Page 57 of Dragon Fire

The hallway was made of stone, with only the occasional tapestry hung here and there along the walls. Vaulted stone ceilings supported delicate arches that let in light during the day, but were shuttered up tight at night against the chill. Between each arched window burned a wall sconce, lighting the scene in a flickering golden glow.

“You can’t hold me!” the woman screamed at them.

“I certainly can,” boomed a new voice as the wizard himself made the scene.

Gryffid arrived, moving forward to stand next to Seth. He was waving his hands around in front of him, making arcane gestures that Livia didn’t recognize. Perhaps it was some sort of prelude to magic? She wasn’t sure.

And then, all doubt was removed as a beam of white light shot out from the wizard’s hands to envelop the woman. She writhed and screamed as the appearance of Lillith melted away to be replaced by another face…and then another. And another.

Sweet Mother of All. The woman hadn’t just assumed one false identity, but at least a half dozen. But how?

The obvious answer came to her even as Gryffid’s spell faded. Magic.

The face that was finally revealed was one Livia hadn’t seen since coming to Gryphon Isle, but it was a familiar face nonetheless.

“I’ve seen her before,” Livia whispered. “The fisherfolk call her Mad Meg. She comes into port every few months to sell her wares, most of which are of questionable origin. She runs a small sailboat and goes from port to port peddling her wares.” And probably her body, though Livia wasn’t going to mention that unless asked because it was only a rumor as far a Livia knew.

“Are you certain?” Gryffid asked quietly.

Livia nodded. “She came into my office on her last trip, trying to sell me stolen property. I reported her to the Harbormaster, and she disappeared.”

“What was her cargo?” Seth probed further.

Livia thought back. “Well, she claimed to have rare spices and wines from the East, and come to think of it…she boasted of having a selection of gryphon feathers for sale. But the deal breaker for me was when she showed me a sample of what she claimed was skith leather, but was really the treated leather old William Tanner sends up to the Lair. It had his stamp on it and everything. And the whole town knew he’d been robbed the week before.”

“That was your test,” the woman known as Mad Meg sneered at Livia. “You failed.”

The pieces fell into place in Livia’s mind. “If you were testing me to see if I was crooked, I’m glad I failed.”

More people arrived in the hallway, moving out from behind Hrardorr. The real Captain Lilith, looking all business now as she approached Meg, who still brandished the sword, disarmed the imposter with a quick sweep of her blade. More guards bound Meg’s hands as she started screaming epithets at them.

At Gryffid’s nod, they gagged her. If she knew magical spells, it was probably a wise precaution, making her unable to form the words that might unleash who-knew-what.

As the warriors dragged her away, Gryffid turned to Livia, Hrardorr and Seth.

“Again, you do me a great service. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome, milord, but…can you tell me…is she human?” Livia asked hesitantly.

Gryffid shook his head. “Sadly, she is one of ours. A journeyman bard of good family. Her name is, actually, Meg, but she has been out in the world for a while now, and I had no idea she’d returned to the island. I’ll be following up with her family, of course. I don’t know every coming and going from here anymore. Not since I dropped the veil.”

“Is she a mage?” Seth asked, sheathing his sword, now that the danger had passed.

“I thought not. Oh, the gift crops up now and again among the islanders, and I take an interest in their training and character, but as far as I knew, Meg had only a slight bardic gift. Not true magic like that which she used to disguise herself. That had to have been learned elsewhere.”

“She regularly traded in goods from Skithdron,” Livia put in. “King Lucan is said to have been dabbling in sorcery. Perhaps she learned it there?”

“It is a distinct possibility,” Gryffid agreed. “I will be looking into it. For now, can you tell me where she was heading when you spotted her?”

Livia went through, step by step, the path that had taken her to this point. Gryffid asked her to walk with him to the circular stair and describe exactly where Meg had been when she spotted Livia.

She answered all his questions—even the ones that didn’t make a lot of sense to her. At length, he seemed to be satisfied and turned away, calling two guards to stand watch at the base of the circular stairway.

Livia realized then that Meg might not have been alone. There might yet be other traitors wandering the halls of the keep. Just because they’d caught one, didn’t mean there weren’t others.

After taking their leave of the wizard, Hrardorr walked with them back to their rooms. When they got there, Livia realized she didn’t want the dragon to leave. She felt safer with him, and knowing he was safe too. The situation on the staircase had shaken her badly, and she wanted her friends around her, close, where she could be sure everyone was all right.

The entire keep was built on a grand scale, big enough for gryphons, so it was easy enough to guide Hrardorr through the big arched doorway and into the suite. Then, all it took was a few minutes of pushing chairs and a table out of the way to prepare a clear spot for Hrardorr directly in front of the big fireplace.

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