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."See! Despite his boasts, I knocked him down easily, because I'm a plangent.You could be the same as me, or choose some other attribute mix.You could." The woman's voice trailed off as she gazed at Iahn gathering himself on the floor.The illusory facets of his disguise were boiling away like mist in the sun, leaving gaps and fissures through which his true appearance began to wink.He had but a moment.If the presence he had seen outside the Imaskaran ruin lived in Datharathi crystal, then it probably also lived in the plangent.If the presence within her crystal limbs caught sight of his real shape, he feared every other plangent in Vaelan would also know a Deep Imaskari vengeance taker was in town.He thrust himself from the floor, his legs like great springs.As he rose, he cocked his left hand into a fist and delivered an uppercut, perfectly timed with the assumption of his full height.The blow, which impacted perfectly on Tebora's most vulnerable bone and nerve plexus, might have taken her head clean off if she were a normal, unenhanced woman.Against Tebora, it was merely sufficient.The saleswoman gasped at the impact, then slumped down, unconscious.The luminosity of the woman's artificial limbs dimmed and went out."Well," said Ususi, one hand fumbling inside her disguise, perhaps seeking her wand in a reaction too late in coming, "I.I'm relieved to see plangents are no match for a vengeance taker."Tebora's limbs relit with an electric crackle, and lavender radiance started to pulse anew in the chamber."Go!" yelled Iahn.His disguise was in utter tatters.Ususi went.He raced after her out the door and into the street.As soon as the door closed, they slowed to a regular gait, like others who walked nearby.Iahn surreptitiously stripped away the dregs of his ruined disguise.He followed Ususi, assuming a position as a bodyguard instead of a manservant, especially with his dragonfly blade once more in hand instead of strapped uncomfortably to his back."Where to?" the wizard asked him as she walked down the street.The hairs on Iahn's neck prickled—one of the protective enchantments he cast daily on himself was alerting him he was under unseen observation.The vengeance taker pointed toward the closest alley.He considered telling Ususi how foolish she'd been in agreeing to the saleswoman's suggestion of a fight.But she was a wizard—she could figure it out on her own.The most important thing now was to deal with whomever was following them.Ususi walked into the alley and Iahn ducked in after her.In Vaelan, alleys were usually small side streets, but in this case, Iahn and Ususi were granted a stroke of luck—the passage was so narrow that relatively little light illuminated it from above.Plus, the alley was jammed with enormous jars and vases belonging to a nearby retailer.He motioned Ususi to continue walking.She shrugged and acquiesced, moving ahead of him.Iahn secreted himself behind a large vat filled with white beans and waited.Not ten heartbeats later, a shape with a hood drawn low over its face and a blue sash tied around its waist stepped around the corner and into the alley.As the spy passed Iahn, the taker grabbed the hood and pulled it back."Hold, plangent!" he cried."No!" It was a woman, but not the one Iahn was expecting.She wasn't a plangent.Iahn breathed a small sigh of relief.The woman didn't struggle in his grip.Instead, she pulled her hood down over her face again.She said, "I am not your enemy."Ususi turned and rushed back.Iahn said, "I don't know if you are my enemy or not.Why were you following us?""I watched you enter and leave the Body Shop, the first people I've seen from outside Vaelan to do so.I wanted to warn you to stay away from there—if you take the crystal, you'll never be the same!"Ususi interjected."The same?"The woman shrugged."Different.not yourself.""What's your name?" asked Iahn."My name is Eined Datharathi."CHAPTER TWELVEThe door opened, and carts filled with delicacies rolled into the room, pushed by kitchen staff.As was customary for Datharathi family council meetings, exquisite foods were brought up from the kitchens to fortify the hearts and stomachs of meeting-goers.One cart bore stacks of engraved plates, slender wooden utensils, goblets, and linens.Two more carts were covered with platters of food.Warian was suddenly hungry as he noted sliced clary peppers, salted ham shavings, curried nuts, pale cheeses, and many plates filled with masterfully cut slices of raw fish on rice.More platters bore fried breads, fruits sliced into fanciful shapes, apples in cream, and a tureen of thick fish soup.Warian recalled that this was an aspect of Datharathi Minerals that he didn't altogether detest.He got up, grabbed a plate, and loaded up on all his old favorites.His uncles, aunts, and cousins, who hadn't had to go five years without being feted with such a glorious spread, gave the food little notice.Xaemar asked Zeltaebar, "Zel, please tell me where Eined's run off to! You've pulled enough money out of discretionary funds to find an entire family.One woman hiding in Vaelan shouldn't be able to elude you."Warian cursed mentally, stuffed a handful of salted ham shavings into his mouth, and interrupted Zeltaebar's explanation."Wait.Zel told me Eined was kidnapped."Xaemar looked nonplussed."I sincerely doubt that.I think the girl absconded."Warian put down his plate, eyeing it somewhat regretfully.But the conversation demanded his undivided attention.He threw an accusatory glance at Zeltaebar.Zel spread his hands."We don't know what happened to her.She could have been kidnapped, whether Xaemar thinks so or not.""Doubtful," said Xaemar."Let me get this straight," Warian said, "You think she ran off on her own? Why would she do that?""The girl is ill," said Xaemar."Not physically.Mentally." He tapped his temple with one finger by way of demonstration."Over the last few years, she has become more and more unbalanced, more paranoid
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