Raven Ring

by Patricia C. Wrede

  Climeral smiled slightly. “It depends on what you mean by control. Since Eleret is not a magician, she cannot enhance the ring’s abilities, though a direct effort of will could shut the spell off temporarily.”

  “Oh, now that’s really useful.” Karvonen snorted derisively. “Just what you want to do when the Shadow-born are after you—shut down the only thing you’ve got to protect yourself.”

  “Does the ring warn about other things besides shadow magic?” Eleret asked Climeral, frowning. “Because it’s warned me several times, and if the Shadow-born are all bound—”

  “That is the worst of my news. At least one of the Shadow-born has loaned a portion of its power to a human sorcerer, for what purpose I do not know. It is that power—indirect and filtered through another—that you have felt these past few days.”

  “Mobrellan,” Eleret murmured. She was not really surprised.

  “Are you sure this guy is a Human, and not a Wyrd or Neira or Shee?” Karvonen asked. “Because Human shapeshifters aren’t all that common, and—”

  “He is Human,” Climeral said. “I doubt that he has been a shapeshifter for long. The talent probably woke in him when he began using the power of the Shadow-born, and that is a matter of months, at most.”

  “Well, no wonder…” Karvonen sat back, looking simultaneously enlightened and disgusted about something, but though Climeral waited a moment and Daner gave him a pointed look, he did not comment further.

  “If this sorcerer is already using shadow magic, why does he want Eleret’s ring?” Daner asked.

  “That, I could not determine,” Climeral said. “He guards himself well. Perhaps he thinks it more powerful than it is, or fears even a minor disruption of his new abilities. Or perhaps he has some use for it—someone he wishes to protect, for instance. Without knowing more about him, I cannot guess his purpose.”

  “Power,” Eleret said, thinking of the leaping fires she had seen on the Mage of Flames. “He wants power, and more power—and the more he gets, the more he wants.”

  “How can you be sure of that?” Daner said. “Was it something he said last night, when he was pretending to be me?”

  “No, it’s the card, the Mage of Flames. It was in the chart Jonystra did, too.”

  “The Mage of Flames stands for power misused, certainly,” Climeral said. “But your interpretation goes far beyond that.” He leaned back, awaiting an explanation.

  Eleret told them what she had seen in the card, finishing, “He’ll never be satisfied, no matter how great he becomes. But how could my ring be of any help to him?”

  “You must discover that for yourself,” Climeral said. “And remember that the card, and what you saw in it, may bear other meanings.”

  “What did you see in the other cards?” Prill asked.

  “Mostly just the pictures moving. The Breaking Tower fell into the sea, the Mason worked on her wall, the Raven flew.”

  “And the Shadow-Mage?” Climeral said gently.

  “It touched the candle, and the candle turned to powder,” Eleret said, trying to repress a shiver and not altogether succeeding. “And then it started to turn toward me. There was a chain on its wrist, I think, but I couldn’t see clearly. And it laughed.”

  Climeral looked startled. “You heard something in the cards?”

  “Wasn’t I supposed to?”

  “It is…a little unusual. You must have been concentrating very hard.”

  “Or else you had bad oysters at breakfast this morning,” Karvonen put in. “Speaking of which, isn’t it time for lunch?”

  “We still have things to discuss,” Daner said.

  “Can’t you talk and eat at the same time?”

  “Prill can take you to the refectory,” Climeral said, and smiled at Eleret. “Lord Daner and I will join you in a few minutes. We have a discussion on the reality of Shadow-born to finish.”

  Daner gave Climeral a look of mild surprise. “Do you really think it’s still necessary—”

  “It’s necessary. Prill, see to our guests. And don’t forget your other errands once they’re settled.”

  “Nijole’s cards and the scrolls from the library,” Prill said, nodding. “Do I tell Nijole what happened, when she asks, or do I get yelled at?”

  “Refer her to me,” Climeral said.

  With an air of suppressed glee, Prill nodded again and ushered Eleret and Karvonen into the hall. “This way, Freelady,” she said as the door closed behind them, and then skipped three paces down the hall to the left. Seeing Eleret’s slightly startled expression, she stopped. “Sorry, Freelady, but I can’t help it. The expression on Nijole’s face…I can hardly wait.”

