wholly her own, with no attachment to her more 'respectable' life. The Kit suited her completely.
Not certain whom Tazi was with, Alall stiffened behind the bar. His jowls, prominent by their covering of thick, gray sideburns, tightened and Tazi knew he was ready to lend aid if she needed it. She gave a quick nod of assurance, and he relaxed. After three years, he took more than a passing interest in her welfare. She in turn had come to trust Alall and his wife, Kalakalan. Kalli knew more about Tazi than anyone else.
When their drinks arrived, Tazi began to prod Fannah about her predicament. While she herself rarely talked about personal matters, save to Kalli and occasionally to the family butler, Erevis Cale, Tazi made a point of discovering as much as she could about those around her. Cale had taught her that knowledge was a valuable commodity. Plus, a blind woman wandering around unaccompanied in an unfamiliar part of the city must be an interesting tale. Before Fannah could tell her very much, however, Tazi felt a presence behind her. Fannah sensed someone as well and fell silent.
Tazi discreetly leaned forward, as though tipsy, and pulled her dagger from her right boot. The moment the person tapped her on the shoulder, she whirled, dagger drawn. The ragged beggar flinched but held his ground.
'Sorry.' Tazi smirked as she recognized the old man. She had a network of informants, and he was one of her most reliable. 'Do you have what I want?'
'I wouldn't be here otherwise,' he wheezed. He pulled out a small scrap of paper with a few spidery lines on it. 'A certain residence you were searching for,' he offered.
Tazi sheathed her weapon and snatched up the paper, squinting at it briefly while Fannah calmly sipped her drink. When Tazi was certain she could read the old man's scrawls, she handed him her untouched tankard and discreetly slipped him a coin. Judging from his expression, she wasn't certain which item pleased him more.
Tazi threw her dagger into a timber near the bar to catch Alall's eye. Ignoring his fuming look, she smiled sweetly and motioned for another round.
'I guess I still don't understand.' Tazi continued her conversation with Fannah as though there had been no interruption. 'What you're saying is that your mother sold you because you were blind?'
Tazi forced herself to stare into Fannah's ice-white eyes. She slowly realized she found them disquieting. She had a difficult time believing Fannah couldn't see her with them. She also had trouble reconciling the life Fannah had lived with the now-composed woman seated before her. Fannah's nonexistent relationship with her mother gave Tazi pause. While she and her own mother, Shamur, bickered bitterly at times, Tazi knew in her heart that her mother could never even think of something so cruel.
Fannah tilted her head, birdlike, and brushed a strand of her blue-black hair from her face. 'She wanted to kill me at birth,' she replied calmly, 'but her religion prevented that. I was fortunate she was so pious, not to mention that she was a beauty. Men paid a great deal of money for the company of Ibina il'Qun. Because of that, a local festhall in the city of Calimport paid well for me. They were sure I would grow to be as beautiful as my mother and perhaps follow in her footsteps.'
At this remark, Tazi clicked her tongue as if to say 'That's obvious!'
'But what could a young, blind girl offer a festhall?' she asked aloud.
'It did not take me long to learn the layout of the Desert's End,' Fannah explained. 'Once I was comfortable with it I was as competent as any serving girl. There were patrons who would pay extra to keep their identities secret. A blind girl seemed an obvious choice to accommodate them. What most people forget is that it is not just their faces that name them, but their voices and even'-she crinkled her nose in mock disgust-'their smells.'
'Did you ever have to take up your mother's profession?' Tazi asked quietly.
'I was fortunate,' Fannah answered without hesitation. 'That was something I did not have to sell to anyone. When my time was up with the End, someone else bought my contract. He never told me his name, not once during the long journey here. The only demand he made of me was to place a mark on my arm.' Fannah stretched out her right forearm for Tazi's inspection.
It was the tattoo Tazi had noticed in the street. She tried to place the familiar design. Tazi knew she had seen one like it recently. In a flash of memory, she recalled the exotic mark Ciredor bore on his neck.
