The Sapphire Crescent soa-1

by Thomas M. Reid

  "The soldiers came last night, late, after almost everyone was already abed. They told us that Jithelle had marked herself as wizard, had run from the soldiers. It was all so hard to believe, I just couldn't imagine…" Patimi's face screwed up with emotion again, and she cried softly for a few moments before continuing, "Jithelle would never have done that, ma'am. She didn't even know her runes, much less any magic tricks. She was a good girl and wouldn't get into any trouble."

  Patimi sniffed again and looked at Emriana beseechingly, as if expecting the girl to somehow make it better.

  Emriana sighed and consoled the woman again.

  "Of course she wouldn't," she said. "But why were you pretending that nothing had happened? Why aren't the Pharaboldis mourning or even acknowledging her death?"

  Patimi shook her head and replied, "Madam Anista said we don't want the scandal. Because of the plague mostly, but also just because…"

  "The plague? What plague?" Emriana asked, startled.

  "Oh, the soldiers claimed that she and the other man-her lover, they say, though I don't believe it-the soldiers said that both of them were practicing dark rituals and were tainted with the magic plague. Said the bodies"-and Patimi began to sob as she finished-"had to be burned!"

  Emriana sat back, stunned. If the bodies had been burned, that meant that Vambran couldn't have watched the communing spell to speak with the pair's spirits. And no one would hear their side of the story. A thought struck Emriana, then.

  "Patimi, you said you didn't believe that the other one, the man who was with her, was Jithelle's lover. Why?"

  "Because she had her heart set on someone else. She was never interested in Hoytir; no one ever even saw them together."

  "Hoytir? That was the man? You knew him, too?"

  Patimi stared at Emriana.

  "He was one of the stable boys," she breathed, wiping her eyes again.

  "What?" the girl exclaimed, sitting back, her eyebrows raised. "Here?"

  The servant nodded and said, "A decent man, from what I heard, but he and Jithelle never looked twice at each other. He knew his place."

  "What do you mean? Why wasn't it his place to see her?"

  Patimi looked at Emriana for a long time before speaking, and the girl got the very uncomfortable impression that there was sympathy in her eyes.

  "You don't know," the woman said at last, looking away.

  "Know what?" Emriana demanded, forcing Patimi to look at her again. "Tell me," she insisted. "If someone murdered Jithelle and Hoytir, the only way the killers can be caught is if you tell me."

  Patimi nodded and took a deep breath.

  "Because," she said at last, "Jithelle was sharing a bed with Master Denrick."

  When Vambran awoke, he was in his bed at the estate, and half the family was lurking over him, worry creasing their faces. The first person to notice the mercenary's eyes flutter open was Emriana, who yelped softly from the chair she was occupying next to her brother's bed.

  "He's awake!" the girl cried out, hopping to her feet. "Mother, Grandmother! Vambran's awake."

  "Yes, child, we can see that," Hetta said calmly, sitting forward from her own chair on the opposite side of Vambran's head from her granddaughter. "We're not blind or deaf, Em."

  Emriana pursed her lips but said nothing more.

  Uncle Dregaul loomed into view as servants helped Vambran to sit up.

  "You're lucky to be alive," the man said, staring pointedly at his nephew. "Kovrim said he got to you just in time."

  Vambran could see his other uncle lurking in the background, behind Dregaul. He nodded in thanks to the older priest.

  "Yes," Vambran said, acknowledging Dregaul's comment. "I was fortunate."

  "Well, we're all very glad to see you back here, safe and sound," Dregaul said, giving Vambran a single pat on the shoulder.

  Then he turned and was gone, heading out the door. Vambran's mother pushed to fill in the void left by Dregaul.

  "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked, leaning down to get a better look at her son. "Are you still in any pain?"

  Vambran shook his head and replied, "No, Mother. I feel fine, actually. Just a little tired."

