"Nothing has been going on! Nothing!" Tycho stepped up and knelt down in front of the couch. "It was just-"
Veseene's hand darted out and slapped him.
The blow wasn't hard, but it hurt him more than Tycho could have imagined. He looked down at the floor in shame then up again. He turned to Laera. "It was flirting, Laera. That was all. I'm sorry." He stuck out his chin. "Go ahead," he said, "take a shot."
Laera didn't hesitate. Her slap had more strength behind it, though, and it caught his lip against his teeth. Tycho reached up and touched his mouth. His finger came away with a spot of blood on it. He wiped it on his pants. "Better?" he asked. Laera nodded. "Good." He stood up. "Your father is looking for you."
"I know." She looked up at him. "He's already been here. It was the first place he looked."
Tycho blinked in confusion. "Then what are you still doing here?"
"I sent him away," said Veseene. "I told him I hadn't seen her."
Laera sat up straight, taking Veseene's hand in her own. "I still want to leave Spandeliyon, Tycho. I want to travel with you. If you'll have me, I want to be your apprentice."
"What?" exploded Tycho. "No! No!" He stomped around the room. "Of all the stupid "He flung himself down on the edge of his cot. Head in his hands, he told Veseene and Laera everything. Her uncle's duplicity brought another gasp from Laera, but Veseene just sat still and listened. When Tycho had finished, she gestured for him to come closer. He did.
She slapped him again and glared at Li. "Didn't I tell you he gets into enough trouble on his own?" The Shou shrugged.
"It's not all his fault," he pointed out. "It was only because he's helping me that Brin came here last night." Veseene grunted and looked back at Tycho. Her former apprentice threw up his hands.
"I'm an idiot," he said. "Go ahead. Say it." He turned to Laera. "Go home," he said. "You'll be a lot safer there. I'm not leaving Spandeliyon any time soon and I'm not even going to think about taking you as an apprentice right now. I have to go steal beljurils from one ruthless gang boss just so I have a chance at appeasing another ruthless gang boss!"
Laera folded her arms. "I don't have to leave Spandeliyon, but I'm not going back to my father's house."
Tycho stared at her in amazement for a moment before grinding his teeth together. "Bind me, you're as stubborn as he is! Fine! Just "He searched for alternatives that would at least keep Laera out of their way. "Just stay here, then. Keep an eye on Veseene. We can sort this out after I've finished getting the Hooded good and mad at me!" He rose and went back into the back room, aiming an angry kick at Jacerryl's packs in passing.
He heard Veseene's shuffle behind him a moment later. "What is it?" he snarled. "Do you really think I should take Laera as an apprentice? I'm not ready to have an apprentice of my own!"
"Actually, I think you are," Veseene said calmly. "And I think that if Laera is willing to ride out all of the rejections you've been giving her, she might make a good apprentice, too."
Tycho turned and dug into his chest. "But half of her expectations come out of ballads and romance tales. She knows almost nothing about the world outside of Spandeliyon!" He stiffened and turned around. As he expected, Veseene's eyebrows were arched high. "Don't you dare say she reminds you of a certain Spandeliyon dock rat."
Veseene shrugged. "A bard can have her roots in high town just as well as in dockside." She sat down on his bed.
"Take her as an apprentice or send her back to her father, the choice is yours just as much as it is hers. I didn't follow you to force a decision on that. You're right-you've got other things to deal with right now. What's your plan for getting the beljurils away from the Hooded?"
"I hadn't gotten that far yet," muttered Tycho. He kicked his chest. The lid fell shut with a bang. "I'll think of something, though."
"Good," said Veseene. "May I make a suggestion? There's a spell I know-"
Tycho rounded on her instantly. "A spell? Veseene, I remember what Sephera said. Increasing your dose of the tea will make it less effective later. It's not worth it for one spell!" Veseene smiled and reached up. Tycho braced himself for another slap, but she just patted his cheek.
"Tycho, I care about you. Sometimes you really are an idiot, but I'll do whatever I can to pull you out of your messes. I've been doing it for years and that's never going to change." She patted his cheek again-and slapped him a third time. "If you listen to anything I tell you today, listen to this: you need help! Stop fussing and take it!"
Tycho stared at her and smiled. "When did you get so cranky, Veseene?"
"It started when I took an apprentice." She raised her voice. "Someone put the kettle on the fire!"
Lander walked through the back door of the Eel-behind him, the pigs of Brin's sty squealed with mingled excitement and fear as Black Scratch made his return- and into the festhaU's main room. Even in the middle of the morning, the Eel had a few patrons burying faces in mugs. Lander walked up to the day shift bartender, a man as weedy as his nighttime counterpart was big. "Where's Brin?" he asked wearily.
"Blue Room," said the man tersely. "With visitors."
Visitors. Lander drew a deep breath, walked across the main room to a blue-painted door, and stepped through into the best of the Eel's private rooms. Four figures turned to look at him. Brin was the only one who looked pleased to see him. Lander closed the door softly behind himself and took stock of the three mages who sat listening to the halfling's description of the Yellow Silk of Kuang.
Mosi Anu looked exactly like everyone's expectation of a Red Wizard of Thay: tall, lean, and hawklike, shaved smooth, and swathed in robes of brilliant red. Tattoos literally crawled across his scalp. Every time Lander looked away or even blinked, he had the uncomfortable feeling that the tattoos had shifted. Mosi only occasionally visited Spandeliyon, but when he did it was always to deal with Brin. He sat closest to the halfling, listening intently to his every word.
Thaedra Korideion sat on the opposite side of the room. She was tall and thin as well, but unlike the Red Wizard, she carried herself with a graceful elegance that commanded attention. The first time Lander had met her, he had fallen into an easy, obedient awe in her presence. Brin had poked him with a knife just to rouse him. Thaedra was an enchantress-Brin said that at her home in Chessenta, she was served by a small army, all slaves to her will and beauty. Lander had kept his distance from her ever since.
The third mage… Lander still had difficulty believing that Hanibaz Nassor was a mage, let alone a Red Wizard. Hanibaz was a hefty, jovial sort who liked an evening at the Eel. His hair was thick, his only visible tattoos were on his arms like any number of sailors, and the only red about him was a wide sash over his belly. Most of Spandeliyon had no idea he was a Red Wizard and word was that Hani-baz liked it that way because he was actually a Thayan spy. He sat farthest from Brin, sprawled out in his chair with a mug of ale close to hand.
Of the three, Lander trusted him the least. As usual, he was the first one to speak when Brin finished. "I'm intrigued," he said. "The Silk would be a great curiosity if nothing else." Hooked like a fish, Lander thought. Hanibaz's words might have been casual, but his left hand was fidgeting, thumb spinning a ring* on his middle finger around and around. He only did that when he was well and truly interested in something.