“Okay. You got me,” I said, looking back into my wine. “It’s a girl.”
“I thought so,” Tananda smiled. “Where have you been keeping her? Tell me, is she beautiful and sensitive?”
“All that and more.” I nodded, taking another drink from my goblet. “She’s also on the wrong side.”
“Woops,” Tananda said, straightening up. “You’d better run that one past me again.”
I filled her in on my encounters with Luanna. I tried to keep it unbiased and informative, but even I could tell that my tones were less controlled than I would have liked.
Tananda sat in silence for a few moments after I’d finished, hugging her legs and with her chin propped up on her knees.
“Well,” she said at last, “from what you say, she’s an accomplice at best. Maybe we can let her go after we get them all rounded up.”
“Sure.”
My voice was flat. Both Tananda and I knew that once Aahz got on his high horse there was no telling how merciful or vicious he would be at any given point.
“Well, there’s always a chance,” she insisted. “Aahz has always had a soft spot where you’re concerned. If you intercede for her, and if she’s willing to abandon her partners . . .”
“. . . and, if a table had wings, we could fly it back to the Bazaar.” I frowned. “No, Tananda. First of all, she won’t give up her partners just because they’re in a crunch. That much I know. Besides, if I put that kind of pressure on her, to choose between me and them, I’d never know for sure if she really wanted me or if she was just trying to save her own skin.”
Tananda got to her feet.