'So it appears I have found the rat that has been pilfering the mansion coffers for the last few tendays,' he said.
'It seems you have,' Tazi replied, matching him measure for measure.
She could see that a part of him was not angry with her at all. In fact, she thought he was even a little pleased with her response. She stood up, but even though she was tall for her age, Tazi came well short of Cale's six-foot-two frame. She had to crane her neck to look up at him better.
Cale stared at the black-haired Thazienne for a moment with an unreadable look on his face, as though he were weighing several options. He reached down and took the lock pick from Tazi's unresisting fingers. Tazi watched as he turned it this way and that in his hand, scrutinizing it closely. A small part of her dreaded the fact that she was going to have to explain herself to her mother and father after Cale turned her in. Her mind was already racing for a good excuse when Cale interrupted her scheming.
'Do you think your parents will be pleased with the 'hobby' you've taken up?' he asked.
Now was the time for Tazi to start laying some kind of groundwork for the story she would later spin for her parents in her bid to escape punishment. But she found she didn't want to play the tearful, contrite child for Cale.
'I didn't do any of this for them or what they might think of me. I did it for me and me alone. It seemed the-' she paused, searching for the right word-'natural thing for me to do.'
Cale slowly handed the pick back to Tazi.
'This is really very poor quality,' he observed, noting that he had startled the young girl by his actions. 'If this is going to be the kind of life you chose for yourself, then you should do your best.'
Tazi's jaw dropped open when he offered his support and Cale couldn't help but smile.
The smile softened his chiseled features and he looked very young to Tazi just then as she realized he was only twenty or so. Without thinking, she playfully jabbed him in the side as she often did her younger brother, Talbot, when he pulled a good prank on her.
'All right,' he said, seeming to ignore her touch, 'let's gather up your things. Your first lesson will be the value of proper tools,' he told Tazi as he escorted her from his chambers.
Tazi turned and glanced back at his trunk.
'What about that lock?' she asked with a quick jerk of her head.
Cale led her from the room.
'We'll save that one for another day. It is far trickier than it appears.'
Tazi walked over to that same trunk so many years later, still smiling from her reverie. A low voice reminded her she was no longer that young girl. 'Can I do something for you, mistress?' Cale asked.
Tazi turned to see that Cale had been sitting in the leather chair the whole time. She simply hadn't seen him until he spoke to her. She was momentarily embarrassed that he had caught her daydreaming. There was a time when it wouldn't have bothered Tazi if he had found her lost in an unguarded moment, but those days had passed for her. She didn't want anyone to find her exposed.
She sat down on the trunk, resting her elbows on her knees with her hands laced loosely together.
'I'm sorry to bother you so late,' she began lamely, realizing she hadn't awakened him as he was still dressed in his ill-fitting servant's garb, 'but some events have transpired and I need some advice. Ebeian…'
'Ebeian is dead,' Cale finished for her.
He didn't bother to rise or offer Tazi anything to drink. He sat rigidly in his chair with his fingers steepled under his chin.
'I suppose I should be surprised that you know that,' Tazi replied after a moment, 'but you have always been 'well connected,' haven't you?'
Cale merely tipped his head in acknowledgement. Since he first started training her, Tazi recognized that Cale had a network of associates with ties to the less-than-respectable element of Selgaunt. Because he never seemed to use those connections for anything other than for the Uskevren's benefit, Tazi never mentioned it to her parents. If her family had been in jeopardy, it wouldn't have mattered to Tazi what dark secrets of hers he possessed. She would've handed him over in an instant. However, he was always true as far as she knew, and she was fully prepared to use him and his connections.
'Then you are probably already aware of the manner of his death,' she continued, not waiting for a reply. 'I was doubly surprised myself. First to have Steorf, of all people, drag me away from the Kit, and of course, to then find Ebeian dead.'
A small part of her hoped that she might have wounded Cale at the mention of Steorf's name.
In the aftermath of her initial encounter with Ciredor, Tazi knew Cale was somewhat pleased that she had broken off her friendship with the mage-in-training. For as long as she had known either one, Tazi was aware of an unpleasant undercurrent between Steorf and Cale and was certain there was no love lost. Cale's pleasure, however, soon dissipated as Tazi shut him out over time as well. Between that and the long months of recovery since her injuries, a wedge had come between them.
'Steorf and I discovered that it was Ciredor who was responsible for Eb's death,' Tazi told him. 'That bastard plans to take Fannah next for something I don't completely understand, but I won't allow it. I've got Steorf keeping guard over her in my rooms at the Kit while I get ready to take this battle to him… in Calimport.'
'You remember your lessons well,' Cale finally answered her.
' 'Always face your enemy at a time and place of your own choosing,' was what you taught me. Well,' she said, 'the place is not quite one of my choosing, but maybe with Fannah's knowledge of Calimport, I can turn it into one.'
Tazi felt the need to move. She stood up and began to prowl around Cale's room again. She had often teased him that he chose to live like a cloistered monk. Since the incident with the shadow demons, Tazi thought his room, like his manner around her, had grown even colder. Glancing at the deep shadows in every corner, Tazi noticed the room was more secretive than she ever remembered.
It might just be a facade, she thought, just as my room is. Perhaps this darkness no more represents Cale than the lace doilies and pastel paints reflect who I really am.
'Cale?' she finally asked with her hand outstretched.
His words stopped whatever question she was going to pose, and even Tazi wasn't sure what that would've been.
'I cannot possibly go with you,' he said with closed eyes. 'There are certain matters here that demand my attention.'
Tazi turned away, shoulders slumping. Whatever she thought he might have said, a refusal was not something she had expected. Tazi wrapped her arms around herself as though suddenly chilled. She wished she was anywhere but there, unexpectedly feeling abandoned.
Stupid girl, she chided herself, what did you expect him to say?
That didn't change how she felt. With her back turned, Tazi didn't see what Cale did next.
He slowly rose from the chair, a suddenly tender look fixed on his severe features. He reached a long, muscular arm toward Tazi but stopped within an inch of brushing her short locks with his fingertips. Instead, he balled his hand into a fist and lowered his arm to his side. In a militaristic fashion, Cale squared off his shoulders to deliver his next lesson.
'The name Uskevren means 'too bold to hide,' as you well know. You should remember the most important example I ever taught you: Finish whatever you begin,' Cale reminded her. 'You must finish this with Ciredor.'
Tazi kept her back to Cale but stood up a little straighter at the mention of the necromancer's name. 'I know that,' she replied quietly.
'Though I can't go with you,' Cale continued and Tazi wasn't sure but thought he sounded a little sad, 'I can help you somewhat. Among the papers on your writing desk, you will find an address. It is a dwelling in one of the more dubious quarters of Selgaunt that houses more than it seems.' He paused, but Tazi didn't turn. Cale continued, 'In this residence, you will discover a gate to Calimport. It will save you many days-even months- of travel, but the gate is not without cost.'
'I know about costs,' she whispered.
Cale nodded at her response but the acknowledgement was lost on Tazi. She kept herself rigid like a wall and refused to face Cale while so many emotions coursed through her. It was the only way she could keep herself in check. She wasn't going to allow Cale to see her turmoil. Undeterred, he continued his counsel.
