was a wizard-she could figure it out on her own. The most important thing now was to deal with whomever was following them.
Ususi walked into the alley and Iahn ducked in after her. In Vaelan, alleys were usually small side streets, but in this case, Iahn and Ususi were granted a stroke of luck-the passage was so narrow that relatively little light illuminated it from above. Plus, the alley was jammed with enormous jars and vases belonging to a nearby retailer. He motioned Ususi to continue walking. She shrugged and acquiesced, moving ahead of him. Iahn secreted himself behind a large vat filled with white beans and waited. Not ten heartbeats later, a shape with a hood drawn low over its face and a blue sash tied around its waist stepped around the corner and into the alley. As the spy passed Iahn, the taker grabbed the hood and pulled it back. 'Hold, plangent!' he cried. 'No!' It was a woman, but not the one Iahn was expecting. She wasn't a plangent. Iahn breathed a small sigh of relief. The woman didn't struggle in his grip. Instead, she pulled her hood down over her face again. She said, 'I am not your enemy.' Ususi turned and rushed back. Iahn said, 'I don't know if you are my enemy or not. Why were you following us?' 'I watched you enter and leave the Body Shop, the first people I've seen from outside Vaelan to do so. I wanted to warn you to stay away from there-if you take the crystal, you'll never be the same!' Ususi interjected. 'The same?' The woman shrugged.
'Different… not yourself.' 'What's your name?' asked Iahn. 'My name is Eined Datharathi.'
CHAPTER TWELVE
The door opened, and carts filled with delicacies rolled into the room, pushed by kitchen staff. As was customary for Datharathi family council meetings, exquisite foods were brought up from the kitchens to fortify the hearts and stomachs of meeting-goers. One cart bore stacks of engraved plates, slender wooden utensils, goblets, and linens. Two more carts were covered with platters of food. Warian was suddenly hungry as he noted sliced clary peppers, salted ham shavings, curried nuts, pale cheeses, and many plates filled with masterfully cut slices of raw fish on rice. More platters bore fried breads, fruits sliced into fanciful shapes, apples in cream, and a tureen of thick fish soup. Warian recalled that this was an aspect of Datharathi Minerals that he didn't altogether detest. He got up, grabbed a plate, and loaded up on all his old favorites. His uncles, aunts, and cousins, who hadn't had to go five years without being feted with such a glorious spread, gave the food little notice. Xaemar asked Zeltaebar,
'Zel, please tell me where Eined's run off to! You've pulled enough money out of discretionary funds to find an entire family. One woman hiding in Vaelan shouldn't be able to elude you.' Warian cursed mentally, stuffed a handful of salted ham shavings into his mouth, and interrupted Zeltaebar's explanation. 'Wait. Zel told me Eined was kidnapped.' Xaemar looked nonplussed. 'I sincerely doubt that. I think the girl absconded.' Warian put down his plate, eyeing it somewhat regretfully. But the conversation demanded his undivided attention. He threw an accusatory glance at Zeltaebar. Zel spread his hands. 'We don't know what happened to her. She could have been kidnapped, whether Xaemar thinks so or not.' 'Doubtful,' said Xaemar. 'Let me get this straight,' Warian said, 'You think she ran off on her own? Why would she do that?' 'The girl is ill,' said Xaemar. 'Not physically.
