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.Her eyes watered, her nose ran, and she came within half a second of wetting herself.That was over too.Danifae was shaking as she stood.She mastered the barrage of emotions thatassaulted her-everything from humiliation to homicidal rage-with a singlethought:I'm free.She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and stepped away from her own sick.Zinniritfollowed, reaching out to steady her in case she fell again, but she avoided histouch, and he seemed as reluctant to touch her."I can't feel her," Danifae said even as she realized that the connection wastruly gone."She won't feel you either," said the mage."She'll probably think you died.wherever she is."Danifae nodded and collected herself.Part of her wanted to shriek with delight,to dance and sing like some sun-cursed surface elf, but she did not.There wasstill one more thing she needed.The battle-captive turned free drow blinked thetears from her eyes and looked at the old mage's hands.Zinnirit wore many rings, but Danifae was looking for one in particular, and sherecognized it immediately.On the second finger of Zinnirit's left hand was aband of intertwined platinum and copper traced with delicate Draconic script."You kept it," she said.He looked at her with narrowed eyes and shook his head."That ring," she explained."My mother's ring."Zinnirit nodded, unsure."You enchanted that for her yourself, didn't you?" she asked.Zinnirit nodded again."Wherever she might go," Danifae mused, "that ring would return her home to herprivate chamber in House Yauntyrr in far Eryndlyn.I remember she used it oncewhen we were in Llacerellyn.The ring took us both home when an idle threatturned into an assassination attempt and someone sent an elemental after her."You've never used it? You've never tried to go back?""There's nothing there," the mage answered too quickly."Nothing to return to.Iretuned the ring years ago to bring me back here.""Still, have you ever had necessity to use it?" she asked."Has it ever broughtyou back here from some distant cave?"Zinnirit shook his head."Never stepped through your own gates?"The old drow shook his head again and said, "I have nowhere to go."Danifae tipped her head to one side and let the tiniest smile of appreciationslide across her lips."You poor thing," she whispered."All these years.so lonely, waiting for onelast chance to serve a daughter of House Yauntyrr."Danifae reached out and took Zinnirit's hand.The mage flinched at her touch butdidn't pull away.She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it.Considering she'd just thrown upall over his floor, Zinnirit winced at the gesture, but still allowed it.Danifae pressed the old drow's hand to her cheek.It felt warmer, less dry."Dear Zinnirit," she whispered, looking the old mage in the eye, "what hasbecome of you?""I'm a thousand years old," the mage replied."At least, I think I am.I have noHouse, just these three gates and whatever meager tolls I can charge.I'm astranger in a strange city, with no House to protect me, no matron mother toserve.What has become of me? I can barely remember 'me'."Danifae kissed his hand again and whispered, "You remember me, don't you, HouseMage?"He didn't reply but didn't take his hand away."You remember our lessons," she said, punctuating her words with the gentle brush of her lips against his hand."Our special lessons?" She took his finger into her mouth and let her tongue play over it.The old drow's skin was dry and tasteless then there was the tang of metal against her lips."I didn't." the mage mumbled."I don't." Danifae slipped the ring off his finger, slowly teasing his flesh with her lips all the way.She tucked the ring under her tongue before kissing the back of his hand again."I do," she said.Danifae twisted the old drow's arm down and around hard and fast enough that more than one bone snapped in more than one place.Zinnirit gasped in pain and surprise and didn't even try to stop Danifae from turning him around.She brought her other hand up and cupped his chin.She was standing behind him, his broken arm twisted painfully behind his back."I remember," she whispered into his ear.Then she broke his neck.For any mage, the preparation of a day's spells was part experience, part intuition, and part inspiration.Pharaun Mizzrym was no different.From time to time he looked up from his spellbook to refresh his eyes and let a particularly complex incantation sink into his memory.What he saw when he looked up was the still, quiet deck of the ship of chaos.Larger patches of sinew and cartilage and ever more complex traceries of veins and arteriesembellished the bone ship.It lived-a simple, pain-ravaged, tortured, insensiblelife-and when it was quiet and the others were still in Reverie, Pharaunimagined he felt the thing breathing.The uridezu captain lay in his place, visited only by the occasional rat.He wascurled into a tight ball, his body wrapped into itself in a way that madePharaun's back ache to look at it.His breathing was deep and regular,punctuated by the odd snore.Jeggred sat opposite the captured demon, his knees drawn up to his chest and hishead down.Unlike Pharaun and his fellow dark elves, the draegloth slept.Obviously that was a trait carried over from his father, Belshazu.Well, the Master of Sorcere thought, you can't chose your parents.Quenthel sat as far away from the rest of them as she could, at the very tip ofthe demon ship's pointed bow.Her back was turned to Pharaun, and she satstraight and stiff, meditating.Can you talk? a voice echoed at the edge of his consciousness-a voice herecognized.Aliisza? he thought back.You remember me, the alu-demon's voice echoed more loudly in his head-or was itmore clearly? I will consider that a supreme honor.As well you should, Pharaun sent back, instinctively attaching light, playfulemotions to the thought.Where are you?On the ceiling, she replied, right above you.Pharaun couldn't help but look up, but even with his fine dark-vision, the gloomof the Lake of Shadows hid the ceiling from his sight.How did you find me? he asked.I'm a resourceful, intelligent, and talented woman.That you are, he replied.erter, http://wIf you levitate straight up, she sent, you'll come right to me.Well, Pharaun returned, in that case.The wizard closed the book he was working on, the spell still not fully prepared, and tucked the volume back into his pack
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