Elvenbane (50 page)

“They can’t show their feelings; they’re trained out of it,” Mero replied, running his hand through his hair. “I should have known, I really should have known, that when Triana was acting like I was the only man in the universe she was faking it. Valyn, he’s that way, and I’ve lived with him all my life, so I should have
known
. The stronger an elven lord feels about something, the colder he gets on the outside.”

Suddenly that explained a great deal to Keman. “Shana’s the opposite—but she was raised by us,” he pointed out.

Mero smiled. “Doesn’t hide
anything
, does she? No, Valyn has been getting more and more like a statue, and that should have told me something. And it didn’t.”

Keman didn’t reply, just looked attentive.

“I doubt he meant it that way, but that fellow who tried to beat me into oblivion did me a good turn. He broke what I think was a half-formed glamorie on me, Keman. I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot over Triana. Now I see what you were trying to tell me. Do you know, I actually had myself convinced that if I could somehow make myself into a really good imitation elven lord that she’d have me?”

Keman tilted his head to one side. “I had guessed something like that was going on. But I am not the one you should be apologizing to. You made Shana very angry with you, though I don’t know why. And Valyn is not happy either.”

Mero rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “I don’t know what Shana’s problem is, honestly. I’m not sure it has anything to do with Triana, or if it does, that’s only part of it.”

“I don’t always understand her either,” Keman replied ruefully, when Mero looked up at him.

Mero sighed. “I’ve been ignoring all of you, actually. Triana’s been taking me everywhere, as if I was a lover or a mate. We’ve hunted or ridden over every thumb-length of this estate, she did some magic tricks for me—she built a mountain and flew us both up to the top for a picnic.”

“I remember that. Afterwards she slept for two days,” Keman said absently. “I didn’t know elves had to sleep after doing magic.”

Mero wasn’t paying attention. “I thought that meant she loved me, so I started asking her to take me places she could only take one of the elven lords. And she did, she took me to a gladiator duel, and she took me to a Council meeting. I really thought she cared for me.” He hung his head. “I should have known. It was all a lie, a ploy. She’s just like all those women in the harem who try to eliminate each other to get positions as favorites. There isn’t one of them that really cares for another person, just what that person can do for her.”

“What does she want?” Keman asked reasonably. Mero looked up, startled.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “All that time with her, and I don’t know.”

“It must be something important for her to be taking so much time with you,” Keman pointed out. “And using a glamorie to get you, too—”

“Oh, that’s not a big thing.” Mero dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “I half think Valyn used a glamorie on me to get me to handfast to Shana. Elves do that sort of thing all the time.”

“I don’t know about that,” Keman said reluctantly. “I wouldn’t say that. There are lots of other things she could have done to you, you know, including ignoring you. If she wanted to control you, she could have substituted her collar for the one you’re wearing. She’s spent a lot of time and effort on this one spell, and it has to be because she wants something important from you, don’t you think?”

“That
is
the purpose of a glamorie,” Mero replied thoughtfully, looking past Keman to the darkening window. “But maybe you’re right. I know I had a kind of fight with Shana over it. She kept saying Triana was trying to get something from me, and I didn’t believe her.”

“Are you going to be able to keep your mind free now that you know?” Keman asked, dreading the answer. “If she wants something from you, she isn’t going to give up now.”

“I think I can,” Mero said, after a long moment of thought. “I really think I can. And if I
can
, then I can find out what it is she wants.”

“Is that such a good idea?” Keman asked doubtfully.

“I think I’m going to have to,” Mere said, with a grimace. He stood up. “Thanks, Keman. Thanks for not telling me to go lose myself.”

“That’s all right,” the dragon replied, surprised at the feeling of warmth Mero’s words kindled in him. “You needed somebody to listen, I think.”

“You’re the right person for that, Keman,” Mero said over his shoulder as he headed for the door. “We have a lot in common. Thanks.”

