Then rough hands grabbed his shoulders and he was hauled over the ledge, and on the group ran. They pa.s.sed several dead cyclopians, including the two Luthien and Oliver had killed, and came out of the tunnel, hearing that the cyclopians had gained the ledge behind them and were once again in pursuit.

"Our horses are there!" Luthien explained to Siobhan, and she nodded and kissed him quickly, then pushed him along to catch up with Oliver. She and her Cutter companions, along with Shuglin and the other dwarf, went the other way, disappearing into the brush.

"I cannot believe they came for us," Luthien remarked as he caught up to the halfling, Oliver with one foot already in Threadbare's stirrup.

"You must be a good kisser," the halfling answered. Then Threadbare leaped away, Riverdancer pounding right behind, back out onto the road.

The cyclopian horde exited the mine, howling with outrage, but all they heard was the pounding of hooves as Luthien and Oliver charged away.

Chapter 21.

UNWANTED ATTENTION.

Luthien casually walked into the Dwelf sometime after Oliver, as the halfling had instructed. Oliver had grown very cautious in the week since the escape at the mines and had gone out of his way so that he and Luthien were not viewed as an inseparable team. Luthien didn't really understand the point; there were enough halfling rogues in this area of Montfort to more than cover their tracks. If the Praetorian Guard was searching for a human and his halfling sidekick, they would have dozens of possibilities to sift through.

Luthien didn't argue, though, thinking the halfling's demands were prudent.

The Dwelf was packed, as it had been every night that week. Elves and dwarves, halflings and humans filled every table-except one. There in the corner sat a group of cyclopians, Praetorian Guards, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fine weapons and wearing grim, scowling expressions.

Luthien pushed his way through the crowd and found, conveniently, an empty stool at the bar near Oliver.

"Oliver!" he said, overly excited. "So good to see you again! How long has it been? A month?"

Oliver turned a skeptical look upon the exuberant young man.

"You were both in here the night before last," Tasman remarked dryly, walking past.

"Oops," Luthien apologized, giving a weak smile and a shrug. He looked around at the throng. "The crowd is large again this night," he remarked.

"Good gossip brings them in," Tasman replied, walking past the other way and sliding an ale across the counter to Luthien as he went off to see to another thirsty customer.

Luthien hoisted the mug and took a hearty swig, then noticed Oliver's profound silence, the halfling wearing an expression which showed him to be deep in contemplation.

"Good gossip-" Luthien started to say. He was going to ask what the patrons might be talking about, but in just deciphering the small patches of conversation he caught out of the general din about him, he knew the answer. They were talking about the Crimson Shadow-one scruffy-looking human even shuffled his drunken way near the cyclopians' table and muttered, "The Shadow Lives!" and snapped his fingers under their noses. One of the brutes started up immediately to throttle the rogue, but its comrade grabbed it by the arm and held it firmly in place.

"There is sure to be a fight," Luthien said.

"It will not be the first this week," Oliver replied glumly.

They remained in the Dwelf for more than an hour, Luthien taking in all the excited chatter and Oliver sitting with a single ale, mulling over the situation. A general chorus of dissatisfaction sounded behind every story, and it seemed to Luthien as if the legend he had become had given the poor of Montfort a bit of hope, a rallying point for their deflated pride.

His step was light when Oliver left the Dwelf, signaling him to follow.

"Perhaps we should stay a while," Luthien offered when they walked out into the crisp night air. "There may be a fight with the cyclopians, and the brutes are better armed than the Dwelf's patrons."

"Then let the patrons learn their folly," Oliver retorted.

Luthien stopped and watched the halfling as Oliver continued on his way. He didn't know exactly what was bothering Oliver, but he understood that it probably had something to do with the increased attention.

