The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [93]
"Nothing," Cat replied, a little too quickly, Olive thought.
"He said to Jade before he killed her, 'Now you try to steal what you have not earned.' Was he paying you for the job?"
"No. He was my master. I did as he bade me without expectation of any reward. That is the normal way with apprentices and masters."
"You're a little old to be an apprentice. Why else does one mage work for another? Has he promised to teach you some special spells or offered you a particular magic item?"
"What does it matter now that I've left him?" Cat asked archly.
"Well, when we defeat him, his estate is up for grabs, so to speak. If there was something particular you were interested in, it would be yours as far as I'm concerned. Providing, of course, that Flattery still has the item."
"What do you mean?" Cat asked with confusion.
"Well, there was that crystal I mentioned, the one as big as my fist and as dark as a new moon, the one Jade lifted from Flattery's pocket. I'm afraid that's something you'll have to forget," the halfling said. "Jade was holding it when Flattery disintegrated her. Whatever it was, gem or magic, it's destroyed. Of course, that also means he can't use it against us."
"Well, that's very interesting, Mistress Ruskettle," Cat said, trying to appear aloof, "but my master-Flattery, I mean-had many unusual items. One more or less could hardly matter to his power." The woman fidgeted.
"Except the spur," Olive countered, "or he wouldn't be so anxious to get it. I wasn't talking about Flattery's power, though. I was discussing why you became his servant in the first place. I thought this crystal might have had something to do with it, since, when he mistook Jade for you and killed her, Flattery accused her of trying to steal what she had not earned."
"I don't know what Flattery meant. I'm sorry. I really must go study my spells," the mage said, rising from the table. "Please ask Thomas to call for me when the carriage arrives."
Olive sighed as Cat hurried from the room. Most people would have given you enough rope to hang yourself, girl, the halfling thought. I'm just trying to take a few lengths away as a favor to you-and so Giogi and I aren't caught in the noose with you.
Thomas re-entered the dining room with a tray to clear the table. "Excuse me, ma'am. I thought you were finished-"
"Oh, I am, Thomas. Don't mind me," Olive said, waving her hands over the table to indicate he was welcome to continue with his duties. "You've sent for the carriage, Thomas?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"How long will it take, do you think?"
"That all depends on how soon Mister Dzulas is willing to rent a carriage today," the servant explained as he began scraping food scraps into a bowl. "The roads are still very icy this morning, and Mister Dzulas is very attached to his animals and equipment. He'll wait until the sun has had a chance to warm the streets some more. Less than an hour, I'd say."
Olive nodded as Thomas stacked the saucers on top of the dishes. "Last night, Thomas, did Mistress Cat's attacker enter her room directly, do you know, or come in from another part of the house and have to search for her?"
"No one else saw this attacker but Mistress Cat," Thomas said, stressing the word "saw" in such a way that he cast doubt on the existence of the attacker.
"You think she invented it?" Olive asked with a delighted, conspiratorial smile meant to encourage the servant to speak.
Thomas was not so easily drawn out, though. "I would not suggest that, ma'am, only that the… lady may have been mistaken."
"She imagined it, then?" Olive asked.
"She may have had a nightmare," Thomas suggested, "or the cat may have disturbed her in her sleep, and she awoke not exactly sure what was in the room with her."
"Hmm. She does seem the nervous type," Olive commented. More to herself, she mused, "You have to be very careful