He was gone before Keman could say “you’re welcome,” but the pleasure those few words gave him stayed with the young dragon for a long time.

TRY IT AGAIN,” Triana urged, and Mero frowned, though she knew it was not at her. His frown was for the smooth quartz river-pebble on the cool surface of the white marble table in front of him.

Nothing much was happening to it, which was the problem. Mero was having trouble mastering the illusion-spell.

Triana reminded herself not to look bored, and concentrated on keeping her expression interested and eager. “I—” she began.

Mero interrupted her. “Just a moment! I think I’ve got it here…”

The river pebble began to glow, a soft, pale gold that was barely discernible from the sunlight streaming in through the windows behind him. The glow brightened for a moment, then vanished altogether.

But the pebble continued to shine—the reflected sheen of light off the lustrous surface of polished gold.

To all appearances, the plain quartz pebble had been replaced by an identical roundel of solid gold.

“Excellent!” Triana applauded. “That’s it exactly! You’ve done it, you’ve built a perfect illusion!” Shadow looked up and beamed at her with pride. “Before long, you’ll be a match for any of us.” Inwardly she was laughing; he had all but abandoned his wizard-powers and was concentrating entirely on those magics he inherited from his elven blood. His attempts to make himself wholly elven were nothing short of hilarious.

He was like the overseers and the others, she thought with contempt. Fools who spent all their time trying to become something they weren’t—wasting their efforts in trying to find a “trick” that would make their magic stronger. She’d seen them use everything from vegetarian diets to celibacy to taking up some of the old human religions. And all that time that they were wasting, they
could
have been using to discover what it was they did best and strengthen
that
. If Mero had any sense at all, he’d be learning how to combine his magics, not denying he had the wizard-powers altogether.

Not that it really mattered. What was important was that her hold over him had continued undiminished. There had been no damage done to the glamorie after that incident with Laras. If anything, her power over him was stronger than ever.

She continued to praise his puny effort, while he basked in the warmth of her approval, and banished, then reinstated the illusion. Perhaps she would turn the other three over to the elders. If she engineered this right, it would look as if they were discovered from outside. She could hide Mero, and let Cheynar’s people take away the others—then he wouldn’t have anyone to turn to but her.

She smiled over his shoulder, at the trees beyond the windows. That wasn’t a bad plan at all; in fact, she ought to be able to accomplish it easily enough by having Cheynar’s people descend while she and Mero were off riding or hunting.

And it was something she was going to have to do, to put his cousin and those others completely out of his reach. If she didn’t get them out of here, Mero was never going to sever his ties completely with them. She felt it in her bones.

And then, once she had him isolated—she would throw him to the harem pack. He’d come out on top, but he’d have to use all of his abilities to do it. Including wizard-powers. That would keep him busy enough that he wouldn’t have time to think about Valyn and the others.

She found herself looking very much forward to it, as she nodded and spoke empty words of praise.

It would be most amusing…

Shana grabbed Mero’s arm as he passed, pulling him into the library before he could protest or pull away from her. She shut the door quickly, locked it, and turned, pressing her back up against it.

He stood where she had left him, a look of bored tolerance on his face. “All right, Shana,” he said, with weary patience. “What’s all this nonsense about? What is it Triana is supposed to have done now?”

“It isn’t what she’s done, it’s what she’s
going
to do,” Shana replied angrily, tossing her hair out of her eyes. “She’s moving you into a suite of rooms of your own, isn’t she? Right next to
hers!

Shadow shrugged carelessly, and Shana wanted to strangle him. He folded his arms over his chest, and sighed theatrically before replying. “I suppose there’s no use in denying it if you already know. So what?”

The bored expression on his face made her angry, and caused her to blurt out the first thing that came into her head. “So she’s separating us from you, that’s what! We hardly even see you anymore!
She
wants to keep you away from us so she can manipulate you—why, you haven’t said more than two words to Valyn in weeks!” That wasn’t what she’d intended to say. She had intended to sound a little more reasonable, but she couldn’t stop herself.

