Page 68 of Swordheart
“You could do it with bars, or a grate if it was big enough. You summon him in one room, then sheathe the sword, pass it through the grate, and unsheathe it. He’d appear next to the sword again, and then you’d know he wasn’t just invisible.”
Beartongue nodded slowly. “Thatwouldwork. Although…”
She cleared her throat sheepishly, apparently realizing that they were getting rather far from the matter at hand. “Probably an additional few tests would be required before we could pay you. But at any rate, we are prepared to offer you a high price for the sword, if you wish to part with it.”
“Sell the…” Halla finally focused on the other part of the sentence. “I can’t sell Sarkis! He’s not mine!” Halla frowned. “I mean, he’s sort of mine, I suppose, but I can’t sell him! He’s a person!”
Bishop Beartongue nodded. “I thought as much. A shame, but an understandable one.”
She drew the sword.
The familiar blue fire swirled upward and left Sarkis standing just behind Halla’s chair.
“Well,” said the bishop, nodding to Sarkis. “If you will leave your information with my clerk about where you can be reached, we will be in touch tomorrow, when we have an appropriatepriest ready to travel with you to… Rutger’s Howe, was it? And then we will see what can be done about your inheritance.”
Halla nodded and stood up. “Thank you for your help, Bishop Beartongue.”
“Of course.” Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled. “Thank you. A very unusual situation. I’m glad that the Temple will be able to help. And if I may offer a note of caution?”
Halla raised her eyebrows. “Yes?”
“Be careful who you tell about the sword. Such an object may breed greed. The fewer people who know, the safer you are.”
“Oh.” Halla frowned, glancing at Sarkis. “I don’t think we’ve told anyone but you and the priest at the front. And some of the people in line may have guessed something…”
“Good,” said Beartongue. “Stay safe. And thank you.”
They turned to leave. As they neared the door, the bishop said, “Sarkis.”
He looked over his shoulder.
“You were right.”
CHAPTER 22
“What did she mean by that?” asked Halla, as they left the White Rat’s compound.
“I said you’d ask too many questions,” said Sarkis, which was not exactly a lie.
She gave him an exasperated look. “She answered them, though!”
“Did she?”
“Oh, it was fascinating. We talked about how to fake a magic sword, and then how you’d test to see if a magic sword was fake. And about mirrors. It was really very interesting.”
“Mmm.”
“And do you know that she wanted me to sell you to the Temple?” said Halla. She was scurrying to keep up and he slowed his stride.
Sarkis grunted again. After a moment, he said, “What did you say?”
“I told her no! Obviously!”
She sounded indignant at the very idea. He was obscurely pleased by this, and yet he kept poking at it like a sore tooth. “She would have given you a great deal of money.”
Halla was getting out of breath following him. “Yes, but—dammit, Sarkis, slow down!”
He stopped and glanced around the streets of Archon’s Glory, then caught her arm and steered her through the bustling crowd to the mouth of an alley, out of the way of the crowd. He had known that the White Rat’s bishop planned to ask ifshe would sell the sword. He knew this because the woman had told him outright.
