Venom's Taste - Lisa Smedman [55]
In short, jerky sentences, Arvin told Gonthril about the agonizing pain the liquid had produced, being dragged before the statue of Talona, fighting his way free, falling into the rowboat and escaping, losing consciousness-and coming to again, only to realize he’d left Naulg behind. He started to talk about going back to the Mortal Coil, but Gonthril cut him off with a curt, “That’s enough.” He stared at Arvin for several moments before speaking again.
“Are you human?” he asked at last.
“Yes.”
The first two fingers of Gonthril’s right hand crossed in a silent question: Guild?
“Yes.” The ring jerked a further admission out of him: “But I don’t want to be.”
That made Gonthril smile. He nodded at Arvin’s gloved hand. “Given the way they treat their people, I don’t blame you.” Then came another question: “Who are you working for now?”
Arvin could feel his lips and tongue starting to produce a z sound, but somehow the answer-Zelia-got stuck in his throat. “Myself,” he told Gonthril. “I work for myself.”
“Are you a member of House Extaminos?”
“No.”
“How do you feel about the yuan-ti?”
Arvin didn’t need the ring to answer that one honestly. “I don’t like them much, either.”
That made Gonthril smile a second time. “Why did you come here?”
“I wanted to talk to you. To learn more about the cultists. I thought you might be able to tell me something. Something that would help me save my friend. Like where I can find the cultists.”
Gonthril shrugged. “On that point, your guess is as good as mine.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal flask-either the one Kayla had recovered from the cultist, or one exactly like it. “Do you know what’s inside this?” he asked.
Arvin shuddered. “Yes. Poison. Mixed with plague.”
“You drank it, and it didn’t kill you?”
Arvin found himself paraphrasing what Zelia had told him. “I have a strong constitution. The plague was driven out of my body. Talona was unable to claim me.”
Gonthril stared at Arvin, a speculative look on his face. “Interesting,” he said. “You called her clerics by a name-the Pox. Tell me what you know about them.”
Arvin summed up what little information he had, concluding with, “They’re a cult. Of Talona. They want to kill everyone in the city.”
“How?”
“By tainting the public fountains. With what’s in those flasks.”
“When?”
“I don’t know. Soon, I think.”
“What do you know about House Extaminos?” Gonthril asked.
Arvin frowned, confused by the sudden turn the conversation had taken. His mouth, however, answered of its own accord. “They rule Hlondeth. They’ve lived here for centuries. Most of them are yuan-ti. Lady Dediana-”
“I didn’t ask for a history lesson,” Gonthril said, holding up a hand to stem the flow of words. “I meant to ask if you knew what their role is in all of this.”
“What do you mean?” Arvin asked.
“A member of the royal family was observed meeting with Talona’s clerics. They turned over several captives to him. Human captives. Including one of our members. Do you know anything about that?”
“No,” Arvin answered honestly. He mulled this new information over in his mind. Zelia had been certain that the Pox weren’t acting on their own, that someone was backing them. Could it really be House Extaminos? Why would the ruling house want to spread plague in its own city? Unless there was a coup in the works.
“Which member of the royal family?” Arvin asked.
Gonthril’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you want to know that?”
“I suspect a yuan-ti might be behind the Pox. I want to know who it is.”
“Why?”
“Because I need…” Arvin’s voice trailed off as a fierce throbbing gripped his temples. Compelled by the ring, he’d started to answer honestly-to tell Gonthril that he needed to report this information to Zelia-but another answer was also trying to force itself out through his lips at the same time. That he needed to know if Sibyl was involved. Who that was, he had no idea-the name had just popped into his head. He knew where it had come from-the mind seed. Already, just a day and a half into