She noticed that he looked a little shamefaced when she’d mentioned Valyn, but otherwise he seemed unmoved.

“She doesn’t want you to have anything to do with us, Mero,” she continued, trying to make him react, trying to penetrate his indifference. “She’s going to betray us, I know she is, all of us but you—and then she’s going to use you—”

A look of disgust was her only reward, and he interrupted her impassioned speech. “I can appreciate that you’re concerned about me, but I don’t think that’s what’s really bothering you right now. You’re just jealous, Shana. She’s beautiful and well-bred—everything you
aren’t
—and you’re just jealous of her!” While she dropped her jaw in outrage over this injustice, he continued on, relentlessly. “I’m sorry for you, I really am; she’d be perfectly willing to be your friend—if you weren’t so sure there was something wrong with her just because she’s so lovely! You know, in a lot of ways she admires you—she thinks it’s really fascinating how strong and self-reliant you are. You could be her friend, Shana, if you weren’t so eaten up with envy!”

Shana clenched her fingers into white-knuckled fists, and felt her ears burn with mingled shame and fury. Shame—because she was jealous of Triana; how could she not be? Triana was exquisite, and standing next to her, Shana felt like a young heifer with muddy feet and a tangled tail. But fury because the elven maiden had taken Shadow in so completely. There was no way Triana wanted to be friends! The so-called overtures she had made were all as phony as a glass ruby. Every one of them had been poisoned sweets—with mockery beneath the gentle words. But no one—or at least, no one male—was going to believe that.
They
wouldn’t look any deeper than the surface.

“It’s not
you
I’m worried about,” she retorted angrily. “It’s what you’re doing to the rest of us! We’re
supposed
to be finding ways to help the humans and the halfbloods, but we haven’t done one single thing since we got here—because
you
have been spending all your time with
her!
You’ve been ignoring your wizard magics, trying to show off for her. I know you haven’t been learning anything about combining your powers—you’ve let it all go to waste, everything I tried to show you. And I’m telling you, Shadow, she’s going to betray us, you—all of us!”

As she searched his face for any sign that he’d actually heard her words, she felt herself being tempted to use her mental powers on him. If she could just force him to pay attention—and if he wouldn’t, she could probably control him—

“This is childish,” Mero declared loftily. “I’m not going to waste another moment of time on your infantile accusations.”

He reached forward and caught
her
arm before she could pull away. “And
don’t
try your wizard tricks on me—” he warned, as he took a firmer grip on her arm and forced her away from the door. “I’m ready for them, and you won’t get anywhere.”

And with that, he turned the lock and let himself out, slamming the door shut and leaving her fuming behind him.

She wanted to kick, scream, run after him and beat some sense into his head. She did none of these things. Instead, she forced herself to calm down to a point where she could think, taking deep breaths and deliberately emptying her mind, as the flush left her cheeks and ears, and her icy hands warmed.

She had to think objectively about this, she decided, when she had sufficiently calmed down. She went over to her favorite chair in the library and curled up in it, watching the tops of the trees tossing below her, as a high, warm wind whipped them, the kind of wind that heralded a storm. All right—if she kept an eye on Triana, there was nothing she could do that Shana and Keman together couldn’t escape from.
At least, I don’t think there is
. If they both watched her, they could get away. If Valyn wouldn’t believe her, too bad for him. She’d get him away when Triana betrayed them all and
then
he’d believe her.

She indulged in a brief daydream of tearing Valyn out of the hands of Cheynar’s men and escaping into the night with him—of his gratitude afterwards—

But reality intruded, and a stab of pain at the way Shadow had treated her. I am
jealous of Triana; Shadow’s right
. The way she manipulated and used him was sickening—she drained him without his knowing, otherwise he’d be farther along with his magic by now—

She suddenly realized something and her cheeks burned with shame.
She
had been using the others in exactly the same way, though not to the same degree. She’d been stealing their power, a little bit at a time—and she’d been considering using her mental abilities to manipulate Shadow. To manipulate him just as surely as Triana, though in a different way.

