all of that. She probably would have moved against the royal
palace a week ago, but Oscagne instructed her to wait until we
arrived.’
‘How did she get out of the city?’ Heldin rumbled.
‘I didn’t ask her, Sir Heldin. I didn’t want to insult her.
‘What I meant was, didn’t they try to stop her?. ‘
‘They’re dead if they did.’
‘But she’s a woman!’ Bergsten objected.
‘You’re not really familiar with the Atans, are you, your Reverence?’
Daiya asked.
‘i’ve heard of them, friend Daiya. The stories all seem wildly
exaggerated to me.’
‘No, your Reverence, they aren’t,’ Daiya said firmly. ‘I know
of this girl’s reputation. She’s the youngest garrison commander
in the entire Atan army, and she didn’t get to where she is by
being sweet and ladylike. From what I’ve heard, she’s an absolute
savage.’
‘But she’s so pretty,’ Heldin protested.
‘Sir Heldin,’ Neran said firmly to him, ‘while you’re admiring
her, pay particular attention to the development of her arms and
shoulders. She’s as strong as a bull, and if you offend her in
any way at all, she’ll tear you to pieces. She almost killed Itagne
or so the rumor has it.’
‘The Foreign Minister’s brother?’ Bergsten asked.
Neran nodded. ‘He was here on a mission, and he decided
to place the city under martial law. He needed Atana Maris’
help with that, so he seduced her. Her response was enthusiastic
– but very muscular. Be very careful around her, gentlemen.
She’s almost as dangerous to have as a friend as an enemy. She
asked me to give you your instructions.’
‘instructions?’ Bergsten erupted. ‘I don’t take orders from
women!’ ‘Your Grace,’ Neran said, ‘Cynestra’s technically still under
martial law, and that puts Atana Mans in charge. She’s been
ordered to deliver the city to you, but she’s instructed you to
wait outside the walls until she’s crushed all the resistance. She
wants to present the city to you as a gift – all neat and tidy
Please don’t spoil it for her. Smile at her, thank her politely, and
wait right here until she’s finished cleaning the streets. After
she’s got all the bodies stacked in neat piles, she’ll invite you in
and turn the city over to you – along with King Jaluah’s head,
more than likely. I know that the situation seems unnatural to
you, but for God’s sake don’t do a thing to offend her. She’ll
go to war with you just as quickly as with anybody else.’
‘But she’s so pretty,’ Heldin objected again.
Berit and Khalad dismounted and led their horses down to the
edge of the oasis to water them. In theory, they might have
reached vigayo this soon. ‘Can you tell if he’s here?’ Khalad
muttered.
Berit shook his head. ‘I think that means that he’s not a StyriC.
We’ll just have to wait for him to come to us.’ He looked around
at the few white-walled houses shaded by low palm trees. ‘is
there any kind of inn here?’
‘Not very likely. I see a lot of tents on the other side of the
oasis. I’ll ask around, but don’t get your hopes up.’
Berit shrugged. ‘Oh, well. We’ve lived in tents before. Find
out where we’re permitted to set up.’
The village of Vigayo itself was clustered along the eastern
side of the oasis, and the informal encampment of nomads and
merchants stretched along the west shore of what was actually
a fair-sized pool of artesian water. Berit and Khalad picketed
their horses, erected their tent near the water, and sat down in
the shade to wait. ‘Can you tell if Sparhawk’s around anyplace?’
Khalad asked.
Berit shook his head. ‘He may have already passed through.
Or he could be watching from one of the hills outside of town.
He might not want people to know that he’s here.’
It was an hour or so past sunset, and twilight was descending
on the oasis when a Cynesgan in a loose-fitting striped robe
approached their tent. ‘i’m supposed to ask if one of you might
be named Sparhawk,’ he said in a slightly accented voice.
Berit rose to his feet. ‘I might be named Sparhawk, neighbor.’
‘Might be?’
That’s the way you phrased your question, friend. You’ve
got a note for me. Why don’t you just hand it over and be on
your way? We don’t really have anything else to talk about, do
we?’
the messenger’s face hardened. He reached inside his robe,
took out a folded and sealed parchment, and negligently tossed
it at Berit’s feet. Then he turned and walked away.
