The Amber Enchantress

by Troy Denning

  "This is too heavy for you," he said, lifting the barrel as though it were empty.

  Though she was relieved Faenaeyon had finally taken the wine, Sadira found herself vaguely disappointed that Rhayn had been so right about their father's gluttony.

  "So much for friendship," she said.

  "Friends share, do they not?"

  Slipping the keg under one arm, the chief used his steel dagger to pry the stopper from the taphole, then sheathed the weapon and hefted the cask high over his head. The fruity wine sloshed from the opening and went down his throat in a red stream.

  Rhayn and Magnus stepped from the first stairway and crossed to the second set of stairs, which led to the tower's third story. They did not tarry long enough to cast even a single glance in the chief's direction.

  At last, Faenaeyon lowered the cask and closed his mouth. Though only a few seconds had passed since he started to drink, his eyes were already glazed. "Too sweet, but powerful," he said, holding the wine toward the sorceress. "Have some."

  Sadira's heart leaped into her throat. From the speed with which the drug was taking effect, the sorceress feared she would not be able to sneak away and drink the antidote before falling into a stupor.

  "Come," said Faenaeyon, squinting as though he were having trouble seeing Sadira.

  Huyar pushed the sorceress forward. "Do not insult the chief by making him ask again," he said. "He does not often share his wine."

  Faenaeyon tilted the cask, spilling a stream of poisoned wine over the sorceress's face. She stepped away. "I prefer to drink from a mug," she spat, using the sleeve of her tattered smock to wipe the red fluid from her lips.

  Her comment drew laughter from both Faenaeyon and Huyar, then the chief waved his son toward the stairs. "Fetch her one," he said, "and be quick about it. My thirst is great, and I would not forgive myself if I finished all this wine before you returned with a mug for our guest."

  Huyar hesitated to do as commanded. "Be careful," he said. "She may try to flee."

  "If I wanted to escape, do you really think I would have allowed Rhayn and Magnus to bring me here?" Sadira demanded in an imperious tone. "I have cause of my own for returning to the Sun Runners."

  Huyar narrowed his eyes. "What cause?"

  "My reasons are not for you to know," Sadira answered, looking away. "Now fetch me a mug, while some of my wine remains."

  "I'm not your servant," Huyar spat. Nevertheless, he stepped into the stairwell.

  As the warrior climbed out of sight, Faenaeyon chuckled. "You should be more careful of Huyar's feelings," he said. "Someday, he'll be chief."

  "I won't be with the Sun Runners that long," Sadira answered sharply.

  "Don't be so sure," slurred the chief.

  "What do you mean by that?" Sadira demanded in a sharp voice.

  "Nothing at all," Faenaeyon answered. "Just that life can be as surprising as it is short."

  "I suppose that's so—especially for elves," the sorceress said.

  Under the pretense of looking out on the street below, she stepped into the arrow loop and turned her back to her father. The sorceress pretended to be interested in the pedestrians below, watching them swish along the lane in their bright saramis. Upon hearing Faenaeyon begin to gulp down more wine, she glanced over her shoulder to be sure his attention was entirely consumed by his drinking.

  Sadira found the chief with his head tipped back and the cask braced against his chin, wine rushing down his throat in a steady stream. She removed the antidote from her satchel and dabbed two generous drops onto her tongue.

  The sorceress had barely slipped the bone vial back into its hiding place when Faenaeyon let a loud belch escape his lips. "The only thing I like more than wine is silver," he pronounced, setting the cask on the floor with a bang.

  Sadira turned away from the arrow slit. Faenaeyon had slumped down beside a bench and wrapped one massive arm around the cask. "Why are you so fond of silver?" she asked. "After all, you can't drink it."

  "A chief needs silver," Faenaeyon declared, his face grimly serious. "It's the measure of his power and of his warriors' respect for him."

  Sadira shook her head at this superficial definition of leadership. "That's not true," she said, sitting on the bench at his side. "I've heard your warriors speak of you. They talk about your feats of bravery and your skill as a warrior—not how much silver there is in your purses."

  Faenaeyon looked at her, his head cocked in surprise. "Truly?" he asked, his speech slightly slurred.

  Sadira nodded. "I've heard it said that when Faenaeyon was young, nothing was impossible for him."