Oliver was indeed worried, fearful that this whole "Crimson Shadow" business was quickly getting out of control. It did not bother the halfling to hear the populace speaking out against the tyrannies of Morkney and his pompous merchant cla.s.s-those wretches had it coming, the halfling figured. But Oliver did harbor a thief's worst fear: that he and Luthien were attracting too much unwanted attention from powerful adversaries. The halfling loved being the center of attention, oftentimes went out of his way to be the center of attention, but there were reasonable limits.

Luthien caught up to him quickly. "Have you planned an excursion into the upper section this night?" the young man asked, and it was plain from his tone that he hoped Oliver had not.

The halfling turned his gaze upon Luthien and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow as if to mock the question. They had not pulled any jobs since springing Shuglin, and Oliver had explained that they likely wouldn't go into the upper section again for at least a month. He knew why Luthien was asking, though.

"You have plans," he stated as much as asked. Oliver could guess the answer readily enough. Luthien was ready for another tryst with Siobhan.

"I will meet with the Cutters," Luthien answered, "to check on Shuglin and his companion."

"The dwarves fare well," Oliver said. "Elves and dwarves get on well, since they share persecution at the hands of the humans."

"I just want to check," Luthien remarked.

"Of course," Oliver said with a wry smile. "But perhaps you should come this night back to the apartment. The air is chill and the Dwelf will likely see trouble before the moon is set."

The deflated look that washed over Luthien nearly pulled a burst of laughter from Oliver's serious expression. Oliver didn't harbor any intentions of keeping Luthien from his meeting, he just wanted to make the young man squirm a bit. In the halfling's view, love should never be an easy thing: sweeter tasting is the forbidden fruit.

"Very well," the halfling said after a long and uncomfortable moment. "But do not be out too late!"

Luthien was off and running, and Oliver did chuckle. He smiled all the way back to the apartment, his worries brushed aside by his romantic nature.

Candles burned long into the night in the private chambers of Duke Morkney's palace. A group of merchants had demanded an audience, and the duke, so busy with the approaching end of the trading season, could find no time to accommodate them earlier in the day.

Morkney could easily guess the topic of this meeting-all of Montfort was buzzing about the break at the mines. Morkney was not so concerned with the news-this wasn't the first time a prisoner had escaped, after all, and it wouldn't likely be the last. But these merchants, standing before the duke's fabulous desk, their grim features set with worry, obviously were more than a little concerned.

The duke sat back in his chair and listened attentively as the merchants complained and whined, their stories always connected to this mysterious Crimson Shadow figure.

"They're painting red shadows all over my store!" one man grumbled.

"And mine," two others said at the same time.

"And nearly every street in Montfort bears the words 'The Shadow Lives!' " offered another.

Morkney nodded his understanding; he, too, had seen the annoying graffiti. He understood, too, that this Crimson Shadow wasn't doing the painting. Rather, others were taking up the call of this mysterious figurehead; and that, Morkney was wise enough to realize, was more dangerous indeed.

He listened to the rambling merchants for another hour, politely, though he heard the same stories over and over again. He promised to take the matter under serious consideration, but secretly, Morkney was hoping that this minor annoyance would simply go away.

King Greensparrow was complaining again about the size of Montfort's t.i.the, and by all the words of the local seers, the winter would be a cold one.

And so the duke of Montfort was more than a little relieved when the captain of his Praetorian Guard interrupted his breakfast the next morning to inform him that the wagon caravan which had set out for Avon-the caravan carrying the four men who had been sentenced the same day as the dwarf, Shuglin-had been attacked on the road.

The captain of the guard produced a tattered red cloak, its material taking on the darker hue of dried blood in many places.

"We got the bloke," the cyclopian said. "No more Crimson Shadow. And we got the halfling 'twas said to be traveling in the shadow's shadow! And seven others"-he held up six fingers-"that were with them."

"And the caravan?"

"On its merry way," the cyclopian replied happily. "I lost four, but we got two more prisoners now, and the Crimson Shadow and the halfling're dead and dragging by ropes behind."

