“No, but the guard—”
“Did you see his face? No? Can you tell them anything about what he looks like?”
“No ...”
Lydia let out her breath in a gusty sigh. “Give it up, boy. The money’s gone.”
“But ...” Kevin struggled to keep his voice from shaking from sheer panic.
All about him, the city continued its busy life, not caring whether he lived or died, and he had nothing left but the few small coins in his own purse. They weren’t enough to let him survive, let alone bribe anyone. He’d failed the count. Worse, he’d failed Charina!
Hopelessly the bardling asked, “What are we going to do?”
“Well, we can’t do anything without money, that’s for sure,” Lydia said brusquely.
“Then it’s foolish to remain here.” Eliathanis pulled his cloak about himself, adjusting his hood with fastidious care. “I said we should never have come to Westerin.”
“But—”
“We’ve wasted enough time, I am going to do what I should have done from the start, and explore on my own.”
“No!” Kevin cried. “You can’t abandon—” But the White Elf had already vanished into the crowds. “the team,” the bardling finished helplessly. “Naitachal! You can’t leave, too!”
“No?11 The Dark Elf’s eyes glinted from beneath his hood, cool and unreadable as blue ice. “‘There is more to be learned here if I’m not burdened with ... anyone else.”
“But—wait—’’ Kevin whirled to Lydia. “ I suppose you’re going to go off on your own, too!”
“Hell, no. I don’t abandon the helpless, remember?” All at once she grinned. “Hey, cheer up, kid. It’s not so bad.”
“Not so bad! We don’t have any money!”
“I’ve been stuck penniless in cities before, some of them a lot nastier to strangers than this one, and I’ve always managed to land on my feet. Let me think a minute ... Ha, yes. Tich’ki, what do you think of this?”
She murmured in the fairy’s ear—Tich’ki laughed and yanked a lock of the woman’s hair—”Ah yes, of course!”
“All right, then. Come on, Kevin.”
“Where are we going?”
She didn’t answer. Kevin, struggling to keep up with the woman, who was knifing her way skillfully through the crowd, hardly noticed the buzz of fairy wings in his ear. But he did notice tough little fingers snatching the pouch holding his last few coins.
“Hey! Tich’ki, give that back!”
The fairy ignored him, dropping the pouch into Lydia’s hands. Kevin hurried after her.
“Lydia! Come back here’ Where are you going? What are you—Lydia!”
He stopped, staring up at the building blocking his path. Where in the world ... ? A temple? Oh yes, such an overblown stone and plaster monstrosity couldn’t be anything but a temple! Kevin glanced briefly up at the busy, brightly painted facade. Over the door was an ornately carved and gilded relief of a very smug group of merchants kneeling in prayer. Praying to whom? In this city, the bardling thought drily, it could only be the Great God Money!
Ach, no, that wasn’t nice. Besides, the last thing he could afford right now was getting Heavenly Powers angry at him!
Tich’ki didn’t have any such qualms. She vanished into the temple with such an evil titter that Kevin stared after her, particularly when Lydia chuckled and followed.