  "Well, Kovrim said you'd be all right, but I wanted to hear it from your own mouth. He said the scars from the acid burns would fade in a couple of days." Ladara Matrell's face scrunched up in emotion. "Oh, Vambran, you must be more careful! You could have-could have…"

  The lieutenant reached out with his hand-his right arm, which felt free of injury, he noted-and took hold of his mother's.

  "It's all right," he said. "I'm fine. It was just a mugging, and I was a little careless. It won't happen again." Ladara nodded and wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "I need to talk to Uncle Kovrim for a few moments, though. Alone."

  Hetta nodded and turned to depart. Ladara sprang to the older woman's side to assist her. Only Emriana hesitated.

  "I need to talk to you," she said, giving her brother a level stare. "Soon."

  Vambran nodded and shooed her away. When the two priests were alone in his room, Vambran motioned for his uncle to sit down beside the bed and asked, "What else happened?"

  Kovrim shrugged and replied, "Not much more to tell. After you fell unconscious, I laid a few healing spells on you, had a carriage prepared, and had you brought here. You gave me quite a fright, you know."

  "That was no casual mugging, Uncle Kovrim."

  "How do you know?" the older man asked, worried.

  "Because the woman on the roof flat out told me before she attacked me. They weren't after my coin. They were coming after me specifically."

  "And you think there's a connection with this and what you saw last night?"

  The lieutenant nodded and said, "I'm pretty certain of it. I just don't know how they figured out that I was going to keep snooping around. You're the only person I've told."

  "Someone's been following you around, it would seem," Kovrim said with a sigh. "Mayhap reading your thoughts, eavesdropping on conversations." He shook his head in consternation. "You've gotten into something of a hornet's nest, it would appear. You'd better be doubly careful from now on."

  "What about the stranger in red?"

  "What stranger?"

  Vambran frowned. "The figure on the roof, dressed all in crimson. I didn't get to see his face-he had it covered-but he took care of the mage woman while I was fighting with the two brutes on the ground. Didn't he stick around?"

  "I never saw a figure in red nor a mage there. Only those two men you were keeping at bay. I wondered how you were burned."

  "Right," Vambran said, nodding. "The mage caught me off guard. It was careless and foolish."

  "Well, you'll know better next time." Kovrim said, sitting forward as if to rise. "I'm going to go back to the temple and see what I can find out about the two Waukeenar priests. You get some rest."

  Vambran nodded and waved good-bye to his uncle, but he was deep in thought about other things already.

  Tonight, he decided firmly. I'm going after those fake guards tonight.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "Even if Anista Pharaboldi or her husband are in some way involved in this mess, I honestly don't think Denrick knows what's going on," Emriana said to her brother. She had returned to his rooms right after Uncle Kovrim had left, and they were discussing what she'd learned that day. Vambran paced while she sat cross-legged on his bed. "I was watching him carefully when I told him what we'd seen, and he didn't even react. I made sure I didn't mention any names-well, at the time, I didn't know Jithelle's name-so that if he didn't know, I wouldn't get him riled up. If he was already aware of her death, I think I could have been able to tell, and he didn't blink at all."

  "Maybe," Vambran said, still walking back and forth, pulling at his lips in thought. He had dressed in a fresh outfit and seemed none the worse for wear after his ordeal at the aszraun. "Or he could just be an incredibly good actor. You took an awfully big risk, testing him that way. If House Pharaboldi
wants to keep their connection with the woman quiet, revealing that you know isn't going to help anything."

  "I said I was subtle, Vambran. Besides, I did all that before I knew he was bedding her." Emriana rolled her eyes and sighed. "And before I knew about the attack on you. If I had already found out that there was that strong of a connection, I never would have brought it up in front of him. As it was, I pretended to be exhausted for the rest of the afternoon to avoid seeing him again."

  "Yeah," Vambran said softly. "I'm sorry you had to find that out, Em."

  "Oh, please," she said, forcing a laugh. "You know how I felt about Denrick before. It just confirmed my low opinion of him."

  She gave Vambran a wink, but down inside, she had to admit there was at least a little pain. Finding out anyone wasn't being honest with her would do that.

  "Do you think the maid who told you all this will keep quiet?"

