Curse of the Shadowmage - Mark Anthony [74]
"What's the matter with a little niceness now and then?" Jewel replied a bit too sweetly.
"Nothing," Cormik grumbled, "except when it's used to draw attention away from the dagger one's holding behind one's back."
"Really, Cormik," she scolded him. "Have I ever given you cause to be so suspicious of me?"
"Frankly, yes."
"Oh, very well!" she said, throwing up her arms in exasperation. "I'll promise to dispense with all semblance of niceness, you mistrustful old walrus. Will that make you happy?"
He grinned at her. "Very happy."
The two tied their horses to a hitching post and quickly disappeared into the throng. Mari, Morhion, and Kellen hitched their horses as well.
"I am going to see if there is an herbalist in the market," Morhion said. "I require some ingredients for my spells. Kellen, would you like to accompany me?"
"Yes," the boy replied earnestly.
"I'll go see if I can buy some supplies for the road," Mari told them. "Let's meet back here in an hour." She whispered into her mount's ear. "Farenth, keep an eye on the other horses, will you?" The chestnut gelding nickered softly, and by that she knew he understood.
Mari watched as Morhion and Kellen wended their way through the market. It was clear from the way he gazed up at the taller man that Kellen worshiped the mage. Why should he not? Morhion was intelligent, powerful, and of noble bearing. Mari supposed she worshiped him a bit herself. Not for the first time, she thought how grateful she was that he had accompanied her on this journey. She could not have done all this without him.
True, the mage could be distant at times, even cold. Yet Mari considered him a close friend, ever since the night he had told her of the terrible pact he had forged to save Caledan's life-a secret he had never shared with anyone else. Mari realized that she and Morhion had something else in common now, for she had made her own sacrifice for Caledan by becoming a renegade Harper.
Oddly buoyed by this thought, Mari set off to complete her tasks. She returned to the horses an hour later to find Morhion and Kellen waiting for her. They helped her pack the foodstuffs she had bought-in small quantities at outrageous prices-into their saddlebags. Just as they finished, Jewel and Cormik reappeared. The two seemed both excited and agitated.
"What is it?" Mari asked. "Did you find out something about Stiletto?"
"As a matter of fact, we did," Cormik replied, glancing around nervously.
"More than we expected," Jewel added. "Er, we may want to get going and talk about this elsewhere."
"Why?" Morhion asked darkly. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing, really," Cormik replied, fidgeting with his numerous rings. "It's just that we finally learned where Stiletto's base of operations is located, and-"
"Where?" Mari interrupted him excitedly.
Before Cormik could answer, the crowd suddenly parted around them. Out of nowhere, a dozen figures materialized, each clad in black and bearing a brightly polished saber. With astonishing swiftness, the men in black encircled the companions. Mari swore. They were surrounded.
"Let me guess," she whispered harshly. "Stiletto's hideout is here in Soubar?"
"However did you guess?" Cormik replied as the thieves closed in.
Fourteen
"Look on the bright side," Cormik offered with forced cheer. "At least we finally found this Stiletto character."
"Actually, Cormik," Jewel countered acerbically, "I think he found us first."
Cormik rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Well, if you're going to get technical about it, Jewel…" Morhion ignored the two fractious crime lords as he paced around the octagonal chamber in which they were imprisoned. Earlier, the thieves had led the companions at sword point through Soubar's muddy streets. Folk had scurried out of their path with averted eyes, which suggested that Stiletto's thugs were well known-and well feared-in the settlement. The thieves had stopped before a rude tent. Inside, under a pile of refuse, was a trapdoor. The companions were forced down a spiral staircase and pushed