Chenaya squeezed the bag of krrf and sugar again, feeling her pulse quicken. She had waited at the wharf a long time for Dismas to report. “What of Walegrin and
Rashan?” she asked, getting to her feet.
“They should already be on their way to Land’s End. Gestus carried your message and returned to keep watch while I came for you.”
She removed Reyk’s jess and returned it to her belt one-handed. “Where is he?”
The huge gladiator hesitated only a moment and swallowed. “With the vampire woman, Ischade.” He wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow. “Not far, but a good run. We should hurry. He’s been there an hour already.”
“Then up, pet.” She sent Reyk aloft. His pinions beat a steady rhythm as he climbed into the night sky and disappeared. She squeezed the krrf bag once more.
“Let’s go,” she called, tapping her friend on the arm in comradely fashion.
There was more than a hint of glee in her voice.
Dismas led her down the Wideway, up the Street of Smells and along a narrow road she didn’t know. The road rutted out; they were in undergrowth denser than any she’d imagined this side of the White Foal. They stopped in a wide ditch.
“There,” he whispered.
The windows were dark; no light spilled out. Nothing told that anyone was within. Yet Tempus Thales’ huge-muscled Tros horse was tethered to the gate.
“An hour, you say?” she questioned Dismas. “Where’s our other partner?”
He pointed silently to the deeper brush.
She smiled and stole a peek at Tempus’s magnificent mount. A very rare breed,
Tros horses. No other steed could match them for strength, endurance, intelligence. She had seen only two others in her lifetime. It was a cause for wonder that Tempus had left the beast unguarded.