memories.'
Keph's breath caught in his throat. He gaped at the priestess.
'You-'
'admit surrender?' Variance's eyebrows rose. 'Why shouldn't I?'
Silence dropped. It was all Keph could do to stare. She was giving up? The priestess whose disdain had once made him grovel, the woman who spoke for the Lady of Loss, was admitting defeat? Suddenly, his rage was gone, stolen out from under him so quickly that his head spun in confusion. The fear that had driven him to flee Yhaunn, the sense of purpose he had found in helping Feena… they were gone as well. If Variance was just giving up, what was there to be afraid of? Off balance, he groped desperately for something to help make sense of what was happening.
'This is some kind of trick,' he said, taking another step away from her.
Variance gave him a measured look and asked, 'How is it a trick?'
He struggled for an answer. 'You… you lied to Bolan. You told him the Selunites tried to steal me away. You know that's not what happened.'
'You want me to tell Bolan the truth?' She opened her free hand as if releasing some captured insect. 'That your faith failed? That you tried to flee? That you fell in with Selunites? That I dragged you back through Shadow by the hair on your head? What purpose would there be in telling Bolan that? He would strike you down on the spot. But so long as he believes the Selunites snatched you away, you're Shar's hero. If I had convinced you of the same thing, no one would have known any different.'
'But you didn't convince me.'
'No, I didn't,' Variance agreed. 'I might have, though.. If plans never succeed, why bother making them at all? But I serve the Lady of Loss. One of her harshest lessons is learning to recognize when a plan has failed and there's no hope of taking it any farther.' She turned away and began walking across the temple. 'It's clear that you've turned away from Shar. Drawing you back isn't worth the effort.'
Keph stopped, his feet heavy, his heart in his throat. 'You're… you're letting me go?'
'If I wanted to harm you, I could do it easily enough.' She glanced back at him and said, 'Come with me unless you want to stand in the dark.'
It wasn't an answer to his question, but he hesitated, then followed her.
'You and Jarull,' he said, 'you've been manipulating me.'
'More or less,' Variance replied. On the far side of the temple, she turned down a curving tunnel. 'It's regrettable that you fell in with the Selunites. I'd be curious to know how that happened.'
'It was coincidence.'
Variance said, 'You'll find there's no coincidence where gods take a hand, Keph.'
'Maybe… maybe Selune is giving me a chance to redeem myself.'
'Or perhaps Shar chose to show me that your faith was weak.' She paused and turned to look at him. Her face was placid, but cold. 'The Mistress of the Night could have given you many rewards, Keph. I spoke no lie when I said you had the potential to become one of Shar's priests. It would have been best for both of us if your faith had been strongeror if your will had been weaker.'
'It's a good thing Shar teaches you loss then, isn't it?' Keph said.
'Shar teaches the anticipation of loss,' answered Variance. 'Even if I prefer to expect that my plans will succeed, I prepare for the possibility of failure.'
She raised the candle. Stone walls shone with slowly trickling water and slick mineral depositsthen ended abruptly in darkness. Just beyond Variance's reach lay a shadow that seemed to consume the candle's feeble glow, resisting its light. Variance held out her hand and spoke a prayer under her breath. Like mist before a wind, the shadow parted.
Keph stared.
Chained like a dog to the stone floor, Jarull jerked back from the sudden light, covering his eyes and howling in agonythen clapping his hands to his ears as if the sound of his own voice were painful. Howls dropped into moans and the big man swung his head back and forth like an animal driven to madness.
With the parting of the shadow, the stench of excrement filled the tunnel as well. The pants that Jarull wore were stained and horribly crusted. His skin was pale, his tall frame gaunt, and his hair, a tangled nest. The fingers that cupped his ears were torn and bloody. When his open mouth swung into the light, Keph could see that his tongue was raw and red as well. The rock walls within reach of the chain had been rubbed clean of mineral deposits. Jarull had been licking the stone for water.
It was as if his friend had been chained there for days for tendays. But that wasn't possible. He'd seen Jarull practically every day
But Jarull's mother hadn't. Wasn't that what Strasus had said? And Strasus and Dagnalla hadn't been able to locate Jarull with magic.
The chained man wore no amethyst ring. Keph raised his head and stared at Variance. The dark priestess had her hands crossed, but the purple gem of her ring winked between her fingers. Keph clenched his teeth.
'How long has he been here?' he asked.
'Only a little more than two tendays,' said Variance. She might have been discussing apples in a barrel for all the emotion in her voice. 'But it probably seems much longer to him. The Lady of Loss is a harsh jailer.'
'Then it was you all along. You took his place to draw me into the cult.'
Variance just turned away and began walking back to the temple. Keph swung between her and Jarull. As the candlelight faded, the chained man's moans eased. His mad swinging turned into a gentle rocking. Keph took a step toward him, reaching out his hand.
'Jarull…'
His friend looked up. Bruised eyes widenedand he shrieked, scrambling away to press himself frantically against the wall.
Variance's voice floated back down the tunnel, 'Come away from him, Keph.'
Keph whirled toward her. 'What have you done to him?'
'I haven't done anything. Come away.'
The candlelight moved on. Clenching his teeth, Keph stumbled through the darkness after it. Variance waited for him at the entrance to the tunnel.
'Why?' he snarled at her.
'Motivation,' she said calmly, 'in case your loyalty proved less than I expected.'
The elation he had felt, believing he had cast an orison, the joy he'd felt when Variance welcomed him back into Shar's grace after his encounter with Lyraene… 'Ask me anything, Variance,' he had said, 'and I would do it. That's the debt I owe you.'
He closed his eyes. He had been dancing to Variance's manipulations like a marionette on strings.
'What do you want?' he asked her.
He half-expected her to smile in triumph, but she didn't.
'Strasus Thingoleir has in his possession a collection of ancient artifacts recovered from the tunnels of Yhaunn a month ago.' Variance's words were blunt, the instructions of someone who expected to be obeyed. 'Among them is a set of black slate tiles hinged together like a book and inscribed with silver characters that defy translation. I want those tiles.'
Keph stared at her. 'How did you know about?' He cut himself off. 'Beshaba's arms. They were your goal all along. You've used me from the very beginning.'
'Not the very beginning,' Variance said. 'It took me at least a tenday to identify you as the weakness in your father's House.'
The weakness… Keph bit his tongue against a bitter laugh. So that's what he was.
'Well, this weakness isn't going to be enough for you,' he told her. 'My father has those tiles in his study. No one can get past the wards on it.'
'You can,' said Variance. 'Just as you were able to place the magesbane in your brother's laboratory. Child of a doting, hopeful parent, the wards of Fourstaves House part for you.' Keph's eyes narrowed and Variance smiled. 'Did you really think the dust was just a whim? It was a test. You told Jarull about the wards and with some persuasion, Jarull told me. I had to be sure that it was true. Your misuse of the dust was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps Shar guided you.'