  "That was so," Faenaeyon said, a wistful light in his gray eyes. "Nothing in the desert ran as fast as I did, and even the falcons had reason to fear my arrows." The chief stared into the air a moment longer, then the happiness slowly faded from his eyes. "And what do they say now?"

  He seemed unable to look at Sadira as he asked the question.

  "Nothing you could not change," she answered, ignoring for the moment that soon he would be beyond changing anything. "They say you claim for your own too much of what they've earned."

  Almost unconsciously, Faenaeyon's fingers played over the hilt of his steel dagger. He nodded sadly, and Sadira wondered if Rhayn and Magnus might be acting prematurely in moving to replace him.

  Her doubts came to a quick end. Faenaeyon jerked his hand away from his dagger and shoved her off the bench. "What do you know of our ways?" he demanded. "You're no Sun Runner—you're not even an elf!"

  "You don't have to be an elf to know what makes a good chief—or a bad one, either," Sadira countered, picking herself up off the floor.

  "Our friendship goes only so far," Faenaeyon warned, a cold light glimmering in his steely eyes. "Do not speak to me in such a manner."

  "In what manner?" asked Huyar, stepping from the stairwell. In his hand, he held a grimy soapstone mug. "What has this woman said to anger you, my chief?"

  "Only the truth," Sadira answered, keeping her eyes fixed on Faenaeyon.

  Smirking at Sadira's recklessness, Huyar extended his empty hand to take the sorceress away. "I'll make certain she doesn't bother you."

  Sadira jerked away. "If you touch me, it'll be the last time." Her reaction was deliberately extreme. She did not know how much longer she would need to stay with the Sun Runners, and she wanted to make it clear that her visit was on her own terms.

  Huyar flung his mug aside and moved to grab Sadira with both hands. Faenaeyon was on his feet and between them more quickly than Rikus could have been.

  "She might make good on her threat, and I don't want to have to avenge your death," the chief said, speaking with a drink-thickened tongue. "I've got plans for this woman."

  Faenaeyon pushed Huyar toward the discarded mug. "Now hand me that cup," he said. "I promised this woman some wine."

  Huyar did as his father commanded, and held the mug while Faenaeyon filled it. Then, with a final glare at Sadira, the warrior handed the vessel to her and stalked back up the stairs.

  As soon as Huyar had ascended the stairs, Sadira asked, "What plans?"

  Faenaeyon gave her a muddle-headed frown. "Huh?"

  "You told Huyar you had plans for me," the sorceress said. "What are they?"

  "Oh, those," the chief answered. "Don't worry. We'll earn lots of silver, and you can even keep your share-after you repay what you cost me at the gate."

  The sorceress did not tell her father so, but she had plans of her own. Tomorrow morning, she would return briefly to Sage's Square to see if she could find Raka—or at least discover whether or not he had escaped Dhojakt's servants. If that failed, she would return to the camp of the Sun Runners, and use it as a base for trying to reestablish contact with the Veiled Alliance.

  Sadira spent the rest of the afternoon watching Faenaeyon drink. It was impossible to tell how much of the chief's growing torpor was due to the bard's poison and how much to the wine itself, but it hardly mattered. He sank ste
adily into a stupor, growing less and less aware of the world around him. Occasionally, he remembered to offer the sorceress more drink, but she rarely accepted. Not anxious to test the limits of the antidote, the half-elf sipped only enough of the fruity liquid to make her father believe she was enjoying it as much as he. Finally, Faenaeyon slumped down against the wall his long legs splayed before him and red wine dribbling off his pointed chin. Sadira put her mug aside and stopped drinking altogether.

  Soon, the sky outside faded to dusky purple. The Sun Runners began returning to camp in small groups, usually carrying with them some small prize they had stolen from an unwitting victim. Upon reaching the second story, they looked more than a little surprised to see Sadira sitting on a bench near Faenaeyon's snoring form, but no one spoke to her. Instead, counting themselves lucky to have returned while their chief was oblivious to the world and could not claim their stolen goods, they snuck past as quietly as possible.

  A little after dark, a boy descended the stairs with a wedge of faro bread and a skin of broy. "Rhayn thought you might be hungry," he said.

  "Thanks," Sadira replied, accepting the food from him.

