No One's Chosen by Randall Fitzgerald Read Free Book Online Page B

more than the cloaked figure she was now leading to
tighter fighting conditions than she'd enjoy. Wiry as the old elf
was, he had a foot on her at the least.
    She opened the door to the room, insisting her guest
head in first. He gave no complaint at the suggestion which was a
positive sign at the least. Inside, the old elf made his way to a
chair near the window, Aile took the chair she had used earlier in
the night.
    "I have need of your continued services, darkling,
but the work is neither set nor singular."
    "Speak plainly, elf, there is no profit in hearing
how this work differs from the other."
    The highborn man looked out the window. "There is a
certain… how shall I say it? A very important woman."
    Her once and possibly future employer paused there as
if inviting her to ask for names. That was not her way. Aile
waited. Often the silence would draw out the words just as well.
Elves wanted their words to be chased after, she'd found. And when
one did not follow closely enough, they would gladly play the
part.
    "A northern noble." He continued. "She has become a
problem for me, but I do not wish her killed. Not by your hand,
anyway. I wish to give her a second shadow. One which is capable of
whispering in my ear and, perhaps, arranging for solutions to
problems she might create."
    Aile had been watching the old man closely. Not once
since sitting had he taken his eyes from the window, as if looking
at her put him ill at ease. She did not trust the highborn, but
work was work and the gold was real enough.
    "How do you intend to structure payment, elf?"
    "Ah, yes." He looked to his lap briefly in thought
and then back to the window. "You would be given a salary, paid
weekly, as well as a stipend for equipment and expenses."
    "And the cost of your… solutions?"
    "Paid over and above the salary at the rate in line
with the work you have just completed."
    The cost would be considerable, she thought. "Few
have endowments as to allow for such an expense."
    She saw the slightest clench roll over the jaw of the
elf, he did not like being questioned. "You will have your first
two weeks paid in advance, should you agree. While my coffers are
no concern of yours, darkling, it should be said that you are free
to leave if your fees are not satisfied in full."
    Aile considered this for a moment. If the elf was
curious about her expression, his distaste for her kind wouldn't
allow him to show it. "What is expected of your, how did you say?
Your whispering shadow?"
    "You will be provided a room at a certain inn.
Whether you use it for respite is no matter to me. The room
contains a false wall that is to be used for exchanges." He shifted
in the chair, clearly uncomfortable on such a cheap thing.
    "And you would have a darkling do your work?"
    For the first time since entering the room, he faced
the Drow. The sneer was plain on his face, Aile smiled. He turned
back to the window but his voice betrayed his anger. "Make no
mistake, darkling. Working with you fills me with nothing short of
disgust. I do not wish to work with filth as much as I do not wish
that the work was necessary. I am left with no other course to a
conclusion that benefits my people."
    "I do not care for the plight of your people, only
that your gold arrives when it should and that you do not interfere
with my work."
    He seemed to shrink, the sound of resignation game
from under the dark hood. "You are, regretfully, a board in the
bridge across a black depth. I do not intend to burn it."
    "Acceptable. Then, we have come to terms."
    "Good." The elf stood, his sharp features cut a
unique silhouette as he turned. Reaching into his cloak, the noble
produced two pouches of gold, each about two-thirds the size of the
first she had been given, and tossed them on the floor of the room.
Aile looked down at them. "Your salary." He produced a third pouch,
half the size of the first, and tossed it onto the other two. "And
the stipend. How long do you expect it will take you to