Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

‘Uh-huh. I heard something, Purter. I heered her say “Oh Frax you han’some dawg,

you’re the best. Now suck on thisun awhile, darling,” and then you woke me up,

you bastard.’

‘We’re supposed to be on guard duty not sleeping, Frax, damn it. – Who was she?’

‘Not gonto tell you. No I din’t hear nothing. What’s to hear? An army of

Downwinders comin’ over the friggin’ walls? Somebody riding in on a hootey-owl?’

‘Oh,’ Purler’s higher voice said, with a shiver in it. ‘Don’t say that. It’s

dark and creepy enough tonight.’

‘Stuporstishus rectum,’ Prax accused, with more austerity than skill, and

lowered his head again on to his uplifted knees.

During their exchange the thief had got his rangy self on to the wall. He made

hardly any sound, but those idiots would have drowned out something even as loud

as snapping fingers. He wriggled through another embrasure and on to the defence

gallery that ran around the top of the palace, below the dome and spire that

rose on up, higher than the outer wall. Men trusted with guard duty, he was

thinking contemptuously, heard something and blabbered. He shook his head.

Idiots! He could teach these stupid soft-butted ‘soldiers’ a thing or three

about security! It took a civilian to know about the best security measures, in

such a town as this. For one thing, when you thought you heard something, you

shut the hell up and listened. Then you made just a little noise to pretend

unconcern, and froze to catch the noise-maker in another movement.

The shadow of a shadow, he moved along the gallery, between the smooth curve of