“How far away are we?” asked Paithan.
“From the dwarves? About two cycles’ journey, I should think,” remarked Roland, peering into the shadows.
“You think? Don’t you know?”
The human heaved himself to his feet. “You lose all sense of time down there. No hour flowers, no flowers of any sort.”
Paithan didn’t comment. He stared over the edge, as if fascinated by the darkness.
“I’m going to go check on the tyros.”
Rega stood up, gave the elf a sharp, meaningful glance, and motioned to her brother. Together, silently, the two walked away from the edge, returning to a small glade where the tyros had been tethered.
“This isn’t working. You’ve got to tell him the truth,” Rega said, her fingers tugging on the strap of one of the baskets.
“Me?” said Roland.
“Keep your voice down! Well, we have to, then.”
“And just how much of the truth do you plan to tell him, Wife, dear?”
Rega shot her brother a vicious sidelong glance- Sullenly, she looked away. “Just . . . admit that we’ve never been on this trail before. Admit we don’t know where the hell we are or where the hell we’re going.”
“He’ll leave.”
“Good!” Rega gave the strap a violent jerk that made the tyro bleat in protest. “I hope he does!”
“What’s got into you?” Roland demanded.
Rega glanced and shivered. “It’s this place. I hate it. And” -she turned back, staring at the strap, her fingers absently stroking it-“the elf. He’s different. Not like what you told me. He’s not smug and overbearing. He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He’s not a coward. He stands his share of the watch, he’s ripped his palms to shreds on those ropes. He’s cheerful and funny. He even cooks, which is more than you’ve ever done, Roland! He’s . . . nice, that’s all. He doesn’t deserve . . . what we were planning.”
Roland stared at his sister, saw a faint flush of crimson creep up from her brown throat to her cheeks. She kept her eyes lowered. Reaching out his hand, Roland caught hold of Rega’s chin and turned her face toward him. Shaking his head, he let out a low whistle.
“I believe you’ve fallen for the guy!”
Angrily, Rega struck his hand away.
“No, I haven’t! He’s an elf, after all.”
Frightened by her own feelings, nervous and tense, furious at herself and at her brother, Rega spoke with more force than she intended. Her lips curled at the word “elf,” she seemed to spit it out in disgust, like she’d tasted something foul and nasty.
Or at least that’s what it sounded like to Paithan.
The elf had risen from his place overlooking the drop and gone back to report to Roland that he thought their ropes were too short, there was no way they could lower the baggage. Moving with elven lightness and grace, he hadn’t intentionally planned to sneak up on the two. That was just the way it turned out. Hearing clearly Rega’s last statement, he crouched in the shadows of a dangling evir vine, hidden by its broad, heart-shaped leaves, and listened.
“Look, Rega, we’ve come this far, I say we carry the plan out to the end. He’s wild about you! He’ll tumble. Just get him alone in some dark patch, maneuver him into a clinch. I’ll rush in and save your honor, threaten to tell all. He forks over the cash to keep us quiet and we’re set. Between that and this sale, we’ll live high for the next season.” Roland reached out his hand, affectionately stroked Rega’s long, dark hair. “Think about the money, kid. We’ve gone hungry too many times to pass up this chance. Like you said, he’s only an elf.”
Paithan’s stomach clenched. Hastily, he turned away, moving silently through the trees, not particularly watching or caring where he was going. He missed Rega’s response to her husband, but that was just as well. If he had seen her look up at Roland, grinning conspiratorially; if he had heard her pronounce the word elf in that tone of loathing one more time, he would have killed her.
Falling against a tree, suddenly dizzy and nauseous, Paithan gasped for breath and wondered at himself. He couldn’t believe he was acting like this. What did it matter, after all? So the little slut had been playing with him? He’d noticed her game in the tavern before they ever left on this journey! What had blinded him?