The Dream Spheres - Elaine Cunningham [144]
"I assure you that it is none other," Elaith said.
"Then it is not the one I bought."
Arilyn began to see through the problem. "Did anyone else look at the stone?"
"Two or three people. One I remember in particular. A young woman, very richly dressed and haughty. Her eyes were green, her hair a very bright red."
The half-elf snatched up the stone and seized Elaith's arm. Before the elf could protest, she hustled him out of the shop.
"That's Errya Eltorchul," she said tersely. "We need to speak with her."
Elaith nodded and began to climb the stairs carved into the thick stone wall of a cobbler's shop. The half-elf, understanding his intent, fell into step. They made their way onto the rooftops and set an unerring course for the Eltorchul manor, following a hidden path known only to those who made their way in the shadows.
Arilyn fell easily into the task and into the rhythms of the elf's quick pace. Without speech, they circled the rooftops around the Eltorchul estate until they caught sight of Errya.
The woman was in the garden. They dropped lightly from the wall, flanking her and closing in. Elaith pointed a wand at her. A shimmering ball darted toward her, enclosing her head and shoulders and cutting short her shrill scream. She turned to run, but the elf seized her and sat her none too gently back on the bench.
Arilyn's attention was elsewhere. A familiar-looking cat had vacated Errya's lap and was now sitting crouched a few feet away The tabby's gray tail was lashing in agitation, but there was a decidedly unfeline expression of wrath in the creature's eyes.
It was the cat that Errya had held when they had come bringing word of Oth's death. It was also the tabby Arilyn had seen in Isabeau's chamber in the Eltorchuls' country estate.
It was, in short, one well-traveled cat-if indeed it was a cat at all.
Arilyn leaped, arms outstretched to seize the tabby. The creature vanished in a puff of acrid blue smoke.
"What the Nine bloody Hells was that?" demanded Elaith.
Arilyn looked down at the noblewoman and saw her suspicions confirmed in Errya's look of mingled panic and fury.
"That," she said emphatically, "was Oth Eltorchul."
Eighteen
"It all fits," Danilo said thoughtfully when they brought the matter before him. "That ring Isabeau had at the Eltorchul estate-was it like the one we found on the severed hand?"
"I had not considered that, but now that you mention it, the ring did look familiar," Arilyn admitted. "It was gold and had a pink stone."
"I'd wager that the ring we found was an illusion. The hand as well, no doubt." Danilo began to pace. "Remember the state of Oth's study? The tables were overturned, the floors littered with broken pottery and common spell components, but the shelves, with their valuable vials and scrolls and boxes, were untouched."
"No wonder the Eltorchul family kept Oth's death a secret," the half-elf said. "But why would he wish to appear dead?"
"I can answer that," Elaith said softly. "Much of it, you already know, thanks to Myrna Cassalanter's tattling tongue. The illegal trade in and out of this city is carefully, secretly controlled. For many years, I have been building an empire of my own." He smiled faintly.
"I suppose it is a tribute to my success that I have finally been perceived as a threat. The seven families have been sending me warnings for quite some time now. Some are subtle, some not quite so."
"Such as the tren attack at the Thann villa," Arilyn said.
"That lacked subtlety," the elf said dryly, "but set your mind at ease, Lord Thann. That was not your family's doing. Naturally, it was hoped that I would assume it was and would strike back. This would have given the Thann family reason to join the others in their attempts to have me ousted."
"So the Lady Cassandra has no part in this?"
"I did not say that," Elaith cautioned him. "She may have no choice but to take action."
"What