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

business partners for a time. That, and I slept with him.”
    I
didn’t even try to stop my jaw from dropping. One man had absolute authority
over the Isle of Mid and everyone on it. The Archmagus. And Tarsilia had slept
with him.
    “For
about five years,” Tarsilia added. “The sex part, that is. The business
partnership dissolved long before that. We just couldn’t seem to agree with
each other.”
    “Sounds
like you agreed with each other just fine,” I said.
    Tarsilia
winked. “That’s a different kind of agreement, dear.”
    Garadin
recovered quicker than I did. “Think he would remember you?”
    She
gave him a flat look. “I can guarantee it.”
    That
was more than I’d ever wanted to know about my landlady.
    “As
nice as getting information about this necklace would be,” I told her as
diplomatically as I could, “there’s the small matter of time. I don’t have any.
Not to mention, the Guardians take their orders from Justinius Valerian. If he
wants the amulet, he’d just have the Guardians drag me back to Mid along with
it. Let’s see what we can do to avoid me surrendering to the Guardians, shall
we?”
    Tarsilia
shrugged. “Suit yourself. But until you get rid of that trinket, things are
going to be busy around here.”
    “They’re
not going to be busy, because I’m not going to be here,” I told her. “The
Khrynsani will be watching my rooms. When I make it obvious that I’m moving
out, I should take my trouble with me.”
    Tarsilia
bristled. “You’re not letting goblin shamans run you out of your home.”
    “It’s
just temporary,” I assured her. “I can’t have Khrynsani visits becoming a
nightly event around here. I won’t endanger you or Piaras. Don’t worry, I’ll be
going somewhere safe.”
    Tarsilia
didn’t look convinced, but she decided to let it drop. I knew it wouldn’t stay
that way.
    My
rooms above Tarsilia’s shop were small, which I preferred to think of as cozy.
Cozy also had the added benefit of less to clean. I’ve never been one for
clutter, so what furnishings and possessions I had were there because I either
needed or simply wanted them. Less clutter also made it obvious from the moment
I opened the door whether anyone had been there while I was gone. Everything I
owned had a purpose and a place, and if it had been moved, I’d know about it.
    Nothing
had been moved.
    As a
Benares, I had an eye for the finer things in life, and I saw no reason why I
shouldn’t have a few of them. Nothing too terribly expensive, just nice. I
liked warm feet, so why shouldn’t I keep them toasty on a Nebian rug or two? I
bought one; Phaelan gave me the other. I knew where mine had come from; I
couldn’t say the same for Phaelan’s gift. As to furniture, I had a preference
for warm-colored fabrics and dark wood. And on one occasion, Markus Sevelien
had paid me with a particularly beautiful painting I had often admired in his
office. It was of a fog-shrouded landscape with the ruins of a temple. Not the
most cheerful subject, but I liked it.
    These
rooms were my home. I was being forced to leave, and that made me angry. Now
all I wanted was someone to take it out on.
    Tarsilia
had come upstairs with me, my self-appointed bodyguard for the morning. Piaras
was downstairs opening the shop. Garadin had left once I promised him that I
would get myself to one of Markus’s safehouses. It wasn’t a lie. At some point
during the day I was sure I’d find my way to a safehouse. I needed answers, and
answers were difficult to come by when you were hiding. By no stretch of the
imagination was I that good a sorceress even on my best day, strange amulet or not.
    Boris
darted around my legs and ran straight for his basket by the fireplace, no
doubt to make sure his favorite toys were still there. Satisfied, he began
kneading the old blanket I used to line his basket. At least one of us was
going to get some sleep.
    “Could
you keep Boris with you for a few days?” I asked Tarsilia.