  “I understand,” Eleret said, and smiled, thinking of the weaponsmaster in Calmarten who had trained her with the raven’s-feet. Eleret had never had an opportunity to surprise him as Prill expected to surprise Nijole, but she would have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. “Go ahead and skip.”

  Prill grinned and started down the hall once more, not quite skipping, but very light on her feet all the same. “I’m glad someone got some joy out of all that,” Karvonen said as they followed in a more decorous fashion.

  “I know you don’t like wizards, but—”

  “It’s not a matter of liking or disliking,” Karvonen said in a patient tone. “It’s policy. I like your Adept Climeral very well; I’d just prefer not to be mixed up in his business.”

  “It’s not his business, it’s mine,” Eleret said. “And you don’t seem to like Daner much.”

  “Tactful, aren’t you? That’s another thing entirely.” Karvonen gave her a sidelong look. “That’s not policy, it’s personal. And anyway, he doesn’t like me.”

  They turned a corner and crossed a large courtyard. “Well, do me a favor and stop sniping at him,” Eleret said. “I have the beginning of an idea of what to do next, and it would be useful if you were cooperating with each other.”

  Karvonen’s eyes went wide, and he stared at her for a moment. Then he gave her a smile that held not only all his usual careless charm but also an underlying warmth like glowing embers. “I’ll do you all the favors you want.”

  “Um. Good. I think.” Eleret looked away, unsettled and unsure of exactly what had unsettled her. Karvonen certainly has a knack for throwing people off balance, she thought. Now, if he could just catch Mobrellan with his bow unstrung…

  “Here we are, Freelady,” Prill said, pushing open a set of double doors. “Savrik, these are Adept Climeral’s guests; he and Lord Daner will be joining them in a little while. Will you see that they’re taken care of? I’ve got errands to run.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  BY THE TIME DANER arrived, Eleret and Karvonen were seated at one of the long tables, their tin plates heaped with snowy chunks of fish mixed with carrots and an unfamiliar gray-green vegetable. One of the servers appeared with another plate as Daner slid onto the bench opposite Eleret.

  “What kept you?” Karvonen said. “And why couldn’t it have kept you a little longer?”

  Daner did not look up from his plate. “Climeral wanted to show me a few things.”

  “And did he?”

  “More than I wanted to see.” Daner’s expression was grim as he looked at Eleret. “I don’t suppose I can talk you into staying here until we catch that shapeshifter, can I?”

  “No,” said Eleret. “Why should I?”

  “Because the school is probably as close as we can get to a safe place right now, as far as you’re concerned. Even if Mobrellan can get past Climeral’s wards, the detection spells will let you know he’s here. And there are enough Adepts here to take care of him, shadow magic and all. Are you sure—”

  “I fight my own battles. And staying safe doesn’t win wars.” Assuming that staying safe is possible, Eleret thought.

  Daner sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.”

  “Then why’d you bother asking?” Karvonen said.

  “Karvonen.” Eler
et waited until the little thief looked at her, then went on, “You said you’d stop that.”

  “Not exactly. And it’s a hard habit to break.”

  “Then work at it.” She looked back at Daner. “Are you going to try to block my strokes again?”

  “Block your—Oh, I understand.” He looked down and shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry about this morning, Eleret. I…shouldn’t have done it.”

  “And now?”

  “I won’t try to make you stay here. If I can’t persuade you…” He shrugged. “I’ll just have to be twice as careful when we’re on the street.”

  “It’s not just that.” Eleret frowned, trying to put into words something that all Cilhar understood in their blood and bones. “An army or a battle team can only have one commander, or it doesn’t work well. And you’re not just acting as if you’re the one in charge; you act as if you’re working entirely alone. I don’t know why—”

  “I do,” said Karvonen.

  Eleret looked at him, but his expression was serious and his voice did not have its usual mocking edge. “Why, then?”

