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The Wizardwar :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 159 из 208' Once it was precisely that-a pigment made from the ground remains of mummies. It has not been used for years, of course, but was fairly common during a period when northerners were given to exploring and despoiling the Old Empires."
Tzigone lifted one eyebrow. "I can see why you and Matteo get along. Why did you follow me?"
"Actually, I didn't." He cleared his throat. "I came to help Lord Basel, on Matteo's behalf."
"Now I know you're lying. Matteo wouldn't have sent you here."
Andris's ice-green eyes narrowed. "Did he send you here?"
"Good point," Tzigone admitted. After a moment, she added, "Did you find anything?"
Andris moved over to the wall and tapped lightly on a carved panel. It slid aside silently to reveal a hidden passage. He shrugged aside Tzigone's incredulous stare. "The original designs for nearly every mansion of note are in the jordaini libraries."
She whistled softly. "If you're ever in need of a partner, I might be available."
They made their way down a series of hidden stairs and halls. Finally Andris led her into a deep-buried chamber. The room was round and empty but for a long, glass box resting on a marble table. Uriah Belajoon had entombed Sinestra under glass.
Tzigone edged closer. Her friend had changed from a raven-haired beauty into the woman Tzigone had once glimpsed in a magic-dispelling mirror.
"She does look a bit like my mother," she mused.
"Keturah," Andris remembered. "Kiva spoke of her in the Swamp of Akhlaur."
Tzigone nodded, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She placed one hand on the glass and sank deep into concentration, seeking the spell that killed Sinestra. Its nature was familiar enough-a particularly virulent silence spell often placed upon servants-but try as she might, Tzigone couldn't feel who had done the casting. The person was powerfully, magically shielded from her sight. Tzigone felt a faint echo of her mother's magic. "Dhamari," she said, pronouncing it like a curse.
Chapter Seventeen
Andris and Tzigone had no problem entering the palace, for Matteo had listed them in the guardhouse book. They were ushered through with an extravagant courtesy that Tzigone would have found amusing had she been in a brighter mood and more congenial company.
"Friends of the King's Counselor," she muttered in a dead-on imitation of the guard's obsequious tones. "I’m surprised there's no medal to go along with that title."
"Yes, I rather expected someone to pull out a sword and knight us.
Tzigone lifted one eyebrow. "I can see why you and Matteo get along. Why did you follow me?"
"Actually, I didn't." He cleared his throat. "I came to help Lord Basel, on Matteo's behalf."
"Now I know you're lying. Matteo wouldn't have sent you here."
Andris's ice-green eyes narrowed. "Did he send you here?"
"Good point," Tzigone admitted. After a moment, she added, "Did you find anything?"
Andris moved over to the wall and tapped lightly on a carved panel. It slid aside silently to reveal a hidden passage. He shrugged aside Tzigone's incredulous stare. "The original designs for nearly every mansion of note are in the jordaini libraries."
She whistled softly. "If you're ever in need of a partner, I might be available."
They made their way down a series of hidden stairs and halls. Finally Andris led her into a deep-buried chamber. The room was round and empty but for a long, glass box resting on a marble table. Uriah Belajoon had entombed Sinestra under glass.
Tzigone edged closer. Her friend had changed from a raven-haired beauty into the woman Tzigone had once glimpsed in a magic-dispelling mirror.
"She does look a bit like my mother," she mused.
"Keturah," Andris remembered. "Kiva spoke of her in the Swamp of Akhlaur."
Tzigone nodded, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She placed one hand on the glass and sank deep into concentration, seeking the spell that killed Sinestra. Its nature was familiar enough-a particularly virulent silence spell often placed upon servants-but try as she might, Tzigone couldn't feel who had done the casting. The person was powerfully, magically shielded from her sight. Tzigone felt a faint echo of her mother's magic. "Dhamari," she said, pronouncing it like a curse.
Chapter Seventeen
Andris and Tzigone had no problem entering the palace, for Matteo had listed them in the guardhouse book. They were ushered through with an extravagant courtesy that Tzigone would have found amusing had she been in a brighter mood and more congenial company.
"Friends of the King's Counselor," she muttered in a dead-on imitation of the guard's obsequious tones. "I’m surprised there's no medal to go along with that title."
"Yes, I rather expected someone to pull out a sword and knight us.