‘
‘I’ll need your help, if it’s available,’ she said without facing Lythande.
‘What can I do?’
‘In the past you’ve prepared a drug for me from a qualis-berry extract. I recall
you said it was quite difficult to mix – but I should like enough for two people
when it’s mixed with pure qualis liqueur.’
‘Delicate and precise, but not particularly difficult. It is very subtle. Are
you sure you will only need enough to serve two?’
‘Yes, Zaibar and myself. I agree; the drug must be subtle.’
‘You must be very certain of your methods, then.’
‘Of some things, at least. The Street of Red Lanterns does not lie outside the
walls of Sanctuary by accident – you know that. The Hell Hounds and their prince
have much more to lose by hindering us than by letting the Street exist in
peace. If our past purpose were not enough to convince them, then surely the
fact that much of the city’s gold passes through my hands every year will
matter.
‘I will use the qualis-berry love potion to open Zaibar’s eyes to reality, not
to close them.’
‘I can have it for you perhaps by tomorrow evening, but more likely the day
after. Many of the traders and smugglers of the bazaar are no longer well
supplied with the ingredients I will need, but I can investigate other sources.
When the Hell Hounds drove the smugglers into the Swamp of Night Secrets, many
honest men suffered.’
Myrtis’s eyes narrowed, she released the drapery she had clutched.
‘And if the Street of Red Lanterns wasn’t here … The mongers and merchants,
and even the smugglers, might not want to admit it, but without us to provide