  “It’s because he’s so used to being my lord Daner Vallaniri, second heir to Lord Breann tir Vallaniri of Ciaron.”

  “Bah!” said Daner. “That’s absurd. I don’t trade on my rank.”

  “No,” Karvonen said, still seriously, “but you’re used to having it. When you ask about something, things get done your way, without argument. Most of the time, you don’t even have to ask. So you don’t think to find out how Eleret wants them done.”

  “He’s probably right,” Eleret said. “And you’re going to have to stop. If it comes down to it, it’s my ring and my problem, not yours.”

  Daner looked as if he had bitten into a sour apple. “This seems to be my day for lectures. Very well, I’ll try.”

  “Good,” Eleret said. Daner looked at her in some surprise, and she smiled. “I want your help, so it’s nice to know I can have it.”

  Daner returned her smile. “You’d have it in any case.”

  “You don’t understand,” Karvonen said. “It’s not a matter of your willingness to help, it’s a matter of her willingness to have you. If you’d said you couldn’t accept her command, she’d act without you.”

  Startled, Daner looked at Eleret, who nodded. “I see,” he said, and for a few minutes everyone ate in silence.

  “I’m almost afraid to ask this,” Karvonen said to Eleret at last, “but do all these questions mean you’ve come up with a plan?”

  “No,” Eleret said. “I’ve got the beginnings of an idea, that’s all. Daner, didn’t you say that now you can tell whether or not someone is the shapeshifter?”

  “Not exactly. Adept Climeral has taught me a spell that will detect a shifter, but I can’t just walk out the door and cast it at the market crowd. It has to be directed at a specific person.”

  “Mmm.” Eleret frowned. “It will have to do. Can you keep him from vanishing the way he did last night?”

  “I think so.” Daner shook his head ruefully. “An hour ago, I’d have said yes without question, but if what Climeral says about shadow magic is true, I can’t be sure how long I’ll be able to hold him.”

  “Assuming we can catch him,” Karvonen said.

  “Assuming we can catch him.”

  “That’s what this is all about,” Eleret told them. “Before I start setting traps, I want to know they’re strong enough to hold my game.”

  “Traps?” Karvonen said in a wary tone. “I don’t like traps.”

  “Climeral said my primary resource was surprise,” Eleret said. “And what I saw in the Three of Stones was an ambush.” And a very effective one. Eleret smiled slightly, remembering the glowing arrows winging out of the trees, and the monster falling.

  Karvonen still looked doubtful. “It’s too easy for something to go wrong.”

  “Things have been going wrong ever since I got to Ciaron,” Eleret said. “Besides, it would be silly to ask for Adept Climeral’s advice and then ignore it.”

  “Well, I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t like anything that has to do with magic,” Daner said.

  “If you’ve got a better idea, I’d like to hear it,” Eleret said to Karvonen. “The only other thing I could think of is to wait for Mobrellan to attack again. The problem is, Mobrellan seems to like making other people do his work, while he skulks in the background. We have to make sure he doesn’t send more Syaski or people like Jonystra instead of coming himself, or we’ll never catch him.”

  “Sounds to me like a mouse trying to catch a tomcat,” Karvonen muttered. “He’s got a line into a Shadow-born, Eleret. Can’t you just stay out of his way?”

  “I haven’t had much luck avoiding him so far.”

  “True.” Karvonen sighed. “All right, then, how do you plan to get him to show up himself, instead of sending some more henchmen?”

  “The same way I make sure my snares catch rabbits and not weasels: use the right bait.” Eleret raised her hand and wiggled her forefinger, making light glint on the raven ring.

  “It might work, if we can put it to him the right way,” Daner said thoughtfully.

  “Yes, and how are you going to do that?” Karvonen said. “Send out a crier to shout your message on the street corners?”

  Eleret smiled at him. “That’s your job.”

  “My job? Look, I’m willing to help, I’ve told you that, but I’m not a wizard. I’ve been trying to find this guy since noon yesterday, and I haven’t had a whisper of luck.”

  Eleret let her smile grow. “You won’t have to find him. He’ll find you.”