'Once we arrived,' Fannah continued, unaware of Tazi's revelation, 'he promptly abandoned me without explanation.'
'How long ago was that,' Tazi interrupted excitedly.
'A few days ago, as best I can tell,' the blind woman replied. 'He said he would find me when he needed me. It was not long after that I fortuitously ran into you, 'Lord' Tazi.'
Tazi's curiosity was raging now. What connection did Ciredor have with this girl? If he had one secret, she reasoned, he probably had more. Anxious to be on her way, she used the pause to take her cue.
'As enlightening as this is, I have some other plans for this evening,' she informed Fannah. 'I'll be right back.'
While Alall finished serving a patron, Tazi freed her small dagger from the timber support near the bar. She leaned against the rail nonchalantly and inspected the point of her blade. Seeing that it had been dulled a little, she pulled a stone from a pocket in her vest and began to sharpen it.
'Dark and empty, I swear you are going to be the death of me, child,' Alall scolded her, his apple-round cheeks growing red in indignation. 'One of these days, your aim's bound to be off, and I'll be the one left to pay for it!'
Tazi leaned across the bar and lightly planted a kiss on one of those crimson jowls. 'Now, now,' she soothed, 'you know I never miss. And if the impossible ever did happen'-she grinned-'your spirit could rest comfortably knowing that wife of yours would beat me properly. After all, she served in the army of the kingdom of Sembia for more than ten years.'
'Why doesn't that make me feel any better,' Alall sighed, rolling his eyes at the low ceiling above. But the kiss had already worked its magic. His grim expression softened as it always did around her.
Tazi reached into a concealed pocket and withdrew several coins. She handed him a few and, after some consideration, slid several more in his direction.
'Here's for the drinks. The extra is for you to have another key made for my room.'
'Don't tell me you've gone and lost yours, poppet,' Alall whispered to her.
'No. You see that black-haired woman at my table?' she said, lowering her voice and motioning discretely at Fannah. Alall nodded. 'She's going to be staying in my room for a bit, and I want her to be able to come and go as she pleases.'
Alall managed to hide most of his surprise. Tazi had kept a room at his inn for several years now and he could only think of two others who had ever been in the room after Tazi began renting it. They'd never been allowed to stay long enough to warrant a key.
'It'll be done,' he promised. 'And I'll let Kalli know about your guest, so she won't think the girl a lovelorn suitor and toss her down the stairs out of reflex.'
Tazi grinned at the memory. Not too long ago, she had received a little too much attention from one of the Kit's patrons who had become smitten by the 'boy' she seemed to be. Tazi tried to make a discreet retreat to her quarters, but the gentleman had other, friendly ideas. Kalli, however, made sure she was left alone. The man found himself picked up bodily by Alall's six-foot wife and tossed ignominiously down the bowed and rickety stairs. Tazi realized she had found a safe haven and another set of parents at the Kit.
As she turned to leave, Alall gave a few coppers back to her. Tazi smiled briefly at his superstition. There weren't many merchants in Selgaunt who still believed that you gave a little back to the client so that they could barter with you again someday. Alall did.
Returning to the table, she said to Fannah, 'I'm afraid I'll have to go elsewhere this evening.'
Fannah smiled and nodded, but Tazi could see concern cross her features. Not missing a beat, Tazi continued, 'Why don't you take your drink and I'll walk you up to my room. Maybe we can even talk Kalli into fixing you something a bit more substantial to eat?' She went around to Fannah's chair and helped her get her bearings.
With her disturbing eyes fixed on Tazi, Fannah asked with a perplexed tone, 'What do you mean by 'your room'?' It appeared that people could still surprise Fannah.
As she steered Fannah toward the stairs along the left side of the bar, Tazi remarked smoothly, 'As I said before, I know I ruined your evening's plans. I would like to make up for it.'
Fannah stopped before the stairs and resolutely stood her ground. She gripped Tazi's arm with both of her
