Страница 17 из 141
As she waited, Je
She imagined eyes in the darkness watching her. The hairs at the back of her neck lifted.
The door finally drew in, but only as wide as the face of the woman peering out at them. "Yes?"
Je
"Are you Lathea?" she asked. "Lathea, the… sorceress?"
"Why?"
"We were told that Lathea the sorceress lives here. If that's you, may we come in?"
Still the door didn't open any wider. Je
"I'm not a midwife. If you want to get yourself out of the trouble you two are in, I can't help with that. Go see a midwife."
Je
The woman peered out for a moment, considering the two strangers at her door. "What sort of medicine do you need, then?"
"No medicine. A… spell. I've met you before, once. I need a spell like you once cast for me-when I was little.»
The face in the shadows frowned. "When? Where?"
Je
"Helped you what? Speak up, girl."
"Helped… hide me. With some kind of spell, I believe. I was little at the time, so I don't recall exactly."
"Hide you?"
"From Lord Rahl.
There was an awful silence from the house.
"Do you remember? My name is Je
"Je
Je
Je
"Now, be gone. The both of you." The door started to close.
"Wait! Please-I can pay."
Je
The woman inspected the gold mark for a time, perhaps considering if it was worth becoming involved again in what was sure to be a high crime, even for what amounted to a small fortune.
"Now do you remember?" Sebastian asked.
The woman's eyes turned to him. "And who are you?"
"Just a friend."
"Lathea, I need your help again. My mother. Je
"Well, you have the wrong person."
Je
"Lathea, please, I'm at my wits' end. I need help."
"She's given you a goodly sum," Sebastian put in. "If you say that we have the wrong person, and you don't want to help, then I guess we should save the gold for the right person."
Lathea gave him a sly smile. "Oh, I said she had the wrong person, but I didn't say I couldn't earn the payment tendered."
"I don't understand," Je
Lathea gazed out at her for a moment, as if waiting to be sure they were paying close attention. "You are looking for my sister, Althea. I am La-thea. She is Al-thea. She is the one who helped you, not I. Your mother probably got our names mixed up, or you recalled it wrong. It used to be a common mistake, back when we were together. Althea and I have different talents with the gift. It was she who helped you and your mother, not I.»
Je
There was still a thread of hope. "Please, Lathea, could you help me this time? In your sister's place?"
"No. I can do nothing for you. I am blind to your kind. Only Althea can see the holes in the world. I ca
Je
"Yes. I have told you what I can. Now, go away."
The woman started pulling back from the door.
"Wait! Please! Can you at least tell me where your sister lives, then?"
She looked back at Je
"It's business," Sebastian said, his voice as cold as the night, "A gold mark's worth. For that price we should at the least have the place where we can find your sister."
Lathea considered his words, then in a voice as cold as his had been said to Je
Je
"Last time I saw her she lived near there with her husband. You can inquire there for the sorceress Althea. People will know her-if she still lives."
Sebastian put his hand against the door before the woman could shut it. "That's a pretty thin bit of information. We should have more than that for the price offered."
"For what I have told you the price is paltry. I gave you the inforrnation you need. If my sister wants to tempt her doom, that's up to her. What I don't need, for any price, is trouble."
"We mean no trouble," Je
"If you had any decency, you'd leave Althea alone. Your kind will only bring us harm. Now go from my door before I set a nightmare upon you."
Je
"Someone already has," she said as she turned away.