Title Page

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Dedication

Published by The Penguin Group

Flainsdeath

As the Makers shaped the world, Kestbegan to brood in his secret place,remembering the scorn of Flain�s andTamar�s jokes. And in a cave under theice he began his experiments, making tinybeasts from parts of others, giving them

Tamar dragged the thing before theCouncil; a six-legged lizard, moaning inpain, studded with spines.

Between the kings the Interrex shall come; come from the dark and to the darkness go.

Apocalypse of Tamar

�CARYS!�

The girl grinned at them in the dimness. �Hello, Raffi. Still hungry?�

�You know her?� Rocallion was staring in astonishment. �But she�s one of the Watch!�

�Her name is Carys Arrin. As for what she is, only God and the Makers know.� In the half-light Galen reached out gently and took the beads from her fingers. �So it was you who found them.�

�Luckily for you.� She glanced back at the door. �But we haven�t got time to talk. The Watch commander is called Braylwin. He�s fat and lazy, but he�s got a mind like a razor and he�s sure there was a keeper here for Flainsnight. I�m not exactly the apple of his eye, either. So I want you out of here.�

�You think we�d betray you?� Galen said quietly.

�Under torture, yes.� She stared hard at him, her short brown hair swinging. �Look, I can get you out if you come now. I�m guard leader for two hours, and everything�s quiet. The patrol will stay here at least a week, Galen. You might not get another chance.�

Galen blessed the beads, pulled them on, then stiffly crawled out of the cell and stood up. �Of course we trust you,� he said, as if she�d asked.

Bewildered, Rocallion stared up at him. �Are you sure?�

Raffi grinned. �We think so.�

�Think!�

�Hope.�

Carys was already at the door, peering around it. In the darkness she seemed taller, her hair shorter. The crossbow was slung at her back. She said, �We go down the corridor, then the cellar stairs. Can the cellar door be opened from inside?�

Rocallion shrugged. �The Watch have got the keys.�

�I�ve got the keys. There�s a guard in the courtyard; I�ll talk to them while you get by. Down the lane is a byre, by the gate�it�s been searched already. We�ll meet there. Agreed?�

She�s used to giving orders, Raffi thought.

Galen nodded. It was hard to see his expression in the dimness. Glancing back, she said suddenly, �Make sure you wait for me, Galen, because I�ve got something to tell you. Something important.�

As he stepped forward into the lamplight from the corridor, they caught his wolfish smile. �I know that.�

�You would!� For a moment she grinned. Then she was out the door. Galen pushed Raffi after her, then came himself, with Rocallion silently at the back.

The corridor was empty, lit with one lamp. Far off in the house someone laughed. They clustered at the end while Rocallion took his keys from Carys and fumbled for the right one; as soon as the door opened they slipped through.

It closed behind them with a click.

�Be careful,� Rocallion�s voice echoed. �There are steps in front of you leading down.�

Raffi found them, edging cautiously. He knew they were in the cellar�it was bitterly cold and smelled of beer casks. Twice at the bottom he walked into barrels. Finally Rocallion pushed through from the back. �Let me go first.�

There was no light and Galen made none; it would have been fatal if the door above had opened.

When Raffi caught up with Rocallion, the back door was already unlocked. Infinitely carefully, the franklin opened it and looked out. Under his arm Raffi saw the dim courtyard, dark gables, a single star overhead.

A murmur of talk came from somewhere nearby. Carys pushed her way silently to the front. �Take care,� she breathed. Then she squeezed past them and went out into the night.

They waited. Raffi felt the cold drift of the leaf-fall on his face, heard the hiss of it against the roofs of the manor-house. The night was unusually still, as if held in frost, though far off in the woods an owl called, and nearer something squeaked, like a jekkle-mouse.

The voices had gone. Instead only Carys was talking, loud and furious. He could hear the anger in her voice, and was amazed again at the way she could lie, and pretend, and act.

�Go now,� Galen whispered. They slid carefully out into the blue shadows, edging along the wall.

