City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [131]
“You’re doing just fine,” the little man said. He pressed the tal into her hand. “Drink, now.” He looked back to Daine. “I still can’t tell you exactly what happened, but she’s making an excellent recovery. With a few more days of rest, she’ll be as healthy as she’s ever been.”
“Thank you, Suold.”
“The pleasure is mine. I would imagine it’s safe for her to move about at this point. If you would like to remain here for a few more days, you can settle things with Asdren out front.” The halfling bowed, then trotted out the door.
“I’m fine, Daine,” Lei said. “So don’t tell me that I’m confined to bed.”
“Drink your tal,” Daine said. “Personally, I think the rest would do you good, but if you don’t want to stay here, I’m not about to make it an order. It’s up to you.” He stood up. “But now that you’re conscious, I need to make our final delivery to Alina before she comes to the conclusion that we failed.”
Lei drained the cup of bitter tal and pushed herself out of bed. He legs were a little stiff and she felt momentarily lightheaded, but it quickly passed. “I’m coming with you.”
“What?” Daine said. “Why do you want to do that? I’d avoid Alina, if I had the choice.”
“I can’t just stay here. Especially here. Not after what happened to Jode. Your healer said I was healthy.”
“He also said you needed a few more days of rest.”
She gave him a look. “And you’d lie here drinking broth if you were in my boots?” She took a few steps forward, gingerly at first. “Where are my goods?”
Daine produced her pack from under his chair, and she began to sort through it. She pulled out her leather jerkin. She hadn’t noticed in the battle, but the alchemical bath had eaten through the upper back. She sighed. She could repair it, but it would take time. She pulled out the darkwood staff and frowned.
“Did you do this?” she asked Daine.
When she’d last seen it, the staff had been marred by a half-dozen deep gouges. In places Daine’s blade had almost split the shaft in two. But those marks were gone. It was in perfect condition, even to the polished finish.
Daine shook his head. “I haven’t touched it, other than putting it in your bag.” He scowled. “That squid may have used it to get inside my head. I’ll tell you now. I don’t like that staff, Lei. There’s too much we don’t know. What it can do, why the sphinx wanted you to have it … maybe you should get rid of it.”
Lei set her weight against the staff. It might have been her imagination, but she suddenly felt better—a little stronger, a little more alert. “Don’t be stupid,” she said. “Without the staff, we wouldn’t have survived long enough for Pierce to finish Chyrassk. Once we have a little more time, I’ll sit down with it. I’m sure that I can unlock its secrets.”
“Fine.” Daine shrugged. “Come if you want, but let’s get this done quickly.”
After Daine settled accounts with the Jorascos, they made their way to the lift in silence. As they rose into the sky, Daine turned to Lei. “About what happened down there, Lei …”
“You weren’t in control of yourself. Neither was Pierce.”
“I know, but it felt so real … as if they were my thoughts. I can’t help but wonder if there was some part of me that could have resisted, that should have known.”
Lei put her hand on his arm. “Daine, it’s not your fault. If not for the staff, I would have been just as vulnerable. It wasn’t you.”
He closed his eyes for a moment then looked back at her. “It wasn’t just the staff, Lei.” He sighed. “You’ve known me for a few years, but there’s a lot you don’t know. What I did before I joined the Cyran Guard, how it is I know Alina. I’ve always kept a certain distance between us, and I hope, when I explain, that you’ll understand why.”
She watched him silently.
“But now … now we need to determine what happens next. If Alina pays us—”
“Is this in doubt?” Pierce asked.
“Probably not,” Daine said, “But with Alina I don’t think you can be certain of anything. The question is, what do we do with the gold? Where do we go from here?”
The question hung in the air.