The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

remarked from the doorway. He held his daughter, Amaranth, easily in the crook of his right arm while raising his left hand, palm outward, fingers slightly curved as if he still gathered magical information with the gesture.
    Myrilandel stood beside him. “We were in the palace and interrupted Kaariin on her errand.” She marched to stand over Jamie Patrick and the baby.
    Jamie Patrick rapped the baby smartly on the back with the flat of his hand. Marilell gasped and choked, spitting up a thin line of fluid. Another rap brought a whoosh of air from the baby’s mouth along with a small metal object that rolled across the floor to land at Katie’s feet.
    “Lucky for all of us Kaariin noticed her distress so quickly. Much longer and the ring could have pushed farther down her throat and torn delicate tissues or choked her completely,” Myrilandel commented as she nodded approval of the way Jamie Patrick rubbed the baby’s back.
    Katie stooped to pick up a man’s ring lying at her feet. Intricately twisted silver strands distinguished it from an ordinary signet ring favored by the men of the court.
    “I remember Amaranth trying to swallow a very large chunk of raw yampion when she was that age,” Myrilandel said as she relieved Jamie Patrick of his sobbing burden. She cuddled the baby against her shoulder, cooing soothingly to the little princess before handing her over to her mother.
    “Thank the Stargods you knew what to do, Jamie Patrick.” Katie accepted the precious bundle of sobbing child. She held her daughter tightly against her shoulder as she introduced her friends to her brother.
    “Sorry, I can’t stay, sis. Kinnsell doesn’t know I’m here and doesn’t want me to contact you, but I had to say ‘Hi,’ one more time before we leave.” Jamie Patrick bent slightly to kiss her cheek. Like most Terran men, he stood only half a head taller than Katie, and much shorter than most of the natives of this planet.
    “Be careful, Jamie Patrick. Kinnsell is up to something.” Katie caressed his lightly bearded cheek. He had sported a dapper little beard since he could grow one, convinced it added maturity and intrigue to his narrow face. His hair was more blond than red, and he’d said he felt washed out in comparison to the rest of the family.
    “We’ll be in touch, Katie. I wish we could drag Kinnsell out of here now, but our mission isn’t complete.”
    “What mission?”
    But he was gone, as quickly as he had come.
    “What do we have here?” Nimbulan removed the slobber-covered ring from Katie’s grasp. “Unusual design. I have seen something like it before.” His graying eyebrows dipped into a sharp V as he frowned in concentration.
    Myrilandel studied the entwined strands carefully.
    “It looks Rover,” she mused. “What do you think, Lan? You lived with Televarn’s tribe an entire season.”
    “Possibly of Rover design. They do very distinctive work. But the memory that tugs at me is older. Much older.” He shook his head sharply. “I’ll remember at the least likely moment. Forcing the image into my mind won’t help.”
    “Rover?” Katie gulped. “I’ve heard that the Rovers sometimes steal children. A . . . a kidnapper could have dropped the ring if disturbed in the act.” The same legend of stolen children followed Gypsies and Tinkers back home—usually more myth born out of fear of strangers than from any basis in truth. Were the local version of those wanderers guilty of a heinous crime or victims of malicious gossip? She didn’t know.
    At the beginning of the riot last autumn, the man in the orange shirt had accused his neighbor of having Rover blood. But Orange-shirt’s gaudy clothing more closely resembled Rover preferences than his victim’s sober tans and browns.
    What was going on here? Was there a connection between the riot and a stranger leaving a potentially lethal object in Marilell’s crib, a simple piece of jewelry a teething baby would likely swallow and choke to death on?
    “There’s been no filthy Rovers in my nursery!” Kaariin protested from the doorway, wringing her hands. “I’d never leave my princess long enough for one of them to sneak in here.” She stood straight, fists clenched proudly at her sides.
    “No one is accusing you of negligence, child,” Nimbulan said soothingly. “A true Rover needs only a heartbeat of time to work mischief.”
    “Who would do this, Nimbulan? Who would sneak past numerous guards and servants to