  "I imagine," Emriana replied. "It doesn't help her at all to admit she broke a confidence, especially one her mistress established with her."

  "I sure hope so," said Vambran. "You need to be careful, especially now. If Denrick didn't know before, he's going to find out sooner or later. He's still likely to figure that it was Jithelle you were talking about. He may still get suspicious that you know more than you admitted."

  "And do what?" Em asked dismissively. "At worst, he thinks I knew who it was during the picnic and didn't tell him. In the strictest sense, that's not true, but he might think that. Even so, what's he going to do? Get angry? Refuse to see me anymore? It's not like I'm ever going to allow him to think I'm taking him seriously again. Not when he sleeps with his family's staff."

  "He might not be content with that solution, Em. From what you've said in the past, Denrick sounds like the kind of person who's used to getting what he wants. What if he still wants you, especially now that his secret mistress is no longer around?"

  "It's never going to happen," Emriana said firmly.

  "Or, what if the Pharaboldis are somehow responsible for Jithelle's and Hoytir's deaths? Even if Denrick isn't in on it, once he finds out and mentions that you know about it, don't you think they'll consider you a threat to them? Whoever was responsible for these murders, they won't be afraid to kill again to keep their secrets intact. They tried it once already, today."

  Her brother was looking at her with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

  "You really think assassins would come after me?" Emriana asked, trying to sound off-handed, but more than a bit nervous. "They'd have a hard time getting in here, with all of Uncle Dregaul's security in place to keep me from getting out."

  Vambran stopped pacing and turned to face his sister directly.

  "Em," he said, "I know you're all grown up now, turning sixteen in a couple of days, but please listen to me on this." He reached forward and took his sister by the shoulders, forcing her to see his face. "You're not invincible; neither am I. Look what happened to me today, and I'm trained to expect it. There are people out there who are capable of a lot of unpleasant things, and you haven't been around them like I have. Even though Uncle Dregaul would probably prefer it, you can't hide in here your whole life. I'm just asking you to be careful. There's still so much we don't know."

  Emriana smiled and leaned forward to hug her brother warmly.

  "I know" she said, and held him tightly for a good long time, trying to let some of her worry for him melt away. Then she released him finally and sat back again. "I appreciate it. And I will. But you have to admit, it was a stroke of good fortune, my conversation with Patimi."

  "Yes. That's true," Vambran said, pacing once more. "Though I had already heard about the plague story as of this morning, at least we now know who the victims are. I'm not sure where that gets us, though. Maybe we could find out more from the rest of the staff at the Pharaboldis', or from Jithelle's or Hoytir's families."

  "Now who's talking about taking risks? How are you going to do that without being noticed by the Pharaboldis themselves?" Emriana sat straighter and reached out to grab Vambran by the hand to force him to stop pacing. "More important, why are we trying to figure all this out ourselves? What good is it doing us to stick our noses in this mess?"

  Vambran gave his sister a look that she couldn't read. "Because it's the right thing to do, Em," he said softly. "Because no one else in Arrabar seems at all interested in seeking justice. 'They're just a couple of working class servants,' " he intoned. "Maybe they're even guilty, and everyone has been reading them wrong. But no one has been able to prove it, yet. I can't let that go. Not again."

  There it was again, Emriana realized. Those strange comments her brother was making. What was he talking about? She started to open her mouth to ask him, when suddenly, it hit her. The accident! Aunt Xaphira's disappearance! It all made sense, and the realization made her gasp.

  "What is it?" Vambran asked, concern in his eyes.

  "N-Nothing," Emriana stammered, remembering her vow to keep quiet about the whole affair until the time was right. "Just remembering something Grandmother Hetta told me this morning at breakfast." And, on impulse she added, "About Aunt Xaphira, and an accident."

  Vambran stood very still, staring hard at Emriana, his face losing its color.

  "She told you about that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

  "Only that something happened," the girl replied, taking her brother's hand. "None of the details. She said the person involved would have to tell me in his own good time," she added pointedly.

