He decided, and let the door swing shut. Absolutely silently, of course.

Few creatures can be as stealthy as a kender.

"So why don't we grab the old man now? And turn him right over to Hederick?" Snoop demanded as soon as Mynx and Tarscenian were out of sight. "Five hun shy;dred steel for a bounty! That's not someone I'd like to leave walking around loose. Not with plenty of other people willing to collect that kind of money."

"Mynx'll hide him well enough."

Snoop rolled his eyes. "But when do we turn him over and collect, Gaveley?"

The half-elf didn't answer right away. "Maybe we won't," he finally said.

"What?" Xam and Snoop erupted at the same time.

Gaveley swirled his wine in his goblet, watching the

pattern form on the chalice in the rosy light. "Not right away, at least," he whispered. "I want to learn more about this Diamond Dragon."

"But…"

He cut them off. "We've got to be flexible to get by. You know that."

Xam and Snoop exchanged glances. Then they shrugged. "You're the leader," Snoop said, and smiled ingratiatingly. "And what's more, you're usually right."

"What about Mynx?" Xam asked. "Are you still going to hand her over, too? She's a good thief, one of the best we've had."

"She made her choice," Gaveley shot back. "She could have accepted Hederick's offer, but she turned him down flat."

"She can't forgive him for killing the kender," Xam said softly.

Gaveley fixed a hard glare on the big man. "He was a kender. And Hederick caught him sneaking into his temple, remember. If Hederick thinks kender don't belong in Erolydon, I'm not one to argue. The High Theocrat offered us a lot of steel to bring in Tarscenian." He placed his wine glass on the shelf next to the little statue that operated the door mechanism. "Mynx refused to help out of stupid sentiment. There's no room for emotion in this business."

Snoop spoke up. "But she's been with us for a long time___"

"She opted out," Gaveley said stubbornly. "We can't trust her. She's got to go."

Snoop frowned, then nodded. But Xam kept on staring at Gaveley. "But…" Xam shook his head.

Gaveley cut him off angrily. "That's enough. We'll turn them both over-after they steal this Diamond Dragon for us. If you don't want to go along .. . Well, wouldn't it be ironic if a bounty hunter ended up with a bounty on his own head?"

They locked stares. Then Xam lifted his huge shoul shy;ders and let them fall. "Oh, well," he said with a sigh. "I'll miss her."

Saying nothing, Mynx passed stairway after deserted stairway in the darkness. Tarscenian glanced upward at the web of walkways crisscrossing overhead.

Mynx answered the unasked question. "I prefer to keep my feet on the ground when I can. Too easy to get ambushed on the bridges." She halted and ran her fin shy;gers back through her hair without speaking. Her eyes were troubled. "Tarscenian, all that you said about that dragon artifact-it was all true? It's that valuable to Hederick?"

Tarscenian nodded. Everything he'd said was true; he merely had left a few things out.

"I could help you," Mynx said. "If Gav says it's all right."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me," she snapped. "I wouldn't do it for you. I'd do it for the money … and the kender."

They continued on for quite some time without speak shy;ing. The vallenwood canopy admitted no light from moons or stars. Tarscenian could tell when they were passing beneath a home in the treetops only by the slight thickening of the darkness.

"Tell me about Gaveley," he finally said.

Mynx snorted. "You saw him. He loves fine clothes, and he goes about dressed like a nobleman-as if 'noble shy;man' means anything since the Cataclysm! But his mother was the daughter of a rich man here in Solace, closest thing Solace has to nobility. She got in trouble with an elven trader who was passing through, and her family cast her out."

She tried to untangle the lapis-and-silver earring from her hair as she walked, but only succeeded in making the snarl worse. "You know how most people treat half-elves-as not quite human, not quite elf," she continued. "And Gav's mother raised him to despise the rich. He loves nothing as much as stealing from the wealthy. Not that many people in Solace fit into that category any shy;more." The thief fell silent.

"And you?"

Mynx gave him a hard look. "For all that it's none of your business, stranger, I've been a thief for as long as I can remember. Joined Gav's ring when I was ten. Before that, I was on my own. Gav took care of me and taught me my trade. That's something to appreciate when you've got no family-or at least none that wants to admit knowing you."

A faint snarl, quickly muffled, reached Tarscenian's ears. He and Mynx halted at the same time. Within an eyeblink, his sword was ready, as was Mynx's dagger. They proceeded carefully, taking as wide a berth as pos shy;sible around shadowed vallenwoods and stairways.

They covered some ground without incident, and Mynx relaxed. "Maybe we were just imagin-"

"Look out!" Tarscenian shouted. He whirled-and dove to the ground as a mace hurtled over his head. He heard Mynx curse and hit the ground next to him.

She rolled and was up on her feet in an instant. They were being attacked by something, but in the dark it was hard to tell what.

"What is it?" Mynx panted, peering into the darkness, "A bear, in Solace? And with a mace?"

"A bugbear," Tarscenian replied, moving cautiously to put the monster between him and Mynx. "Not a bear, really, although it looks like it. More like a goblin. Smarter than it looks, but not too bright. Sees in the dark-at least, a little."

"Magic?"

"None that I know of."

"Good." ,

The monster suddenly materialized in front of them, towering over them, a warhammer hanging from one paw and a spear balanced in the other. Its eyes were pale, its fur coarse and dark. Wedge-shaped ears rose from the top of its head, and lips wrinkled back from long fangs. It grunted and snarled as it jabbed at them with the spear.

Suddenly, the monster roared and swung its hammer at Mynx. She took advantage of the beast's outflung paw to leap forward and slice its forearm from elbow to wrist. It squealed and thrust the limb under one of the hides that protected it. Its mismatched armor clanked and jangled in the still night. It whirled, forcing them back to avoid the needle-sharp edge of its spear. And all the while it kept shrieking.

"It'll soon bring the guards down on us, if it doesn't kill us first," Tarscenian hissed.

"We'll have to kill it, then," Mynx said calmly. Without hesitation, she ducked and dove under the whirling spear. Then she leaped again, burying her dagger to the hilt in the bugbear's side. The bugbear moved quickly, though, and caught the thief in the abdomen with a clawed paw, flinging her high over Tarscenian's head.

The movement left the creature exposed. In an instant, Tarscenian thrust his sword into the bugbear's belly and wrenched the weapon to one side. The creature stood for a moment, entrails spilling onto the ground, then it pitched forward with a horrible scream.

Tarscenian whirled. Mynx was just sitting up behind him, rubbing her head and rearranging her skirt and blouse. "Come on!" Tarscenian shouted. "Before any guards get here!" He pulled her to her feet, mindless of any injuries she might have suffered.

Mynx shook her head to clear it. "Next time I go hunt shy;ing bugbears, I won't wear a skirt," she muttered. Then she raced over to the dead creature, pulled her dagger from its ribs, and sprinted into the trees. Tarscenian fol shy;lowed a few paces behind. He could hear the cries of an approaching phalanx of guards.

They ran through the underbrush beneath the vallen-woods until their sides ached, then dove behind the huge trees to conceal themselves until blue-and-gold-clad guards pounded past. Despite the noise, the walk shy;ways remained deserted above them; no one ventured forth from the safety of the tree-homes.