Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

charred tatters of cloth and wood had cooled enough to let the Hounds

investigate the blaze, they had found a heap of blackened skulls in one place

and the bodies of the ten felons scattered throughout the burned wreckage. For

one who had expressed a distaste for bloodshed, Kadakithis had recreated

Vashanka’s vengeance to the final letter of the legends – a precision not

required and which Molin could not even remember describing to the Prince.

Tempus stood beside the Prince’s throne, back in town after another unexplained

absence. The massive, cruel Hell Hound did not look happy – perhaps the strains

of the Sacred Brotherhood’s loyalty were beginning to show. Molin wished, for

the last time. that he knew why he had been summoned, then nodded to the herald

and heard himself announced.

*Ah, Molin, there you are. We’d been wondering what was keeping you,’ the Prince

said with his usual charm.

‘My new quarters, while much appreciated, seem to be several leagues from here.

I’d never thought there could be so much corridor in a small palace.’

‘The rooms are adequate? The Lady Rosanda …’

‘The girl who danced Azyuna’s Dance – what has become of her?’ Tempus

interrupted and Molin turned his attention at once from the Prince to the Hell

Hound.

‘A few burns,’ he responded cautiously, seeing displeasure in Tempus’s eyes. The

Hound had called this interview; Molin no longer doubted it. ‘Minor ones,’ he

added. ‘What little discomfort she may have experienced seems to have passed

completely.’

‘You’ve freed her, haven’t you, Molin?’ the Prince chimed in nervously.