'He did,' Cart said.
'Cart was holding back,' Gaven added. 'He'd been wrestling hobgoblins and bugbears, so he wasn't prepared for a real challenge.'
'No, I stopped holding back when I realized what I was up against. You won it fairly.'
'It must have been an epic struggle,' Ashara said. Gaven noticed for the first time how her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes-and how her eyes shone when she looked at Cart. Rienne's absence hit him suddenly like a mace in his gut. He stared down into his wine glass and saw the red of her silk wrap.
'Sorry I took so long.'
Gaven looked up with a start and saw Aunn, still wearing Kelas's face, standing by the table. 'There you are!' he said. 'Is everything all right?'
'I ran into a little trouble.'
He was wearing different clothes than he'd had on an hour before, and his movements were strangely stiff. 'Are you injured?' Gaven asked.
Aunn shook his head and sat in the empty chair. He looked down at his clothes and absently brushed at a dark spot on his coat that might have been dried blood.
'So are you going to tell us what in the Ten Seas is going on?'
Aunn blinked at him, then his face came alive. He leaned forward on the table and words spilled out in a fierce whisper. 'There was a spy in Kelas's house. Another changeling. I think he followed us from the Tower of Eyes. She was the servant you injured and Ashara took care of, and I suspect she heard everything we said in your room after Cart and Ashara left her. He accosted me in the hall when I went back to my room.'
'And you killed her… him?' Gaven said.
'No. I convinced him I really am Kelas.'
There was more to the story than Aunn was telling, Gaven knew-starting but not ending with the spray of blood on his coat. He decided not to press for more details, though… at least, not until he saw Aunn smile again.
'So the spy was a Royal Eye?' Cart asked. 'Not spying on the Royal Eyes?'
'As far as I know, yes,' Aunn said.
An awkward silence fell on the table. Gaven could see in Ashara's face that she wanted to know more, and was holding back as he was.
'We need a plan,' Cart said at last. 'And a safer place to talk it over.'
'Right,' Aunn said, sitting back and planting his hands on the table. 'That's why I suggested this place-they have private rooms that are really private, if you know who to talk to. I'll be right back.' He stood up and weaved his way through the crowded tables to the back of the room.
'Is anyone else getting tired of looking at Kelas's face?' Gaven said.
'It is unnerving,' Cart said.
'I keep forgetting which side I'm on,' Ashara said. 'I worked with Kelas many times… before.'
'Which side?' Gaven dug his fingers into his hair. 'I don't even know how many sides there are, let alone who's on which one.'
'How long can he keep it up, do you think?' Cart asked.
'He's good at what he does,' Ashara said.
Gaven thought again of the blood on Aunn's coat. 'I think I want to stay on his side.'
Ashara gave him a grim smile. 'Let's hope he stays on ours.'
'I'd like to speak to the master cook,' Aunn told the gangly young man at the kitchen door. What if they've changed the password? he thought. But the boy nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
I've been out of this for too long, he thought. The mad trip to Xen'drik with Janik and Dania, crossing Khorvaire with Senya and Cart to free Gaven and Haldren, the brief time as Caura and Vauren and General Yeven, then the long trek to the Demon Wastes-I've been so many other people, I haven't had time to be a spy.
He recognized the man who emerged from the kitchen, a broad dwarf in silk and lace, a thick beard hiding most of his face. Lukas looked him up and down, but gave no indication that he knew Kelas's face. 'What can I do for you?' he growled.
'I need a quail in silver,' Aunn said.
Lukas's expression didn't change. 'Certainly, master,' he said. 'Will there be anything else?'
Aunn thought for a moment. If he asked, Lukas would send agents throughout the tavern and the rest of Chalice Center, listening for anyone who might be asking after Aunn or his party. But he doubted the other changeling would be so careless. 'No, thank you.'
'Very well. Is the rest of your party here?'
'Yes. I'll gather them. Thank you.' He nodded a slight bow to Lukas and returned to the table where he'd left the others.
'Ready?' Gaven asked as he approached.
'Ready. Lukas will show us the room.'
The dwarf led them outside and into a wide alley beside the tavern. A well-kept staircase took them above the dining room where they had sat before, and Lukas opened a door into a luxurious private dining room. It was little more than a table with benches on either side, but the benches were padded with upholstered cushions-and so were the walls, to keep sound from escaping the room.
Lukas bowed as they filed past him into the room. 'I hope you find the quail satisfactory,' he said.
'I'm certain we will. Thank you.'
Lukas pushed the door closed, and the din of the tavern and the street faded away. Aunn collapsed onto one of the upholstered benches, overwhelmed with exhaustion and anxiety. The relief was so great that he felt his face begin to change under his hands, fading to its natural blank.
Make it solid, he told himself. He fixed Kelas's face in his mind and molded his face to match, hoping the others hadn't noticed the slip.
'Are you all right?' Gaven said.
Aunn took a deep breath and lowered his hands, Kelas's visage fixed firmly on his face once again. 'I'm fine,' he said. 'And now we can talk.'
CHAPTER 15
Right,' Gaven said. 'Let's talk. But can we talk to a different face?'
He saw Aunn stiffen. 'What?'
'I'm sick of staring at his face. Could you be Darraun again, or Aunn, if you prefer?'
'I'm sorry,' Aunn said, and Kelas's face was gone.
Gaven had never seen the changeling alter his appearance before, and he watched in fascination. First the features that most defined Kelas's face softened-the black hair lightened to gray, thick brows thinned and faded, and the dark, deep-set eyes lightened as their surrounding wrinkles smoothed. Gaven caught just a glimpse of a face that wasn't a face at all, just a blank gray surface waiting for shape and color, then it molded into the proud, commanding face the changeling called Aunn. That was his real name, he'd said, but it clearly wasn't his real face. Was this face somehow supposed to represent his true self? he wondered. Or was it just another disguise?
'Nice to see you again, Aunn,' Gaven said.
Aunn didn't return his smile. He seemed lost in concentration, as if perhaps he were still shaping some part of his face or body. Gaven noticed that his clothes didn't fit this new form well-Aunn was taller and more muscular than Kelas. He wondered why Aunn didn't alter just his face, especially when he knew he'd be changing back into Kelas before long.
'So now what?' Ashara asked.
Gaven stared at the table. For a brief moment, his path had seemed clear to him, shining in the darkness, and he had accepted it with all its consequences. That clarity was gone, crowded out in all the scheming and intrigue going on around them, which Aunn seemed to understand so much better than he did. One thing burned