The leaf-drift had fallen all day. Here in the lee of the wall it was a bare sprinkling, so that their feet cut dark prints; Galen scuffed them out hurriedly. They sprinted between buildings, under the low eaves of a barn. As they flitted through a gate, Raffi glimpsed the red glare of a fire, heard Carys�s sharp orders. She wanted a sharper watch kept. And she wanted those dice! Now! Raffi grinned, his fingers slipping over the cold of the gate bar.

In the lane they could run, but the ruts were full of frosted puddles that tilted and splintered, wheezing as they broke. The ground was rock hard and even the firethorns had leaf-dust all over them; the storm had brought a sudden sharp frost, the first this year. Raffi shivered, his breath smoking in the sudden glint of two moons that drifted from the clouds.

Galen pulled him into the hedge-shadow. �This byre. How far?�

Rocallion caught his breath. �Just ahead.�

They could see the low edge of its roof, among branches. This end of the lane was banked with leaves; a great wall, well-trampled, as if cows had forced a way through. The pungent smell of fireberries was rank.

Rocallion put his hands on the door-bar, but Galen stopped him. �Wait.�

In silence the keeper stood, one hand on the wall. They both knew he was sending sense-lines inside.

�I thought you trusted her?� Rocallion whispered.

�We do. And we don�t.�

Then the keeper nodded, and they lifted the bar and hurried in. The byre was empty, deep with old straw. A rat rustled away. Breathless, they crouched in the cold; Raffi buried himself in straw.

�Maybe I should go back,� Rocallion murmured.

As he said it the door creaked; Carys slipped in and stood there. She folded her arms and grinned at them. �I�m glad you stayed.�

�I wouldn�t have missed it,� Galen said gravely. �But won�t they miss you?�

She came over and sat by them, taking the crossbow off and tossing it down. �Them! They�ll be glad to see the back of me.� She hugged her knees. �So what have you both been doing? How did you get out of the city?�

�The Sekoi have ways,� Galen said carelessly. �After that the three of us came north and paid a little visit to a thief-lord named Alberic.�

She laughed. �We know about that. He�s after you.�

�Is he?� Raffi was alarmed.

�Some of our spies have reported that he�s sent men out, asking questions. You should be careful.�

�I intend to be,� Galen said drily. �Did you hear how Raffi climbed up the wall of his tower?�

She giggled. �I didn�t think you had it in you.�

�Neither did I,� Raffi muttered, remembering the terror of the swinging rope, his raw hands.

Carys was silent a moment. Then she looked up, her eyes bright. �I�ve got some information you�ll find . . . interesting. It�s highly secret.� Her glance flickered to Rocallion.

He caught it, and stood up. �Your packs are hidden in an old well out near here. I�ll get them for you.�

When he had gone she got up and checked the door, then came back and crouched. Excitement was streaming from her; Raffi could almost see it, and he struggled up in the straw, his skin tingling.

�Listen,� she said. �Last month, up in the hills, an old woman was being questioned.�

�Questioned?� Galen looked at her grimly.

�I can�t help their methods. In any case, she suddenly came out with some amazing information, probably to save herself. She told them she once worked in the Emperor�s palace. When the Emperor was killed at the fall of Tasceron, the young man next to him, whose body was too badly burned to be sure about, was assumed to have been his son. According to the old woman, this wasn�t so. The son, the Prince, escaped. He lived for many years in hiding in a village named Carno. He married, and seven years ago he had a child. The old woman lived with them. Her name was Marta. No one else knew who they were. But then a Watchpatrol came for slave laborers for the mines at Far Reach. They took the parents, and the old woman, though she was no good to them. No one seems to know what happened to the child.�

�And the Prince?� Galen said.

�Dead. We checked.�

They were silent. Then Raffi breathed out slowly. �So the Emperor had a grandchild.�

Galen pondered, his eyes glinting. �This is excellent news, Carys, if it�s true . . . Boy or girl?�

�That was one thing she wouldn�t say.�

�A new Emperor!� Galen stood up and limped around in excitement. �It�s a miracle! And it fits. When the Makers come back everything will be restored.�

�You�re still sure they�re coming?� Carys asked quietly.

�You were there. You heard them.�

She shook her head, rueful. �I heard something. A voice. But look, Galen, if you want this Interrex of yours��

�What did you say?� The keeper whirled around, staring at her, his eyes black. In the shadows his face was suddenly hooked and sharp. The Crow�s face.

