The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [46]
She took two fast steps to the side so she faced them both. Tycho glanced quickly up and down the street. They were-for the moment-alone, most other citizens of Spandeliyon having already sensibly retired to their homes or favorite taverns for the evening. There were still people abroad though and he had no desire to be caught threatening a member of the guard, even one as corrupt as Desmada.
"Look," he said to her quickly, "we're just trying to find out what happened to some gems. If you could help us out-"
"I don't know anything about any gems."
"They belong to Brin," Li growled. Tycho winced and shot the Shou a foul glance. Desmada just snorted again, this time with laughter.
"You lost gems that belong to Brin? No wonder you're desperate." She eyed them both carefully. "You walk away now and I won't pass that little bit of news on around dock-side. Fair?"
"Desmada-"
The guard drew out a few inches of her sword. "Walk away, Tycho," she said harshly. "I don't know anything about your gems."
Tycho sighed and shrugged. "You know, I'd like to believe you, Desmada, but you should just cooperate and answer all my questions truthfully".
He let the command roll out of him in a baritone wave of almost-song, the music carrying the magic of a subtle spell. Desmada's face went slack for a moment as the enchantment sank into her mind. Li glanced at Tycho with an impressed expression. "Will it work?"
Desmada glanced between them. "Will what work?" she demanded.
"Never mind." Tycho flicked his fingers at Li, waving him to silence. The magic was potent but also delicate. Desmada would obey his suggestion, but the magic wouldn't stop her from attacking them or simply walking away. He kept on smiling at her. "Please, let me ask you again, Desmada: What do you know about the beljurils that were stolen from me at the guard station?"
The same slack expression of a moment before rippled across Desmada's face. "Nothing," she said.
Tycho blinked and glanced at Li. The Shou seemed startled, too. "Nothing?" Tycho asked. "You really know nothing about the stolen gems?"
"That's what I told you, isn't it?"
"Do you know of any other guard who would have tampered with my things while I was locked up?"
"No," Desmada snapped irritably. Tycho sucked on his teeth. It had to be the truth-his spell compelled her. At least, it compelled her to answer with what she thought was the truth.
"Did you see ray things at all?" he asked. "Did you see a tin tube tied with green cord?"
"Yeah, I saw them. And I saw the tube." She shrugged. "I saw it before I saw you, actually. I didn't even know you'd been arrested until Jacerryl told me."
Tycho stiffened. "Jacerryl? Jacerryl Dantakain?" Desmada nodded. "When did you see him?"
"When he brought your things to the guard station. He said Mard had rushed on ahead with you two under arrest and left him to bring your belongings along afterward."
Jacerryl.
Tycho took a deep breath as everything came together in his mind. Unlike Desmada, Jacerryl had known there were beljurils inside the tube. And he'd already passed the tube off, so if the beljurils went missing, it wouldn't be his fault. All the gems had been accounted for when the tube left his possession. He even had the perfect cover in the form of his brother's law-abiding honesty! Tycho could almost hear Jacerryl's voice whispering in his hood-covered ear again: Mard sticks to the law like honey. They'll be safe. Why had he been so close? A second breath turned into a hiss. It had probably been Jacerryl's hands that had taken the tube in the first place!
The perfect opportunity-all Jacerryl had needed to do was act quickly.
Tycho squeezed his eyes shut. The white gravel that Brin had shaken out of the tin tube. He'd seen that, too. It filled the pots of evergreen branches in Mard Dantakain's entrance hall, the pots he'd stood beside while Jacerryl gave him the beljurils. He