The Dream Spheres - Elaine Cunningham [116]
Isabeau brushed aside one of her dark locks and realized that her knees were trembling like aspens. She sank down on the bed and considered this new development.
Tethyr, the land of her ancestors. The suggestion had merit, and it fit well with her new and loftier ambitions. However, it was one thing to decide upon a trip to the distant south; it was quite another to manage it. She had no patron, little money, and slim prospects of getting more before the winter snows set in. The only solution she could devise was to return to Waterdeep and recover the lost treasure. When she had accomplished that, she could return to her homeland in style.
Yes, that was what she would do. Isabeau rose, her mind made up, and continued stuffing the garments owned by some Eltorchul woman into the traveling chest. She would have the dream spheres, and she knew just how to get them.
Let the half-elf and her courtier chase down the magical toys. She would follow them, as the desert jackal slinks after a pride of hunting lions. Jackals ate well, as a rule.
It did not concern her that many had died because of these spheres-some of them at her hand. She would not meet that fate. Arilyn and Danilo were powerful buffers. When they fell, Isabeau would know to retreat.
She began to hum as she finished her packing. The servants who carried her things to the stables and handed her up onto her horse commented with admiration on her courage and resilience.
"I will be fine," she assured them. "I will do very well indeed."
* * * * *
Danilo knew he was dreaming, but he took little comfort from that knowledge. Images, disjointed and surreal, chased each other through his shallow, restless slumber.
A small white kitten playing in a courtyard. The sudden descent of night, and the approach of an owl. He tried to intervene but found he could neither speak nor move. A child chasing a ball into the street, unaware of the carriage bearing down upon her. Again and again-grim variations on the theme.
A cool hand smoothed over his forehead. Still caught up in the tumble of dream images, Danilo responded to this new threat. He seized the thin wrist and tugged. It was a great relief to be able to act at last. On instinct, he twisted and pinned the intruder beneath him.
A familiar voice said his name. He emerged fully from the nightmare and looked down into Arilyn's face. She regarded him calmly, which made him feel all the more nonplussed at being caught so much out of countenance.
"Are my wards and locks so poor that you could easily overcome them?" he asked.
"Probably," she said mildly, "but Monroe let me in."
"Ah." Dan moved aside and let her rise. "Well, that's reassuring. I suppose." He rose and placed his hands to the small of his back as he tried to ease out the stiffness of his restless sleep. "Where have you been?"
"I went after Isabeau."
He froze in mid stretch. "She's dead, I suppose."
"No."
"You're unusually tolerant. In this case, I'm not sure I approve."
"She will get her due," the half-elf said with certainty. "Soon, I'm guessing."
He eyed her sharply. "Meaning?"
"Isabeau claims she took Lilly's place to save her own life. She says she was pursued by Elaith Craulnober. Dan, before you deny the possibility, remember that Elaith probably has the Mhaorkiira. Remember that Lilly might have sold it."
Danilo turned to the window. Dawn was near, but dark clouds blinded the setting moon. "Elaith went after Isabeau once, and it is conceivable that he might do so again, but I do not want to believe that Elaith killed Lilly."
"It is a possibility."
"I know," Dan admitted with a sigh. He rubbed both hands briskly over his face, as if to clear his vision. "Damnation. I've grown rather fond of the rogue, and I truly believed he would honor his pledge. Of late, though, I have discovered reason to doubt my judgment of those around me. I do not know what to make of Lilly's death, but I feel as if I am standing on shifting sands with my family."
"And with me," Arilyn added softly.
"No. You