�I said Interrex. It�s Braylwin�s joke. It�s from your Book.�

He glanced at Raffi. �Once again.�

Carys frowned. �What do you mean, again?�

�It was the Word. On Flainsnight. The word the Makers sent.�

For a moment she looked at Galen so still and strangely that he felt something flame up in her, some doubt or anger. Then she said bleakly, �Well, anyway, if you want this Interrex you�d better find him fast. Or her. Because we�re already looking.�

�We?�

�The Watch. And the reward is big, believe me.�

Galen came close to her, suddenly. �Leave the Watch, Carys! Come with us.�

�I�ve told you I won�t. You could be all wrong, Galen. Mistaken about everything.�

He smiled coldly. �Was the Crow wrong? When you saw the House of Trees break into leaf, when you heard a voice from the stars, was all that a mistake? You know it wasn�t.�

The silence was bitter.

Then, abruptly, the door banged open and Rocallion backed in, two packs in his arms and Galen�s stick thrust through his belt. A gust of leaf-dust swirled in with him.

Carys stood up. �I�ve told you. You must do what you want about it. If the Watch find the child they�ll kill it, that�s for sure.� Then she laughed at them, eyes bright. �I�m not really with the Watch, Galen. I�m for myself, I told you that. There are things I want to find out, and being on the inside is the best way. Braylwin�s lazy; he spends every winter in the Tower of Song, and I want to go with him, because that�s where all the Watch records are kept. I need to know who I am. Where I came from. But you must find the Interrex. That word was for you.�

She was at the door, but she stopped when Raffi blurted out, �You haven�t told us how you�ve been.�

�Under suspicion.� She kicked the straw absently. �I put in a report about Tasceron. It was a masterpiece of lies�you�d have loved it, Raffi. But someone must guess I�m holding back. I was hauled off surveillance and assigned to this Braylwin. For the time being I�m stuck with him. He�s as sly as they come. And odious.�

�Be careful,� Raffi muttered.

She nodded.

Galen gave Rocallion a hurried blessing; the young man knelt hastily in the straw.

�Go back with her,� Galen told him. Then, turning to Carys, he said, �Get him into the house. I don�t want him in trouble for this, Carys. He�s done nothing but save our lives.�

�Don�t worry.�

Rocallion shook Galen�s hand, then Raffi�s. �Good luck, keepers,� he said.

�And you,� Galen answered. �Both of you.�

From the door Carys gave them a strange look. �I�ll survive. But if you find this child, Galen, will you let me know? Will you trust me enough to tell me where it is? You�ll need the Watch kept away.�

For a moment he stared at her darkly. Then he said, �You�ll hear from me, Carys.�

It is impossible for the agent to be overcunning, or have too little conscience.

Rule of the Watch

BRAYLWIN POURED half a flaskful of Rocallion�s best wine into a glass and sipped it, licking every drop from his lips. As Carys came in, his hand hovered over the dish of spiced chicken, picking out a succulent piece.

�Well?�

She went over to the fire and stared down angrily into the flames, leaning her forehead on the chimney-piece. �You�re scum, Braylwin. Odious, stinking scum.�

He smiled an oily smile. �Ah, poor Carys. How hard she takes it! And not even to have any reward at the end of it�because all that will be mine. Anyway, it was your idea.� He spat a bone elegantly to one side and mopped his lips. �Tell Uncle all about it.�

�Galen�s gone. And the boy.�

�You got them past the guard?�

�Only too easily.�

�And they had no idea I knew about them? None at all, Carys?�

She twisted, glaring at him. �Not from me. But Galen�s . . . Well, he�s got ways of knowing. I can�t be sure.�

�Mmm. Well, it will have to do. Because if I thought you were playing your little tricks on me, sweetie, your uncle would be annoyed. Very annoyed.�

She hated him. At that moment, staring down at his sleek skullcap, she longed to put a crossbow bolt through him, and was shocked at herself. Gripping her fists, she kept her voice calm. �I told them about the Interrex�all the information we had. I�m not sure it�ll work. He won�t know where to look any more than you.�

�He won�t. But keepers have ways of finding things out. It�s said they talk to trees.� He giggled.

