The Alabaster Staff - Edward Bolme [47]
Kehrsyn's mind was awhirl as she let herself be led along. The man clearly lived or worked at Wing's Reach. Who else but the one who'd snatched her skirt from her neck would think to return it there? He'd caught her, then, thwarting the guild's plans. Yet why had he been watching her perform if he wasn't with the guild? But if he was with the guild, why didn't he just steal the staff himself? And if he wasn't, how had he known she was at the Thayan enclave?
"Where are you taking me?" demanded Kehrsyn, hoping it might shed some light.
None of them answered, and a variety of scenarios ran through her mind, none of which seemed even plausible, let alone likely.
What are they going to do with me?
It all became clear. He was a member of the thieves' guild, and had infiltrated Wing's Reach. He had drawn the map of the house. The thieves' guild recruited her, branded her, and used her for its dirty work, then their infiltrator "catches" her after she'd already made the drop to Eileph. Since she's branded, the guild can sell her to someone else as a slave, to be carried off to a distant land on a trade ship. Conveniently, they turn a profit, remove the need to pay her for her services, and excise the chance that their part in the theft might be revealed.
Kehrsyn's jaw dropped in horror and surprise.
No wonder the sorceress never told me her name, she thought. She figured she'd never deal with me again.
Her heart began to beat faster. She knew she had to find a way out of her situation. She walked along placidly for a short distance then pulled hard at her captors' grips, trying to escape. She accomplished nothing save perhaps bruising her muscles. Their grips were as iron bands.
"I'm not a slave!" she growled as she continued her futile struggle.
Kehrsyn felt the hand of the leader clamp firmly across her neck at the base of her skull, fingers pressing into the soft spots behind her ears.
"Quiet," he said.
Kehrsyn relented in her struggles but still kept an eye peeled for an opportunity.
Partway across town, she saw a familiar group of faces, three in number. She had just enough time for a desperate gambit before they passed by.
"You!" she called out, straining against her captors.
"Tell these men to unhand me! I have the protection of Tiglath!"
The outburst brought both groups to an immediate halt.
One of the Tiamatans, a man with a bulbous nose and a high forehead topped with pale brown hair, stepped over to Kehrsyn, his eyes narrowed. Kehrsyn couldn't tell if it was distaste for her bluff or a posture of anger to cow those who held her prisoner.
"Morning," said the man from Wing's Reach, his tone indicating that he was not cowed in the least.
"Olarй," replied the Tiamatan. "I am Horat of Tiamat. What is going on here?"
"Justice," said the leader. "She's a thief."
The Tiamatan studied Kehrsyn's face for a moment then asked, "A thief?"
"Almost pinched her red-handed," came the immediate reply, which, Kehrsyn noted, made no mention of her having leveled him with a kick. "Tracked her to the Thayans. Got her just now."
"Do you have others who will stand witness, mister…?"
"Demok of Wing's Reach. Yes, I do."
The Tiamatan's eyebrows went up and he said, "Wing's Reach, you say? Very well. Now we know… where to inquire after her welfare." He started to turn away but paused for one last moment. "Tell me, if you would," he asked, without turning back to face Demok, "what was it that she stands accused of stealing?"
"That's private," said the other.
"Really?" said the Tiamatan, with evident interest. "I see. Olarй, thief," he said as he glided away to rejoin his compatriots.
"Make them let me go!" implored Kehrsyn. "Tiglath gave me her protection! Are you going to let them handle me this way?"
The Tiamatan stopped and turned back around slowly. He held up two fingers, as if giving absolution.
"No," he said, waving them side to side, "Tiglath gave you her sufferance in a moment of weak