It wasn't the pain of the twist that was worrying him the most right now, although he detested being treated like a border bandit. His chief concern was Sariana.
He should have known she would follow him instead of heading back to Last Chance as ordered. Mentally he calculated the distance she had come. He didn't know for certain when she had left the cove, but he was willing to lay odds on the time having been shortly before dawn. About the instant Targyn had sent that paralyzing blast of energy into his head.
She must have found him by the same means he had traced her at the Little Chance fair, using the strange link that shimmered erratically between them.
Gryph glanced at Sariana who was eating her food with all the fine manners she would use during a formal meal in the Avylyn household. From her calm, politely regal attitude a man would think she dined out in strange chambers lined with alien metal several times a month. She constantly amazed him.
He knew from the fact that she had obviously been drenched earlier in the day that the loss of the sled had been a harrowing ordeal. He could only speculate on what had happened to the blade bow. It had undoubtedly been lost when the sled capsized.
Ah, well, he chided himself. If it hadn't disappeared into the river, Targyn would have taken it from her when he had discovered her climbing the canyon wall. There was no point tormenting himself with thoughts of how useful the weapon would have been in their present situation. A man had to work with what he had.
Unfortunately, what he had at the moment was a very limited assortment of tools. "From the beginning?" Rakken mused as he served himself from one of the platters Miscroft had left.
He poured another glass of wine for himself while he was at it. "Well, that would take us back to a little over five years ago when I just accepted the reality of my circumstances. It was clear to me that I was going to have to live in exile for the rest of my days. An unfortunate scandal back home ensured my sentence. I determined then that my exile would be as comfortable as possible, however." He looked at Sariana with a faint smile. "For the past year I have urged you to accept the reality of your own exile, Sariana. But you insisted on clinging to your dreams of going home. If you had shown a realistic attitude, I would have taken you into my confidence much sooner. I have felt all along that you and I would make a good team. But you needed time to adjust to the notion of being stranded in the western provinces."
"She's not stranded," Glyph pointed out coolly. "Nor is she in exile. Not any longer. In case you've
forgotten, she has recently married into a new social class. That class has a policy of looking after its own. That's something you would do well to keep in mind."
Rakken's mouth twisted slightly. "So you have become Shield business, Sariana. If you had shown some sense when I suggested a marriage alliance between the two of us you would not be in the situation you presently find yourself."
"What situation is that, Etion?" Sariana faced him with politely challenging inquiry. "Tell me exactly what is going on around here."
"Very well." Etion sat forward, his expression becoming more intense. He sipped wine, ignoring his food. "Five years ago I set out to make my fortune here in the west. The bank I established has proved quite profitable. The locals are shrewd in some ways but quite unsophisticated in others."
"Spoken like a typical easterner," Gryph muttered as he slowly put a wedge of bread into his mouth and chewed.
"I'm afraid it's true," Etion said mildly. "Westerners proved fairly easy to manipulate in business, although I'll admit they're learning. In any event, given the foreseeable future, I tried to make the best of matters. I learned as much as I could about western history, including the legend of the Shield class. It was, I soon found out, all bound up with the legend of the origin of prisma. I quickly discovered just how extremely valuable and rare prisma is. I decided that my goal would be to comer the market. But other than that which already exists as jewelry or weapon kit locks, the stuff is impossible to find. And then I learned that the only way to get more of it was to uncover something called a prisma crystal ship."
"I didn't even believe such ships existed until recently," Sariana put in.
Rakken nodded. "I know. The locals have a built-in tendency toward drama. They love a good story. For quite some time I was sure the tale of the ships and the Shields' ability to work prisma was just the stuff of legend. But I needed to know as much as possible about my subject, so I pursued that legend. I ran into other problems when I tried to find out the Shields' version of the story."
"Let me guess," Gryph said. "You couldn't get one to talk."
"You are an extremely closed-mouth lot as I found out when I finally made a journey to one of the frontier provinces. Strong, silent types. At least when it came to discussing your past. No cooperation at all. But I persevered."
"How did you root out Targyn?" Gryph asked with genuine curiosity. "He was supposed to have died gloriously fighting off a pack of bandits."
Sariana gave him a sidelong glance. "Apparently Shields like a good, rousing tale as much as everyone else around here does. You had no problem buying the legend of Targyn, I take it?"
Gryph shrugged and winced when the small action caused the twist's straps to jerk. "To tell you the truth, everyone was greatly relieved that Targyn had disappeared in a noble battle. He was becoming a problem."
Etion arched his eyebrows. "I can guess why. He's a rather obsessive individual, isn't he?"
"Nuttier than a rackle seed cake," Gryph agreed.
Etion nodded. "He's fanatically interested in Shield history."
"And in his own future?" Sariana asked dryly.
"Quite correct," Rakken said. "The man has apparently devoted a lifetime to exploring the possibilities of working prisma in unique ways. He obviously must have had some natural talent to begin with, but one must credit him with being willing to develop himself." Rakken looked directly at Gryph. "He is very strong when it comes to working prisma, I take it? Stronger than most Shields?"
"Most Shields don't attempt to turn prisma into a usable, weapon," Gryph said with seeming carelessness. "It's dan-ggrous enough as it is."
"Could you do what he plans to do?" Rakken insisted.
"Detonate prisma in a controlled manner?" Gryph shrugged. "I doubt it. Not without lulling myself and everything else within a radius of several hundred kilometers. If you want my opinion, I doubt that Targyn can do it, either."
