Lady Ruin

not all that close, considering you set out in the opposite direction than he did, but you get my meaning.”

So Bergerron hadn’t been acting out of paranoia when he’d ordered the symbiont project to shut down, Lirra thought. Ranja continued.

“I was intrigued, so I decided to follow you to see what I could learn. I tracked you all day and night.” She nodded at Lirra’s left arm. “Not even your little friend was aware of me.”

Lirra wanted to argue that she hadn’t exactly been performing at the peak of her abilities yesterday, given how confused her mind was by the fusion with the symbiont, but she said nothing. Even with a clear head, Lirra might not have detected the shifter’s presence-not if the woman hadn’t wanted her to.

Nearby, one of the garrison soldiers, who couldn’t have been long into his adulthood, laughed a bit too loudly and said to his companions, “Those are awfully fancy clothes for people who live in a hole in the ground, don’t you think?”

The man’s comment had obviously been about the dwarven merchants sitting close by, and it had just as obviously been said loudly enough for them to hear. The dwarves scowled but they didn’t rise to the bait.

Lirra gritted her teeth upon hearing the young soldier’s taunt. She was tempted to go over to the soldiers’ table and give them a quick refresher on manners, and she actually started to rise from her seat, but she stopped herself. There was no way she could confront the rude soldier, not in her current … condition. She decided to do her best to ignore the idiot and refocused her attention on Ranja.

“Why did you follow me instead of Elidyr?” she asked.

Ranja shifted in her chair uncomfortably. “To be honest, he frightened me. Not only does he have three … pets compared to your one, the man struck me as completely mad. Not the best combination, in my book.”

Ranja broke off as the serving woman brought her stew and ale. As soon as she departed, Ranja dug into her food, and Lirra realized she hadn’t touched hers at all. Lirra had no intention of letting her guard down around Ranja, but she’d come to the Wyvern’s Claw to fill her belly, and it would be foolish of her to ignore the food sitting right in front of her. So she too ate, and the women continued talking between mouthfuls.

“Why tell me these things?” Lirra asked. “I thought spies were supposed to be secretive.”

Ranja grinned. “My curiosity still isn’t satisified. I know in general what you were doing at the lodge, but I want to know the whole story. And while skulking around in the shadows can be a great deal of fun, sometimes it’s more effective to take the direct approach when you want to know something.” She paused to take a long swig of her ale. “And to be blunt, there are certain business considerations at work.”

It took Lirra a moment to understand what the shifter was getting at. “You’re hoping that Bergerron will pay you more than Raskogr to keep your mouth shut about our project.”

She grinned. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve played one Karrnathi warlord against another to maximize my profit.”

Lirra was about to respond when the table full of soldiers broke out in fresh laughter.

“I agree,” one of the soldiers-a red-headed woman-said. “The feathers in their caps are quite colorful. It puts one in mind of a trio of exotic birds imported from Xen’drik, does it not?”

“A trio of small birds!” amended the young soldier who’d first taunted the dwarves.

The soldiers laughed once more, and this time one of the dwarves slammed his fist down on the table and glared at them. One of his companions laid a hand on his arm, shook his head, and spoke softly. Lirra couldn’t hear the words, but she could well imagine them: We’re here on business, just passing through. No need to antagonize the local military-even if they are fools.

Anger roiled within Lirra’s heart, and she felt the tentacle whip stir in response. Karrnath had a long, proud military tradition, but even in the Karrnathi army there were those who abused the power and authority granted them by their rank, even if they were only low-ranking garrison soldiers in a small farming town like Geirrid.

Are you going to let those fools disgrace everything you’ve believed in your entire life? What would your father do if he were here? What would your mother do? Or your brother?

Lirra recognized the thoughts as not her own-or at least, not entirely her own-and she knew her symbiont was attempting to goad her into confronting the soldiers. She clamped down on her anger and concentrated on finishing the last of her stew. When she was done, she pushed the empty bowl away from her and looked at the shifter sitting across from her.

“You’re wasting your time. Not only won’t I tell you anything about the project, I can’t put you in touch with Bergerron.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Ranja challenged.

“Both, I suppose,” Lirra admitted.

The shifter glared at her for a moment before shrugging again and draining the last of her ale.

“I figured as much. If you were in the good graces of your people, you’d have returned to the lodge and rejoined them to hunt down Elidyr. I’m not sure what you did, Lirra, but it must’ve been serious. They had patrols out looking for you last night, you know.”

Despite her determination to keep silent, Lirra said, “It’s not what I did. It’s what I’ve become.”

“Not your choice, eh? Don’t bother denying it; I can hear it in your voice.” Ranja leaned forward and spoke more softly. “You can get rid of it, or so I understand. I’ve heard it’s a difficult, but not impossible.”

The shifter’s words caused the tentacle whip to rustle within Lirra’s sleeve like a restless serpent. She ignored it.

“Right now I need it.”

Ranja nodded. “To help you deal with Elidyr. I suppose what happened to him wasn’t his choice either? No answer? Ah, well. Still, you’re a brave woman, Lirra. Braver than I am. After what I saw Elidyr do last night, I wouldn’t want to come within a hundred miles of him.”

“What are you talking about?” Lirra’s body tensed, and it took all the control she had not to reach across the table and grab Ranja by the front of her tunic and shake the answers out of her.

Ranja told her of how she’d witnessed Lirra slaying the cow last night and her subsequent encounter with the animal’s owner. She also told her that Elidyr had appeared after she’d departed, and he’d done something to the farmer once the man had regained consciousness … something awful.

“I didn’t stick around to watch,” Ranja said. “My curiosity only carries me so far. But it looked as if Elidyr was somehow using his bare hands to … to mold the man’s flesh.” The shifter shuddered. “It was horrible.”

Lirra knew that none of the symbionts that had fused to her uncle’s body granted such a power, and she doubted the ability was due to some magical device he’d created. Then she remembered something Elidyr had once told her about the denizens of Xoriat. The aberrations were created by the daelkyr lords, and they often took ordinary creatures and reshaped their flesh to turn them into dolgaunts, dolgrims, and the like. Somehow yesterday-whether it was due to the malfunction of the Overmantle or the touch of the daelkyr who’d reached through the portal or a combination of both-Elidyr had gained the power to mold flesh. Lirra wondered to what mad purpose her uncle might turn his newfound ability, and the thought terrified her. She was now more determined than ever to find and stop him-but in order to accomplish that task, it was becoming clear to her that she was going to need help.

“I have a proposition for you, Ranja. You came to me in hope that I’d be able to introduce you to Lord Bergerron. I will do so-if you help me track down my uncle.”

The shifter’s eyes narrowed. “Earlier, you said you couldn’t put me in touch with Bergerron.”

“Not now,” Lirra admitted. “But once my uncle has been dealt with, I’ll be able to give up my … pet.”

The symbiont tightened painfully around her arm, but she ignored it.

“After that, I won’t have to avoid my people any longer. My father was in command of the symbiont project, and he has Bergerron’s ear. If you assist me in stopping Elidyr, I will ask my father to introduce you to Bergerron, and I have every confidence he will do so. He may not trust me right now, given my condition, but he wants Elidyr stopped as much as I do. And once I’m free of my pet, as you put it, I have no doubt things between us will return to the way they were.”

At least, that was her hope. What if, even with her symbiont removed, Vaddon saw her as irredeemably tainted by corruption? Would he still trust her judgment as a soldier? Would he still regard her as his daughter? Would he still love her? Or in his eyes would she always remain a monstrous thing?

Ranja regarded Lirra for several moments while she thought, and Lirra took the time to finish off the last of