Devin had briefly wondered about the wisdom of...

Posted at 11:52 AM, Friday, January 29, 2010

Devin had briefly wondered about the wisdom of that, but Alessan had explained, even before Devin could ask: Rinaldo was greatly changed in eighteen years; few people even knew he had been blindedHe had been a much-loved man: for Casalia to have released such a word would have been dangerous back thenThey had gouged Rinaldo's eyes to neutralize him, and then kept it very quiet The old man, huddled quietly now in a corner of Solinghi's, was unlikely in the extreme to be recognized, and the only thing they could really do these days was contribute as much as they could to raising tensions in the cityIf the Governor could be made more anxious, the emissaries a little more uneasy Rinaldo himself said little, though it was he himself who had first suggested starting the rumorHe seemed to be coiling or gathering himself; dior women with a war to come the demands on a Healer would be severe, and Rinaldo was not young anymoreWhen he did speak it was mostly with SandreThe two old men, enemies from rival provinces in the time before the Tyrants, now eased and distracted each other with whispered recollections from bygone years, stories of men and women who had almost all crossed to Morian long ago Erlein di Senzio was seldom with them the past few daysHe played his music with Devin and Alessan but tended to eat and drink alone, sometimes in Solinghi's, more often elsewhereA few of his fellow Senzians had recognized the troubadour over the course of their time here, though Erlein seemed no more effusive with them than he was with any of their own partyDevin had seen him walking one morning with a woman who looked so much like him he was sure she was his fake cartier watches sisterHe had thought of walking over to be introduced, but hadn't felt up to enduring Erlein's abrasivenessOne might have naively thought that as events hung fire here, poised on the edge of a climax, the wizard would lay down his own grudges finally He wasn't worried about Erlein's absences because Alessan wasn'tFor the man to betray them in any way was certain death for himselfErlein might be enraged and bitter and sullen, but he wasn't, by any stretch, a fool He had gone elsewhere to dine this evening as well, though he would have to be back in Solinghi's soon; they were due to play in a few minutes and for their music Erlein was never lateThe music was their only sanctuary of harmony these last few days, but Devin knew that only really applied to the three of themWhat some of the others scattered about the city were prada fairy bag colored doing for release he couldn't imagine "Something's wrong!" Blind Rinaldo said abruptly beside him, tilting his head as if sniffing the airAlessan stopped sketching the distrada terrain on the tablecloth and looked up quicklySandre had already half-risen from his chair Alais hurried up to the tableEven before she spoke Devin felt a finger of dread touch him "Catriana's gone!" she said, fighting to keep her voice lowHer eyes flicked from her father to Devin, then rested on Alessan "What? How?" Rovigo said sharply"We would have had to see her when she came down, surely?" "The back stairs outside," Alessan saidHis hands, Devin, noticed, had suddenly flattened on the tabletopThe Prince stared at Alais"What else?" The girl's face was white"She changed her clothesI don't understand whyShe bought a black silk gown and some jewelry gucci bags leather in the market this afternoonI was going to ask her about it but I I didn't want to presumeShe's so hard to ask questions ofAll the things she bought "A silk gown?" Alessan said incredulously, his voice rising"What in Morian's name ?" But Devin already knew Alessan hadn't been with them that morning, neither had SandreThey had no way of understandingA bone-deep fear dried his mouth and began hammering at his heartHe stood up, tipping over his chair, spilling his wine "Oh, Catriana," he said"Catriana, no!" Stupidly, fatuously, as if she were in the room, and could still be stopped, still be kept among them, dissuaded from going out into the dark alone with her silk and jewels, with her unfathomable courage and her pride "What? Devin, tell me, what is it?" Sandre, voice like a knifeOnly turned, the grey eyes bracing for chanel bag gold chain pai