Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [109]
A sudden, cold splash struck him, dragging him back to full awareness. Xzorsh shook the water from his eyes and gazed with amazement up at Liriel. The drow girl stood over him, an empty bucket in her hands and an impish grin on her dark face.
"Thought you might be getting homesick,'; she said lightly.
"How are you here?" Xzorsh demanded. "i did not see you come in."
"No one did," the drow retumed. "And i don't think theyd be pleased if they knew about it. You two are neckdeep in trouble."
"Where is Hrolf? Surely he can tell them we mean no harm!"
Liriel's face turned grave. "i don't know. No one has seen him all day. He has been known to go off alone now and again, but he couldn't have picked a worse time! A few of the Elfmaid's crew are willing to speak for you, but their words are not heard over the blathering of that wretched ibn!"
"HrolPs first mate does not have much love for elves," Xzorsh admitted.
"Do tell," Liriel agreed with a touch of sarcasm. She had ample proof of that from her personal experience with the man, and she felt an unexpected twinge of kinship with the captive and misunderstood sea elves.
Even so, she herself was not entirely certain the Ruathen's accusations were unfounded. She had come to think of Xzorsh as an ally, perhaps even a friend. Yet she had been raised to distrust all the fair races of elves, and her drow indoctrination had left its mark.
"Why did you come to the island?" she asked bluntly.
"i heard the Elfmaid had disappeared. You know i am pledged to protect Hrolf and his crew. I wished to know he was safe. I also wished to leam how such a thing was done."
Liriel tipped her head to one side as she considered the sea elf. To all appearances, he was sincere. Yet there was something in his eyes-a touch of hunger, a hint of some personal agenda-that set off alarms in her dark-elven mind.
Her fingers crept up to her clerical symbol, and she silently cast the spell that would enable her to know whether his motives were more closely allied with aid or evil. Looking into Xzorsh was an odd experience-iike being drawn deep into the heart of a flawless gem. The facets were there to add interest, but the color and substance within was consistent with the surface beauty. Like Fyodor, this male was what he appeared to be.
The drow tumed to Xzorsh's friend, whose dull eyes regarded her with a mixture of fear and contempt. The last time she'd seen this elf he'd hurled a spear at her; his disposition did not seem to have improved in the interim. But as she cast the spell of knowledge a second time, she expected a brief swim in his suspicious but otherwise nobleminded depths. To her surprise, the results of the spell were anything but positive.
A hideous image popped into her mind: a fish-man creature with green-scaled skin, black fins, and enormous round eyes bright with malevolence. A nimbus of vicious, sadistic energy crackled around the creature-the aura of pure evil.
"Sittl, no!"
Xzorsh's despairing cry tore Liriel free from the disturbing spell. She blinked, focusing in on the sea elPs sullen but otherwise handsome face. A moment passed before she realized that his eyes were dry and fixed, his breathing a barely perceptible gasp.
"He is dying," the ranger said, and his green eyes pleaded with the drow. As Liriel met his gaze, she suddenly realized that Xzorsh was looking none too well, either.
The drow snatched up the empty bucket and chanted the words to a simple spell. She upended it over Xzorsh's head, sending a fall oflife-giving water cascading over both the males. After a few moments of this, the unconscious elf began to stir.
"Put the bucket down," Xzorsh said urgently. Liriel did so, and to her astonishment the ranger