Six Thieves & a Ringer -- Part Quattro

Elietan said, "It's...."

"Wait," Seraphina interjected. "Let the third remain anonymous for now." She wished her head would stop pounding and downed the curative Elietan provided.

"But someone has sealed us in," Cat said, wide-eyed, scanning nervously around the room. "One of you sealed us in. I gotta get out. I can't stay here. I gotta get out!" 

The green haired half-pixie put a reassuring arm on the panicked werecat's arm. "Settle down. Whoever the traitor is, he or she just needs to get a  promise of cooperation from one of them," Dru said, pointing at Seraphina and Elietan. She looked from one to the other of them. "Surely if you provide your assurances, the barrier will drop and rest of us can go."

"Go?" Boris stepped closer to her and Cat. "Dru! Open your eyes, little sprout. We're not going to sing campfire songs. Traitor's don't leave witnesses," Boris said, "the rest of us are expendable."

Mewling a warning growl, Cat jerked away from Dru and backed to the wall, hands arched and claws sliding forward. "I can't say its been fun working with you because it hasn't, but I'm sooo not dyin' because of some stupid rocks, no matter how pretty or powerful to you magic-folk. Anyone who comes near me is getting clawed."

Seraphina observed the assembled group. A rag-tag team to be sure, but a team she thought she knew well. A team she thought she could trust. Until last night. "One of you stole my jewels." Her gaze traveled from person to person. Lastly, her gaze settled on the twins. She wanted to hold Metha in stasis again; she didn't trust him, but such spells affected both of the twins, even if directed at only one of them. Since Trihalo was the third magic-user, the one the stones had called to. Seraphina knew if she tried to contain Trihalo--who was terribly claustrophjobic--the female half of the twins would quickly panic worse than the werecat, and used magic...revealing that Trihalo had magic at her command. 

For two reasons, Seraphina couldn't risk it. One, if Metha was not the traitor, hitting the pair with a stasis hold would reveal that Trihalo was the weaker magician and put her at risk. Reason Two, if Metha was the traitor, he would never choose to invoke the stones via Seraphina over his own sister, so forcing a situation that would reveal Trihalo was the other valuable magic user meant that Seraphina might be sealing her own doom. 

However, a risk had to be taken. The only one she could think of  would make the others believe she cared nothing for their lives. But it could force the traitor into revealing him- or her-self.

Seraphina let her gaze shift back across the others as she continued, "One of you intends to use them for your own gain. You would have fled with the bounty, but you've realized they don't respond to you as you have seen them respond to me. Elietan can invoke them, and our third can, but not like me. They respond best to me." 

Elietan came to his feet in such a rush he toppled his cup of mead. "Are you trying to get me killed?"

"No," Boris said in a tone that was as sad as it was accusing. "She's saving her own ass."  He paused to glare at her. "I'd do the same if I had any magic power," Boris said.