  Vambran spent so long just staring off into nothingness that Emriana began to worry that she had made a terrible mistake, mentioning her knowledge at all. The realization that it was her brother who had been involved had stunned her too, and she was still sifting through the emotional explosions in her head from that when he finally began to recount the story.

  "I was twelve," Vambran began, "and it was the Night of Ghosts festival at the Generon. Adyan, Horial, and I were bored, so we decided to go take some target practice with a brand new crossbow Uncle Kovrim had given to me. We found a spot where we didn't think we'd bother anyone, but it was a stupid, stupid thing we did, because I shot someone."

  He stopped there, taking several deep breaths and swallowing. Emriana squeezed her brother's hand reassuringly and nodded, urging him to continue.

  "It was Lord Wianar's cousin Rodolpho. It was an accident, but everyone knew that Eles Wianar would bend it to his advantage any way he could. So Aunt Xaphira fixed it. She dressed up like an assassin, hid her face, and managed to get over the walls and out of the city with half the guardsmen in Arrabar chasing her. No one ever figured out the truth."

  "Oh, Vambran, I'm sorry," Emriana said, her voice thick. "That must have been horrible for you! And Uncle Dregaul has held it against you ever since," she said, realizing then the origin of the animosity between Vambran and his uncle. "He blames you."

  That thought made Emriana feel sick to her stomach. She realized for the first time that she truly hated her uncle.

  "He has a right to. Every day since it happened, I've wondered how it must have felt for Rodolpho's family to wonder why someone would want to kill him. I've imagined the pain and hurt that not knowing the truth has caused them." Vambran blinked then and looked at his sister with determination. "I won't be a party to another covered-up killing. That's why I have to do this. I would hope that you would do it just because it's the right thing to do, but if you don't want to…"

  He shrugged and began to pace once more. It was Emriana's turn to feel hurt.

  "I never meant that," she said. "I want to do what's right, too, especially now that I know. I just want to make sure we're doing it for the right reasons, and in the right way. Uncle Dregaul isn't going to like us defying him, especially because of… because of what happened."

  "I don't care what Uncle Dregaul thinks. I'm through cowering at his feet for my past crimes. I'm making amends, and this is my redemption."

  "As long as you realize that he could
be right. If by continuing to dig around, we hurt the family business, are we doing more damage than good?"

  "Are you saying that preserving the 'business as usual' attitude of Uncle Dregaul is more important than bringing murderers to justice?"

  Emriana stared steadily at Vambran.

  "No," she said quietly. "I am saying that we should be subtle, in case we're completely wrong, so that we don't unduly hurt House Matrell. Grandmother Hetta is a proud woman, and she deserves that much from us."

  Vambran stood quietly, considering for a moment, then he nodded and said, "That's reasonable and fair. All right, I'll make you a bargain."

  "Name it," Emriana said, smiling again.

  "I'll keep a low profile while I sniff out what's going on, if you'll promise to be careful and not take any unnecessary risks."

  "Deal."

  "Good. Now, I have something for you."

  "You do?" Emriana said, getting excited.

  "Yes. This was supposed to be your birthday present, and I guess it still is, but you're getting it a day early, after all."

  Emriana couldn't help but smile in glee as Vambran reached into one of his traveling trunks, which had been brought to the estate from Lady's Favor by wagon earlier in the day, and pulled out a small pouch made of fine satin. He handed the thing to his sister.

  "What is it?" the girl asked breathlessly, pulling open the drawstrings and dumping the item inside into the palm of her hand.

  It was a pendant, she saw, a large opal, mostly gray with swirls of mauve, orange, and green, in a teardrop shape. The narrow end had a fine gold chain threaded through it. It took Emriana's breath away.

  "Oh, it's beautiful!" she breathed, holding it up to let it shine in the light. She lunged at her brother and wrapped him in a big hug. "Thank you so much!" she gushed.

  "Hang on," Vambran laughed, freeing himself from her. "Remember the message I sent you?" he asked. When Emriana nodded, perplexed, he pointed to the pendant. "I did it with that."