Realms of Magic - Brian Thomsen King [89]
She slid over to make room for him at the bench near the roaring fire.
"The last time I saw you," he said heartily, dropping down beside her, "you were packing your worldly goods before the Fang found your door. Something about the Huhrong's prized stallion turning up in the Fair Street Horse Market?"
Teza winced. The volume of Rafbit's talk drowned out the voices around them and caused heads to turn their way.
"Whisper, Rafbit," she reminded him.
The half-elf grinned good-naturedly. He was used to such advice. "So where have you been?"
"Living among the wild things," Teza replied. She pulled a long swallow from her flagon to savor the fiery taste ofthejhuild. "By the cloak, I missed that."
"When did you come back?"
The thief did not twitch from her pleasant contemplation of the firewine, but her senses jumped alert. She knew Rafbit well enough to hear the slightly tensed tone in his words. There was more than simple curiosity in his question. She replied casually, wondering what he was about. "About two days ago."
Rafbit lowered his voice even further until he actually reached an undertone. "Teza, you are a gift from Mask! Your return couldn't have come at a better time. How about a job?"
She moved then, deliberately pulling a plate of bread and sjorl cheese closer to break off several pieces. While she ate, she studied the man beside her.
Rafbit was an old friend, not a close one and not one she would willingly trust with her life, but still a friend. Her problem was she could never entirely trust his motives. A streak of self-serving maliciousness ran through his character, and it sometimes landed other people in serious trouble. She stared intently into his face, but all she could see was excited query.
"What sort of job?" she asked mildly.
"Come to my place." He hustled Teza out the back door into the bitter blue twilight.
Winter had come with a certainty since Teza returned to Immilmar, bringing snow and freezing winds. People dressed in layers of wool, leather, and furs and hurried more than normal through the busy streets of the Iron Lord's capital.
The tavern Teza and Rafbit had left was a tiny place tucked away in a back alley in the lowest, dirtiest part of the city. It was a place frequented mostly by patrons who had moved beyond the law and did not wish to be bothered by the guardians of the Huhrong's peace. Thus, it was very unusual to see a horse standing against the wall near the exit. Especially a horse of such magnificence and color.
Rafbit's eyes widened when he saw it, and he chuckled. "You're slipping, Teza. Inside taking your ease when this gorgeous animal is out here looking for a new master."
"He's not looking for a master," Teza said dryly. "He's looking for a meal."
"A meal? That horse doesn't look hungry. I've never seen a beast look as healthy as that one." He walked toward the black animal slowly but confidently.
Teza agreed. To her relief, the aughisky had flourished since they returned to the environs of Lake Ashane, and now his glossy sable coat and perfect conformation made him an eye-catcher in a city where most of the horses were short, shaggy work beasts. Already several of her competitors had disappeared. "Be careful," she added, a warning to both the half-elf and the aughisky.
Rafbit reached out to clasp the horse's bridle, the only tack he wore, but the aughisky flung his head away. His long teeth shone against his black muzzle, and his eyes glowed with a strange greenish fire.
Rafbit fell back, swearing. "Gods, what that beast needs is a tenday with a horse-breaker."
"No," Teza sighed. "All he needs is understanding." She whistled softly. Prancing and snorting in the cold air, the water horse came immediately to her side.
Rafbit was astonished. "He's yours? Where on Toril did you