Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

watched creatures die by her hand, but never a creature who knew what death

meant.

His heart still pumping blood around the blade, his hands fumbling at her hands,

trying to push them away from his chest, he fell to his knees, shuddered,

toppled over, convulsed, and died.

Wess jerked her knife from his body. Once more she heard the shrieks of

frightened horses and the curses of furious men, and the howl of a half-starved

wolf cub.

The tent shimmered with wizard-light.

I wish it were torches, Wess screamed in her mind. Torches would burn you, and

burning is what you deserve.

But there was no fire, and nothing burned. Even the wizard-light was fading.

Wess looked into the sky. She raked her sleeve across her eyes to wipe away her

tears.

The two flyers soared towards the moon, free.

And now –

Quartz and Chan were nowhere in sight. She could find only terrified strangers:

performers in spangles. Sanctuary people fighting each other, and more guards

coming to the rescue of their lord. The salamander lumbered by, hissing in fear.

Horses clattered towards her and she spun, afraid of being run down. Aristarchus

brought them to a halt and flung her the second horse’s reins. It was the

skewbald stallion from Satan’s cart, the one with the wild blue eye. It smelled

the blood on her and snorted and reared. Somehow she kept hold of the reins. The

horse reared again and jerked her off her feet. Bones ground together in her

side and she gasped.

‘Mount!’ Aristarchus cried. ‘You can’t control him from the ground!’

‘I don’t know how -‘ She stopped. It hurt too much to talk. ‘Grab his mane!