Viper's Kiss - Lisa Smedman [10]
He shrugged. "Old buildings don't interest me."
It was the wrong thing to say. Karrell tossed her head. They interest me," she said. "That is why I came north: to study architecture. The yuan-ti have a particularly graceful style, with their arches, spirals, and towers."
Arvin realized there might be more to the woman than just a pretty face. "Are you an architect?" He glanced at the bag at her feet. Like him, she was traveling light.
"Architecture interests me," she said. "I make sketches of buildings." She tilted her head. "Old buildings."
Arvin scrambled to salvage the conversation. He dredged up what little he knew about the subject, casting his mind back to the "lessons" the priests had given at the orphanage-lessons that were delivered to the backs of the children's heads while they worked. The lessons helped the priests convince themselves they were educating and instructing the children, not just profiting from their labors.
"The Coiled Tower was built in…" Damn, the date had eluded him. Was it 641 or 614? He could never remember. "In the year of the city's independence," he continued, reciting what he remembered of his lessons. "The Extaminos Family erected it to honor the snakes that saved Hlondeth from the kobolds. The ones Lord Shevron summoned with his prayers. The snakes, that is-not the kobolds."
Karrell's lips twitched. A smile?
"The year was 614," she said. "Eighty-five years after your people and mine first made contact."
"Your people?" Arvin prompted.
"My father's tribe." Karrell made a dismissive gesture. "You will not know their name."
"I might," Arvin said. "Where did you say you were from?"
"The south."
She was right. He knew little of the people to the south and probably wouldn't have recognized the name of her tribe. But he wasn't completely ignorant of geography. "By your accent, I'd say you were from the Chultan Peninsula," he commented. "That's where the flying snakes come from, isn't it?"
She gave him a sharp look.
She obviously didn't like snakes-they had that much in common, at least. Arvin quickly changed the subject. "You must have been traveling a long time," he continued. "What places have you visited?"
"I was most recently in Hlondeth, sketching the buildings that Dmetrio Extaminos was restoring. I had hoped to meet him and talk to him about his project but learned he had returned to Sespech to take up the ambassador's post."
"Is that why you came to Sespech?" Arvin asked.
Karrell shook her head. "No. I came to sketch the palace at Ormpetarr. But I am glad to have met you." She leaned forward and rested a hand on Arvin's knee. "Will you introduce me to Dmetrio Extaminos?"
Arvin hesitated. Karrell's answers to his questions had been short and evasive. What if she was a spy, or even an assassin? Even if she was exactly what she claimed to be, he could think of a dozen reasons to say no. Dmetrio didn't know about Arvin's mission- to him, Arvin would be nothing more than a "rope merchant's agent" that he was to introduce to Baron Foesmasher. This would give Arvin an excuse to chat informally with Dmetrio, to find out-with a little prompting, in the form of a psionic manifestation-if Dmetrio knew anything about Glisena's disappearance. Dmetrio had been courting Glisena for several months; there was a chance that her disappearance was part of an illicit elopement. If it was, the alliance between Sespech and Hlondeth would unravel as quickly as a frayed rope.
Arvin didn't need a stranger hanging about while he asked Dmetrio delicate questions. Nor did he want her tagging along behind him in Ormpetarr. The next thing he knew, she'd be asking for an introduction to Baron Foesmasher and a tour of the palace.
On the other hand, Karrell was the most beautiful woman Arvin had ever met. And the touch of her hand on his knee-even through the thick wool blanket-was sending a welcome flush of warmth through him.
Karrell raised her free hand to her chest, making a brief, imploring gesture that reminded Arvin of the silent