The Priestess and the Thief Kindred Tales 30 - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,53

the ring. Delicately, with one foreclaw, the big zorel turned the limp form over and sniffed it. Upon seeing no signs of life, he lifted his great black head and keened again.

It was a high, lonely sound filled with grief. It raised goosebumps on the backs of Elli’s arms—well, on the arm which hadn’t had all the little hairs singed off it anyway—and sent a chill down her spine.

The sound of the zorel’s grief seemed to unsettle the Tenebrian nobles as well. They were glancing with apprehension at the training ring and muttering among themselves.

But to Elli, this was a good sign—it was exactly what she’d been hoping for.

“You see?” she demanded, pointing to Demon. “The Fury has passed and he realizes what he’s done. He’s sorry now—ashamed of himself. I’ll be able to deal with him much more easily now.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Roke asked, frowning. “How are you going to get close enough to him to look him in the eyes without him clawing you or burning you to death?”

“He is extremely tall…” Elli said, frowning. “Which makes catching his eye a problem…”

Cocking her head to one side, she considered the situation. Her eyes lighted on the top of the wooden training fence and she had an idea.

“I know!” She turned to the Crown Prince. “Your Majesty, please have one of your servants run back to the palace and fetch me a ladder and a bowl full of those delicious pink fruits—krispers I think they’re called—and bring it back here to me at once.”

“Well…” The Crown Prince frowned and then shrugged. “All right—I suppose I may as well give you one more try. After all, if you die in the attempt, it’s your own fault. You there—boy!” he shouted to one of the stable hands.

The Tenebrian boy turned absolutely purple at being addressed by the Crown Prince himself but he rushed over at once and threw himself on his knees before the monarch.

“Yes, Y-y-your M-majesty?” he stuttered, barely audible with his face pressed into the grass. “What can this h-humble servant do for you?”

“Get up and do whatever it is this girl tells you.” The Crown Prince sounded bored. “And be quick about it, boy!”

The stable boy jumped to attention and faced Elli who repeated her request for a ladder and a bowl of krispers.

“And bring me some sweet biscuits too, if the kitchen can spare any,” she added. “I never knew a zorel yet that didn’t have a terrible sweet tooth.”

The boy nearly fell over again bowing to her and then he took off for the palace at a dead run, as though Demon himself was chasing him.

“All right, my dear.” The Crown Prince eyed her speculatively. “You shall have one more chance. Let’s see what you do with it.”

Then he strolled off, leaving Elli alone with Roke, who was still glaring down at her with barely repressed anger.

Twenty-Eight

“I told you—I just need to be high enough to catch his eye. This really is unnecessary,” Ellilah protested, tugging at the rope Roke was tying around her waist.

“It’s necessary for my peace of mind,” he growled. “And you’ll wear it so I can yank you down if I have to. It’s either that or I’m throwing you over my shoulder and taking you back to my ship right fucking now!”

“All right, all right.” She glared at him and sighed. “You’re getting all worked up over nothing, you know. As soon as I establish contact with Demon, he’ll be as sweet as a lambkin—you’ll see.”

“Right. I’ll believe it when I see it,” Roke said shortly. He still had more than half a mind to just toss the little priestess over his shoulder and carry her back to his ship. But he knew if he did that, Ellilah would never forgive him. Also, the fact that she was on a quest to save another priestess’s life gave him pause.

He knew the Goddess had tasked him with protecting Ellilah but presumably she also cared about the health of the one Ellilah was trying to save. So he had decided—very reluctantly—to let the curvy little priestess try again. But only with safety measures in place.

Ellilah’s idea was to sit on the top of the fence and try to catch Demon’s eye. Roke had approved this plan on the condition that she have a rope tied around her waist—a rope which he would be holding the other end of. If the huge zorel started rampaging again or tried to