The Floodgate

Basel studied her for a moment. "If you are determined to pursue this, perhaps Dhamari Exchelsor can help you. He was married to the lady in question."

This knocked Tzigone back on her heels. Sudden, vivid memories assailed her of long-ago nights when she was dragged from sleep to flee "her mother's husband." So great was her antipathy toward the man that she never once thought of seeking him out or even learning his name. It was a simple solution, a straight, short path. Yet the thought of facing down this man touched ancient depths of fear and anger and loss. Tzigone bore down hard, pushing the memories back into place.

"So I should just stop by this wizard's tower for a chat?"

Basel spread his hands in a gesture of uncertainty. "Dhamari Exchelsor is a very private person. He is not a member of the Council of Elders, and he keeps to himself. I can tell you little about his thinking on this matter. After Keturah left, he petitioned the Council for a legal divorce. Even so, he sent a number of wizards and mercenaries in search of her. I stopped hearing reports of these activities after five years or so. Perhaps he accepted that Keturah was gone for good."

This tallied with Tzigone's memories. "Why did she leave?"

"That, I ca

Matteo could go. Any wizard would open his door to the queen's jordain. The battle of Akhlaur's Swamp would come into conversation-it always seemed to. Kiva had been behind that battle, and Kiva had also been one of the agents sent to find Keturah. Matteo could surely find a way to move the conversation from Kiva to the runaway wizard.

"That seems reasonable," she said at last.

"Which no doubt means that you will do the opposite."

This droll observation surprised a grin from her, and then a frown. "Being contrary is almost like being predictable, isn't it?"

"Yes, but only if you're consistently contrary. Do what is right from time to time," he advised. "It will astonish most people and mystify the rest."

Her laugh rang out, rich and delighted. "Good advice. I may even take it."

Basel smiled and bid her goodbye with a wave of his hand. He held his smile until the door shut behind her, then he buried his face in his hands. He thanked Lady Mystra, and then he cursed her, for the bittersweet memories the girl evoked.

"Keturah," he murmured in a voice filled with a longing that neither faded nor forgot. "I never thought to hear your name again, much less your song! But by wind and word, it echoes through your daughter's laughter!"

Tzigone shut the door to Basel Indoulur's study and leaned wearily against it. She lifted her hands, palms up. "Procopio Septus," she muttered, lowering her left hand as if she'd just placed a heavy weight in it. She spoke the name of her mother's husband, and her right hand dropped even lower. For a moment, she stood with her hands see-sawing back and forth like an indecisive scale.

Suddenly she pushed herself off the wall and hurried to Basel's scrying chamber, employing the gliding, silent gait she'd perfected in a hundred forbidden corridors. It never hurt to keep all of her skills honed to a fighting edge.

The chamber was an odd bit of whimsy. The room was round, and the domed ceiling and mirrored floor made it appear spherical. A mural covered the walls with an under-seascape depicting waving seaweed, fantastic coral buildings, and schools of bright fish. A pair of painted mermaids were fiercely entwined, frozen in an undignified but entertaining catfight. Light filled the room with a deep blue, softly undulating haze. Scrying globes bobbed gently through the air like oversized bubbles. Tzigone seized a passing globe and settled down on a mock coral settee.

Basel had tutored her in the basics of magical communication, but Tzigone had picked up some interesting skills on her own. Contacting Sinestra Belajoon was a simple matter-she attuned the globe using the ring she'd taken from the woman's hand last time they'd met.

Clouds roiled within the crystal sphere, parting to reveal Sinestra's lovely face. The wizard looked curious but composed, an appropriate reaction when answering an unknown summons. But when Tzigone held the ring up, Sinestra threw back her head in a decidedly unladylike whoop of laughter.

"Keep the ring," Sinestra offered, still gri

"First things first," Tzigone advised. "Learn to walk in my shadows, and then I'll teach you how to make your own."

Excitement lit the wizard's face. "When? Where?"

"You know Procopio Septus?"

Sinestra's jaw dropped. "Know him? He's one of the most powerful diviners in all the land! His is the villa you've chosen to raid?"

"Why not?"

"Why not?" The wizard threw up her hands. "Where should I start? Have you gone completely moon-mad?"

"I've gotten in before. It's not as difficult as you might think."

"Since I think it's impossible, you're probably right. Lord and Lady, girl! Don't you have a better plan?"

"I have other options. None of them are good. This is the best and easiest way to get the treasure I have in mind."

Speculation crept into Sinestra's eyes. "What might that be?"

"You're a diviner. What sort of treasure do you go after?"

The wizard's hand went instinctively to the fortune in black pearls at her throat, but her eyes lit up in understanding. "Information can be more precious than rubies, and more difficult to trace than stolen gems. Let's do it!"

Tzigone had been expecting a longer argument. "You're putting a lot of faith in a thief you hardly know. This could be risky."

"Not really. I wear a ring of teleportation, and you can count on me deserting you on the first sign of danger. My dear Lord Belajoon gave it to me, so I could appear at his side whenever he bellows."

"Nice gift."

"A last resort, I assure you."

Tzigone instinctively traced a gesture of warding over her heart-a habit she'd picked up from the superstitious street performers she'd traveled with for years. In their world, there was no such thing as a "last resort." There were many possibilities, and the hope a better one around the corner. That was the reasoning that guided her now. Going to Dhamari Exchelsor sounded too much like a last resort. First she needed to explore the link between Sinestra's magic and her own memories of her mother. Of course, if the improbable proved true, and it turned out that Sinestra and Keturah were one, Tzigone wouldn't have to bother with Dhamari at all.

"Lesson one," Tzigone said firmly. "If you're serious about becoming a thief, you should never call anything a 'last resort. It's like daring the gods to prove you wrong. No matter how bad things get, they can generally manage to come up with something worse."

Sinestra's face turned both sympathetic and speculative. "How can you possibly be so cynical when you've never been married? Someday, I would like to hear your story."

Tzigone suppressed a wince and managed a wink. "Someday, so would I."