"Yes-on those." Tessali raised his arm and-wincing at the pain it caused him-pointed at the sandals in the Thrasson's lap. "You want to put them on and see what happens."
"How do you know that?" The Amnesian Hero sounded less contradictoly than irritated. "Can a man have no privacy even in his own thoughts?"
"Not when he wears them on his face for everyone to see. Besides, if you think it was your mother you saw…"
"I did see my mother."
"Of course." Tessali nodded as though he had never doubted it. "So it's only natural that you should want to see what happens if you wear the sandals. I don't see any reason you shouldn't"
"Except that the sandals are not mine to wear."
"How do you know that unless you try them on?"
The Amnesian Hero narrowed his eyes. "You seem anxious for me to wear them."
Tessali shrugged. "We will not solve this mystery until you do." The elf cast a wary glance at the amphora, which the Thrasson had tried to patch with a coating of wine-soaked ash. "And it would be better to know the truth before we start out again. Assuming the exit is close to where Silverwind found the thread-"
"It is."
The Thrasson's conviction did not seem to reassure Tessali. "Yes – well, in that case, the last thing we'll want is another surprise from your jar."
The Amnesian Hero smirked. "I know what you're thinking, elf."
"So, I'm not the only one who reads minds?"
Ignoring the sarcasm, the Amnesian Hero said, "Your plan won't work." He wiped a bead of fever sweat from his eyes, then looked at Tessali. "Even if I put the sandals on and remember nothing more of my mother, I would not be disappointed enough to throw the amphora over a wall – nor would I allow you to."
Tessali raised his arched eyebrows just enough to make the Amnesian Hero wonder if he had guessed wrong. "So, what are you afraid of?"
"Nothing!" Even as the Amnesian Hero snapped the word, he realized the very quickness of his answer had betrayed him. Addled as his thoughts were by fever and fatigue – and by wine as well – perhaps now was not the best time to match wits with Tessali. "But I have sworn an oath, and I do not take oaths lightly."
"I can see you don't." Tessali sighed, sounding more relieved than disappointed. "If there's no convincing you, I guess I'd better just have a look at Jayk."
"Perhaps we should let Silverwind do it." It was growing increasingly difficult to guess Tessali's game, and the Amnesian Hero did not want Jayk's condition to become part of the elf's manipulations. "He was the one who mended her skull."
"Sorry. The Imaginer of the Multiverse has worn himself out mending his creations." Tessali nodded toward the back of the passage, where Silverwind lay stretched out on his side. The old bariaur's eyes were closed, and his ribs were rising with the steady rhythm of someone deep in sleep. "Let's hope he's dreaming of us. I'd hate to vanish just because he fell asleep."
The Amnesian Hero would not let the elf's humor disarm him. "We can wait."
Tessali shook his head. "We don't want her to sleep too long. It's dangerous for people with head injuries."
With no further debate, the elf stepped around the Amnesian Hero and went to Jayk's side. As he squatted down beside her, he grimaced and dropped a hand to his ribs.
"I hope the monster does not find us soon. I won't be able to run," groaned Tessali. "Silverwind claims he healed the cracked ones, but they still feel broken to me."
"Good. I will know where to hit you if this is another ruse."
Tessali accepted the warning with a good-natured smile. "You are a peery one, aren't you?"
The elf turned back to Jayk, calling her name and gently jostling her shoulder. She did not stir. Tessali frowned and pulled her away from the Amnesian Hero's side, shaking her more violently.
The tiefling remained as limp as empty clothes.
"How long has she been asleep?" Tessali demanded.
"It may have been half an hour." The Amnesian Hero did not think Tessali was trying to manipulate him. As hard as the elf was shaking her, Jayk should have been awake. "What's wrong?"
"Abyss Sleep," said the elf. "On occasion, someone who's been hit on the head falls asleep so deeply that he is unable to awaken."
Tessali thumbed Jayk's eyes open and cursed, then shoved her at the Amnesian Hero. "Shake her, hard!"
The Thrasson sat the sandals and sword aside and obeyed.
Tessali astonished him by slapping the tiefling and yelling, "Jayk!" When she failed to respond, he slapped her again, then glanced up at the Amnesian Hero. "Shake her!"
The Thrasson, who had not realized he had stopped, renewed his efforts – then nearly lost his hold as Jayk lunged for Tessali's throat The astonished elf fell backward into the ash and scrambled away, his eyes round as coins. The sudden tension drained from the tiefling's body; she groaned once and grabbed her head.
"Ah, Zoombee! She hurts so much."
Jayk had barely uttered the words before her chin slumped to her chest. The Amnesian Hero began to shake her again.
"That's enough." Tessali crawled forward and carefully raised an eyelid. "We only needed to wake her briefly."
"Is she well?"
"She'll survive, but she won't be well until she spends some time in the Gatehouse. You know that"
The Amnesian Hero fell silent and leaned back against the ashen wall. Even through his fever-clouded, wine-hazed mind, he could see Tessali was right. Jayk's peculiar beliefs about her relationship to death made her a danger to herself and others – especially to others. And perhaps the Thrasson would have admitted that, had his own experience not proven the Bleak Cabal's penchant for caging people of perfectly sound mind. As it was, he thought the tiefling justified in charging that the only way those confined in the Gatehouse ever left was by becoming Bleakers themselves.
The Amnesian Hero pulled Jayk close and wrapped her in his arm. "I suppose you'll give us adjoining cells?"
Tessali was quick to shake his head. "You're well enough – or you will be, once I help you remember who you are."
The Amnesian Hero gave Tessali a wary gaze. "I have not asked your help, elf."
"There's nothing to fear. The hardest part will be figuring out how to administer to your loss. There are many ways to lose one's memory."
The Amnesian Hero could not prevent himself from being interested. "There are?"
Tessali nodded. "A blow to the head, an impairment of the emotions, an event too frightening to recall, drinking from the River Styx…" The elf paused and pointed to the flattened wineskin. "Or, more likely in your case, being too fond of wine."
"I am not too fond of wine." The Amnesian Hero looked toward the adjacent passage and stared into the blowing ash. "I was thirsty."
Tessali laid a hand across the Thrasson's forehead. "It's no wonder, as hot as you are." He reached into the pocket of his shredded cloak and extracted two holly leaves. They were both smeared with blood from his injuries. "I am not as skilled as Silverwind, but I can break your fever and mend your wound."
The Amnesian Hero continued to stare into the ash. The last time he had allowed Tessali to cast a spell on him, he had ended up with a brick foot. The elf had claimed it was the only. thing he could do to save his life, but it had since occurred to the Thrasson that it was also a good way to keep an escaped patient from fleeing again.