Shifting Loyalties

by Melissa McShane

  They walked together as far as the rotunda, where Mistress Givvani said, “Good luck to you. And feel free to return any time you have an artifact you need identified.”

  “I will. Thanks again. I don’t know that the hazard deck will be useful to us, but we never turn down magical assistance.”

  She bade Mistress Givvani farewell and strolled across the courtyard to the gate. Unlike the halls, the courtyard was virtually empty at this early hour, and the sound of Sienne’s footsteps on the cobbles echoed back at her from the walls of the surrounding buildings. Their cold, forbidding façades made her grateful she wasn’t a student at the university, constantly watched over by the marble bas-reliefs carved into every conceivable surface.

  Now she looked around for a quiet place to jaunt home from. Maybe it was an indulgence because being able to jaunt amid distractions was more useful to her team, and she ought to look for opportunities to practice, but jaunt took long enough to cast she didn’t like being stared at while she did so. The portico of the library was empty; that would do as well as anywhere.

  She tucked herself away in a corner of the broad, imposing portico and opened her spellbook. Transport spells were all long and cut her mouth to ribbons, which was why she rarely used them. Today, she was in a hurry. She began reading the spell and immediately tasted blood. Swallowing, she read on. A quivering tension began in her stomach, radiating gradually outward until she felt something was gently pulling on her in every direction. The tension grew more intense until, spitting out the final syllable, she released it all at once and found herself in her own bedroom, breathing heavily. She swallowed more blood and closed her eyes as she recovered—another indulgence, since if she had to do this under pressure, she wouldn’t have time to recover. Then she dropped her pack on the bed and headed downstairs to the sitting room.

  The normally peaceful sitting room, rented from their landlord at a better than reasonable price, overflowed with backpacks and canvas bags. Dianthe sat on the sofa and studied the contents of one of them. “We have to reduce,” she said. “This will cost far too much to ship.”

  “I thought we had enough money not to worry about that anymore,” Sienne said, taking a seat next to her.

  “No reason we can’t still be frugal, as I believe you pointed out. And we still have to carry this lot.” Dianthe leaned back and blew out her breath. “And we’ll buy supplies for the actual journey in Chirantan, so you can multiply what you see here by five.”

  Three sets of footsteps sounded in the hall. “You’re back,” Alaric said. “Did they know what the hazard deck was?”

  “Yes. It’s exciting. Random, but exciting. I don’t know how useful it will be.”

  “I prefer stability, myself,” Perrin said, pushing his long hair back from his face. “Uncertainty may be the spice of life, though I am not certain that is the saying, but how much better to know one’s path.”

  “You don’t like surprises?” Dianthe said.

  “Not at all.”

  “I agree,” Kalanath said. “Surprises can be not pleasant.”

  “Or they can be exciting!” Sienne exclaimed. “I had no idea you two were so stodgy.”

  “It is not stodgy when surprise means, hello, I am here to kill you,” Kalanath said.

  “That almost never happens.”

  Distantly, she heard a knock at the back door. “Are we expecting company?” Alaric asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Dianthe said. “I hope it isn’t someone looking to hire us. I hate having to turn people down.”

  Kalanath turned and disappeared down the hall. Perrin entered the room and sat on the chair across from Dianthe. Alaric went to Sienne’s side and leaned down for a kiss. “So, can you be more specific about the deck?”

  “Well, each card—”

  Kalanath returned, his eyes wide. “Perrin,” he said, “it is a surprise for you.”

  Perrin looked up, startled.

  “Papa!” two small voices shrieked. Delphine and Noel Delucco dashed into the room and flung themselves at their father. Perrin’s arms reflexively went around them, surprise deepening to stunned amazement.

  “Children,” he said, “what are you—”

  Another figure entered, more sedately. One look at Cressida Delucco’s face, though, told Sienne she was anything but serene. “I’m sorry, Perrin,” she said in her husky alto, “but we had nowhere else to go.”

  Perrin rose awkwardly, hampered by two children clinging to him. “Why should you need to go anywhere?”

  “Because your father intends to take our children away from me,” Cressida said.

  About the Author

  In addition to the Company of Strangers series, Melissa McShane is the author of more than twenty-five fantasy novels, including the novels of Tremontane, the first of which is Servant of the Crown; The Extraordinaries series, beginning with Burning Bright; and The Book of Secrets, first book in The Last Oracle series. She lives in the shelter of the mountains out West with her husband, four children and a niece, and four very needy cats. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, which is much more fun than anyone ought to be allowed to have.

  You can visit her at www.melissamcshanewrites.com for more information on other books.

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