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

the Street?’ Walegrin paused and let Cythen absorb the information she obviously

had not had before. ‘Most of the women won’t, you know. I guess it’s not just

their eyes that’re different. But she was killed by a Beysib serpent – a jealous

wife maybe? And, now that Beysibs are getting killed by an ordinary rip-and

slash artist in numbers and places that can’t all be written off to

carelessness, you are a suspect, you Know.’

The anger had burned itself out, leaving Cythen with gaping holes in her

defences; the grief slipped out. ‘Walegrin, she was mad. Every man looked the

same to her – so of course she’d work the Beysib, or Jubal. She didn’t live

here. She couldn’t have known anything, or done anything to make someone kill

her. Damn, if Molin cares who services the Beysib stallions he could have

protected her anyway.’ A few tears escaped and, shamed by them, Cythen hid her

face behind her hands.

‘You should tell him that yourself. You’re not going to be any use to me until

you do.’ Walegrin rolled the parchment, then stood up to fasten his sword-belt

over his hips. ‘You won’t be needing anything – let’s go.’

Too surprised to object, Cythen followed him into the palace forecourt. A

handful of gaudy Beysib youths, brash young men and lithe, bold women, pushed

loudly past them, the exposed, painted breasts of the women flashing from

beneath their capelets in the sunlight. Walegrin affected not to notice; no man

in Sanctuary would notice the flaunted flesh – not if he valued his life. The

Beysib had made that very clear in the first, and – thus far – only, wave of