Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

‘Wess -‘ Chan said.

‘How could I let him go by without speaking to him?’

‘He isn’t a friend, after all,’ Aerie said.

‘He’s enslaved, just like Satan!’ Wess looked from Aerie’s face to Chan’s, and

saw that neither understood. ‘Quartz -?’

Quartz nodded. ‘Yes. You’re right. A civilized person has no business being in

this place.’

‘How are you going to find him? How are you going to free him? We don’t even

know how we’re going to free Satan! Suppose he needs help?’ Aerie’s voice rose

in anger.

‘Suppose we need help?’

Aerie turned her back on Wess and stared blankly out into the parade. She even

shrugged off Quartz’s comforting hug.

Then there was no more time for arguing. Six archers tramped through the gate. A

cart followed. It was a flatbed, curtained all around, and pulled by two large

skewbald horses, one with a wild blue eye. Six more archers followed. A mutter

of confusion rippled over the crowd, and then cries of ‘The secret! Show us the

secret!’

The postillion jerked the draught horses to a standstill before the prince.

Bauchle Meyne climbed stiffly off the platform and on to the cart.

‘My lord!’ he cried. ‘I present you – a myth of our world!’ He yanked on a

string and the curtains fell away.

On the platform, Satan stood rigid and withdrawn, staring forward, his head

high. Aerie moaned and Wess tensed, wanting to leap over the glowing ropes and

lay about with her knife, in full view of the crowd, whatever the consequences.

She cursed herself for being so weak and stupid this morning. If she had had the