After he had passed, Mynx let out a sigh. "Lesson one: Never interrupt Gaveley while he's on a job," she whis shy;pered to Tarscenian. "Lesson two: Never admit to know shy;ing him outside the den." She turned toward the kender. "And lesson three: Keep kender away from him. Far away." She pointed south. "Out, Kifflewit Burrthistle. Our paths part now."

At that, the little creature shrugged his shoulders and skipped off without so much as a protest or backward glance.

Odd, Tarscenian thought. He could see that Mynx, too, was surprised by such unaccustomed obedience from a kender. But after Kifflewit Burrthistle was out of sight, she too shrugged and led Tarscenian away.

Soon they stopped, and she left him waiting before a huge boulder while she disappeared into the underbrush. Tarscenian heard a click; the boulder shifted aside. Mynx returned, leaned over the rock, and triggered a mecha shy;nism behind it. She put her shoulder to the granite chunk and easily pushed it aside.

"Gaveley's invention," she muttered. She disappeared into a hole; Tarscenian felt her grasp his hand and tow him behind her. He felt something else slip past him in the dark but, guessing what it was, said nothing.

There was the scrape of the boulder returning to its place. Light flared from an oil lamp.

"Gaveley won't be back for a while," Mynx said as she adjusted the wick. "We may as well make ourselves com shy;fortable while we …" She spotted the kender, and her jaw dropped. Tarscenian, stifling a laugh, tried to look disap shy;proving.

"This is terrific!" Kifflewit burst out. "What a superb locking mechanism! A three-way Ergoli trip with a side shy;ways catch-I've never seen one of those. And look at this place! All the jewels! Are they real? What…"

Mynx collared the talkative creature. "Out, kender!" she repeated vehemently. "Gaveley would kill you for intruding. You're lucky I have a soft spot." Still holding Kifflewit by his skinny neck, she reached toward a shelf and moved a bejeweled statue of a harpist a few inches to the left. Just in time-Kifflewit grabbed at air. Then there was the sound of something sliding aside. Mynx tossed the kender up the entryway and into the night.

"Ouch! But…!" Kifflewit protested.

"Be gone by the time Gaveley returns, or kiss your top shy;knot good-bye," Mynx growled. "And don't let me hear you try fiddling with the lock, either."

The slamming of the door drowned out the kender's reply.

Mynx turned toward Tarscenian again. "Gaveley him shy;self designed this place," she said calmly, as though she were used to ejecting kender from the den. Perhaps she was, he thought.

Tarscenian gazed around. The half-elf certainly had a taste for the ornate, he thought. He examined the thick, imported rug with its border of pegasi and unicorns. Tapestries hung all around. He drew his sword and went around the room, lifting the panels. Nothing lurked behind them but plastered rock. Mynx, still holding the lamp, stood watching with a faint smile. "Nobody here but us, stranger," she said. "But it gives me hope for you."

Mynx placed the oil lamp behind a thin slab of translu shy;cent peach-colored quartz, studded with rubies. With her movement, the room's light went from yellow to pale pink. She proceeded around the room, in succession light shy;ing three other such lamps, and the illumination in the den deepened to rose. She halted before the last quartz-shaded lamp. The slab of rock held three rubies-and one empty setting.

"I know there were four jewels when we got here," she muttered.

"I suspect the fourth ruby is traveling through the woods with Kifflewit Burrthistle right now," Tarscenian commented.

Mynx grimaced, then directed Tarscenian to a seat on a green brocade divan, handing him a crystal goblet filled with sweet elven wine.

"Where are the rest of the thieves?" he asked.

"Some are working. Others are sleeping elsewhere. This is a meeting place, not a boarding house." She regarded him with direct brown eyes. "Gaveley's unlikely to be back for some time. In the meantime, there are things I'd like to know."

"Such as?"

"The high priest said you were a Seeker priest once."

"True."

"Yet no longer."

"Also true. I follow the Old Gods now."

Mynx's expression revealed what she thought of fools who followed any gods at all. "You know much of Heder-ick," she said. "Tell me about him."

"Why?"

"I want to know everything I can about the High Theo-crat."

"Again, why?"

"It may help me kill him."

Tarscenian ventured a guess. "Because of your friend?"

"He was only a kender, I know, but honor is honor."

Interesting to hear a thief talk about honor, Tarscenian thought as he watched her, but he held his tongue. He had promised Ancilla not to slay Hederick himself, but he'd never pledged to stop anyone else from doing so. Still…

"We have at least an hour," Mynx said, urging him to tell her more.

"Not now," he said. "I prefer to rest while we wait for this Gaveley." He drained the rest of his wine, leaned against the back of the settee, and pretended to close his eyes. He watched Mynx through slitted lids.

Mynx frowned, but made no further effort to coerce him. She ranged around the room for a while, sipping her wine and studying Gaveley's collections of statues, jewels, and tapestries. Then she sank onto a stool, drained her goblet, and leaned over a table. Her chin on her hands, she stared into one of the rubies in the pink quartz lamp screen.

Tarscenian closed his eyes. He could tell her plenty about Hederick, but not right away. No point giving any shy;thing away to a thief for free.

Chapter 13

Several leagues away, hederick was having trouble falling asleep. Dahos had reported Tarscenian's escape to the High Theo-crat immediately, of course, and the thought that the for shy;mer Seeker priest was out there in the darkness, no doubt laughing at him, kept Hederick wide awake.

He shoved himself upright in his silk-sheeted bed and made his way to the window, where he opened the shut shy;ters and lit a candle. Holding the light in the window, he described a circle, and then another, and finally a third. Then he waited.

A stench from outdoors sent his stomach heaving, and he battled back the nausea. Hederick's nose always told him of the goblins' approach before his eyes could con shy;firm it. A combination of rotten eggs and stale fish, the odor was enough to turn the strongest stomach. The creatures were too stupid even to know they stank.

Still, they served a purpose now. Goblins operated mostly at night, obeyed orders without question, loved to kill, weren't bright enough to be any threat to Hederick, and worked cheaply. Hederick had imported a half-dozen of the beasts shortly after he'd first occupied Erolydon, and lately had added a few dozen more. Already the troop of spies and bloodletters had more than paid for their keep. He had been adding some hob shy;goblins to his guard force as well, but these were more difficult to control.

The goblins all boasted broad noses, small fangs, pointed ears, sloping foreheads, dull eyes, and short stature. Although goblins came in a variety of colors- generally shades of yellow and orange and red-most of the beasts that lived in a knoll just north of Erolydon were all dirty orange, indicating they hailed from the same tribe.

Hederick could tell the beasts apart solely by their eyes. Yellow Eyes had eyes that were lemon-colored. He was one of the more intelligent goblins-which wasn't saying much.

"You want I?" Gradually the beasts had learned that this new employer comprehended them only when they spoke slowly and plainly, which was how most of them spoke anyway.

Hederick took a step back from the creature's rancid breath. "I have a task for you," he whispered, trying not to breathe.