Morkney took the torn cloak and promised the soldier that he and his troops would be properly rewarded, then dismissed the cyclopian and found that his breakfast suddenly tasted better.

Later, though, on a sudden discomforting hunch, Morkney took the torn cloak into his private study. He searched his library for a specific tome, then fumbled through his desk drawers to find the proper components for a spell. The Crimson Shadow had left telltale signs behind him on his thieving adventures, silhouettes magically created against walls and windows, and by Morkney's reasoning, this cloak was likely the source.

The duke sprinkled exotic herbs and powders over the tattered cloth and read the enchantment from his book. The components eerily glowed a silvery blue hue, then went dark.

Morkney waited quietly for another minute, then another. Nothing happened. The bloodstained cloak was not magical and had never been enchanted.

Like the vandals painting walls throughout the city, this attempted raid had not been the handiwork of the real Crimson Shadow, but rather the lame attempt of an upstart glory-seeker.

Duke Morkney settled back into a large chair and put his old and shaky hand up to his chin. The Crimson Shadow was fast becoming a real problem.

The Dwelf was subdued that day and that night, sobered by news that a halfling named Stumpy Corsetbuster and a human rogue by the name of Dirty Abner had been killed out on the road east of Montfort. The Crimson Shadow was dead, said the rumors-rumors that Oliver deBurrows did not seem so unhappy to hear when he entered the tavern to join Luthien sometime after sundown.

"Yep, the Crimson Shadow's no more, so it's said," Tasman remarked to them, filling their mugs.

It occurred to Luthien that the barkeep's expression was not in accord with the gravity of his words. And how long had it been, Luthien wondered, since Tasman had asked him or Oliver for any payment? Or were free drinks a benefit of renting an apartment from the barkeep?

Tasman walked away to see to another customer, but he let his stare-his knowing stare, Luthien realized-linger long on the young man and the halfling sitting beside him.

"A pity about Stumpy," Oliver remarked. "A fine halfling-type, with a fine fat belly." As with Tasman, though, Luthien didn't think Oliver's emotions agreed with his words.

"You're not bothered by this," the young man accused. "Some men-and your fine halfling-type-are dead."

"Thieves are killed every day in Montfort's streets," Oliver remarked, and he looked directly into Luthien's cinnamon-colored eyes. "We have to consider the benefits."

"Benefits?" Luthien nearly choked on the word.

"Our money will not last the winter," Oliver explained. "And I do not like the prospects of wandering the open road with so cold snowflakes coming down around me."

Luthien figured it out. He settled back over his mug of ale, his expression forlorn. The whole affair left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Now if we could only coax your remarkable cape to stop leaving its mark behind," Oliver added.

Luthien nodded grimly. There was a price in all of this less-than-honorable life, he decided, a price paid for by his conscience and his heart. People had died in the name of the Crimson Shadow, impersonating the Crimson Shadow, and now he and Oliver would use that grim fact for their benefit. Luthien drained his mug and motioned for Tasman to get him another.

Oliver tugged on his arm and nodded to the Dwelf's door, then whispered that they would be wise to take their leave.

A group of Praetorian Guards entered the tavern, smug looks on their ugly faces.

Soon after Luthien and Oliver got back to their apartment, a fight erupted in the Dwelf. Three men and two cyclopians were killed, many others wounded, and the Praetorian Guards were driven back into the upper section.

Duke Morkney was again awake late that night. Midnight was the best hour for what he had in mind, the time when magical energies were at their peak.

In his private study, the duke moved to one wall and slid a large tapestry aside, revealing a huge golden-edged mirror. He settled into a chair directly in front of it, read from a page in another of his magical tomes and tossed a handful of powdered crystal at the gla.s.s. Almost immediately, the reflections in the mirror disappeared, replaced by a swirling gray cloud.

Morkney continued his arcane chant, sending his thoughts-thoughts of the Crimson Shadow-into the mirror. The gray cloud shifted about and began to take form, and Morkney leaned forward in his chair, thinking that he would soon learn the ident.i.ty of this dangerous rogue.

