A sudden sharp stab in his arm made Kevin gasp and drop her. The fairy, who’d pinched him with her hard little fingers, fluttered away, grinning in mischief even though her eyes were weary. “Hoodoo! That, I don’t mind telling you, was hard work.”
“What was that?” Lydia asked. “That ‘influence-their-minds’ spell of yours?”
Tich’ki nodded. “You know it. And you know the thing works.”
“Sure. If you can get enough force into it.”
For once, Tich’ki didn’t argue. “Right. It’s not the sort of thing I want to do too often.” But then her sharp grin returned. “It’s so much easier lifting purses!”
“I’m sure that’s true,” Eliathanis cut in coolly. “But rather than discuss thieving triumphs, don’t you think we had best find shelter before one or another of our enemies returns?”
“Excellent idea,” Lydia said with a wry little bow. “I need to repair my bowstring anyhow, curse that filthy excuse for an elf.”
Eliathanis stiffened indignantly, plainly torn between the evidence of his own eyes and his refusal to accept that one of his people could sink so low. “Have you any idea where we should be heading?”
“Yup.” Lydia pointed. “North, guys—The inn’s called the Flying Swan. You’ll know it by the sign. Innkeeper doesn’t ask awkward questions of his guests and keeps the beds vermin-free.”
“What more could we possibly want?” Naitachal asked wryly.
Lydia shrugged. “Kevin and I will register as ...” She glanced the bardling’s way, mischief in her eyes. “As friends. Good friends. Very good friends. Right, my lover boy?” She grinned as he reddened, and took his arm. “See you later, everyone!”
Ah well, the bardling told himself resolutely. Let her have her fun. Not much you can do to stop her, anyhow.
Lydia’s teasing aside, it would be wonderful to be in a nice dean room again, with a nice hot meal and maybe even—oh miracle of miracles—a soft bed’
A half-turn of the hourglass later, Kevin wasn’t feeling quite so smug. Lydia, the bardling’s cloak draped not quite concealingly about herself and her scanty garb, was clinging to his arm, giggling all too convincingly as he signed the register and tried to act as though “Estban Eitar” checked into inns with attractive older women all the time.
He was still blushing even after they had settled into their room—particularly when he saw that the furnishings consisted mostly of one large bed.
“You could hardly have asked for two beds, sweetie,” Lydia cooed. “Not and keep up this cuddly-wuddly pretense.” To his utter mortification, she snuggled up against him, fluttering her eyelashes elaborately, and pinched his cheek. “Cute li’l lover boy!”
“Stop that!’’
“My, my, you do blush prettily!
“Aw, don’t—”
A sharp rap on the closed shutters of the single window interrupted him. With a silent sigh of relief, Kevin unlatched the shutters and let; in the rest of their party. Lydia might be a warrior, but she was far too attractive for his nerves!
“And you complain about clumsy humans, do you?” Naitachal was murmuring to Eliathanis as they climbed into the room.
The White Elf glared.” How was I to know the drainpipe wasn’t secure?”
“You did make a most convincing spider, clinging to the wall with every digit,”
“You could have helped me!”
“What, and spoil your acrobatic demonstration?” As Naitachal removed and neatly shook out the folds of his black cloak, he gave Kevin a secret but undeniable wink. “A pretty thing it was, too.”
Eliathanis straightened. “I don’t think—”
“A pity.”
“Uh, fellows?” the bardling cut in. “I know you’re enjoying this bickering, but can we please leave it for some other time? We’ve had a rather busy day, agreed?”
“Oh, agreed.” Naitachal raised an eyebrow. “I think we’d best keep watch tonight. If Eliathanis and I could climb up here, so could someone else.”
“Empty Eyes?” Kevin asked. “Ah, I mean, that elf, the leader of the gang.” The bardling paused. “Whatever he is.”
“Empty Eyes,” Naitachal echoed darkly. “Well put, Kevin. Empty, he most surely is. I don’t know what his problems might be, what he’s doing here, why he’s an exile from ha dan—Oh, don’t give me that haughty stare, White Elf, you know I’m right about that. And frankly, I don’t care about those problems. I felt Death hovering over him. Between drugs and alcohol and botched attempts at sorcery, he hasn’t much longer to live.”
“Botched!”
The Dark Elf shrugged. “You’ve seen my conjured blade. His should have been just as impressive. But it was as dull and nearly dead as the fading life force within him.” Naitachal shrugged. “Enough about him.”
“I’d just like to know who hired him,” Kevin cut in.
Eliathanis glanced at the bardling in respect. “The swords those thugs were carrying bothered you, too? Swords are expensive things; most brigands just can’t afford them, or the time needed to learn how to use them.”
“Great,” Lydia muttered. “Just what we need: another enemy. The sooner we get out of here, the better we’re going to sleep,”
“Exactly. And,” Kevin added sternly, “that’s why we can’t waste any more time. We have to start working on exactly how we’re going to manage to escape.”
“Bossy human,” Tich’ki ceased, but for once there wasn’t much sting in her voice. “Ai-yi, I’m getting pretty tired of Westerin myself,” she confessed. “Too many touchy guards for my taste. Let’s see, now ... I can not control every blasted guard that’s going to be watching the city gates. Anyone else here able to work invisibility spells?”
Silence.
“I guess not,” the fairy said with a sigh.
“What about illusions, though?” Lydia asked. “What if we cast some really terrifying illusion, something that would scare the guards away from one of the gates—”
“By ‘we’ you mean me, I take it?” Naitachal said drily. He shook his head. “Oh, I probably could work up something to frighten a human mind, even if illusion-casting is a bit outside the scope of my ... art But these are trained warriors, not children. Some of them might run, yes—but the rest would almost certainly attack. I don’t care to test my body against their spears.”
“We need something more tangible than illusion,” Kevin mused. “Shape-shifting ... except only one of us can shape-shift.” He glanced at the Dark Elf. “What about disguising us by magic?”
Naitachal held up a helpless hand. “Now that really is out of the scope of my sorcery. Anyone else?”
“Hey, don’t look at me!” Tich’ki said. “I can’t change anyone but myself.”
“I have no such talent,” Eliathanis admitted.
“Well, I certainly don’t!” Lydia added. “Besides, I’ve heard those spells are just as easy to break as illusions. The last thing we’d want is to suddenly change back right in the middle of the guards—And you know. Fate being the fickle lady she is, that’s just what would happen! No, we need some more mundane disguises. Something that doesn’t depend on magic ... Naw, any ordinary disguises would be too easy to penetrate.”
“Would they?” Kevin wondered—”Go on, Lydia. What of roid physical disguises?”