  “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this idea much.” Karvonen sighed. “It’s what I get for getting mixed up with Cilhar wizards.”

  “Eleret’s not a wizard,” Daner objected.

  “Her umpty-great-grandmother was, wasn’t she? That’s good enough for me. Or bad enough. Well, what is it you want me to do?”

  “Your family sells information, right?” Eleret said. “Offer to sell somebody information about where I’m going to be tomorrow afternoon. One way or another, that should draw him.”

  Daner choked on a spoonful of stew. “Eleret, are you crazy?” he demanded as soon as he could speak again. “I thought you were planning to use the ring as bait, not yourself!”

  “It’s the same thing,” Eleret said. “I’m not taking this ring off again, no matter what.”

  “I knew I wasn’t going to like this,” Karvonen muttered.

  “Eleret, you—” Daner stopped and closed his eyes as if he were in pain. After a moment, he opened them and looked at her. Eleret returned his gaze steadily, and at last he sighed. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?”

  “No. You can refuse to cooperate, though.”

  “And you’ll do something even crazier.”

  “She can’t help it,” Karvonen put in sourly. “She’s a Cilhar.”

  Daner gave Karvonen a dark look, and turned back to Eleret. “All right. We’ll do it your way. But how do you know this thief won’t sell Mobrellan the truth and wreck your trap?”

  “He won’t.” Eleret could not explain why she was certain, any more than she could explain why she had claimed Karvonen as her knife-friend in front of Climeral, but she was as sure of the little thief as she was of Daner. More sure, whispered an unfamiliar corner of her mind. You won’t ever catch Karvonen blocking your throwing lines…

  “I may be a thief,” Karvonen said to Daner, “but I would never sell up a friend.” He paused, then shrugged. “In this case, there’s no point to it. I’ll get just as much money for what you want me to say, and as long as it’s true as far as it goes, the family reputation won’t suffer.”

  “Then you’ll do it?” Eleret said.

  “Under protest and against my better judgment,” Karvonen said. “Where do you want me to tell him you’ll be?”

  “That could be tricky,” Daner said, frowning. �
��I doubt that he’d be foolish enough to come here; the Island of the Moon has too much of a reputation for magic. And after what happened last night, he knows we’ll be ready for him if he comes back to the house.”

  “He won’t expect anyone to be particularly ready for him at the Broken Harp Inn,” Eleret said. “And I can’t think of any reason he’d be reluctant to go there.”

  Daner nodded slowly. “It’s a good idea. From what I remember, none of the rooms is too large for me to cover with a blocking spell.”

  “And there’s room to maneuver, if we need to.”

  “I’ll send Bresc over earlier with a couple of men,” Daner went on, setting down his spoon to drum his fingers absently on the tabletop. “They can hide somewhere until Mobrellan shows up; that way, we won’t have to worry about whether he’s bringing some more of his hangers-on with him.” He straightened suddenly and looked across at Eleret. “If it’s all right with you, that is.”

  “I have no objection to making sure he’s outnumbered,” Eleret said. “It’ll be a nice change.”

  “I’m glad to see you’ve got some sense,” Karvonen said. “But I can hardly put out word that you’re going to be waiting at the Broken Harp with a gaggle of guards, hoping your shapeshifter will show up. I need a good story.”

  “A story?” Daner raised his eyebrows.

  “Some kind of reason why, after all that’s happened, you’ve decided to spend the afternoon at the inn instead of under heavy guard or running for your life like a sensible person,” Karvonen said. “What else would you call it?”

  They spent the rest of the meal considering and discarding possible tales. At last they settled on one that everyone agreed was plausible: Jonystra had regained consciousness long enough to convey a piece or two of interesting information, and Eleret and Daner were returning to the inn to go through her belongings in hopes of finding out more.

  “It’s not a bad idea, you know,” Daner said as the servers removed their empty plates. “We’re fairly close. Why don’t we head over there now, and—”

  “No,” Eleret said firmly. “You and I can’t go anywhere near that inn until tomorrow afternoon. Mobrellan might have someone watching it, or us, and we don’t want to scare off the game.”