'Name him.'
'It's her, not him,' Arvin answered. 'Her name is Zelia. I spotted her three days ago, at Riverboat Landing. She's a yuan-ti.'
Arvin expected the baron to immediately demand a description, but Foesmasher seemed disinterested. Beside him, Marasa looked visibly relieved.
'Aren't you going to arrest Zelia?' Arvin asked. 'If she planted a mind seed in your daughter-'
'She couldn't have,' the baron said. 'Glisena has had no contact with yuan-ti for… some time.'
'How can you be so sure?' Arvin asked. 'Yuan-ti can assume serpent form. Zelia could have slithered into the palace undetected and-'
Marasa interrupted him. 'Tell him, Thuragar,' she said, giving the baron a hard look.
Baron Foesmasher sighed. 'You will, no doubt, have heard that I disapproved of Ambassador Extaminos's courtship of my daughter?' he said.
Arvin nodded.
'A little over a month ago, I forbade my daughter from seeing Ambassador Extaminos again. I took precautions against him… contacting her. It is no longer possible for a yuan-ti to enter certain sections of the palace. The hallways, doors, and windows-every possible entrance to those parts of the palace that Glisena would have any cause to enter-have been warded to prevent serpents from entering. All serpents. Even yuan-ti in human form.'
He gave a heavy sigh before continuing. 'Glisena has not… had not,' he corrected himself, 'set foot outside those sections of the palace since this was done. She's had no contact with serpents since that time. That is how I know this Zelia person could not have planted a mind seed in my daughter.'
'I see,' Arvin said. He understood, now, why the baron was so certain his daughter had run away. Anyone would, after being placed under what was, essentially, a prison sentence, however sumptuous and comfortable the prison might be. Arvin was starting to have second thoughts about the baron. If he ruled his own daughter with such a domineering hand, how did he treat his hirelings?
'You're certain the wards were effective?'.Arvin asked.
It was Marasa who answered. 'I oversaw their placement myself.' The look she gave the baron suggested she'd been unhappy with this task.
Arvin nodded. Even if Zelia had relearned the mind seed power, it wouldn't have been possible for her to plant a seed in Glisena-she wouldn't have been able to get close enough to the princess.
Marasa leaned closer to the baron and spoke, interrupting Arvin's thoughts. 'This 'mind seed' could be used to create the perfect spy,' she told him in a voice that was pitched low-but not quite low enough that Arvin couldn't overhear.
'Yes,' the baron agreed. 'It could.' He gave Arvin a level stare. 'Is that why you told us about Zelia? Is this a warning from Lady Dediana-that she has ears within my court?'
Arvin met the baron's eyes. 'I didn't come to Sespech to play at politics, Lord Foesmasher,' he answered. 'I'm here for one purpose only: to find your daughter. Whether Zelia has seeded anyone in your court is a question that's best put to her. But be careful; Zelia's dangerous. This I know, from personal experience.'
'She's your enemy,' the baron observed. 'Yet you serve the same mistress.'
Arvin took a deep breath. Now was the moment he'd been waiting for, the moment to make a commitment- one that would affect everything that was to follow in his life. He reminded himself that this wasn't like his incarceration in the orphanage, or his obligation to the Guild. He was choosing this alliance.
'I don't serve Lady Dediana,' he told the baron. 'I'm a free agent; I choose who I work for. It is my belief that working for a human-especially a man of your stature-will be much more… rewarding.'
The baron gave a low chuckle. 'I see.' He exchanged a look with Marasa. 'I think that, after Arvin has found my daughter, he and I will have a chat about mind seeds and spies… and rewards.'
'Will you arrest Zelia?' Arvin asked.
'That wouldn't be expedient at the moment,' Foe- smasher replied. 'There was an… unfortunate incident a few days ago. It seems that the new ambassador from Hlondeth had an altercation with one of the less reputable citizens of Mimph-an altercation that resulted in his arrest. If I simply order his release, it will appear that certain people are above Helm's law. Yet if I allow the Eyes to place Helm's mark on him, it may fracture the alliance. I have to tread carefully, where yuan-ti are concerned. I can't afford to ruffle any more scales.'
Arvin realized at once who the baron was talking about: the yuan-ti who had attacked the young pickpocket. He shook his head in disbelief. The yuan-ti had a lot to learn about diplomacy.
Foesmasher continued speaking. 'If you provide me with a description of Zelia, I will see to it that she is watched. If she comes to Ormpetarr, you'll be alerted.'
Arvin murmured his thanks. It was time to get back to business. 'You said that, on the night of Glisena's disappearance, she retired to her chambers and dismissed her servants. Presumably after that, she slipped out her door-'
'No,' the baron said. 'The guard in the hall was questioned under Helm's truth. He did not see her, and he was awake all night.'
'Did she climb out a window?'
'Her chamber has no window.'
Glisena was sounding more like a prisoner by the moment.
'Does your daughter know any magic?' Arvin asked.
Foesmasher shook his head. 'Not so much as a cantrip. Yet she must have used magic to flee the palace. Someone aided her.'
'Or kidnapped her,' Marasa muttered under her breath.
Wanting to stave off another argument, Arvin interrupted. 'I'm ready to manifest my power,' he told them. 'Could I see Glisena's chamber?'
'High Watcher Davinu already examined it,' Marasa said. 'There was nothing-'
'And now the psion will examine it-with mind magic,' Foesmasher told her sternly. 'Come,' he said to Arvin, rising from his chair. 'I'll take you there.'
Glisena's bedchamber was even more ornate than Arvin had imagined. The bed, side tables, and wardrobe were painted white and trimmed with gilt. The rug on the floor was also white, with a border of prancing centaurs. Arvin's feet sank into its softness as he entered the room. The windowless walls were divided into paels, painted with scenes of noblewomen waving silken favors at jousting knights. The ceiling was of molded white plaster, the pattern an ornate spray of bouquets and tree boughs.
The chamber gave the appearance of still being occupied. A fire crackled in the hearth, and a brazier filled with scented oil perfumed the air. A gown had been laid out on a clothing rack and fresh water stood in a pitcher beside a floral-print wash bowl. Next to these were a comb and brush. The bed was turned down for the night.
'I felt it wise to keep up appearances,' the baron explained. 'None of the servants know that Glisena is gone.'
Marasa, standing a little behind him, shook her head sadly but made no comment. 'What do you hope to find here?' she asked Arvin.
'There is a psionic power that allows me to view emotionally charged events that have occurred in this room,' Arvin explained. 'Whether Glisena ran away or was kidnapped, she's certain to have been highly emotional at the time. I hope to catch a glimpse of something that will provide some clue as to where she went.' He glanced around the room, wondering where to begin. 'The manifestation will take some time,' he told them over his shoulder. 'Please don't interrupt until-'
The baron placed a heavy hand on Arvin's shoulder and turned him around. 'You said you were going to use mind magic to track her-not to spy on her private moments. What my daughter does in her chamber is her own affair.'
'What are you so concerned about, Thuragar?' Marasa asked. 'That he might catch a glimpse of Glisena undressing for bed?'
The baron's face flushed. 'He will not cast that spell.'
'Thuragar!' Marasa said in an exasperated voice. 'Your daughter is missing. Surely a chance at finding her, no matter how slim it might be, is more important than-'