Mentally.' He tapped his temple with one finger by way of demonstration. 'Over the last few years, she has become more and more unbalanced, more paranoid. I think she finally suffered some sort of nervous breakdown.' 'Paranoid about what?' It wasn't like his no-nonsense sister Eined to entertain paranoid fantasies. 'Us!' broke in Aunt Sevaera, her voice incredulous. 'The poor thing started making wild claims against her own family. Of course, her claims didn't seem too different from the kinds of things you used to say, Nephew.' She fixed him with a reproving glare. 'I used to say you were all cold-hearted gnomes who cared more about money than anything else. Is that the kind of thing she said?' 'No,' answered Zel. 'Well, not just that. She thought the crystal was cursed. She liked to tell people that those who exchanged their flesh for Datharathi crystal would never sleep without nightmares again. She thought the crystal threatened the sanity of those who accepted it.' Warian tipped his head back slightly, absorbing Zel's words. Xaemar continued. 'Zel describes the situation accurately. She was fixated on Datharathi crystal and the Body Shop.' 'Any truth to what she was saying?' asked Warian. In his own recollection, he couldn't recall an increase in bad dreams since he'd received his artificial arm. 'Of course not,' replied Xaemar with a dismissive hand wave. 'But truthful or not, her words were beginning to hurt the plangent project. She was talking down our most important new business venture to anyone who would listen. As kindhearted as we are, we couldn't stand for that.' 'You couldn't 'stand for it'? What does that mean? What did you do? Is that why she ran?' Xaemar said, 'We did nothing. We merely offered to heal her misconceptions. We told her all infirmities of body and mind are healed for those who become plangents. We told her we had scheduled an appointment for her at the Body Shop.' 'The next thing we knew,' said Sevaera, 'she was gone. Flew the coop.' 'You were going to make her?' accused Warian. 'With the very thing she most feared? None of you have changed at all, have you? The same old Datharathis, willing to use force if they can't get their way.' 'Force? No…' objected Xaemar 'You threatened to cut off her stipend if she didn't take the improvement,' volunteered Zel in an off-hand tone. Warian nodded.
Sounded just like Xaemar. His uncle did not have the good grace to look sheepish. He just shrugged as if to say 'So? It's just business.'
Warian recalled when things had reached their worst before he left Vaelan. Xaemar had cut off his own stipend. No big surprise. He'd do it to anyone who didn't tow the Datharathi line. 'Be that as it may,' said Xaemar, 'where did she go? Enough assigning blame. She's not right in the head, and as family, we owe it to her to find her and help her.' Warian snorted. If his sister were actually sick, then he hoped she was found. But was his family misrepresenting his sister's plight in order to put a better spin on the situation? He'd learned that accepting his family's claims at face value was sometimes risky.
But he didn't know why she would vanish into hiding. His family was hardhearted, sure, and stubborn, but Eined was part of the same family. She could hold her own in family politics. Zel said, 'As far as I can tell, she's still in the city. My agents tell me they've sighted her a couple times.' 'Tell your agents to bring her in, dear Zel,' instructed Sevaera. 'The longer she is out and about without taking the crystal to stabilize her mind, the sicker she becomes. The poor thing could hurt herself. Or someone else.' Warian asked, 'If being a plangent is so great, why doesn't Zel have to 'take the crystal?' ' 'It's like I told you, kid. I say, 'Don't fix what…''
Xaemar interjected. 'Zel, Eined, and even you-if you stay-will embrace the family business, Warian. We must display a united family front, after all.' 'I've already got a prosthesis.' Warian raised his arm. 'A malfunctioning prototype on its last gasp. And you're no plangent-the newest prostheses aid both physical and mental skills. It's a complete solution,' explained Xaemar. Zel gazed at Xaemar, saying nothing.
Warian guessed Zel was silently cursing out his brother for being such a highhanded canker. 'Well,' said Warian, 'let's have that argument later. First, I want to see Shaddon and find out what's going on with my arm. If my simple one-piece prosthesis can malfunction, who knows what kind of failure all your new 'whole-body prostheses' could undergo.' He made a fake shiver. Sevaera glared at him. 'Enough blather.' The thoughtful expression returned to Xaemar's face, yet he spoke. 'Zeltaebar, find Eined. Restrain her if you must, for her own safety. Bring her here. Warian' — Xaemar turned his distracted gaze on his nephew-'You will go see Shaddon at the site. Leave tonight.
Sevaera will accompany you.' Warian sighed. 'We'll see.'
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
'Datharathi!' exclaimed Ususi. Her hand flew up, instinctively preparing to cast a blood ravening bolt or a gout of flame. Large clay vessels obscured Ususi, Iahn, and the woman who'd followed them into the narrow alley. The woman, Eined Datharathi, was young, with dark hair and eyes and tanned skin. She wore a voluminous cloak, and the blue sash around her waist was fine silk. 'Datharathi-as in the crystal?' inquired the vengeance taker, one arm on the woman's elbow as if casually escorting her. In truth, Ususi knew his hand was as good as an iron manacle. 'Yes, my family is responsible for mining the crystal sold in the Body Shop.' She spat, apparently considered a curse in Vaelan. 'My grandfather created the plangents!' 'I see,' said Ususi, although she did not quite understand what the woman was saying. 'You are… on the outs with your family. Is that what you're
