Depths of Madness - Erik Scott De Bie [82]
"I'm hungry," she said. "And thirsty. It's been near a tenday without food, aye?"
Twilight resisted the urge to chew on her lip. Water was worse-they had almost exhausted the last of the waterskins filled with Taslin's conjured water.
"No," Twilight said. "I mean of your life-where you come from."
Slip grinned." 'Tisn't a riveting tale," she said. "Life in Crimel would bore woodpeckers to slumber faster than a Candlekeep sage's lecture on the life of the meadow cricket-even if there were crickets provided."
Twilight was not to be parried so easily. "Why did you leave?"
Slip shrugged. "The usual reasons-adventure, the open road, see the Realms, meet new faces, and…" She trailed off and her face went dark. "Reeman."
"Your sometime mate."
"A rascal if ever there was one!" Slip rolled her eyes. "He did say the nicest things, and he was ever so convincing." Her eyes closed, and a look came over her Twilight recognized only too well.
There was much to this story the halfling would not tell, and Twilight found no fault in the omitting. We all have our secrets, she thought.
"He was a kind lad, my Reeman-all of us loved him. Could talk a dwarf out of his beard or a dragon out of its hoard, then the both of them into leg wrestling. Which the dragon would win, of course." She smiled. "He had a trustworthy face, you understand."
"Perfectly." Twilight knew exactly what she meant, and it occurred to her that Slip possessed such a visage herself.
"And that's where the troubles began."
Slip sat silently for a moment, and Twilight did not press her.
"One night, Reeman convinced me to play at hiding with him, as a ptank on my da-to get all of Crimel stirred up. I'd hide in the woods, and he'd tell everyone a mouther got me." She squinted. "You know what-"
"Yes," said Twilight. She knew the distorted abominations, with their fout gangly limbs and tusks, by description if not by sight.
"Anyway," Slip said. "When everyone was gone looking, Reeman helped himself to all the gold at the temples and the warden's office, and set fire-accidentally, he said-to a few houses… while younglings wete inside."
Twilight felt a chill creep through her body even as Slip hugged her arms tight about her own breast. This had stopped being an innocent tale.
"March wardens followed Reeman, and he came to me for help. I watched as h-he killed-murdered!-two of them with his magic, and tried to run. When he tried to take me too, I-I…" She looked down at her hand, as though a bloody knife had just appeared that only she could see.
Then she looked up at Twilight. "I had to do it, you see? 'Twas the-the right thing, and they cast me out for it!"
After a long moment, Twilight put out her arms.
Slip hesitated a few breaths, her lip trembling. Then her eyes softened with sudden tears, and she snuggled into Twilight's embrace. "Oh, 'Light!" she cried, as that of a child to a mother. "What else could ldo?He killed two of my cousins afore my eyes and younglings besides!" Great sobs wracked her body.
Twilight closed her eyes in helpless sympathy and held Slip as she cried. She stroked the halfling's filthy hair-they were all filthy. Filthy, cold, tired, and heartsick.
How cruel she had been to suspect Slip-Billfora, Twilight remembered, for the story had allowed her to see the true halfling-how heartless. She knew all too well how easily a smile could conceal sadness, and how well tragedy could hide behind innocence.
Finally the tears stopped, and Slip breathed easier. Twilight made no move to release her.
"I was wed, too, once," she said, letting the words slide out. "Neveren. He-"
"Liken, you mean?"
The world froze. Twilight blinked. "What?" Slip blinked up at her. "What?"
There was a pause. Twilight looked at her very carefully. Ideas shot wildly through her mind-fears, anger, betrayal.
"Slip," she said slowly. "I've something important to do, and I need your help."
"Of course!" Slip