Page 39 (1/2)

"Barring that, he wanted to steal hiot to verify Denth’s skill or he got you"

"Butyou could have killed hi down the wrath of half the thieves, assassins, and burglars in the city? No, Grable kneasn’t ever in any danger from us"

Denth looked back at her "I’ht he’d befor the first time the careful ht of him as carefree, like Tonk Fah, but now she saw hints of so else Control Control that was, for the first ti

"Well, no harm done," she said

"Except for those slobs that Denth poked," Tonk Fah added, happily feeding another morsel to his monkey

"We need to--"

"Princess?" a voice asked froain, Denth’s sas out before Vivenna could track This time, however, he didn’t strike The ed brown clothing, and had a leathery suntanned face He had the look of a far forward, ignoring the blades "It is you I heard rumors, butoh, you’re here!"

Denth shot a look at Tonk Fah, and the largera hand in front of the newcoht the caution unnecessary had she just not seen Denth kill two er Denth always talked about was slowly seeping into her mind If this man had a hidden weapon and a little skill, he could kill her before she kneas happening

It was a chilling realization

"Princess," theto his knees "I am your servant"

"Please," she said "Do not putup "I’ since I left Idris! But, it is you!"

"How did you knoas here?"

"The Idrians in T’Telir," the man said "They say you’ve come to take the throne back We’ve been oppressed here for so long that I thought people were justup stories But it’s true! You’re here!"

Denth glanced at her, then at Grable’s restaurant, which was still close behind them He nodded to Tonk Fah "Grab him, search him, and we’ll talk somewhere else"

THE "SOMEWHERE ELSE" turned out to be a ragged du in a poor section of town about a fifteen minutes from the restaurant

Vivenna found the slu, on an intellectual level at least Even here, there was color People wore faded clothing Bright strips of cloth hung fros, and even sat in puddles on the street Colors, muted or dirty Like a carnival that had been hit by a mudslide

Vivenna stood outside the shack with Jewels, Parlin, and the Idrian, waiting as Denth and Tonk Fahany unseen threats She wrapped her ar an odd sense of despair The faded colors in the alley felt wrong They were dead things Like a beautiful bird that had fallen one

Ruined reds, stained yellows, broken greens In T’Telir, even siht colors How much must the people of the city spend on dyes and inks? If it hadn’t been for the Tears of Edgli, the vibrant flowers that grew only in the T’Telir climate, it would have been irowing, harvesting, and producing dyes from the special flowers

Vivenna wrinkled her nose at the smell of refuse Scents were more vibrant to her now, too, much like colors It wasn’t that her ability to ss that she smelled just seemed rich She shivered Even noeeks after the infusion of Breath, she didn’t feel nor people of the city, could sense Parlin beside her, watching the nearby alleys with suspicion She could sense Denth and Tonk Fah inside--one of the the basement

She could

She froze She couldn’t feel Jewels She glanced to the side, but the shorter wo left with the "kids" Her Lifeless abomination was beside her; Vivenna hadn’t expected to be able to feel it Why couldn’t she feel Jewels? Vivenna had a sharp ht be some twisted Lifeless creation Then, however, she realized that there was a simple explanation

Jewels had no Breath She was a Drab

Now that Vivenna knehat to look for, it was obvious Even without her wealth of Breath, Vivenna thought she ht have been able to tell There was less of a sparkle of life in Jewels’s eyes She seerue

Plus Jewels never noticed when Vivenna atching her Whatever sense , Jewels didn’t have it Vivenna turned away, and found herself blushing Seeing a person without Breathit felt like spying on so theht I wonder how it happened Had she sold it herself? Or had it been taken from her? Suddenly, Vivenna felt aard Why should I have so ? It was the worst kind of ostentation

She felt Denth approach before he actually pushed the door open It looked ready to fall off its hinges "Safe," he said Then he eyed Vivenna "You don’t have to be involved with this, if you don’t want to waste your time, Princess Jewels can take you back to the house We’ll question theyou word"

She shook her head "No I want to hear what he has to say"

"I figured as much," Denth said "We’ll want to cancel our next appointh Jewels, you--"

"I’ll do it," Parlin said