Elfshadow - Elaine Cunningham [25]
The blond woman wrapped her arms around his waist and giggled up at him. "Of course you have. I suppose you've been charming all the women from here to Suzail?"
"Fertilizing the fields, more likely," interjected Khelben in a sour tone.
"Bray elsewhere, old donkey," Sheabba snapped. She threw a withering look at the mage, then recoiled in mortification as she realized whom she had insulted.
Danilo noted her dismay and came quickly to her rescue. "You'll be at the festival games tomorrow, Shea, won't you? Oh, marvelous. I'll have to ride in one or two events, but a group of us are getting together at the Broken Lance afterward for drinks. My treat. Meet me there?"
The young woman managed a weak nod of agreement, then she took flight, weaving unsteadily through the crowd.
Danilo sighed noisily and shook his head. "Really, Uncle, the effect you have on women is beyond belief. Don't despair. I've been working on this new spell, don't you know, that might do your social life a world of-Hey, mind the silk!"
Khelben had once again seized Danilo's arm. Ignoring the young man's sputtering protests, the mage drew his nephew out of the room and into a secluded alcove.
Once released, Danilo leaned against a marble bust of Mielikki, Goddess of the Forest, and arranged his cape in artful folds before addressing himself to his glowering uncle. "To what do I owe the honor of this abduction?"
"You've heard about Rafe Silverspur." Khelben was not given to lengthy preambles.
Danilo took a sip of his wine. "No, can't say that I have. What's the good ranger doing these days?"
"Very little. He's dead."
Danilo paled, and a look of remorse washed over Khelben's face. The wizard continued in a gentler tone, "I'm sorry, Dan. I'd forgotten that Rafe and you had become good friends."
The young man nodded acknowledgement. His face was without expression, but he studied the bubbles in his glass for a long moment before he looked up.
"Branded, I suppose?" Danilo's voice was flat, all hint of the lazy drawl gone.
"Yes."
"Rafe Silverspur," Danilo repeated in a distant voice. "Your death will be avenged, my friend."
The vow was spoken quietly, yet no one could hear it and doubt that it would come to pass. Danilo's voice rang with quiet strength and stubborn resolve. Anyone who saw the young noble at this moment would have had a hard time equating him with the smug dandy known to Waterdeep society. His handsome face was dark with fury as he turned to the mage, but his rage was held in check by a control as remarkable as it was unexpected.
"How did he die?"
"Same as all the others-in his sleep, for all we can tell," Khelben responded. "If a ranger as good as young Silverspur could be taken unaware, it's no wonder the Harpers are running around in circles after this assassin."
"The search, I take it, is not going well."
"No," the mage admitted. "That's where you come in."
Dropping back into his foppish persona, Danilo crossed his arms and quirked one eyebrow. "Somehow I knew you'd get around to saying that."
"Indeed," Khelben agreed dryly, recognizing that his nephew's manner covered strong emotion.
"Naturally, you have a plan," Danilo prompted.
"Yes. I've been following the assassin's route, and a pattern is starting to emerge. It leads here." Khelben reached into a pocket and drew out a pewter-framed miniature.
Danilo accepted the portrait and studied it, then whistled in appreciation. "You did this? By the gods, Uncle, there may yet be some hope for you as an artist."
The young man's teasing brought a faint smile to Khelben's face. "I did not know you were a connoisseur of art."
"Art, no. Women, definitely," Danilo said fervently, his eyes still fixed upon the portrait. The subject was a woman of rare and exceptional beauty. Curly raven-black hair framed the perfect oval face and contrasted with her creamy white skin. Her cheekbones were sharp and high, her features sculpted by a delicate