�As a matter of fact,� she said savagely, �they do.�

The small, sharp eyes fixed on her. �Ah, I�d forgotten you know all about them. One day, Carys, I�ll find out exactly what did go on in Tasceron.� He scratched his cheek and selected another piece of meat. She watched him, cold with fury, his fur-trimmed coat and the tiny black skullcap he wore to keep warm. �They�ll find the Interrex for us. What keeper could resist it?� He licked his thumb. �And as you say, it saves us doing any of the work. We get them, and the child, and a nice fat sack of gold. Or at least I do. Probably promotion too.�

�What about me?�

He wagged a greasy finger at her. �You get away with your life, sweetheart. And Uncle doesn�t tell about that business at Carner�s Haven.�

She turned back to the fire, knowing he was smirking behind her. �Galen is worth ten of you,� she snarled.

�He is, is he? That remark is enough to get you two years patrolling ice. Or worse. If you play games with the Watch, Carys, you pay the price.� She heard him clink his glass thoughtfully. �Does it hurt so much to betray them�the keeper, the boy, the cat-creature? Perhaps it does. Long ago I might have felt the same.�

�I doubt it.�

He glanced over. �High and mighty. But underneath, you and I are just the same, Carys.�

Suddenly her disgust was too much. She turned and stalked past him, slamming the door, pushing two of Rocallion�s house-girls aside. Upstairs, in the small room she�d taken for herself, she flung the crossbow down and herself after it, onto the bed.

How could she have brought herself to this? Been so stupid?

Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking back to Carner�s Haven.

It had been the first time she�d seen the Watch take children, and it had shaken her. The patrol had ridden down to the village early, Braylwin on his new green-painted horse, but somehow the villagers had had warning. The place was in total confusion. All the children under ten were in hiding, the men yelling threats and the women screeching with anger and fear. �Search the place!� he�d roared, and she�d been the one to go into the barn in the last field and see the little girl wriggling halfway out of the straw.

Thumping the mattress, Carys got up and went to the window, tugging it open. Leaf-dust drifted against her lips.

Carefully she remembered that moment. The girl had been about four or five, crying, her face contorted with terror. The mother had burst out of hiding between them.

�For God�s sake,� she�d breathed. �Let her go! Let us go!�

It was only then Carys had realized the crossbow had been loaded and aimed; she�d lowered it abruptly, astonished.

Why had she let them escape? Even now she wasn�t sure. Was it that the little girl with the brown hair might have been herself, all those years ago? Had she cried when the Watch took her? She couldn�t remember. She couldn�t remember her mother or father, her village, anything before the grim stone rooms and snowy courtyards of Watchtower 547, Marn Mountain. Maybe that was why she�d lifted the baby and pushed her hurriedly through a gap in the back wall to the mother outside. Thinking about it made her feel uneasy, even now. Galen would have been pleased. Why did it matter what Galen thought?

She looked up unhappily for the moons, but they were lost behind cloud; pale strange edges and nebulous glimmers. It would have been all right, but when she had turned around Braylwin had been standing inside the barn door, looking at her. He�d seen enough; she�d known instantly that he would use it against her. All he�d said was, �Oh, sweetheart!� in that mock-surprised, stupid way he had. But he�d seen.

All he had to do was report it.

Things were tricky enough already. They�d certainly have her in for questioning, and she knew too much. The House of Trees, the Order�s safe house in Tasceron, that Galen was the Crow, they�d get all that out of her�she dared not let them question her. Moodily she stared at the windowsill and cursed Galen to the Pit for letting her remember it all. Braylwin had her in his power, and how he loved it. Carys do this, Carys do that, all the worst work, the wretched endless reports. She was sick of it.

And then he had found the awen-beads.

His fat hand had picked them delicately from around the candles and she�d recognized them with a cold stab of dread. She knew Braylwin would tear the house apart to find a keeper. It had been her plan to let Raffi and Galen go and urge them to find the Interrex�the only thing she could think of on the spot.

But Braylwin had liked it. It was clever, and meant no work for him. He was lazy. That was one weakness she could use.

