was a good one, but Ghnomb expects them to eat what they
kill, and they don’t like the taste.’
She shuddered. ‘How can you stand to be around the Troll-beasts,
Tynian-Knight? They’re horrible creatures.’
‘They aren’t really so bad, your Majesty,’ Tynian defended
them. ‘They’re very moral creatures, you know. They’re fiercely
loyal to their own packs; they don’t even know how to lie; and
they won’t kill anything unless they intend to eat it – or unless
it attacks them. As soon as Ulath finishes apologizing to Bhlokw,
we’ll summon Ghnomb and talk with him about stopping time
so that we can get to Cyrga.” Tynian made a face. ‘That’s what’s
going to take a while. You have to be patient when you’re trying
to explain something to the Troll-Gods.’
‘is that what Ulath-Knight is doing?’ she asked curiously.
‘Apologizing?’
Tynian nodded. ‘It’s not as easy as it sounds, your Majesty.
There’s nothing in Trollish that even comes close to “i’m sorry”
probably because Trolls never do anything that they’re ashamed of.”
‘Will you be still?’ Liatris hissed at the protesting Gahennas.
‘They’re in the next room right now.’
The three empresses were hiding in a dark antechamber
adjoining the Tegan’s private quarters. Liatris stood at the door
with her dagger in her hand.
They waited in tense apprehension.
‘They’re gone now,’ Liatris said. ‘We’d better wait for a little
while, though.’
‘Will you please tell me what’s going on?’ Gahennas asked.
‘Chacole sent some people to kill you,’ Elysoun told her.
‘Liatris and I found out about it, and came to rescue you.’
‘Why would Chacole do that?’
‘Because you know too much about what she’s planning.’
‘That silly plan to implicate Cieronna in a spurious assassination
plot?’
‘The plot wasn’t spurious, and Cieronna wasn’t even remotely
connected with it. Chacole and Torellia are planning to kill our
husband.’
‘Treason!’ Gahennas gasped.
‘Probably not. Chacole and Torellia are members of royal
houses currently at war with the Tamul Empire, and they’re getting
orders from home. The assassination of Sarabian could technically
be called an act of war.’ Elysoun stopped as a wave of
nausea swept over her. ‘Oh, dear,’ she said in a sick little voice.
‘What’s wrong?’ Liatris demanded.
‘It’s nothing. It’ll pass.’
‘Are you sick?’
‘Sort of. It’s nothing to worry about. I should have eaten something
when you woke me up, that’s all.’
‘You’re white as a sheet. What’s wrong with you?’
‘i’m pregnant, if you really have to know.’
‘It was bound to happen eventually, Elysoun,’ Gahennas said
smugly. ‘i’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier, the way you
carry on. Have you any idea at all of who the father is?’
‘Sarabian,’ Elysoun replied with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘Do
you think it’s safe to leave now, Liatris? I think we’d better get
to our husband as quickly as we can. Chacole wouldn’t have
sent people to kill Gahennas unless this was the night when she
was planning her attempt on Sarabian.’
‘She’ll have people watching all the doors,’ Liatris said.
‘Not all the doors, dear,’ Elysoun smiled. ‘I know of at least
three that she’s not aware of. You see, Gahennas, there are some
advantages to having an active social life. Check the hallway,
Liatris. Let’s get Gahennas out of here before Chacole’s assassinS
come back.’
The Cyrgai at the bronze gate stood back fearfully as Sparhawk
led the others up the last few steps. ‘YBIn Cyrgon!’ the officer in
charge said, smashing his fist against his breastplate in a kind
of formal salute.
‘Respond, Anakha,’ Xanetia’s voice murmured in Sparhawk’s
ear. “Tis customary.’
‘YBIn Cyrgon!’ SParhawk said, also banging on his chest and
being careful not to allow the cloak he’d removed from the
unconscious Temple Guardsman to open and reveal the fact
that he was wearing his mail-shirt rather than an ornate breastplate.
The officer seemed not to notice. Sparhawk and the others
marched through the gate and moved along a broad street
toward a kind of central square. ‘is he still watching?’ Sparhawk
muttered.
‘Nay, Anakha,’ Xanetia replied. ‘He and his men have
returned to the guardroom beside the gate.’
It had appeared from below that the only buildings within the
walls at the summit of Cyrga were the fortress-palace and the
temple, but that was not entirely true. There were other structures
as well, low, utilitarian-looking buildings, storehouses for
the most part, Sparhawk guessed. ‘Talen,’ he said back over his
shoulder, ‘ease over to the side of the street. Find a door you
can get open in a hurry. Let’s get out of sight while Xanetia
scouts around.’
