Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 01 by Trouble Found Magic Lost Page A

enough to get him into trouble. But
what little Piaras knew, Tarsilia would soon know. A Conclave inquisitor was
nothing compared to Tarsilia when she felt she ought to know something. She was
relentless. On the other hand, she might be able to help. Like most mages in
the District, Tarsilia had a Conclave background and had spent more than her
share of time on the Isle of Mid in her younger days. She didn’t talk about it
much, but I know she didn’t learn to fight dirty behind an apothecary’s
counter.
    “Don’t
worry about me getting myself hurt,” Tarsilia told me, as if reading my mind.
She probably had. “I’ve survived a long time stepping in things I should’ve
stayed away from. I’ve just made more enemies tonight. Those Khrynsani know
where I live. If they want me, they know where to find me.”
    That
statement would concern me coming from almost anyone else. But Tarsilia wasn’t
anyone else. If the shamans were smart, they wouldn’t come back.
    “And
if I’m lucky, they’ll give me another chance,” she said with an evil little
smirk.
    Or if
they were suicidal.
    “She’s
just not a good tenant to have, Tarsilia,” Garadin said. He grinned and draped
an arm around my shoulders. “You should have evicted her long ago. Better yet,
you should have never let her in to begin with.” He planted a light kiss on the
top of my head. I detected pride in his voice. “She’s bad to know and worse to
be around.”
    “Of
course she is,” my landlady retorted. “Why do you think I like the girl? When
you get to be my age, you take your excitement any way you can get it. Having
Raine around keeps me from getting slow.” She turned back to me. “You sure you
don’t want to tell me what’s going on?”
    I
sighed and pulled the amulet out of my shirt. The metal was warm and smooth
beneath my fingers, almost as if it were trying to make up for its behavior
last night. I dropped it against my shirt. I wasn’t buying.
    Tarsilia
reached for the amulet. I pulled back.
    “You
don’t want to do that,” Garadin warned her.
    “Why
not?”
    Garadin
and I held up our bandaged hands.
    Tarsilia
lowered her own hand. “Good reason.”
    She
settled for a close study. I turned it so she could see both sides. It behaved
itself perfectly.
    “Not
much to look at, is it?” she finally said.
    “It’s
not my usual taste in jewelry.”
    “How
did you come by it?”
    I
gave her the short version of last evening’s events. I was getting better at it
with each retelling.
    “If
they’re after this, they’ll definitely be back,” Tarsilia said when I’d
finished.
    I felt
a small surge of hope. “You know what it is?”
    “Not
a clue.”
    Hopes
dashed. “Thanks.”
    “It
was obviously made to do something,” she said. “It certainly isn’t attractive
enough to wear for any other reason. Considering the lengths those who want it
are willing to go to get it, I’d say it has a more practical purpose. You’re
sure you can’t take it off?”
    “Not
if I want to continue breathing. Meaning if anyone takes the amulet, they have
to take me along with it. And I don’t plan on going anywhere with anyone I ran
into last night.”
    Tarsilia
thought silently for a few moments. “If the Guardians are involved, it stands
to reason that the Seat of Twelve is involved.”
    That
sounded reasonable enough to me. Not good, but reasonable. The Seat of Twelve
was the name given to the twelve most powerful mages who made up the governing
Conclave council. Not exactly people I wanted to notice me. I looked to
Garadin. He nodded in agreement. Great.
    “Well,
I know a man who should know what this thing is and what it does,” Tarsilia
said, “but it’s been over twenty years since I last saw him.”
    “Who?”
Garadin asked.
    “Justinius
Valerian.”
    My
godfather looked stunned. It was a look I didn’t get to see on him very often.
    “You
were a student of the Archmagus?” he asked, clearly impressed.
    “No,
we were