of these transitions, there are usually people around who know
both of the little girls, and they start noticing the similarities. I
always make it a point to have the girls meet each other in public.
It puts off tiresome questions and lays unwanted suspicions to
rest.’
‘You terrified Mmrr, you know.’
She nodded. ‘I’ll make it up to her. That’s always been a
problem. Animals can see right through my disguises. They
don’t look at us in the way that we look at each other.’
He sighed. ‘What am I going to do, Aphrael?’
‘I was hoping that a visit here would bring you back to your
senses. A stopover in reality usually has that effect.’
He looked up at her private, rainbow-colored sky. ‘This is your
notion of reality?’
‘Don’t you like my reality?’
‘it’s lovely,’ he told her, absently stroking the white deer’s
neck, ‘but it’s a dream.’
‘Are you really sure about that, Sparhawk? Are you so certain
that this isn’t reality and that other place isn’t the dream?’
‘Don’t do that. It makes my head hurt. What should I do?’
‘i’d say that your first step ought to be to have a long conversation
with Bhelliom. All of your moping around and contemplating
arbitrary decisions has it more than a little worried.’
‘All right. Then what?’
‘I haven’t gotten that far yet.’ She grinned at him. ‘i’m
a-workin’ on it though, Dorlin’,’ she added.
‘They’re going to be all right, Kalten,’ Sparhawk said, gently
laying his hand on his suffering friend’s shoulder.
Kalten looked up, his eyes filled with hopeless misery. ‘Are
you sure, Sparhawk?’
‘They will be if we can just keep our heads. Ehlana was in
much more danger when I came back from Render, and we took
care of that, didn’t we?’
‘I suppose you’re right.’ Kalten straightened up in his chair
and jerked down his blue doublet. His face was bleak. ‘I think
I’m going to find some people and hurt them,’ he declared.
‘Would you mind if I came along?’
‘You can help if you like.’ Kalten rubbed at the side of his
face. ‘I’ve been thinking,’ he said. ‘You know that if you follow
those orders in Krager’s note, he’ll be able to keep you plodding
from one end of Tamuli to the other for the next year or more,
don’t you?’
‘Do I have any choice? They’re going to be watching me.’
‘Let them. Do you remember how we met Berit?’
‘He was a novice in the Chapterhouse in Cimmura,’ Sparhawk
shrugged.
‘Not when I first saw him, he wasn’t. I was coming back from
exile in Lamorkand, and I stopped at a roadside tavern outside
of Cimmura. Berit was there with Kurik, and he was wearing
your armor. I’ve known you since we were children, and even
I couldn’t tell that he wasn’t you. If I couldn’t tell, Krager’s
spies certainly won’t be able to. If somebody has to plod around
Tamuli, let Berit do it. You and I have better things to do.’
Sparhawk was startled. ‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard yet.’
He looked around at the others. ‘Could I have your attention,
please?’ he said.
They all looked sharply at him, their faces apprehensive.
‘it’s time to get to work,’ he told them. ‘Kalten here just
reminded me that we’ve used Sir Berit as a decoy in the past.
Berit and I are nearly the same size, and my armor fits him more
or less – and with his visor down, nobody can really tell
that he isn’t me. If we can prevail on him to masquerade as a
broken-down old campaigner again, we might just be able to
prepare a few surprises for Krager and his friends.’
‘You don’t even have to ask, Sparhawk,’ Berit said.
‘Get some details before you volunteer like that, Berit,’ Khalad
told his friend in a pained voice.
‘Your father used to say almost exactly the same thing,’ Berit
recalled.
‘Why didn’t you listen to him?’
‘it’s an interesting plan, Prince Sparhawk,’ Oscagne said a bit
dubiously, ‘but isn’t it extremely dangerous?’
‘i’m not afraid, your Excellency,’ Berit protested.
‘I wasn’t talking about your danger, young sir. I’m talking
about the danger to Queen Ehlana. The moment someone penetrates
your disguise – well . . .’ Oscagne spread his hands.
‘Then we’ll just have to make sure that his disguise is foolproof,’
Sephrenia said.
‘He can’t keep his visor down forever, Sephrenia,’ Sarabian
objected.
