Windwalker - Elaine Cunningham [89]
CHAPTER TWELVE
cities of the dead
One day in Blackstaff Tower was enough to convince Sharlarra of her error in returning. The round of lessons and chores seemed endless, the opportunities for mischief few. To make matters worse, the Lady Laerel had gone off to visit her sisters, leaving Sharlarra under the watchful eye of the archmage. Not that she was ungrateful-after all, Khelben Arunsun had followed her on her last misadventure and had appeared in time to save her from some very nasty dark elves.
He had followed her.
This thought stopped Sharlarra dead. The cauldron she'd been stirring bubbled over. Paying no heed to the spilled potion or the aggrieved complaints of her fellow apprentice, she spun on her heel and raced up the winding stairs to the small sleeping chamber assigned to her.
She threw open her trunk and rummaged.
Sure enough, the faded satin lining had been peeled aside and her treasure trove plundered. Missing from it were the two perfectly matched bits of pale green peridot she'd appropriated from the bag of gems she'd lifted from Danilo Thann.
So that's how the archmage had been able to trace her steps.
Sharlarra bit her lip and considered her future in light of these new developments. The missing stones were not the only ones she'd taken as a private transaction fee. Several very nice diamonds had entered her possession. They were the perfect accompaniment for the obscenely huge ruby Laerel had left among the gems carelessly strewn across her dressing table. Even before Sharlarra had gone off in search of the drow's ship, she'd had the ruby and the diamonds set into a necklace. There was a dwarf down in South Ward who kept a variety of silver settings on hand, artfully tarnished to suggest vintage pieces. Setting the stones was a small matter of choosing a reasonable fit and pressing the silver prongs firmly around the gems. His services had come in handy more than once. Loose stones vanished into "family heirlooms," and jewelry was quickly recast into less recognizable form. In minutes after leaving the shop, she'd been on her way, and she hadn't taken the necklace off since.
Though the elf had few scruples, she did not steal from her friends. Borrow without permission, yes, but never steal. The necklace was a gift for Laerel, who loved jewelry but couldn't be bothered to shop for it. The beautiful mage would love this gift, not caring in the slightest that the ruby was already her own, but Sharlarra had not seen Laerel since the necklace's creation. She couldn't resist the temptation to wear the opulent piece herself, if just for a short while.
She reached under the collar of her shirt for the chain and undid the clasp. Wearing a fortune in diamonds and rubies had been a pleasant interlude but not one she could afford to continue. As long as she wore it, she was tethered to the archmage by invisible chains of magic.
The elf held the necklace up to admire it one last time-and let out a yelp of surprise and outrage.
The ruby was gone.
Sharlarra called the dwarf every foul name in her extensive repertoire and threw the silver piece into her chest. It landed with a clatter of metal on metal.
Her eyes darted to the chest. The jeweled sword she'd been wearing on her last misadventure lay at the top of the chest. She had not yet had time to replace the gems that the drow warrior had pried from its hilt.
"Damn," she said aloud.
So that was it. Her necklace must have swung free during the fight with the drow. He'd pried out the ruby as well as the ones in her sword. Now, that was a trick she wouldn't mind learning herself! Still, it was odd that he should take the ruby and leave the matched diamonds surrounding it.
If the drow simply wanted to track Liriel, there were enough gems left in the bag to accomplish that purpose. If his interest lay in the value of the stones, he would have cut the chain on the entire necklace rather than pry out a single gem. The ruby had some particular significance.
Well, so