A wall of red came up suddenly across the mirror, blotting out everything within its enchanted confines.

Morkney's eyes widened in amazement. He took up the chant again for nearly an hour, even sprinkled the mirror several more times with the valuable crystalline powder, but he could not break through the barrier.

He went back to his desk and the pile of books and parchments he had pored over all day. He had found several references to the legendary Crimson Shadow, a thief who had terrorized the Gascons in their days of occupation. But these written tidbits were as vague as the clues left by the man now wearing the mantle. One reference had spoken of the crimson cape, though, and told of its magical dweomer designed to shelter its possessor from prying eyes.

Morkney looked back to the red mirror; apparently the cloak could shelter its possessor from magical prying, as well.

The duke was not too disappointed, though. He had learned much this night, gaining confirmation that the rogues on the road were impostors and that the real Crimson Shadow was indeed still alive. And wise Morkney, who had lived through centuries, was not too upset that the cloak had blocked his scrying attempt. He could not get the image of the Crimson Shadow into his minor, but perhaps he could locate someone else, some tear in this crafty thief's disguise.

Chapter 22.

BAIT.

Oliver went into the Dwelf alone a couple of days later. As usual, the place was crowded, and as usual, most of the talk centered on the continuing antics of the Crimson Shadow. One group of dwarves at a table near the bar where Oliver was sitting whispered that the Crimson Shadow had been killed out on the road, trying to free four enslaved men. The muscular, bearded dwarves lifted their flagons in toast to the memory of the gallant thief.

"He's not dead!" a human at a nearby table protested vehemently. "He pulled a job last night, he did! Got himself a merchant on the way." He turned to the other men at the table, who were nodding in complete agreement.

"Skewered the bloke right 'bout here," one of them added, poking a finger into the middle of his own chest.

Oliver was not surprised by any of the outrageous claims. He had witnessed similar events back in Gascony. A thief would rise to a level of notoriety and then his legend would be perpetuated by imitators. There was more than flattery involved here; often lesser thieves could pull jobs more easily, frightening their targets by impersonating a notorious outlaw. Oliver sighed at the thought that someone had died playing the Crimson Shadow, and the possibility that he and Luthien, if caught, might now be charged with murdering a human merchant did not sit very well. Pragmatically, though, all the talk was good news. Imitators would blur the trail behind Oliver and Luthien; if the merchant-types thought the Crimson Shadow dead, they would likely relax their guard.

The contented halfling tuned out the conversations and took a look around the Dwelf, searching for a lady to court. The pickings seemed slim this night, so Oliver went back to his ale, instead. He noticed Tasman then, standing a short distance down the bar, wiping out gla.s.ses and eyeing him grimly. When Oliver returned the look, the wiry barkeep eased his quiet way down to stand before the halfling.

"You came alone," Tasman remarked.

"Young Luthien cannot control his heart," Oliver answered. "He goes again this night to meet with his love-a moonlight tryst on a rooftop." The halfling spoke wistfully, revealing that he was beginning to approve of the lovers. Oliver was indeed a romantic sort, and he remembered his days back in Gascony when he had left one (at least) broken heart behind him in every town.

Tasman apparently was not sharing the halfling's cozy feelings. His expression remained grim. "He'll be back at the apartment soon, then," he said.

"Oh, no," Oliver began slyly, misunderstanding Tasman's meaning. As he continued to study the grim-faced barkeep, Oliver began to catch on.

"What do you mean?" he asked bluntly.

Tasman leaned over the bar, close to Oliver. "Siobhan, the half-elf," the barkeep explained. "She was taken this day for trial in the morning."

Oliver nearly fell off his stool.

"She was accused for the escape at the mines," Tasman explained. "Her merchant master walked her into Duke Morkney's palace this very afternoon-apparently she didn't even know that she was to be arrested."