Seregil rattled the purse thoughtfully. “I certainly would have liked to see the gem that came out of such a pretty setting.”

“If I had it I’d part with it,” Lemiel said with what appeared to be genuine regret. “Markis didn’t say anything about a stone. Didn’t say anything about any of it ’til he was on his deathbed. Then he gave me what he had in the world. We didn’t have any family but each other. Never did.”

Seregil gathered up the spoils of the night and rose. “If you come into any other interesting articles, send word to me at Mirror Moon. And if you ever need anything …”

Lemiel held out his coarse, scarred hand. “Much obliged, but I get on fine.”

Seregil shook with him, touched by the former slave’s pride.

Exhaustion rolled over him as he walked back to the tavern for Cynril. Everything hurt as he climbed into the saddle. He definitely wasn’t up to grave robbing on his own tonight. Fixing his mind on a hot bath and a soft bed, he kicked Cynril into a gallop and headed back to the governor’s house.

Mika thought he was awake, but he couldn’t see anything. He was cold and wet and scared and very much in pain. The last thing he remembered before the red came was the beautiful lady breaking his arm again and the dra’gorgos that almost entered his body.

He was lying on his back in water and when he tried to sit up his arm hurt so much he screamed, then bit his cheek to keep from crying.

“Hello?” he quavered. “Klia, are you here?”

But all he could hear was water dripping. No one was there to help him, so he had to help himself. With his good hand, he pulled his broken arm across his chest, crying out with the effort, and managed to sit up. Pain and the red had taken away most of his strength, but he concentrated very hard on the illumination spell Master Thero had taught him and slowly a tiny orb of light grew into being in front of him; by its light he saw that his fine velvet clothing was nothing but faded scraps and rags. He concentrated harder and the light got to be the size of a wren’s egg, the best he could do. Right in front of him was a stone post and on it was a sparkling skull. That told him where he was—in the haunted cave.