In fact, she’d been using her powers to manipulate a great many people in the past year.

She shuddered as she realized just how close she had come to becoming like Triana. She had learned a great deal with the wizards in the Citadel—but not once had any of them said anything about morality. The wizards were not unlike their elven parents—any means was fine so long as the desired end was reached.

And that was not what Alara had taught her.

That’s not right
, she told herself fiercely. I
don’t know what is right
—
but I know what isn’t
. You didn’t use your powers to manipulate friends who trusted you. That was betraying their trust.

She took a long, hard look at what the past year had made her, and she didn’t much like it.

I’m becoming as bad as the elves. Worse, because I know better.

She stared at the frantically tossing branches, and tried to figure a way out of the entanglement that
was
right. Shadow wasn’t listening to warnings. Valyn didn’t listen to her much at all. Keman was completely innocent. All right, she had warned everybody and only Keman believed her. So, if worst came to worst, what could she do?

She stared at the book on the floor, the last one she had been reading. There was something she could do, she realized as she stared at it. It wasn’t entirely ethical, but it was an elegant solution—

She could—she thought—steal enough power from Triana and the rest that she could transport all three conspirators out of there and back to the Citadel, that’s what she could do. Or at least as many of them as she could get in the same room. Which meant that she’d better start practicing the magic on small things. If she could steal enough power—

Her hand closed on the nearly forgotten amber lump from her hoard; she closed her hand around it in an automatic reflex, then took it out and stared at it—and began to laugh.

Stupid! Of
course
she’d have enough power! She could use her stones to amplify it! Why didn’t she think of that before?
Because I was so busy being jealous of Triana, that’s why
.

And that was an entirely elegant solution. She could drain enough from Triana alone to take them to the Citadel—and that would leave the elven lady helpless to follow or detain them.

If she was going to do it, she’d better start practicing now. She looked up as the room suddenly darkened, and saw that the storm clouds she had sensed were rolling in, covering the sky like blue-black clouds of ink.

She’d better get ready to use this—because that wasn’t the only storm that was moving in.

“Indeed, Lord Cheynar,” Triana said smoothly to the image on her wall. Let others put their teleson screens in their desktops; she preferred to lounge when she spoke to someone. “I have seen some signs that the wizards you seek are on my property. Can you tell me again exactly what the reward is if I happen to find them?” She batted her eyelashes at him. “I’m afraid it’s quite gone out of my head. The idea of wizards loose is terribly frightening, you know.”

Cheynar sighed impatiently and explained the relatively simple reward structure all over again. Triana widened her eyes innocently, and feigned attentiveness. “I’ll have my hunters look for them most diligently, my lord,” she told him. “I really do think they must have slipped past you and gotten onto my estate. There are too many odd occurrences—missing livestock, that sort of thing—that make a great deal of sense if you assume someone is hiding here.”

Before Cheynar could take the initiative and suggest that
his
men come look for the renegades, she pleaded exhaustion, and cut the communication.

Well, she thought, with a smile of satisfaction, that was certainly a good day’s work. The seeds were now nicely planted. The crop should be ready to harvest at any time.

Now for Mero—

She rose to her feet and sought him in his new quarters, the spacious, private suite she had assigned him next to hers. He was playing a game of draughts against one of the slaves when she came in, but jumped to his feet with a speed that was tremendously gratifying. The slave likewise sprang to his feet, and quickly took a place at the side of the table, ready to serve.

He was coming along nicely. “I didn’t know you played draughts,” she said, gliding across the room and taking the seat the slave had hastily vacated for her. “I used to be quite good at it, actually. I like strategy games—but then, the best kind of strategy game is the kind played with real people, like the one your friends are setting up.”

“What?” Mero said, frowning with puzzlement as he resumed his place.