Masquerades - Kate Novak [89]
Jamal rearranged the faded, mildew-ridden cushion at her back and took another sip of her wine. "Ever think of getting some new furniture out here?" she asked the sage.
"Not much reason to sit out here anymore," Mintassan grumbled. "Since they added that blasted magical light to the harbor tower, the sky's too bright. Can't see the stars I chose to observe for my treatise on astronomy."
Jamal looked up at the sky. "The ones you can still see are lovely enough."
"I suppose," the sage said with a shrug. He was eyeing Kel nervously, certain that the boy would flip over the railing any minute, requiring a magical flying spell for his rescue.
The sage leaned nearer the actress and murmured softly, "He-" Mintassan indicated Kel with a jerk of his head "-was looking over the silver tea set, estimating its resale value. He could calculate a twenty-seven percent cut in his head, but he can't read. He said he doesn't need to learn to read. How can he say that? How can he think that?"
"No one's given him reason enough," Jamal replied. "Although I'm sure a clever man like yourself can find some motivation for him."
"Me? Why me?"
"Well, it's not likely he'd want to imitate an old lady with modest thespian skills. Boys need to look up to men."
"Because I'm a man my home has become a shelter for homeless actresses and underage rogues?"
"More likely because you're a powerful mage, remember?" Jamal retorted.
Mintassan shrugged off the comment. "I'm beginning to dread it when Alias goes out after Night Masks. Who knows what shell bring back next?"
"Maybe shell bring back young Victor Dhostar," Jamal suggested.
Mintassan scowled. "I'm not taking him in. I don't even know why I agreed to take Kel," he complained.
"Because Alias asked you, and she's a clever, pretty woman," Jamal stated.
Mintassan flushed ever so slightly. "I'm simply extending her a courtesy because she's a friend of Grypht's," he argued.
"Is that what Victor Dhostar is doing by inviting her to his posh party-simply extending a courtesy?" Jamal asked, peering with concern at a firework that exploded a little too low on the horizon. "I don't imagine he's failed to notice how attractive she is."
"I noticed she was pretty. Said so the first night she came in here. I can't understand why she would have anything to do with Victor Dhostar, though. She's a bright, experienced adventurer. He's a puffed-up greengrocer," Mintassan declared, using the adventurers' term for a merchant.
"Well, when he's not standing in his father's shadow, people seem to think he's pretty capable," Jamal remarked. "If Luer were to die this millennium, Victor might take his place as croamarkh."
"Croamarkh. Oh, that's different," Mintassan said contemptuously, his face illuminated by the light from a distant skyrocket. "King of the greengrocers."
"And he and Alias do have something in common."
"What? What do they have in common?" Mintassan demanded.
"A desire to rid the city of the Night Masks."
"I don't especially like them either," the sage pointed out.
"But you don't care much about Westgate."
"That's not true. I grew up in this city, the same as you."
"And you left it just as soon as you could to go gadding about the planes and other bizarre places. You only think of this city as a convenient place to store all the junk you bring back from adventuring."
Mintassan paused thoughtfully, then shrugged. "All right, I admit it. I find cities boring, full of boring people, present company excepted, of course. Alias wasn't interested in Westgate either when she first came. Dragonbait and you talked her into this job."
"I think Victor Dhostar had more to do with it than we did," Jamal replied.
"Sure. Rub it in," Mintassan grumbled into his wine.
"Still, as you pointed out, Victor Dhostar's just a greengrocer. He really can't do too much to protect her. It wouldn't hurt to have a