Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

The interior of the building seemed larger than its outside, though the

colourless mists that swirled around him made it hard to be certain of anything

except the glowing red eyes of Enas Yorl. As the mists curdled and cleared, Lalo

saw that the sorcerer was enthroned in a carven chair which the artist would

have itched to examine had anyone else been sitting there. He was considering a

slim figure in an embroidered Ilsig cloak who stood twirling a mounted globe.

Seas and continents spun as the stranger turned, stared at Lalo, then back at

Enas Yorl.

‘Do you mean to tell me that sot is necessary to your spell?’

It was a woman’s voice, but Lalo had already noted the fine bones structuring

the face beneath the scarred tanned skin and cropped hair, the wiry grace of the

body in its male attire. So might a kitten from the Prince’s harem have looked

if it had been left to fight its way to adulthood in the alleys of the town.

Abruptly perceiving himself through the woman’s eyes, Lalo straightened, acutely

aware of his stained tunic and frayed breeches, and the stubble on his chin.

‘Why do you need a painting?’ she asked scornfully. ‘Isn’t this enough to

purchase the use of your own powers?’ From a bag suspended around her neck she

poured out a river of moonlight which resolved itself into a string of pearls

which she cast rattling upon the stone-flagged floor.

‘I could …’ said the sorcerer wearily. He was smaller than he had been, an

oddly shaped mound in the great chair. ‘If you had been anyone else, I would