Perhaps she should have told Galen. Warned him. Or maybe not. He had to find this child in any case, and when he did . . . Well, she�d worry about that when it happened. At least they were free.

Out in the cold night Agramon loomed suddenly from behind a cloud, outlining the dusty buildings and the fields beyond, their hedgerows dark and spiny, the trees branching against pale sky.

It had been good to see them both again. Raffi looked a bit taller. Where were they now, she wondered, out in that leaf-littered land? Where would they go?

For a brief, bitter second she wished she was with them, that she was walking down the muddy lanes away from here, away from the Watch, laughing with Raffi. Then, fiercely, she banged the window shut and turned her back on it.

Braylwin was going to the Tower of Song.

And she was going with him.

Games of Chance

Flain�s anger made the sky shudder. Stars fell; the new seas boiled.

I watched him, day by day.

Let the keeper own nothing but his faith. For the Sekoi hoard gold and men desire goods, but the dew on the early grass is a treasure beyond price.

Litany of the Makers

WHEN RAFFI WOKE UP he found himself wrapped in his own coat on a damp bank of dead leaves; they rustled and crisped as he uncurled. Above him, smooth trunks of beech trees rose into darkness, stars glinting through their tangled branches.

For a moment he lay still, staring up; then a crackle of sticks made fear break out of him like sweat. He rolled over.

Galen was sitting by a small bright fire. He was shivering as if he couldn�t stop, huddled over some cup of steaming drink, but when he looked across, there was the flicker of a grin on his face.

�So you�re back with us, are you?�

Raffi propped himself up. He felt strange. One side of his head and one shoulder were numb. His left hand tingled.

�Did you fire the blue box?� he asked slowly.

Galen nodded. �Nothing else I could do. But he was holding you too close�you caught some of the blast.� He laughed grimly and spat into the flames. �A good thing dear Alberic didn�t use it all up.�

�Did it kill him?�

Galen threw him an irritated glance. �I�m not the Watch, boy. He�s over there.�

Turning, Raffi realized that the fire was burning in a hollow among beech trees. Propped against one, well tied at the ankles, was Godric. The big man�s head lolled to one side, and a few dead leaves had fallen on his hair and chest. But he breathed evenly.

Next to him, picking elegantly at a plate of berries, was the Sekoi.

�You!� Raffi jerked upright, suddenly furious. �What were you doing! You would have let him kill me!�

The Sekoi spit out a pip. �Nonsense.�

�Did you see what happened?� Raffi turned on Galen.

�No. What?� he said quietly.

�Godric offered to let me go if that . . . creature gave him the gold. A great bag of gold. And it wouldn�t! It just said �Sorry, Raffi�!�

Even now he could barely believe it.

Galen was silent.

The Sekoi wrinkled its nose and waved a hand. �Small keeper, work it out! What if I had given him my gold? Do you really think he�d have trotted back to Alberic saying �I haven�t seen them�? Nonsense. We�d have lost you and it.�

�Well, you wouldn�t have cared about me!�

�Raffi . . .� Galen growled.

�The Sekoi wouldn�t! It was the gold, that was all that mattered! I knew! I could feel it!�

The Sekoi glowered, its fur puffed out, but it folded its long arms calmly across its chest. �Oh you could, could you?�

�Yes.�

�Clever. Not many keepers can read the Sekoi.�

Galen scowled. �That�s enough.� He tipped the dregs of his drink angrily into the flames. �I don�t know what went on. I only know Raffi feels betrayed and you��he glanced at the creature darkly��you feel some sort of regret.�

The Sekoi shrugged. �I have nothing to regret.�

�Thanks to me. However, the boy is right. We need to know where we stand. In my experience, the Sekoi have always hated the Watch.�

�They enslaved us,� it spat.