‘I don’t think he’ll have to,’ Sephrenia replied. She looked
speculatively at Xanetia. ‘Do we trust each other enough to cooperate,
Anarae?’ she asked. ‘i’m talking about something a little
deeper than we’ve gone so far.’
‘I will listen most attentively to thy proposal, my sister.’
‘Delphaeic magic is directed primarily inward, isn’t it?’
Xanetia nodded.
That’s probably why no one can hear or feel it. Styric magic
is just the reverse. We alter things around us, so our magic
reaches out. Neither form will work by itself in this particular
situation, but if we were to combine them . . .’ She left it hanging
in the air between them.
‘interesting notion,’ Aphrael mused.
‘i’m not sure I follow,’ Vanion said.
The Anarae and I are going to have to experiment a bit,’
Sephrenia told him, ‘but if what I’ve got in mind works, we’ll
be able to make Berit look so much like Sparhawk that they’ll
be able to use each other for shaving mirrors.’
‘As long as each of us knows exactly what the other’s doing,
it’s not too difficult, Sparhawk,’ Sephrenia assured him later
when he and Berit joined her, Vanion and the Anarae in the
room she shared with Vanion.
will it really work?’ he asked her dubiously.
They haven’t actually tried it yet, Sparhawk,’ Vanion told
him, ‘so we’re not entirely positive.’
That doesn’t sound too promising. This isn’t much of a face,
but iCs the only one I’ve got.’
‘There will be no danger to thee or to young Sir Berit, Anakha,’
Xanetia said. ‘in times past it hath oft been necessary for my
people to leave our valley and to go abroad amongst others.
This hath been our means of disguising our true identity.’
‘it works sort of like this, Sparhawk,’ Sephrenia explained.
‘Xanetia casts a Delphaeic spell that would normally imprint
your features on her own face, but just as she releases her spell,
I release a Styric one that deflects the spell to Berit instead.’
‘Won’t every Styric in Matherion feel it when you release your
spell?’ Sparhawk asked.
‘That’s the beauty of it, Sparhawk,’ Aphrael told him. “the
spell itself originates with Xanetia, and others can’t feel or hear
a Delphaeic spell. Cyrgon himself could be in the next room and
he wouldn’t hear a thing.’
‘You’re sure it’s going to work?’
‘There’s one way to find out.’
Sparhawk, of course, did not feel a thing. He was only the
model, after all. It was a bit disconcerting to watch Berit’s
appearance gradually change, however.
When the combined spell had been completed, Sparhawk
carefully inspected his young friend. ‘Do I really look like that
from the side?’ he asked Vanion, feeling a bit deflated.
‘I can’t tell the two of you apart.’
‘That nose is really crooked, isn’t it?’
‘We thought you knew.’
‘I’ve never looked at myself from the side this way before.’
Sparhawk looked critically at Berit’s eyes. ‘You should probably
try to squint just a little,’ he suggested. ‘My eyes aren’t as good
as they used to be. That’s one of the things you have to look
forward to as you get older.’
‘I’ll try to remember that.’ Even Berit’s voice was different.
‘Do I really sound like that?’ Sparhawk was crestfallen.
Vanion nodded.
Sparhawk shook his head. ‘Seeing and hearing yourself as
others do definitely lowers your opinion of yourself,’ he admitted.
he looked at Berit again. ‘I didn’t feel anything, did you?’
Berit nodded, swallowing hard.
‘What was it like?’
‘i’d really rather not talk about it.’ Berit gently explored his
new face with cringing fingertips, wincing as he did.
‘I still can’t tell them apart,’ Kalten marveled, staring first at Berit
and then at Sparhawk.
‘That was sort of the idea,’ Sparhawk told him.
‘Which one are you?’
“try to be serious, Kalten.’
‘Now that we know how it’s done, we can make some other
changes as well,’ Sephrenia told them. ‘We’ll give you all different
faces so that you’ll be able to move around freely – and we’ll
put men Wearing your faces here in the palace. I think we can
all expect to be watched, even after the Harvest Festival, and
this should nullify that particular problem.’
‘We can make more detailed plans later,’ Vanion said. ‘Let’s
get Berit and Khalad on their way first. What’s the customary
route when someone wants to go overland from here to Beresa?’
He unrolled a map and spread it out on the table.
‘Most travelers go by sea,’ Oscagne replied, ‘but those who