonen said, with the air of a man trying to be reasonable. “And it works the same for you, my lord, unless the Adepts of the Island of the Moon know a spell that tells you what people are thinking
and
have taught you how to use it. So we don’t have much choice, do we?”

“You’ve already told us what you know,” Daner pointed out.

“Some of it.” Karvonen smiled blandly. “There might be more. You can’t say for sure.”

“What do you want us to tell you?” Eleret didn’t believe that Karvonen had anything else useful to say, but if he decided to follow her around in order to satisfy his curiosity, it could cause problems. “Keep in mind that there are limits to that favor I said I’d do you. And you’ve already admitted that you owe me more than I owe you.”

Karvonen grimaced. “I’m not likely to forget it. Tell me about this ring with the raven on it.”

“Eleret!”

“Don’t start again, Daner! I’ve had enough argument for one night, and I’m tired.”

“So am I.” Stretching his legs across the bed, Karvonen wiggled his shoulders into a more comfortable position against the pillows and gave Daner another too-sweet smile. “And the sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner we can all go to bed.” He paused for a quick glance at Eleret. “And—eventually—to sleep.”

Daner clenched his fist around the hilt of his dagger, but had the wit not to respond in words.

“What exactly do you want to know?” Eleret asked Karvonen with determined calm. A matter-of-fact, stick-to-the-strategy approach seemed the best way of dealing with the thief’s deliberate outrageousness.

Karvonen gave her a reproachful look, then shrugged; “Why does your
friend
there think this ring of yours is too important to talk to a thief about?”

“Because so many people seem to want it,” Eleret said. “You saw one yourself—the shapeshifter who was pretending to be Daner. And don’t ask why they’re interested; if we knew that, we might not be in such a mess.”

“Mess?” said Karvonen, looking pointedly down at the silk-embroidered coverlet and then around at the rest of the room’s furnishings.

“Appearances are deceiving,” Eleret said.

Karvonen cocked his head thoughtfully. “Not yours.”

“Perhaps not at the moment,” Eleret said, thinking of the problems she’d had with the skirt she’d worn most of the day. Then she snorted softly. Maybe Karvonen was right; the disguise apparently hadn’t deceived anyone. “Is that everything you want? Because if it is—”

“Nowhere near,” Karvonen said. “You wouldn’t think it to look at me, but I’m an ambitious man. I want to be wealthy, talented, and four inches taller. I want to be the first man to steal the Emperor’s crown and scepter in full view of the court—”

Daner raised an eyebrow. “
That
isn’t why you’re in Ciaron, is it? To steal the Emperor’s crown?”