The decor showed a distinct preference for the remote East; paper lanterns hung from the beams overhead, a low desk or table surrounded by cushions sufficed for furnishings, and tall screens of carved and inlaid wood were secured to the walls. Elana knelt comfortably behind the desk, examining a small explosion of paper. Behind her, a tall mage in yellow robes and a high-collared vest or tabard of tooled red leather stood watching, his scalp shaven and his face marked by a long, drooping mustache. He, too, was an easterner. Elana looked up as Jack entered, carefully covered her work by sweeping it into a wooden valise, and gestured at the opposite place at the table.

"Jack Ravenwild. Please, sit down."

Jack dropped to the deck carelessly, sitting cross-legged before her. He glanced around the cabin, admiring the eastern furnishings. "You surprise me, dear Elana. I would not have suspected you of having a taste for the exotic. Shou Lung?"

She offered a slight smile. "No. Shou work tends to be more ornate, more complex than this. The screens, the lamps, and the table are from the island empire of Wa. I prefer its austerity and simplicity." She raised one hand to indicate the tall shaven-headed mage at her side. "This is Yu Wei, Adept of the Seventh Mystery, Sublime Dragon of the Black Pearl Order. He is my chief advisor in magical matters."

The tall adept inclined his head. Jack returned the gesture. "Yu Wei felt that I should not have left the retrieval of the Sarkonagael in your hands, once you'd told me that you knew where it was," Elana continued. "You persuaded me to allow you to try your hand at the task. How did you fare?"

Jack unlocked his satchel and removed the burlap-wrapped book. He set it on the table and removed the cloth cover, revealing the sinister black binding with its silver skulls.

"May I present the Sarkonagael, or the Secrets of the Shadewrights?"

Elana smiled coolly and reached out for the book. She opened it carefully, running her fingers over the ciphered text absently, and then handed it to Yu Wei.

"See if the spell is there," she told him. The tall mage bowed deeply and then left the cabin, stooping to pass through the low door. He did not speak a word. "Well done, Jack Ravenwild. My sources inform me that you bearded Iphegor in his lair and then defeated him in a confrontation in the street shortly thereafter."

"Your sources? It seems you are well-informed, my lady."

"I'm surprised that you chose to confront Iphegor. I would have thought that escaping anonymously was more important to you."

Jack shrugged. "I did make use of a disguise, so I doubt that Iphegor will easily discover my identity. In any event, he shouldn't give me much trouble for a long time. Unfortunately, his familiar was killed when he confronted me, and you know how much that discomfits a wizard."

Elana smiled. "Indeed. I hadn't thought you so ruthless."

"Not ruthless, dear Elana. Merely-businesslike. I do what must be done." Jack leaned forward and offered a charming smile. "Are you satisfied with the services I have rendered?"

She didn't reply immediately. Instead, she rose to her feet with one smooth motion and glided over to a small wooden chest by one wall. She opened it and removed a pouch that clinked enticingly. "Your payment, plus a substantial bonus."

Jack ignored the money and stood also, stepping closer to Elana. He pulled her into his arms and drank one long, perfect kiss from her lips-but her hand came up between them and gently but firmly pushed him away.

"No, not that," she said.

"I thought that we had an understanding-"

"Did we, Jack?" Elana turned away and paced over to the shuttered windows looking out over the stern. "I never specifically stated that I would grant you my favors upon completion of your mission, did I?"

The rogue gaped. "You led me to believe that was the case."

"What you believe, dear Jack, is your own business." Elana looked over her shoulder at him and brushed one dark lock from her face. "There is a substantial bonus included in the purse. I honored my word."

"Oh, just a moment!" Jack swept around the table to confront her. "You all but said that you would reward me with your most intimate embrace in lieu of any sum of money, and frankly, dear Elana, I considered it worthwhile!" He waved his hand at the cabin, the ship around them. "If this is your sloop, and these your belongings, I don't doubt that you could easily afford the sum you offered to retain my services. Why then would you hint at more if you had no intention of living up to it and no need of deceit? Do you take pleasure in toying with men?"

"Since you have been in my employ, Jack, you have spent a great deal of time playing at the Game of Masks-using the advance I gave you-with Lady Illyth Fleetwood. You have skulked from place to place engaged in an effort to solve a riddle bedeviling the Red Wizard Zandria of the Company of the Red Falcon. Now answer honestly, Jack. Would you have applied yourself to the modest task I set before you if I hadn't allowed you to find some additional motivation for yourself? Or would you have wandered off into some other scheme or plot?" Elana's face grew as hard as a blade. "I remind you again that I showed you as much good faith as you showed me. If you don't like games such as that, Jack, perhaps you shouldn't play them."

Jack stared at her. "How do you know these things? Illyth, Zandria, the riddle? Have you been spying on me?"

"I have my sources," Elana said. "I warned you, Jack, the first night we met. When you accept my money, I consider you to be in my employ. That places certain responsibilities upon my shoulders and certain obligations on yours. I am utterly loyal with those who follow me and deal with them with no mental reservations. I require the same in return."

Jack took two steps back and sat in the window seat spanning the aft bulkhead of the room. "Who are you?" he said quietly.

Elana watched him, a cat playing with a wounded bird. "Are you certain you want to know, Jack? If I tell you, you no longer have the option of walking away. All I can tell you is that you will be well rewarded, you will be engaged in dangerous and frequently undesirable work, and that you will be one of a very small number of people who will tear down Raven's Bluff and rebuild it as something entirely different. People will get hurt, people will die, and you may not live to see if I am ultimately successful or not. This is your last chance to say no."

Jack looked down at his hands and rubbed them together. He could see what Elana was doing, of course. She was setting the hook. How could he possibly say no to all that? He'd grown up a guttersnipe, an orphan, entitled to nothing more than he could pilfer with his own hands. Elana offered him a chance to be a power, a lord over men, a shaper of events and dreamer of great dreams.

And, of course, she offered him the chance to know, the opportunity to find out what she was hiding under all the secrecy, and maybe-just maybe-a chance to win her favors after all. If he left now, he wouldn't see her again. He was certain of it, but if he stayed, if he showed her what he could really do, who knew?

He looked up and said, "I understand. I will not abandon my existing enterprises altogether-after all, I have given my word to others, and I am inclined to keep it in a couple of instances, but I accept your conditions. Now, Elana, who are you?"

The swordswoman bared her teeth in a smile that would have intimidated a tiger. "I am more widely known as Myrkyssa Jelan," she said, "but for you, dear Jack, Elana will do. Sit down again, and I will explain to you how things must be."

"Myrkyssa Jelan," Jack repeated dully. "The Warlord, Terror of the Vast, shaker of mountains and destroyer of cities." He took two steps back. "On second thought, I believe I prefer to think of you as Elana. If you don't mind, I shall bid you a good night."