'How can you-' Fox's eyes widenedwith delight. 'You're an elf! That's wonderful!'
A moment of silence passed. 'Why?Apart from the obvious reasons, of course.'
'Well, to start with, the island ishaunted. I could have been tossed out the tree by a giant skeletalrat.'
The elf eyed him for a long moment.'Your reaction was genuine. Your explanation is foolishness. Thereis a reason why you were pleased to encounter one of my kind, butyou are not ready to share it. So be it.' He sheathed the daggerand rose to his feet. 'You might as well stand.'
Fox wasn't sure he could, but hemanaged to drag himself upright. When the world stopped spinning,he saw the elf loosening the strings on the bag that had hung fromthe back of Fox's belt. The bag that held his amulet.
Fox lunged for it-
He never saw the blow coming. Thenext thing he knew, he was sitting on the ground blinking awaystars.
The elf held Fox's amulet, tippingit toward the sky to catch the faint moonlight. For some reason,Fox felt none of the compulsion that forced him to fight Delgar forthe amulet.
'How did you do that?'
He glanced down at Fox. 'The magicis elfin. The runes are not. What is theirsignificance?'
'It's the mark of Eldreath, thesorcerer who ruled Sevrin.'
'I have heard of this man. I had notheard that he had knowledge of elfin magic. When did he come topower?'
Fox had to think that over. 'Seventyyears ago? Maybe more.'
The elf nodded as if he had expectedto hear this. 'Where is this Eldreath now?'
'Dead. The adepts killed him nearlytwenty years ago. But there's another sorcerer in Sevrin, which iswhy we need to get the Thorn far away.'
'By 'we,' do you mean you and somecomrades, or you and me?'
Fox shrugged. 'Whatever works. Ipromised to return the dagger to the elves. If you're here to takeit, you've saved me a trip.'
'And how do you know I'm worthy ofthis trust?'
'Well. . You're anelf.'
'Ah, well. We're all noble, shiningbeing who can do no wrong.' He sniffed. 'You knownothing.'
In response, Fox slipped a bit ofamethyst from a pocket and hurled it at the elf's head. He flickedone hand to the right. The missile followed suit, veering off sothat it just skimmed his hair rather than hitting him squarelybetween the eyes.
'Elves draw magic from the forest,the rain, the stars,' Fox said. 'But elves who are cut off fromtheir kin can't access starsong magic. Starsong magic has somethingto do with crystals. If you'd been a rogue, you couldn't havedeflected the amethyst.'
The elf studied him with narrowedeyes. 'How do you know this?'
'My mother was a green witch. Welived on the edge of the Glimmergold, and she had dealings withelves from time to time. So I do know a few things.' He lifted oneeyebrow. 'Your name is not one of them.'
'I'm called Nimbolk.'
'Sorry to hear that,' Foxmurmured.
A sour expression crossed the elf'sface. 'Where is the Thorn?'
'It's with someone I trust. Icouldn't keep it with me since there's a possibility that someone'stracing me through the amulet. And before you ask, no, I can't getrid of it.'
Nimbolk pulled a knife from his beltand scratched several runes into the metal. The amulet flared withlight, then went as dim as old pewter.
'What was that?'
'Temporary,' Nimbolk said shortly.He tossed the amulet to Fox. 'A simple unbinding spell known tomost elves. If you wish to rid yourself of this thing, do itquickly.'
Fox surged to his feet and tookseveral running steps toward the sea. He hurled the amulet with allhis strength. It felt into the water with a faint plunk.
'The tide is going out,' he said.'If I'm lucky, they'll think I've drowned. Again.'
'Then let's go to this trustedfriend.'
Fox shook his head. 'No offense, butthere's a lot of things going on right now. It's probably not agood idea to bring a stranger into my lair. And before I pass alongthe Thorn, there's someone I need to talk to.'
A wry smile twisted the elf's lips.'You have chosen an inconvenient time to start showing goodsense.'
Fox shrugged. 'It had to happen sometime. There's a forested island in the center of the Sevrinarchipelago. It's probably the safest place for you.'
'I know of this place,' Nimbolksaid. 'Long ago, elves walked beneath those trees. But the veilbetween this world and Faerie is thin there, and tattered. Thereare more fairy gates in the forest than there are blacksquirrels.'
'That's the whole point. It'll beeasy for one of my friends to get the dagger to you.'
'So the stories are true?' he saidincredulously. 'You really have befriended a fairy?'
Fox folded his arms. 'You don't knowVishni. If you did, you'd understand.'
'I understand perfectly,' Nimbolksaid. 'And I suspect that I know this fairy, even sight unseen, farbetter than you do.'
Chapter 10: Chaos
Vishni strolled past theCat and Cauldron, her fingers casually brushingthe ivy that climbed the stone wall. Her fingers traced the hiddenindentation where some of the mortar had worked loose. If Fox hadsent a message, one of the street urchins who ran errands for themwould have pressed a small flat stone into the gap. A drop of clearliquid, another of Avidan's small marvels, would reveal the messagewritten on it.
But there was no message.
A burst of laughter spilled throughthe open window. Vishni sighed. She was supposed to go right backto the Fox Den. It was too dangerous for her to be out, now thatthey knew there was a sorcerer about.
On the other hand, if she went intothe Cat and Cauldron, she'd no longer be
This excellent reasoning brought asmile to her face. She pushed through the door into the pleasantchaos of Heartstone's most famous storyspinner tavern.
Several people called her name asshe entered, and someone caught her hand and pulled her into thecircle of dancers forming in the center of the room.
She spent a happy hour or sowhirling and skipping to the music of a wheel fiddle and hand drum.Dancing was good. Like stories, it had pattern and purpose. It keptchaos at bay.
By the time the fiddler finished hisset, Vishni was ready for a cup of mead and a story. To herdelight, Black Svaria took the stage.
Most people in Sevrin had fairhair, ranging from pale blond to light brown. Red hair wasuncommon-or at least, it was uncommon until the City Fox's admirersdiscovered herbal dyes-and truly dark tresses were exceedinglyrare. Black Svaria's short cropped, raven-wing hair was only one ofthe reasons she stood out. She stood only slightly above averageheight, but her warrior's frame made her appear tall and imposing.And she was, beyond doubt, the best storyteller Vishni had everheard, even if the fairy didn't quite understand some of the bawdyballads that made the humans nudge each other and snicker. ButBlack Svaria was also a traditional skald who could declaim ancienttales in ringing, rhythmic speech. Oddly enough, Vishni liked thosebest.
The skald settled down, awire-strung harp on her lap, and struck a chord.
