mane, large eyes focused hard on her visitor. ‘You find time when you need help
in disaster,’ she said.
He had not patronized her before, or indeed any fortune-teller of thaumaturge in
Sanctuary. In Caronne, where he grew up, most folk had no use for magic. In his
later wanderings he had encountered sufficient strangeness to temper his native
scepticism. As shaken as he already was, he felt a chill go along his spine. ‘Do
you read my fate without even casting a spell?’
She smiled afresh, but bleakly. ‘Oh, no. It’s simple reason. Word did filter
back to the Maze that you were residing in the Jewellers’ Quarter and a frequent
guest at the mansion of Molin Torchholder. When you appear on the heels of a new
word – that last night his wife was reaved from him – plain to see is that
you’ve been affected yourself.’
He nodded. ‘Yes, and sore afflicted. I have lost -‘ He hesitated, unsure whether
it would be quite wise to say ‘my love’ to this girl whose charms he had rather
extravagantly praised.
‘- your position and income,’ Illyra snapped. ‘The high priest cannot be in any
mood for minstrelsy. I’d guess his wife favoured you most, anyhow. I need not
guess you spent your earnings as fast as they fell to you, or faster, were
behind in your rent, and were accordingly kicked out of your choice apartment as
soon as rumour reached the landlord. You’ve returned to the Maze because you’ve
no place else to go, and to me in hopes you can wheedle me into giving you a
clue – for if you’re instrumental in recovering the lady, you’ll likewise