Azure bonds - Kate Novak [43]
Dragonbait reached over and placed his hand on Alias's shoulder. She tried to shrug it off at first, but when the lizard gave a little worried chirp she let the hand remain.
The barkeep brought their drinks and another mead for Alias.
"Perhaps a tray of food would be in order," Akabar suggested.
"Great idea," Olive agreed. "I'm starving. Would you like to hear the ode to the couple?" she asked Alias. "Since you didn't get to hear all of it before. They made me repeat it three times afterward. Everyone was so impressed by it."
"Not now," Akabar answered quietly, elbowing the bard.
Ruskettle frowned and guzzled her drink. She set her glass back down on the table and took a deep breath. "Hey! That wasn't a Black Boar. Barkeep!"
"It happened again, just like the last time," Alias said softly, her voice cracking on the final word. "I should have known it was coming. I remember my arm hurt. I didn't want to lunge at that poor fool or grab that knife, but I wasn't in control. It was like a nightmare. Then the tent fell. I ducked out before anyone else and took off.
"I couldn't stop myself from running. Whatever was controlling me would have made me run until I dropped, but I caught a ride into Suzail on a farmer's wagon. When I remembered the information Dimswart had for me, I tried to jump off and go back, but I couldn't move. It wasn't until twilight that I was free to do as I choose. I came here. I didn't know where else to go." She put her head down again on her knees, and her lean form shook with sobbing.
Dragonbait pulled the hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He stroked her head gently. Ruskettle waved her empty glass, trying to attract the barkeep's attention, but finally settled for stealing Alias's untouched mug of mead.
Akabar stared at the table until the warrior had calmed down. Then he asked, "So, was it the sigils that made you drink yourself into a stupor?"
Alias's head snapped up, and she glared at the mage. "Listen, Turmite, you don't know what it's like to not remember anything. To not know if you're going to forget even more things. To not know who you're going to attack next. First a priest, then a Corrnyrian noble-"
Olive, whose mind had been occupied with memorizing snatches of the song Alias had been singing when they arrived, looked up suddenly, asking, "Did you say a priest?"
"Didn't Akabar tell you?" Alias retorted icily. "I tried to kill the priest who attempted to remove this curse. But it wasn't a curse, it's a thing alive in me."
"The thing, not you, tried to kill the priest," Akabar corrected.
"What difference does it make? I can't get rid of it. It's not going to let me go back to Dimswart to get the information he found for me. Gods! I'm lucky it didn't make me kill Dimswart."
"Maybe this thing was keeping you from the scene of the crime, so to speak," Akabar suggested. "Unless it can make you deaf, I hardly see how it can prevent you from learning Dimswart's information."
"What?"
"I brought Dimswart's information."
Ruskettle's ears perked up, and the bells on Dragonbait's cap jingled again as he tilted his head with interest.
"Well?" Alias prompted.
"First, I want you to promise me something."
"I don't have to promise you anything. This is my information. I earned it."
"True. But who knows what might happen if you try to return to the sage's manor to ask for it."
Alias snarled at the mage. "You desert snake-"
"All I want," Akabar interjected, "is for you to let me accompany you on your quest to remove this thing."
"Are you crazy?" Alias hissed. "Don't I have enough trouble without dragging my frien-complete strangers in on it."
"Who better to drag in it than frien-complete strangers?" Akabar smiled, then he lifted his head proudly. "Besides, I still owe you a debt of honor for helping me to recover my spell book."
Yes, Alias realized, even if he wasn't so anxious to prove he isn't a greengrocer, he'd help me because he's the type who takes debts of honor seriously. "I'm not exactly socially acceptable these days," Alias