Thieves World 5 – The Face of Chaos by Asprin, Robert

could be pawned or sold in the next village – and Bekin was willing to go with

any man. So, after a time, Bekin earned their shelter while Cythen, who had

always preferred swordplay to needlework. learned the art of the garrote and

dressed herself in dead men’s clothes. .

When the pair reached Sanctuary, it was only natural that Cythen found a place

with Jubal’s hawkmasked mercenaries. Bekin slept safely in the slaver’s bed

whenever he desired her and Cythen knew a measure of peace. When the hell-sent

Whoresons had raided Jubal’s Downwinds estate, the younger sister again came to

the aid of the elder. This time, she took her to the Street of Red Lanterns, to

the Aphrodisia House itself, where Myrtis promised that only a select,

discriminating clientele would encounter the ever-innocent Bekin. But now,

despite Myrtis’ promise, Bekin was four days dead of a serpent’s venom.

The pool of moonlight shifted as the night aged and Cythen waited. She was

bathed in silvery light and blind to the shadows beyond it: undoubtedly the

Harka Bey had chosen the rendezvous carefully. She held only her sword hilt and

endured the cramps the cold stone left in her legs. Rising above the pain, she

sought the mindlessness she had first discovered the day her world had ended and

the future closed. It was not the fantastic mindlessness that had claimed Bekin,

but rather an alert emptiness, waiting to be filled.

Even so, she missed the first hint of movement in the shadows. The Harka Bey

were within the ruins before she heard the faint rustle of shoes on the