“you know, Berit,’ Khalad said mildly, ‘sometimes you’re
even more abrasive than Sparhawk himself.’
Berit grinned. ‘I know. I’m trying to maintain his reputation.”
He bent, picked up the parchment, and broke the seal. He
removed the identifying lock of hair and quickly read the brief
message.
‘Well?’ Khalad asked.
‘Nothing very specific. It says that there’s a caravan route
running off to the northwest. We’re supposed to follow that.
We’ll get further instructions along the way.’
‘Will it be safe to use the spell and talk with Aphrael once we
get out of town?’
‘I think so. I’m sure she’d have told me if I wasn’t supposed
to use it here in Cynesga. ‘
‘We don’t have much ctioice,’ Khalad said. ‘We can’t tell if
Sparhawk’s already been here, if he’s here now, or if he’s still
on the way, and we’ve got to let him know about these new
instructions. ‘
‘Do you think we ought to start out tonight?’
‘No. Let’s not start floundering round in the dark. We might
miss the trail, and there’s nothing out in that desert but empty.’
‘I won’t do anything to put Berit in any kind of danger,’ Elysoun
insisted a few days later. ‘i’m very fond of him.’
‘They found out that he was posing as Sparhawk quite some
time ago, Elysoun,’ Baroness Melidere told her. ‘You won’t be
putting him in any more danger than he’s already in. Telling
Chacole about his disguise will convince her that you’ve gone
over to her side – and that you have access to important information.’
‘You might want to make them believe that your husband’s
totally smitten with you, Empress Elysoun,’ Patriarch Emban
added. ‘Let them think that he tells you everything.’
‘Are you smitten with me, Sarabian?’ Elysoun asked archly.
‘Oh, absolutely, my dear,’ he smiled. ‘I adore you.’
‘What a nice thing to say.’ She smiled warmly.
‘Later, children,’ Melidere told them absently, her forehead
furrowed with concentration. ‘At the same time you tell Chacole
about Berit’s disguise, drop a few hints about a fleet of Church
ships in the Gulf of Daconia. Stragen’s been very carefully planting
that particular lie, so let’s give them some confirmation.
After you tell them about Berit, they’ll be inclined to belieVC
your story about the fleet.’ She looked at the Emperor. ‘is there
anything else we can give them that won’t hurt us? Something
they can verify?’
‘Does it have to be important?’
‘Not really, just something that’s true. We need another truth
to get the mix right.’
‘The mix?’
‘It’s like a recipe, your Majesty,’ she smiled. ‘Two parts truth
to one part lie, stir well and serve. If you get the mix right,
they’ll swallow the whole thing.’
They had set out at first light, and the sun had not yet risen
when they topped a low ridge and saw a vast, flat expanse
of dead whiteness lying ahead. Time, like climate, had lost all
meaning.
‘i’d hate to have to cross that in the summertime,’ Kalten said.
‘Truly,’ Sparhawk agreed.
‘The slavers’ trail swings north here,’ Bevier noted, ‘probably
to go around those flats. If a Cynesgan patrol stumbles across
us out there, we might have trouble convincing them that we’re
attached to that caravan we’ve been following.’
‘We’ll just say that we got lost,’ Kalten said with a shrug. ‘Let
me do the talking, Bevier. I get lost all the time anyway, so I can
be fairly convincing. How far is it to the other side, Sparhawk?’
‘About twenty-five leagues, according to my map.’
‘Two days – even if we push,’ Kalten calculated.
‘And no cover,’ Bevier added. ‘You couldn’t hide a spider
out -‘ He broke off. ‘What’s that?’ he asked, pointing at an
intensely bright spot of light on the mountainous western horizon.
Talen squinted at the light. ‘I think it might be the landmark
we’ve been looking for,’ he said.
‘How did you arrive at that?’ Kalten asked skeptically.
‘It’s in the right direction, isn’t it? Ogerajin said that we were
supposed to go northwest from Vigayo to the Plains of Salt.
Then he said, “From the verge of the Plains of Salt wilt thou
behold low on the horizon before thee the dark shapes of the
Forbidden Mountains, and, if it please Cyrgon, his fiery white
pillars will guide thee to his hidden City.” There are mountains