The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [77]
She was still wearing the clothing she'd worn the night before. She patted down her vest pockets. Jade's magical purse was still there. "I am an ass," Olive whispered with a chuckle, "for not having figured it out before." Who else, she thought, would have been so bold and cunning as to steal the Wyvernspur's prize heirloom out from under their noses? Who else could have gotten past the guardian? Only my protege, Jade.
Olive's pride decayed within moments. Jade would never steal anything again. The halfling's stomach cramped up again, this time with renewed anguish over Jade's death. She curled into a ball with her fists clenched, trying to fight back her misery.
It was no use. The emotion surged through her and took control. Olive wept, something she hadn't done since her mother had died. She lay sobbing in the straw until she was weak with the effort and had given herself a headache.
She lay there a while longer feeling empty inside. Finally her determination to avenge Jade's death returned. Flattery will pay, Olive thought. He may think he's tough, slapping Cat around and murdering my Jade, but he's about to learn otherwise.
Once I return the spur to Giogi, we'll find out what its secret powers are and use them against Flattery, she thought.
Olive sat up and wiped the residue of the tears from her face. She sniffed, looked at her sleeve, and realized that the dirt and grime she'd accumulated as a burro remained with her. If I'm going to enlist Giogi's help, though, she thought, I need to present a more formidable appearance. I need a bath, clean clothes, a decent night's sleep, and time to think up a plan. I'll contact Giogi in the morning, she decided.
Olive stood, brushed the straw off her clothing, and climbed down from the loft. In another minute, she was outside Giogi's front gate and skating her way along the ice-covered roads, back to her room at Maela's boarding house.
*****
Giogi stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching Cat descend. He was sure there wasn't a more beautiful woman in all of Cormyr. She wore a low-cut gown of lavender satin covered with golden lace. Her long hair was fastened high on her head with a matching golden lace net.
"Is this all right?" Cat asked, halting two steps above him.
"I don't think I'd ever seen mother wear that," Giogi said, trying hard to avoid staring at the dress's decolletage. I didn't know she had anything so, um-"
"Revealing?" Cat suggested, crossing her hands coyly over the gown's neckline, which was nowhere near her neck.
"Small," Giogi said, recovering his wits. "My mother was not as slender as you." He offered Cat his arm.
"Not while she was your mother, perhaps," Cat replied, laying her fingertips on his sleeve and moving down beside him, "but as a girl, she must have been. I found this at the very bottom of the chest. It might have been something she wore when she came out."
"Oh, she was never a debutante," Giogi explained as he escorted the mage through the main hall. "Her father, Shar of Suzail, was a carpenter. He made furniture, of course, but he also supervised the timberwork of all the bridges in Cormyr, and the locks at Wheloon, and they're all still standing. He made a lot of money, but, according to father, he was very humble. King Rhigaerd II, Azoun's father, offered him a peerage for his work, but he turned it down. He said he couldn't do both-work and be a lord. Old Shar begged Father to rescue his daughter, though, when she was kidnapped by an evil mage. That's how my parents met."
"Your mother would have been presented to court, though, when she married your father."
"Yes, I guess she must have."
"Perhaps she wore this then. I didn't want to borrow anything too valuable, but this one fit so well. I did pick out something especially nice for you."
"Pardon?" Giogi asked.
Cat halted and held