  The boy glanced at the half-empty cask at Faenaeyon's side and licked his lips. "How's the wine?" he asked.

  "Not bad," Sadira answered, giving him a sidelong glance. "Why don't you try some—unless you think Faenaeyon would object?"

  "I'm not that thirsty," he answered, retreating to the arrow loop.

  There, he took up his position as a sentry. Sure that the youth had come to watch her as well as the lane outside, Sadira finished her meal. To be sure the young guard did not get any ideas about sneaking a Few swallows of wine from her mug, the sorceress drank the last of it, then lay down on the bench and covered herself with a cape. Within a few moments, she was fast asleep, for it had been a trying day and she needed rest.

  Sadira woke to the sound of scurrying feet. The room was still black as obsidian, but with her elven vision, she saw the last of a long line of warriors descending to the ground floor. Behind them came Rhayn and Magnus, who stopped in Sadira's room.

  "What's happening?" Sadira asked, quickly sitting upright.

  "Huyar and some friends are going to look for his brother," Rhayn explained casually. "The foolish boy has not returned yet." "Gaefal?"

  Sadira mouthed the dead elf's name quietly, for the young sentry that had come down earlier still stood at his station. Rhayn nodded, and Magnus went over to the arrow loop. "I'll take over," the windsinger said to the sentry. The youth nodded eagerly, then started for the steps leading into the street. Rhayn caught him by the sleeve and redirected him upstairs. "One boy lost tonight is enough," she said. "Go and get some sleep."

  Once the young warrior had reluctantly obeyed, Magnus produced an empty waterskin from beneath his tunic. He handed it to Rhayn, then picked up the cask and opened the taphole.

  "What's that for?" Sadira asked.

  "I doubt we'll need this, but it's best to be prepared," said Rhayn.

  The elf held the skin steady while Magnus filled it. Once that was done, the windsinger smashed the cask at the chief's side.

  "If anyone asks, Faenaeyon dropped it himself," Rhayn said, sealing the skin in her hands. "Now, go back to sleep."

  "Keep a close eye on that wine," Sadira said.

  "Someone may try to sneak a gulp."

  "Not from my satchels," said Rhayn, going back upstairs.

  This time, it took Sadira much longer to doze off. At last she slept, only to dream of murder and betrayal.

  ELEVEN

  Sudden Departure

  Sadira felt someone pull away the cape she had been using as a blanket, then a rough hand began tugging at her smock. She opened her eyes to see Huyar bending over her, a crumpled wad of blood-soaked blue cloth clutched in his hand. Behind him stood a dozen elves, the green rays of dawn streaming over their shoulders. Two of the warriors held Gaefal's lifeless body suspended between them.

  "What are you doing?" Sadira demanded, trying to sit up.

  Huyar forced her back to the bench, then grabbed her smock and held the cloth next to it. The smell of stale blood came to the sorceress's nostrils.

  A cold knot of dread formed in Sadira's stomach. "Get off me!" she yelled, pushing the elf's hand away.

  "It's the same color!" Huyar screamed, thrusting the blood-crusted rag into Sadira's face.

  "So what?" demanded Magnus. He forced his way through the elves behind Huyar and plucked the enraged warrior off Sadira. "Leave her alone."

  "I found this cloth in the wound that killed my brother," Huyar explained, holding the rag up for Magnus to see.

  Sadira grabbed her satchel and stood, fearing she might need her magic to defend herself.

  Without putting Huyar down, the windsinger took the rag and held it up in front of one of his black eyes. "This cloth's so blood-stained it's impossible to say what color it is."

  "There's blue around the edges," Huyar said. He pointed at Sadira's smock. "The same blue she wears now."

  "I've seen a thousand tunics that color," Magnus said dismissively.

  The windsinger started to slip the bloody cloth into his pocket, but Huyar snatched it back and stepped toward Sadira.

  "Then let us see if this matches the shape of her torn collar," he said, unwadding the cloth.

  "It does," Sadira answered, realizing she would only arouse suspicion by trying to keep Huyar from checking the rip. "I was passing by the Bard's Quarter when I saw that youth stagger from the gate," she said, pointing at Gaefal. "I stopped and bandaged his wound, but he died anyway."

