'Listen,' he said grimly.
The distinctive rise and fall of the Watch horn sounded over the noise of the street. Elaith swore and jerked the reins to the left, sending the horses careen shy;ing down a side street. Four men in black and green scale armor formed ranks at the end of the street. 'The Watch,' Danilo said. 'The penalty for attacking them is high!'
'Then let's hope they have the sense to get out of the way,' the elf returned. He leaned forward, shaking the reins over the horses' backs to urge them on. Something of his grim determination transmitted itself to the team. The pampered carriage horses turned back their ears, lowered their heads, and charged.
At the last moment the Watchmen leaped aside. The carriage thundered through, veering off to the right with a screech of wheels and a wild chorus of snorts and whinnies-an equine cry that would not have disgraced a paladin's battlehorse.
'At least someone's enjoying this,' Danilo com shy;mented. He sent a worried glance over his shoulder, then sighed with relief as all four men rose to their feet.
A shadow flashed over them, tracing a circle on the road below. 'Griffon rider,' Danilo supplied.
Elaith swore and pulled back on the reins, but the horses were too lost in their wild, newfound freedom to respond in time.
Wind buffeted them as enormous wings backbeat the air. A huge, leonine body pivoted in the air and dropped to the ground in a ready crouch. The creature's eaglelike beak snapped in percussive counterpoint to the menacing, feline growl that rumbled from its feath shy;ered throat.
The horses shied, rearing up to paw the air and whinnying in terror. The carriage tilted, spilling its occupants to the ground. Elaith was on his feet at once, alert for the attack, but he did not draw a weapon. From his position on the cobblestone, Danilo applauded the elf's good sense. At least twenty Watchmen and a dozen guards surrounded them with drawn swords.
Elaith cast a baleful look at Danilo. 'Are you dead?' he demanded tartly.
Dan hauled himself painfully to his feet, giving the matter careful consideration. 'Not quite.'
'Good,' the elf growled as the men closed in. 'I should hate to miss the opportunity to kill you myself.'
* * * * *
The door to the prison cell clanked shut. Elaith turned to glower at his companion. Danilo had been uncharacteristically silent all the way to the Castle. He slumped now onto the narrow cot. The elf noticed he cradled one elbow in his hand. 'Your arm has come free of the shoulder?'
'I think so,' Danilo admitted. 'Hard to tell, though. Everything hurts, and it's difficult to sort one thing from another.'
'There is one sure way of finding out.' Elaith seized the man's wrist and gave it a sharp, vicious tug.
Danilo let out a startled oath, then rolled his shoul shy;der experimentally. 'That worked,' he said, surprised. 'There isn't a better way?'
'Of course there is, but I'm of no mind to use it,' the elf returned. 'That cut on your arm needs attention. I can stitch it if you wish.'
'With what? A fishhook?' Dan retorted. 'Thank you, but I will await the healer.' He paused. 'You followed me. Why?'
Elaith considered what to say. The dream spheres were on the streets, sold to those who were likely to have knowledge that would aid the elf's chosen vendetta. He had picked up the dreams of one of these men, a hired sword who harbored a twisted desire to inflict pain on one of the city's privileged, wealthy men. Elaith had seen the man's mental image of his victim. Despite all that he had done, all that he was currently doing, Elaith could not allow a man he'd named Elf-friend to suffer this fate.
No, this was hardly the sort of explanation he could afford to give.
'Why were you following me?' persisted Danilo.
'Morbid curiosity?' the elf suggested.
'Very amusing,' Danilo said dryly. 'How did you know where to find me?'
'Not a difficult thing. I assumed you would go to con shy;front Regnet Amcathra, considering that you two are longtime friends.'
The man sighed and slumped lower onto the cot. 'Of that, I am not so certain. The attack outside his house, so soon after I challenged him about his involvement in Lilly's death? I do not want to think ill of Regnet, but I no longer know whom to trust.'
Elaith was silent for a long moment. 'I saw Myrna Cassalanter leave. She looked angry. She is not without resources.'
'She did threaten Regnet and me,' Danilo admitted. 'I suppose it is possible that she sent those thugs, al shy;though to date Myrna has limited herself to assassinat shy;ing character.'
'It is possible she took aim at your character, but missed so small a target,' Elaith suggested pleasantly.
Danilo sent him a wry look. 'Is that any way to address an Elf-friend?'
Elaith thought of the Mhaorkiira Hadryad. He could almost feel the heat of it, even though the stone was hidden. He could feel the compelling, twisting magic of the thing, and he answered from the heart. 'I am doing the best I can.'
In Arilyn's opinion, she had spent far more time in the company
of Waterdeep's merchant nobility than any sane person should have to endure. Yet here she was, standing at the magic-blackened gate to the Eltorchul manor.
Isabeau was connected with the theft of the dream spheres. How, Arilyn was not certain. By her own ad shy;mission, the woman had been involved with Oth. Errya Eltorchul had let slip that her brother had been doing business with Elaith Craulnober. Perhaps she would let slip something else that would enable Arilyn to start piecing together an answer.
However, Lady Errya was not receiving visitors. The servant made a point of sniffing at Arilyn's lack of a calling card, then slowly scanned the guest registry, glancing up from time to time as if to underscore the fact that the half-elf was not listed among those the family expected or wanted to receive.
After a few minutes of this, Arilyn lost patience. She shouldered past the servant and stalked through the halls in search of the noblewoman. The suddenly fran shy;tic servant followed close on her heels, imploring her to see reason.
'That will do, Orwell,' said a cold, female voice. 'I will handle this.'
The servant bowed deeply and hurried off, clearly glad to have shed himself of this responsibility.
For a long moment the two women faced each other in silence. 'What do you want?' Errya Eltorchul demanded.
'Information,' the half-elf replied.
The noblewoman gave a scornful little sniff. 'Have you no sense of propriety at all, to come storming in, making demands of a family in grief?'
'That leads nicely to my first question,' Arilyn said. 'Why does no one know of Oth's death?'
'That is no business of yours,' the woman retorted.
'The creatures that killed Oth have followed and attacked me. That makes this very much my business.' She remembered Errya's words about the death of the first Lady Dezlentyr, and added, 'Nor am I the only person of elven blood who has been attacked.'
A sly, cold smile edged on the woman's beautiful face. 'I find it hard to weep over this.'
'Why's that?'
'Nothing good comes of mixing with elves. You pro shy;vide proof of that!'
Arilyn ignored the insult. 'Yet your brother did busi shy;ness with Elaith Craulnober.'
The woman's gaze shifted to one side. 'Did he?' she said vaguely.
'That's what you said when we brought word of your brother's fate. I'd like to know more.'
Errya tossed her head, sending her flame-colored ringlets dancing with indignation. 'Go ask him yourself. The elf, not Oth,' she added hurriedly.
This struck Arilyn as an odd statement. 'Maybe I'll do that.'
The woman's strange, sly smile returned. 'If you hurry, you should be able to find him in the Castle. Danilo
