“Dance with me?” A well-manicured, calloused hand reached for hers.
“Of course.” Zhina stood and stepped into his arms, where she had been trying to end up all evening.
Denetrian led her through the crowds. His arrogance and security in his position cleared a path to the dance area. Dancers swirled by under brightly colored paper lanterns while a three-man band took its turn upon the low platform that served as a stage for the street fair.
When a new, slower song began, Denetrian whirled her into the dance before settling down to a smooth leisurely pace. “You enjoying the fair?” He smiled at her, his eyes flickered over her head to the crowds beyond.
“I am now, Lord Korkahti.”
“Have we met?”
“No. But we share a friend. Taist?” Ouch. She hoped the bruises on her hand would be worth it.
“What do you know of Taist?” His eyes didn’t wander now, they were firmly fixed on her face.
Good, she had his attention now.
“Do you play Kings and Pawns, m’lord?”
“Tell me where Taist is. What have you done with him?” His dancing became stiffer, more like a military maneuver than a dance.
“I’ve done nothing with him. It’s what you’ve done with him that matters. Where is the Elsullian Board?” The dance was half over, she needed something to go on. A tiny clue to make her next step with. The chances of confronting Demetrian anywhere else were slim. They didn’t exactly move in the same social circles.
“The Elsullian Board? It’s you. You’re the one.” Denetrian pulled her closer. His breath teased loose hair near her ear as he whispered, “Taist was suppose to meet you. Arrange the trade. I haven’t seen him in three days. What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. I did nothing.” Zhina pushed against his chest, a tight smile on her face for the onlookers. “You are hurting me.”
He eased his grip on her. Not all the way but enough she could breathe and watch his face as she spoke. “I need the Elsullian Board. What do you want for it?”
“What? No threats to expose my secrets if I don’t give it to you?” He laughed, harsh and low. “I sent Taist to arrange the trade. The Elsullian Board for the proof of my father’s sins. If anything happened to him, you’re dead.”
Zhina knew Taist was dead. She had found him in the alley, eyes open and staring, blood drying in the gaping wound of his throat. The Kings and Pawns playing piece in his pocket led her to Denetrian.
“M’lord, clearly there is some mistake. I know nothing of a trade. I only need the Board. It is urgent that I get it.” Zhina let a single tear slip down her cheek and her lip quiver.
“Drop it. Your act isn’t worthy of a ha’penny show on market day.” Denetrian maintained a firm hold on her arm as he walked her back through the crowd. “If you aren’t the one who arranged the trade, who is? What do you want with the Elsullian Board?”
“I need it to save my daughter.” Zhina pulled her arm free and disappeared into the drunken crowd. She would find another way to get the information she needed. She rubbed the playing piece tucked away in her bodice. Her little girl needed her, she would find a way.