  "Rhayn and I found her not too far from there," Magnus said, his snaggle-toothed snout creased by what may have been an approving grin.

  "I'm only sorry I didn't recognize him as a Sun Runner," Sadira added. "I would have told you about him sooner."

  "What do you suppose Gaefal was doing in the Bard's Quarter?" Magnus asked, at last releasing Huyar. "Hasn't Faenaeyon always warned us to leave the bards alone?"

  The windsinger's ploy almost worked. The warriors began discussing the reasons the youth might have had for entering such a dangerous place. Even Huyar fell into a thoughtful silence.

  Unfortunately, the warrior reached the wrong conclusion. "There's only one reason Gaefal would have disobeyed his chief," the warrior said, glaring at Sadira. "He was chasing you, so you killed him."

  "You don't know that to be true," said Magnus.

  "I don't know it to be false," Huyar answered, stepping toward Sadira and reaching for his dagger. "And I won't take Lorelei's word for it."

  Magnus grasped the elf's wrist and prevented him from drawing the weapon.

  Sadira tugged on the empty sheath at her waist. "Have you ever seen a knife in my belt?" she asked. "I lost my dagger before I helped the Sun Runners get across the Canyon of Guthay. If I killed your brother, what did I use?"

  "You're a sorceress," countered the elf. "You could have used magic."

  "True, but that looks like a knife wound to me," said Rhayn, stepping out of the stairway. "Why do you insist on blaming Sadira?"

  "Sadira?" Huyar repeated, confused. "What are you talking about?"

  "Our guest," Rhayn explained. "Just before we captured her, Magnus overheard her talking to a boy from the Veiled Alliance. Her real name is Sadira—Sadira of Tyr."

  Sadira cursed under her breath. She knew Rhayn was trying to keep Huyar off-balance and save her life, but the sorceress would have preferred it to be done without revealing her identity to the rest of the tribe.

  Huyar stared at Sadira in shock, and a buzz of astonishment ran through the warriors gathered behind him. "You are Faenaeyon's daughter—the one who killed Kalak?"

  "I am the daughter of Barakah of Tyr and your chief," Sadira allowed, glancing pensively at her slumbering father. "Though, after abandoning me into slavery, I'm not certain Faenaeyon has the right to claim me as daughter."

  "What Faenaeyon claims is his," Huyar answered. "But
that gives me no cause to believe you. Perhaps your friend from the Veiled Alliance had a dagger."

  Back in Tyr, no Templar of the King's Justice would have accepted the elf's logic, but it was becoming increasingly clear to the sorceress that Huyar was not looking for the truth so much as a scapegoat.

  "I didn't kill your brother, but I can see there's no use telling you that," Sadira said, slipping a hand into her satchel. "So attack me now, or let the matter drop."

  "I'm no fool," Huyar said, casting an uneasy glance toward the sorceress's concealed hand. "But I won't let my brother's death go unavenged."

  "No one's asking you to," said Rhayn. "But it's not for you to say who should be punished. Faenaeyon is chief—or have you forgotten?"

  "I have not forgotten," Huyar said. He motioned at one of the elves standing over Gaefal's dead body. "Wake the chief, Jeila."

  The warrior, a woman with tangled brown hair and three bone rings piercing one nostril, scowled at Huyar's back. Nevertheless, she went to the chief's side and, placing a cautionary hand over his dagger hilt, shook him by the shoulders. "Faenaeyon," she said softly. "We need you."

  The chief uttered an indignant growl, and his eyelids rose to reveal a pair of glazed pupils. He struggled to focus on the woman's face, and for a moment it appeared he might overcome his stupor. Then he let out a loud groan, as though in terrible pain, and his pointed chin dropped back to his chest. His glassy eyes remained open and vacant.

  "He's still drunk," Jeila reported.

  Huyar shook his head and went to his father's side. "I don't think so," he said, placing a hand under the chief's shirt.

  "Is he dead?" asked another warrior.

  "No, but he's sick, His heart barely beats, and his skin is as cold as night," Huyar answered. Taking his hand away from his father, the elf looked at Sadira. "I wonder how many other tragedies your return to the Sun Runners will bring?"

  "I'm not responsible for Faenaeyon's gluttony, if that's what you mean," Sadira retorted. "He stole the wine from me—or have you forgotten?"