Arilyn thought this over. A suspicion that she could not entirely grasp came to her. "Let me see the Mhaorkiira."
When the elf hesitated, she drew her sword and threw it aside, following it with the knife in her boot and the hunting knife in her belt. "I am unarmed," she said. "You can easily take it back."
"That was not my concern," Elaith said.
"I know what your concern is," she snapped. "A moment's contact won't corrupt me, even if I'm wrong."
The elf's face was deeply puzzled, but he produced the ruby from a pocket of his jacket and handed it to her.
Arilyn studied the stone, turning it over carefully and running her fingers over the glittering facets. It was a beautiful thing, deep red and perfectly cut. Magic vibrated through it—even she could sense that. All the same, she was certain that this was not the dark stone of legend.
"How much did you pay for this?" she asked.
Elaith looked startled. "Six hundred gold. Why?"
"That's a lot for a piece of crystal."
The elf looked as if he wasn't sure whether to be puzzled or outraged. "Explain," he requested coolly.
"You're still alive," the half-elf said with a faint, cold smile. "You know what I am—what I have been. There is enough anger in me to give the Mhaorkiira a foothold. I wouldn't need much of an excuse to kill you.
"More importantly, Dan is still alive. You even came to his aid. I doubt you would have done that if you were under the influence of the rogue stone."
His answering smile was bitter. "You do not know the entire legend, Princess. If there is a seed of evil, the rogue stone will make it grow, but creatures beyond redemption can handle it with impunity. I am still clear of mind and will, quite capable of making decisions that suit my whim. What does that say of me?"
Arilyn had never seen such emptiness in living eyes, or such despair. If anything, that only convinced her she was right.
"It is a counterfeit," she persisted. "Take me to the fence you bought it from and I'll prove it."
The elf conceded and led the way to a shop in Castle Ward. Arilyn stalked up to the one-eyed man and placed the stone on his table. "You sold this gem."
The man's gaze flicked from Elaith's face to Arilyn's as if seeking permission to speak. The elf nodded. "That is so," the fence said. "Why?"
"It's a fake. A crystal."
He drew himself up, outraged. "I know precious stones. That is a ruby. I stake my life on it."
"A bad choice of words, considering the company," Elaith said pleasantly. "Convince me."
The fence took up the stone and a glass. He began to study it. His confidence faded away by the moment, and he raised a horrified gaze to his visitors. "This is not the stone I sold you."
"I assure you that it is none other," Elaith said.
"Then it is not the one I bought."
Arilyn began to see through the problem. "Did anyone else look at the stone?"
"Two or three people. One I remember in particular. A young woman, very richly dressed and haughty. Her eyes were green, her hair a very bright red."
The half-elf snatched up the stone and seized Elaith's arm. Before the elf could protest, she hustled him out of the shop.
"That's Errya Eltorchul," she said tersely. "We need to speak with her."
Elaith nodded and began to climb the stairs carved into the thick stone wall of a cobbler's shop. The half-elf, understanding his intent, fell into step. They made their way onto the rooftops and set an unerring course for the Eltorchul manor, following a hidden path known only to those who made their way in the shadows.
Arilyn fell easily into the task and into the rhythms of the elf's quick pace. Without speech, they circled the rooftops around the Eltorchul estate until they caught sight of Errya.
The woman was in the garden. They dropped lightly from the wall, flanking her and closing in. Elaith pointed a wand at her. A shimmering ball darted toward her, enclosing her head and shoulders and cutting short her shrill scream. She turned to run, but the elf seized her and sat her none too gently back on the bench.
Arilyn's attention was elsewhere. A familiar-looking cat had vacated Errya's lap and was now sitting crouched a few feet away The tabby's gray tail was lashing in agitation, but there was a decidedly unfeline expression of wrath in the creature's eyes.
It was the cat that Errya had held when they had come bringing word of Oth's death. It was also the tabby Arilyn had seen in Isabeau's chamber in the Eltorchuls' country estate.
It was, in short, one well-traveled cat—if indeed it was a cat at all.
Arilyn leaped, arms outstretched to seize the tabby. The creature vanished in a puff of acrid blue smoke.
"What the Nine bloody Hells was that?" demanded Elaith.
Arilyn looked down at the noblewoman and saw her suspicions confirmed in Errya's look of mingled panic and fury.
"That," she said emphatically, "was Oth Eltorchul."
Eighteen
"It all fits," Danilo said thoughtfully when they brought the matter before him. "That ring Isabeau had at the Eltorchul estate—was it like the one we found on the severed hand?"
"I had not considered that, but now that you mention it, the ring did look familiar," Arilyn admitted. "It was gold and had a pink stone."
"I'd wager that the ring we found was an illusion. The hand as well, no doubt." Danilo began to pace. "Remember the state of Oth's study? The tables were overturned, the floors littered with broken pottery and common spell components, but the shelves, with their valuable vials and scrolls and boxes, were untouched."
"No wonder the Eltorchul family kept Oth's death a secret," the half-elf said. "But why would he wish to appear dead?"
"I can answer that," Elaith said softly. "Much of it, you already know, thanks to Myrna Cassalanter's tattling tongue. The illegal trade in and out of this city is carefully, secretly controlled. For many years, I have been building an empire of my own." He smiled faintly.
"I suppose it is a tribute to my success that I have finally been perceived as a threat. The seven families have been sending me warnings for quite some time now. Some are subtle, some not quite so."
"Such as the tren attack at the Thann villa," Arilyn said.
"That lacked subtlety," the elf said dryly, "but set your mind at ease, Lord Thann. That was not your family's doing. Naturally, it was hoped that I would assume it was and would strike back. This would have given the Thann family reason to join the others in their attempts to have me ousted."
"So the Lady Cassandra has no part in this?"
"I did not say that," Elaith cautioned him. "She may have no choice but to take action."
"What form will that action take?" Arilyn asked.
The elf was silent for a long moment. "I thought that I held the Mhaorkiira. I had reason to think so. I arranged for certain people to use the dream spheres, and from them I gained information I used to take action against the two-city consortium."
"What kind of action?" Danilo said cautiously.
"I had nothing to do with your sister's death," the elf began.
"That was Oth," Arilyn said decisively. "If he can take the form of a cat, why not a tren? Of course Isabeau had reason to run from him—from what Elaith says, she stole from Oth not once but twice. She probably named Elaith from sheer spite. What of Belinda Gundwynd?"