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answer or that are irrel-
evant, I will respond to as such.
So you would answer some of my questions but not others? Owain asked,
somewhat incredulously.
He summoned his iron will and let it snake across
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the table upon the sound of his voice.
I prefer that you answer all my questions.
Isabella s eyes were caught in his gaze. She stared directly back at him. Her
mouth slowly opened.
Life and unlife as well is a series of disappoint-
ments.
Owain shot up from the table. His chair clattered to the floor behind him. He
drew back a hand to smash across the table and scatter the collected items,
but he held his blow. You toy with me, woman! He seethed with anger. I do
not think you recognize the fragility of your situation.
She looked up at him with complete calmness, as if nothing he could do could
surprise or alarm her. I quite disagree. I recognize perfectly my fra-
gility. I recognize that, with one blow of your hand, you could crush my
skull. Or you could take me in your hands and drain every ounce of blood from
my body. But do you know if I am highborn enough for you to stomach my blood?
The question staggered Owain another secret that should be unknown& .
You could destroy my body, Isabella continued, but my spirit would roam
free. You might have your satisfaction, or even your blood, but you would
never learn what I have to teach.
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Owain lowered his hand.
You see, she said, I do not hold you here against your will. You are here
for knowledge. As am I.
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Owain s flash of anger gave way to amazement.
How does she& ?
Speechless, he sat back down.
You would ask questions of me, Isabella prompted.
Owain took a moment to collect himself. There was no way he could have been
prepared for this.
Never in all his years had he come across anyone so infuriatingly arrogant but
with the power
knowledge being power to justify her bearing. He would play her game for now,
but once he had dis-
covered what he wanted to know, she would no longer have that power over him,
and he would stay his hand no further.
I have recently seen a letter, said Owain at last, a letter that was
supposedly written by my own hand. And looking at the letter, reading the
words, I could not detect even a mark that was not my script. There was no
word that sounded as if I had not chosen it. Only, I did not write the
letter.
Owain watched her carefully as he spoke, but
Isabella betrayed no reaction.
I traced the route of the letter, he explained, the route of many of my
correspondences, and it led me here.
And you accuse me of this duplicity? Isabella asked, stonefaced.
Do you deny it?
Deny it? After your flattering description of my handiwork? Heavens no.
Her frank and cheerful disclosure surprised
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196
Owain. Did she want to reveal her secrets to him?
What, then, of her bargaining power? Of her life?
How did I do it? she anticipated his next ques-
tion. The details would bore you years of refining my skill, a certain blend
of esoterica& .
Magic? Owain asked suspiciously.
She weighed the term momentarily, then ac-
ceded. To the uninitiated, perhaps.
They faced each other silently. Owain tried to take stock of the questions,
both asked and un-
asked, that she had answered, and he wondered if there was anything he could
reveal about himself that she did not already know.
I have not seen a chess board, he said, chang-
ing tack somewhat.
I do not own one.
Yet
Yet I bested both you and your friend, she fin-
ished his sentence. Chess is a game of the intellect.
You kept both games only in your mind?
Tsk, tsk, Owain. It is not such an unlikely feat.
There are doubtless hundreds of mortals who could have done the same and
beaten you in fewer moves. The only difficulty was the tedious length between
moves. She rolled her eyes slightly. You and your friend certainly do like
to mull over the possibilities, even when the end is clearly in sight
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especially when the end is clearly in sight.
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Dark Prophecy
El Greco is dead, Owain said flatly.
Isabella did not flinch in the least. Unfortu-
nate.
Your doing?
No, she said. And save your righteous indig-
nation for someone else. I doubt you were so grief-stricken to see him go.
This time Owain laughed aloud at her brazen audacity. You truly know no
fear or tact.
It comes from living alone, she said. No ser-
vants. No husband. No lover.
Owain, rebuked by his own words, sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.
May I speak plainly? Isabella asked after a mo-
ment.
You have not, up until now?
There is too much to learn, too much for each of us to learn, for us to waste
time with this verbal sparring. Already, midnight is upon us. Her wry humor
was completely absent now. I can answer the majority of your questions who am
I? how did
I do this? how did I do that? with four words: I
am a spy. I am a gatherer of knowledge, a learner of the unknown. The how of
what I do is unim-
portant. You are not here to learn my trade, and even if you were, I would not
teach you.
Then why am I here? he asked. If you would cease the gameplaying, then tell
me what I want to know.
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198
Why do you think you are here? she asked, ir-
ritation rising in her voice.
A question for a question. It is an odd way that you speak plainly.
Why do you think you are here? she repeated.
Owain was near the end of his patience with this bickering and opted for
brutal honesty. I came here to find the person who violated my privacy, and
to have my revenge upon that person.
And to find out why that person
why I
did so? she asked.
Yes, Owain snapped.
Well, let me tell you why. Her tone was sharp, as if she were speaking to an
ignorant schoolboy, a fact not lost upon Owain. There was only one rea-
son I had the messages redirected, one reason that
I interfered in your correspondence with the dear, departed El Greco. It
wasn t for the entertainment of the game. You ll be glad to know that you were
the better player of the two, but neither of you were particularly
challenging. Lords of night, indeed.
No, I stole the games, I wrote the letter about
Carlos, because I knew that eventually you would catch on. Eventually you
would come here. So whyever it is you think you are here, Owain ap
Ieuan, know that you are here because I wanted you to be here.
Owain latched onto the edge of the table. Of course it was true. She was so
prepared for him be-
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199
Dark Prophecy cause she had expected nothing less than his pres-
ence from the beginning, whenever that might have been. His fingers dug into
the wood, gouged deep furrows in the grain. He was seconds from reaching
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