City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [62]
“Or there may never have been a Hugal or Monan.”
“My guess is that one has always been a changeling and the other is human,” Jode said. “Changelings aren’t inherently evil, but few people trust them.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Daine said.
“They’re just people, Daine. This Monan could have met Hugal at an early age. They took a liking to one another and decided to be ‘brothers’. It’s not that uncommon, from what I hear. I’ve heard that other changeling communities have a set of identities that they share, so you could have six changelings who take turns being Lei, Jode, or Daine.”
“Or Hugal or Monan.”
“Exactly.”
Daine scowled. “So Greykell, you don’t know anything about this, what these people were up to, or why they might have attacked us?”
“Well …” She pondered a moment before continuing. “If you assume it was Monan you were dealing with, there are a number of factors to consider. You are all members of the Cyran army, but so am I, and I haven’t been attacked yet. Your companion has the Mark of Healing—speaking of which, Jode, would you mind helping Hulda over there? She’s got four more cases of flameworm fever. And then there was that friend of yours from the sketch. I’m putting my money on one of the last two. So, seeing as I’ve taken it on myself to maintain order in High Walls, would you like to tell me what that’s really about?”
“What do you mean?”
She tapped her good eye. “Only half-blind, Daine. Your Jode is a smooth talker, but I don’t believe that ‘second cousin’ story for a minute. The way I see it, either Monan and his strange friends were working with this Rasial and were trying to protect him from you—or they want him dead, and you happened to be more convenient. You want to tell me about it? And while you’re at it”—she turned to look at Lei, who was sitting quietly with her eyes closed—“you want to tell your friend here to stop trying to read my mind? If you’ve got questions, just ask.”
Daine blushed and tapped Lei on the shoulder. She blinked and dropped the carved stone. “She’s telling the truth,” she said.
“I could have told you that for free,” Greykell grumbled.
“All right, Captain Greykell,” Daine said. “But I’m not comfortable talking here. Come back to our room at the Manticore and I’ll tell you what we know.”
Greykell grinned. “Sounds good. I’ve always wanted to try their gruel. I hear it’s top notch.”
Daine shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of gruel in my day, and honestly, it’s just fair.”
“Aberrant dragonmarks?” Greykell frowned. “As in, ‘Eat your candied jask roots or the Lady of the Plague will steal you away in the middle of the night?’”
Daine nodded. “You said you’d seen Rasial talking to Hugal or Monan, right?”
“I think so … but it’s just a vague memory. A discussion in the marketplace, maybe a week ago.”
“That might be about right. Rasial was supposed to be transporting contraband goods for my employer. He returned with the goods two days ago but never made his delivery. I wonder if he was working another deal on the side.”
“Or two,” Jode commented. “The Tarkanans seemed eager to find him. It may just be family bonds, or there could be more to it.”
“What was the delivery?”
“Some sort of rare dragonshards.”
“But none of the attackers had dragonmarks,” Greykell said. “What possible good could the shards do for them?”
“Different types of dragonmarks have different purposes,” Lei explained. “These are Khyber dragonshards, and they can bind the energies of dragonmarks and other sources of magical power. Thinking about it, I can see the value. I don’t know how, but someone seems to have woven unnatural abilities into these people, the same way I can place enchantments into objects. Perhaps these dragonshards can streamline the process. If the dragonshard was grown up and suspended in a liquid medium … I don’t know. It’s all theoretical. Is there a skilled artificer in the community, Greykell? Or possibly a transmuter?”
“Sure,” Greykell said. “Old Jol, who lives in the tent