‘Right,’ Talen replied. He ducked into the shadows and a
moment later they heard his whisper and quickly moved to the
door he was holding open for them.
‘Now what?’ Kalten asked.
‘Xanetia and I go looking for Ehlana and Alcan,’ Aphrael’s
voice replied out of the darkness.
‘Where were you?’ Talen asked curiously. ‘When we were
coming up the hill, I mean?’
‘Here and there,’ she replied. ‘My family’s moving all the
others into position, and I wanted to be sure everything’s going
according to schedule.’
‘is it?’
‘It is now. There were a couple of problems, but I took care
of them. Let’s get at this, Xanetia. We still have a lot to do before
morning.’
there they are,’ Setras said. ‘I wasn’t really all that far off
was I?’
‘Are you sure this time?’ Bergsten demanded.
“you’re cross with me, aren’t you, Bergsten?’
Bergsten sighed, and decided to let it pass. ‘No, Divine One,’
he replied. ‘We all make mistakes, I guess.’
That’s frightfully decent of you, old boy,’ Setras thanked him.
“We were moving in generally the right direction. I was just off
a few degrees, that’s all.’
‘Are you certain those are the right peaks this time, Divine
One?’ Heldin rumbled.
‘Oh, absolutely,’ Setras said happily. ‘They’re exactly as
Aphrael described them. You notice how they glow in the
moonlight?’
Heldin squinted across the desert at the two glowing spires
rearing up out of the dark jumble of broken rock.
‘They look about right,’ he said dubiously.
I have to go find the gate,’ Setras told them. ‘It’s supposed
to be exactly on a line from the gap between the two peaks.’
‘Are you sure, Divine One?’ Bergsten asked. ‘It’s that way on
the south side, but do we know for certain that it’s the same
here on the north?’
“you’ve never met Cyrgon, have you, old boy? He’s the most
%d creature you’ve ever seen. If there’s a gate on the south,
there’ll be one on the north as well, believe me. Don’t go away.
I’ll be right back.’ He turned and strolled off across the desert
toward the two peaks glowing in the moonlight.
Atana Marts was standing to one side of Bergsten and Heldin
with a slightly troubled look on her face.
“what’s the matter, Atana?’ Heldin asked her.
“I think there is something I do not understand, Heldin-knight.”
she replied, struggling to put her thought into Elenic.
‘The Setras person is a God?’
“A Styric God, yes.’
“if he is a God, how did he get lost?’
“we’re not certain, Atana Mans.’
“That is what I do not understand. If Setras-God were a
man, I would say that he is stupid. But he is a God, so he
canot be stupid, can he?’
“I think you’d better take that up with his Grace here,’ Heldin said.
‘i’m only a soldier. He’s the expert on theology.’
‘Thanks, Heldin,’ Bergsten said in a flat tone of voice.
‘if he is stupid, Bergsten-Priest, how can we be certain that
he’s brought us to the right place?’
‘We have to trust Aphrael, Atana. Setras may be a little uncertain
about things, but Aphrael isn’t, and she talked with him
for quite some time, as I recall.’
‘Speaking slowly,’ Heldin added, ‘and using short, simple
words.’
‘is it possible, Bergsten-Priest?’ Mans asked insistently. ‘Can
a God be stupid?’
Bergsten looked at her helplessly. ‘Ours isn’t,’ he evaded, ‘and
I’m sure yours isn’t either.’
‘You didn’t answer my question, Bergsten.’
‘You’re right, Atana,’ he replied. ‘I didn’t – and I’m not going
to, either. If you’re really curious, I’ll take you to Chyrellos when
this is all over, and you can ask Dolmant.’
‘Bravely spoken, Lord Bergsten,’ Heldin murmured.
‘Shut up, Heldin.’
‘Yes, your Grace.’
Sparhawk, Bevier and Kalten stood at a small, barred window
in the musty-smelling warehouse looking out at the fortress-like
palace rearing above the rest of the city. ‘That’s really archaic,
Bevier said critically.
‘It looks strong enough to me,’ Kalten said.
‘They’ve built the main structure of the palace right up against
the outer wall, Kalten. It saves building two walls, but it compromises
the structural integrity of the fortress. Give me a couple
of months and some good catapults, and I could pound the
whole thing to pieces.’
‘I don’t think catapults had been invented when they built it,
Bevier,’ Sparhawk said. ‘It was probably the strongest fort in