Gonthril's eyes glittered. 'Tell me more.'
'There's a yuan-ti,' Arvin began, 'a mind mage named Zelia.'
ye never nearu Lae name.
Arvin smiled. 'That doesn't surprise me. Zelia makes a point of keeping out of the public eye. She controls a network of spies who have infiltrated not
just House Extaminos but every major yuan-ti House in Hlondeth.'
'How?'
'By passing themselves off as members of those Houses. The family members are eliminated, and the spies take their place.'
Gonthril frowned, and thought a moment. 'These spies-are they dopplegangers?'
Arvin's eyesbrows raised. The rebel leader had a quicker mind than he'd expected. 'In a manner of speaking, yes.'
'The information they have gathered-is it written down?'
'No,' Arvin said. 'It's all inside Zelia's head, but there's a way to get it out.'
'How?' Gonthril asked, skepticism plain in his voice.
'By killing her. Once that's done, I can put you in touch with a cleric who can speak with the dead.'
Gonthril's eyes bored into Arvin's. 'Why do you want this woman dead?'
'For several reasons,' Arvin answered. 'The simple answer is that if I don't kill her, she'll kill me.' He spread his hands. 'That's not what really concerns me. Zelia won't stop there. She'll also make sure my wife and children die.'
Gonthril's eyebrows rose. 'You've been busy, this past year.'
Arvin had to smile.
Gonthril's expression turned serious again. 'What if the information in Zelia's head turns out to be of no use to the Secession?' Gonthril said, 'I'll have wasted my resources. There's an entire city of yuanti that need killing and precious few humans bold enough to do the job.'
Arvin fought to keep his smile from wavering. Gonthril's hatred of the serpent folk ran deep. If he
realized that Arvin was part yuan-ti-and that the wife and children Arvin was trying to protect were as well- the only 'help' forthcoming would be a crossbow bolt in the back. He was glad, yet again, that Karrell's ring was still on his finger.
'Zelia is worth killing for other reasons,' he said. 'Convince me.'
'You've heard that Sibyl is dead?' Arvin asked.
Gonthril nodded. 'So House Extaminos says.'
'It's true,' Arvin assured him. 'Now Zelia is trying to pick up where Sibyl left off. Sibyl was only pretending to be Sseth's avatar, but Zelia actually stands a chance at becoming just that.'
'How?'
'It's complicated, but the short answer is this: Sseth is bound inside his domain. He needs someone to free him. Whoever does this will be rewarded with anything they ask for. Zelia knows of an artifact called the Circled Serpent-a key that opens a door to Sseth's domain. Using it, she can free him-and become his avatar.'
Gonthril whistled under his breath. He sat in silence a moment, then reached inside his shirt and pulled out a chain that was looped through a ring-a wide band of silver, set with deep blue sapphires. He took it off the chain and slid it across the table to Arvin. 'Put it on.'
Arvin did, reluctantly. He remembered the last time he'd worn it. With the ring on, he'd be unable to tell a lie. If Gonthril asked directly about the Circled Serpent, Arvin would have to tell him it had already been destroyed. Gonthril would assume everything Arvin had just told him was a lie, and Arvin would have to fight his way out of the Mortal Coil.
He resisted the urge to glance at the half-dozen crossbows pointed at him. Instead he took a deep breath. Control, he urged himself. He didn't need to
tell the whole truth about the Circled Serpent-he just had to concentrate on answering Gonthril's questions as succinctly as possible.
Gonthril looked him square in the eye. 'Do you work for House Extaminos?' he asked.
Relief washed through Arvin as he saw the tack Gonthril's questions would take. He smiled. 'No,' he answered, his voice firm and level. 'As I told you when you asked me that question a year ago, I work for myself.'
This time, it was the truth.
'Is the story about wanting to kill Zelia a ruse to trap me?'
'No.'
'Is your name really Arvin?'
Arvin frowned. 'Of course.'
'Are you a doppleganger?'
Arvin laughed. 'No. What you see is what you get. I'm-' He was about to say 'human' but checked himself just in time. He shrugged. 'I'm Arvin.'
Gonthril nodded then gestured for Arvin to take off the ring.
Arvin did and passed it back to Gonthril. The rebel leader slipped it back on the chain and hung it around his neck.
'What's the Seccession's part in your plan?' the rebel leader asked. 'What do you need us to do?'
'Not the Seccession,' Arvin said. 'You. I need someone who can pass as me without having to resort to magical disguises. I'll be playing the part of one of Zelia's spies-a spy that has 'captured' Arvin. It will be dangerous and unpleasant, but if Zelia reacts as I expeot her to-and believe me, I know her well-it will give me the chance to take her completely by surprise.'
'I see,' Gonthril said. For several moments, there was silence. Gonthril glanced at one of his rebels. The man gave a slight shrug then nodded.
Arvin waited for the rebel leader's reply.
'I'll need to know more details, of course,' Gonthril said, 'but so far, you've got my interest.'
Arvin heaved a mental sigh of relief. He hesitated then decided to broach the question that had been nagging at him for some time. 'Before we get into the details, there's one thing I neglected to ask the last time we met,' he said, his voice low enough that Gonthril's people wouldn't hear it.
'Go on,' Gonthril said.
Arvin waved a hand between them. 'We look enough alike to be brothers,' he whispered. 'Is there any chance that we might be?'
Gonthril gave a tight smile. 'My mother had a very strong spirit. When I was growing up, I often heard her tell my father she wouldn't be bound to any one man. We may-you and I-very well have been fathered by the same man.'
'Did your mother ever mention a bard named Salim?'
'No.'
'Then your father-'
'The only man who earned the right to be called `father' was the man who raised me,' Gonthril said in a stern voice. His expression was grim. For a moment, Arvin was worried he'd offended Gonthril.
'That man is dead,' Gonthril continued, 'as is my mother. They died in the so-called 'Plaza of Justice' the year I turned thirteen, executed for a crime they did not commit, but that didn't matter. They were human, and 'insolent to their betters.' Even as they were led to their deaths, they refused to go quietly and shouted insults at the yuan-ti who had condemned them.' His eyes grew fierce. 'I decided to carry on that tradition of defiance. That same year, I joined the Secession.'
Arvin listened quietly, surprised by how much he and Gonthril had in common. Each of them had
been forced to make his way in the world alone. Their lives, however, had taken very different paths.
Gonthril shrugged. 'You don't need to convince me that we're related,' he said. 'I'm helping you for the good of Hlondeth-for the benefit of humans everywhere-not because of some blood tie we may or may not share.'
Arvin nodded, his face neutral, but his heart was beating quickly. Was the man across the table from him really his brother? Arvin's mother had believed that Arvin was the only child Salim had ever fathered-but what if the bard had been lying to her-or simply hadn't realized that a previous liaison had produced a child?
