Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

‘No.’

Abarsis dug in his belt and tossed a golden amulet on to the table. ‘The god

will not give you up; this was caught in the sorrel’s new shoe. That teacher of

mine whom you remember …?’

‘I know the man,’ Tempus said grimly.

‘He thinks that Sanctuary is the endpoint of existence; that those who come here

are damned beyond redemption; that Sanctuary is Hell.’

‘Then how is it. Stepson,’ said Tempus almost kindly, ‘that folk experience

fleshly death here? So far as I know, I am the only soul in Sanctuary who

suffers eternally, with the possible exception of my sister, who may not have a

soul. Learn not to listen to what people say, priest. A man’s own mistakes are

load enough, without adding others’.’

‘Then let me be your choice! There is no time to find some other eunuch.’ He

said it flatly, without bitterness, a man fielding logic. ‘I can also bring you

a few fighters whom you might not know and who would not dare, on their own, to

approach you. My Sacred Band yearns to serve you. You dispense your favour to

provincials and foreigners who barely recognize their honour! Give it to me, who

craves little else …! The prince who would be king will not expose me, but

pass me on to Jubal as an untrained boy. I am a little old for it, but in

Sanctuary, those niceties seem not to matter. I have increased your lot here.

You owe me this opportunity.’

Tempus stirred his cooling posset with a finger. “That prince…’ Changing the

subject, he sighed glumly, a sound like rattling bones. ‘He will never be a