emotions rolled down her face like the wax of a tavern candle. A dark rage fixed itself there. For the first time in her life, Tazi was a fearsome sight to behold. Steorf took a step back from her.
'What is he talking about?' she hissed.
'It isn't what it seems,' Steorf was quick to offer.
'Then this serpent is simply dripping venom to poison me against you. Is that what you're telling me?' she growled. There was no forgiveness in her voice.
'I'm your friend,' Steorf said. 'I always have been.'
Tazi didn't give him a finger's length. 'Do you accept money from my father?'
Steorf lowered his head, unable to meet Tazi's burning glare.
'I'm afraid,' she continued through gritted teeth, 'that I'm having trouble hearing you.'
Ciredor leaned against the far wall grinning at the scene unfolding before him. Evidently he intended to let it play out for a few more moments.
'Yes, I do,' whispered Steorf.
Tazi's world crumbled. She squeezed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill forth. Her rage welled up within her, and she let her right hand curl into a fist. She cocked back her arm to swing at him.
Ciredor could no longer contain himself. He clapped delightedly at the pathetic tableau they presented. Before Tazi could strike her would-be rescuer, the mage whispered a word, and a green light shot from his outstretched hands. The light split into four glowing balls, and each found its way to Steorf's ankles and wrists. He was lifted and bound to the wall as efficiently as if iron manacles had been used. He struggled, but there was nothing in his mystical arsenal that could counter Ciredor's own arcane strength. In the growing gloom, Ciredor turned to face Tazi once more.
Blood ran down her face and throat. Her newly grown hair was matted in several places. Her leathers hung in tatters. She could barely maintain her footing. But a small, grim smile was planted on her lips.
'Enough, child. Time for us to leave,' Ciredor stated. He clasped his hands together, and a sharp, green light burst from them.
'This ring is not something to be taken lightly.' The warnings of Durlan, a moon elf, resounded through Tazi's mind. 'There is a price to this magic,' he had warned her a lifetime ago. 'You will feel a great pain, more severe than anything you can imagine, and it will leave you spent, but the ring will keep you safe from any evil magic.'
As the deadly bolt flew toward her, Tazi stretched out her left hand in a gesture of defiance and spoke an ancient word. The pain from Ciredor's earlier torture was nothing compared to the hot knives that stabbed her body. A pale, gray shield formed in front of her and deflected Ciredor's attack.
The mage stood amazed. His magic had never failed him before.
Tazi seized his hesitation. Nearly blinded by the pain, she still managed to slide her right hand into her boot and grab her small dagger. No playful, practice throws at the Kit any longer; her life depended on her skill now. She flung her arm out.
The dagger caught Ciredor below his heart. His face a mixture of surprise and shock, he doubled over and sank to his knees. Tazi didn't waste the opportunity. She had noticed the lights flickering and dimming during their battle and suspected the fight was draining Ciredor, though he still had a reserve. The only possibility was the boy. Somehow, his waning life was feeding Ciredor.
As the mage struggled to pull out her dagger, Tazi ran across the room to the divan. She grabbed a large pillow and stumbled over to where the boy lay. There was only one thing to do. Tazi dropped to her knees, no longer feeling any pain, and leaned over the eyeless boy.
'I'm so sorry,' she whispered, the tears barely in check. 'You never had a chance.' With that, she lowered the pillow over his face and leaned against it with all her weight.
The child did not last long. It only took a brief moment for Tazi to take her first life.
The room grew very dim. The shackles binding Steorf began to flicker. Ciredor, who had managed to remove the dagger, tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood with part of his costume. Things were not going as he planned. Wounded and with little energy left, he gave way.
'I'm not nearly through with you, Thazienne Uskevren,' he warned darkly. 'We are bound, you and I, and the end has not yet been written.' With that, he tossed her dagger aside, and summoned the last bit of his remaining magic. A bright glow filled the dark room. When it finally faded and the dancing stars had left Tazi's eyes, Ciredor was no where to be seen. Tazi was alone with Steorf and a crumbled pile of dust that had been the boy's body.
For a time, there was no sound in the room. Tazi simply knelt over the dead boy's ashes and gently rocked back and forth, hands on her knees. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
She knocked it away and leaped to her feet. 'Don't you touch me,' she warned Steorf through gritted teeth. He looked shocked and weary at the same time. 'You don't have the right to, and I'm sure'-she added a bitter laugh-'my father isn't paying for that.'
'Tazi-' he began feebly, but she didn't give him the chance.
'Just how much is he paying you?' she demanded. 'How much to ensure your loyalty?'
Steorf looked torn. Despite herself, Tazi could see that what he said next cut him to the bone.
'Please don't make it sound so horrible, Tazi. Everyone has a price. You should know that. This is a city for buying and selling. Don't act so shocked. Even you have one.' After a moment, he added, 'I have always been loyal.'
'And how many 'suns' would it take for you to be loyal to someone else?' Tazi turned sharply from him. She would not let him see her like this. It would be the bitterest of defeats, and she refused to lose anything else tonight. Looking down at what was left of the boy, she abruptly changed the subject. 'This must be taken care of.'
Seizing the chance to help, Steorf hastily said, 'Don't worry, I'll see to it that the remains are put to rest.' He moved a step closer to Tazi, but she would have none of it.
'Well, that's what you're paid for, isn't it? To take care of things, and clean up after me?' Not waiting for a response, she absently collected her dagger and stuffed most of the scrolls that seemed so important to Ciredor into her vest. Dimly, she knew she would need whatever information she could gather about him in the days to come. She strode to the door.
'Wait,' Steorf shouted after her. 'Let me accompany you home.'
'Don't bother,' she snarled, without turning around. 'The only thing you'd need to protect me from now is my rage against you.' With that, she left.
Once out in the street, Tazi leaned against a wall, raising her hand to her mouth. The tears were so close, as were a collage of memories: times she and Steorf had spent together, near captures, jaunts, and larks. All of it seemed far away now, as if they were someone else's memories. Everything she had held true was thrown back in her face. She was more alone than ever now.
Somehow she managed to stumble the short way down Sarn Street to Stormweather Towers without being seen by anyone. It would have been hard, if not impossible, to explain her appearance now, looking both like a noblewoman and thief. She moved automatically. When she entered her family home, the party finished long hours past, she dropped into the first chair she found in the darkened parlor on the main floor. It was while she was in this near comatose state that Cale, still cleaning up after the departed guests, discovered her. The sight she presented shocked him mightily.
'Thazienne,' he blurted out, 'what has happened to you?' The sight she presented-torn and bloody, her hair restored to its former length-shocked him into calling her by her first name.
Tazi turned glazed eyes up to his pale visage. 'Oh, Erevis,' she choked out. His pale, gaunt face had never seemed so dear as it did now. But a seed of doubt had taken root, as well. She caught herself before she said anything, and after a moment, she asked, 'Do you have a price, Cale? Aside from what my father pays you for your loyalty and your service, do you have a price?'
Cale was silent. Something had changed the normally laughing girl into something else tonight. He was unsure of how to proceed.
'Never mind, Cale,' Thazienne continued wearily. 'I know you are loyal to us. But I suppose, I must be careful. You could also be loyal to someone else one day.'
She turned from the stunned Cale to carefully climb the grand staircase to her rooms above. Her whole body
