Thieves World 4 – Storm Season by Asprin, Robert

her here. For a moment Walegrin thought he saw Illyra lying out there-but no, it

was just another jumble of bones, glowing with decay.

“She’d come here every so often,” Dubro said softly. “You’d know why, wouldn’t

you?”

“Dubro-you don’t think I-“

“No, she trusted you and she’s not wrong in such things. It’s just, if she were

frightened, if she thought she had no place else to go-she might come here.”

“Let’s go back to the bazaar. Maybe her people have found something. If not,

well-I’ll gather my men and whatever they’ve found in the morning. We’ll deal

with Tempus from there.” Dubro nodded and led the way, carefully, around the

eerily glowing things lying on the mud.

Moonflower, who was as large among women as Dubro was among men, sat awkwardly

at Illy-ra’s table when they entered the little rooms behind the awning. “She is

alive,” the immense woman said, rearranging Illyra’s cards.

“Walegrin has a plan to get her back from the Stepsons,” Dubro said. Between

them they almost filled the room. –

Moonflower got off the creaking stool and approached Walegrin, a predatory

curiosity in her eyes. “Walegrin-you’ve grown up!”

She wasn’t tall; no taller than Cythen, but she was built like a mountain. She

wore layers of colorful clothes, more layers and colors than the eye cared to

record. Yet she could move quickly to trap Walegrin before he reached the door.

“You will rescue her?”

“I didn’t think you S’danzo cared about her,” Walegrin snarled.

“She breaks little rules and pays a little price-but not like this. You think of