“However did you guess?” Cormik replied as the thieves closed in.
Fourteen
“Look on the bright side,” Cormik offered with forced cheer. “At least we finally found this Stiletto character.”
“Actually, Cormik,” Jewel countered acerbically, “I think he found us first.”
Cormik rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Well, if you’re going to get technical about it, Jewel …”
Morhion ignored the two fractious crime lords as he paced around the octagonal chamber in which they were imprisoned. Earlier, the thieves had led the companions at sword point through Soubar’s muddy streets. Folk had scurried out of their path with averted eyes, which suggested that Stiletto’s thugs were well known—and well feared—in the settlement. The thieves had stopped before a rude tent. Inside, under a pile of refuse, was a trapdoor. The companions were forced down a spiral staircase and pushed through dim passages. At last they came to a chamber, and the thieves had sealed them inside.
The air in the chamber was chill. The room lay deep in the ground, where frost never loosened its cold grip on the soil, even in the warm months of summer. Walls, floor, and ceiling were all lined with seamless black marble flecked with crimson and gold. The door through which they had entered had vanished. Morhion ran a hand across one wall. The stone was so slick it felt almost oily, though it left no residue on his fingers.
“Can’t you cast some spell to get us out of here, Morhion?” Mari asked, her face drawn.
“I am afraid not. The walls have been infused with a powerful ward against magic.” Morhion frowned thoughtfully. “This stone seems familiar to me, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it before.”
“Beneath Iriaebor, in the crypt of the Shadowking.”
Morhion turned to gaze sharply at Kellen. The boy ran a small hand over a dark column that looked as if it had been poured rather than carved. “There was stone just like this in the tomb below the city. I remember.”
Kellen was right. That was where Morhion had noticed the strangely slick marble before. It explained the aura of magical resistance that emanated from the stone. The crypt of the Shadowking had been permeated by just such an aura. But why was the same stone in this chamber?
The mage drew in a sharp breath. “Stiletto has been using the Shadowstar.”
The others stared at him. Before they could reply, a sharp sound shattered the silence. Cracks appeared in one wall, outlining the hidden door. The portal flew open. A dozen thieves slipped into the chamber, as dark and seemingly fluid as the strange marble, positioning themselves around the perimeter of the room. A figure clad from head to toe in a robe of flowing black silk stepped through the doorway. His shadow, cast by wavering torchlight, loomed larger than life on the wall behind him.
Morhion whispered the word. “Stiletto.”
“I see introductions will not be necessary,” the one called Stiletto said, his raspy voice muffled by the dark cowl that concealed his face. “For I certainly know the great mage Morhion Gen’dahar.” The dark cowl regarded each of the others in turn. “And here with him is Mari Al’maren, lately of the Harpers—but no longer I hear. And Kellen Caldorien, son of renowned Harper Caledan Caldorien. And Cormik One-Eye, proprietor of the Prince and Pauper in Iriaebor. And of course Jewel Talondim, the enchanting matriarch of the illustrious Talondim clan.”
Morhion had not expected Stiletto to know them. It seemed the underworld lord was omniscient as well as all-powerful.
“Why have you journeyed here seeking me?” Stiletto demanded.
The mage allowed himself a grim smile. “You know so much about us, Stiletto. Surely you know that as well?”
“Perhaps I already do, and merely wish to see if you will lie to me,” the dark-robed man snapped, but his words came too hastily, suggesting that in truth he did not know their purpose.
“Wait a minute,” Mari said suspiciously, her eyes narrowing as she studied Stiletto. “I can see how an underworld lord might know his rivals, like Cormik One-Eye and Jewel Talondim. And I can even see how he might keep track of Harper agents and those who work with them, which would explain why you know me and Morhion.” She took a step forward. “But it doesn’t make any sense that you would know the identity of an eleven-year-old boy.”
At those words, Morhion forgot the armed thieves surrounding them. Mari was right. Curiosity burned in his brain as he advanced on Stiletto. “Who are you?” he demanded in a low voice.
Stiletto began an indignant reply, but he never finished it. Kellen whistled three sharp notes of music and stretched out an arm. On the wall, the silhouette of his hand touched the shadow cast by Stiletto. Kellen flexed his fingers and Stiletto’s cowl was jerked back, revealing his startled visage. The crime lord was a small, weasely man with close-cropped brown hair, darting eyes, and crooked teeth. He grinned sheepishly as the companions stared in astonishment. At last, it was Jewel’s scathing voice that spoke.
“You have quite a bit of explaining to do, Ferret Talondim!”
“You’ve hurt her feelings terribly, you know,” Cormik murmured.
“I know,” Ferret replied sadly.
They were alone now; the little thief had sent his masked servants away. He cast a fleeting look at his grandmother. She stood on the far side of the octagonal chamber, where Mari and Kellen were doing their best to calm her. Jewel stalked lithely back and forth, looking almost like a dangerous violet panther in her dusk-purple leathers.
“Honor doesn’t mean much to thieves,” Ferret went on, “but blood does. I suppose my operations have been cutting into Grandmother’s business.”
Morhion gave the thief a hard look. “I think you err in judging the source of your grandmother’s ire, Ferret. Whatever she might say, I imagine she cares little enough for any gold you have cost her. I would say she is angry at the grief you have caused her by letting her believe that you were dead.” Mari cast a furious look in their direction. “And I suspect Jewel may not be the only one to feel that way,” the mage added meaningfully.
Ferret swallowed hard. “Perhaps I acted recklessly. I suppose, now that Grandmother knows I’m not really dead, she’ll go ahead and kill me anyway.”
Across the room, Jewel let out a particularly blistering array of expletives. Cormik raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. “You may be right.” He laid a ring-laden hand on Ferret’s bony shoulder. “Unless, of course, you go over right now and speak to her. You are her grandson, after all. And her favorite, from everything I’ve heard. That might still count for something.”
Ferret nodded uneasily. “I suppose it’s worth a try. If nothing else, maybe if I beg for mercy she’ll make my demise a little less painful.”
Morhion poked a finger against Ferret’s chest. “And when you’ve finished explaining things to Jewel, you can start explaining them to the rest of us. Last we knew, you were lost in the destruction of the Shadowking’s crypt beneath Iriaebor. I’m very interested to learn how you got from there to here, and you’re going to satisfy my curiosity. Understood?”
Ferret’s eyes bulged out. “I hope you’re not expecting me to say I’m looking forward to it.”
“Frankly,” Morhion countered, “I’d be happier if you were dreading it.”
“You would, Morhion,” Ferret said with a grimace and scurried across the room.
Morhion allowed himself the bare suggestion of a smile. It was good to see the little thief again. The world had been a duller place without him.
Mari approached, gripping Kellen’s hand. “Let’s give Jewel and Ferret a little space,” she suggested, and they withdrew to the far side of the room. It was only a short while later that Jewel and Ferret strode toward them. The weasely thief was grinning his crooked-toothed grin, and now the matriarch of the Talondim clan was smiling as well, though there was a slightly perturbed light in her eyes.