�They did. But the Order . . .�

It waved a hand irritably. �We have no quarrel with the Order, Galen. We are friends, you and I. And the small one. I would not betray you.�

�Nevertheless.� Galen pushed the damp hair restlessly from his face. �I know the Sekoi. About gold, you can never be trusted. Your loyalty to that goes beyond any friendship with us. I understand that. The boy is too young to know yet.�

The Sekoi squirmed. Finally it said, �It may be. Some things are too sacred to speak about.� It looked up, its yellow eyes sharp in the flame light. �I�m sorry, Raffi, Galen is right. I am your friend and always will be, but we have our own beliefs, and gold is . . . vital to them. I can�t explain why. Galen says we cannot be trusted. I would say, regretfully, that may be, but we are all of us on the same side.�

�And if the Watch offered you enough gold to give us up?� Raffi snapped, rubbing his arms savagely. �What then? You�d do it, would you?�

The Sekoi was silent. It scratched its tattooed fur thoughtfully. At last it said, �Let me put it this way. If I was in trouble, you would help me, yes?�

�Of course I would! I�d never��

�Yes. Yes. But if the price of rescuing me was to give up the secrets of the Order? All the hidden knowledge? To betray your master, all the Makers? Would you do that, Raffi, just to save me?�

Raffi felt foolish, confused. Glancing at Galen was no help. He ran his hands through his hair, dragging out leaves. �I don�t know,� he said at last.

�No, you don�t. It would be a fearsome choice. Always, you would try for some other way out.� It leaned forward, toward the flames.

�You must understand that we Sekoi also have our secrets, our beliefs, and the purpose of the Great Hoard is one of them. It may only be a metal to you. To us it is more, much more. It is our deepest dream. And every one of us is sworn to add to it, coin by coin, ounce by shining ounce until . . .� It stopped and smiled. �Well, I can say no more. But you understand? For a second, back there, when he asked me for the gold, I was on the edge of that fearsome choice.�

Raffi was silent.

The flames crackled, glowing against the smooth brown boles of the beeches. And quite suddenly, out of his confusion and annoyance, he saw Carys, walking up some endless stairway, around and around, carrying a torch of pitch that dripped and crackled. She looked at him sideways, and she was scared, her eyes alert. �The Interrex!� she hissed. �Keep your mind on the job, Raffi!�

And then all he was staring at was a beech tree.

�What was it?� Galen had hold of him already. �What was that! That was Maker-sent.�

Raffi took a deep breath. The Sekoi watched them both with interest. �Some vision?� it murmured.

�I saw Carys. Climbing a stair. She reminded me about the Interrex. That was all.�

Galen bowed his head. �My fault. We should have been moving faster!�

�But you couldn�t. And where, anyway?�

�At least I know that. The only way to find out where the child is, is to make a pilgrimage to the well. Artelan�s Well.�

He touched the black and green beads at his neck. �I hear your rebuke, Flain.� Suddenly he looked exhausted. He leaned back against a tree and said, �Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow.�

�You should sleep.� The Sekoi came and laid its long hand over his forehead, and then at his wrists. Galen shook it off, but it grinned. �My cure is working. You�re less hot.�

�I wish I were even a little hot, Graycat.�

The growl came from the darkness; turning, they saw Godric was awake and watching them. The Sekoi snarled, �That�s not my name.�

But it threw Godric his cloak, a firm bundle that he had to catch hastily. Unruffled, he shook it out and wrapped it around himself. �Much better. And something to eat?� He rubbed one hand over his beard, watching Galen closely. �You owe me that, keeper, after nearly killing me with your relic.�

Galen gave a weary nod.

Raffi took the last of the berries over and dumped them down.

Godric gazed at them in disgust. �Flainsteeth! Is this all you people eat? Alberic�s dog gets more than this!� He looked up. �You should have let me take you prisoner, lad.�

Raffi tried to look uncaring. �Keepers have higher things to think of than food.�

�Ha!� The big man roared noisily. �By God, Galen Harn, your boy�s either well-beaten or an idiot. Pass me that satchel, Graycat. It looks like I�ll have to start feeding my captors. It�s a new one, I�ll admit�Alberic will love it.�

With a scowl at Galen, the Sekoi rummaged through the pack for weapons, then hurled it over. Godric pulled out some fruit and small packages. They were wrapped in fresh calarna leaves and smelled superb.

�Venison. Smoked and stuffed. From the market.� He filled his mouth and pushed a package at Raffi. �Go on, boy, eat some. You�re just skin and bone.�

Raffi shook his head doggedly, but Galen�s voice muttered, �Do as he says.�

Astonished, Raffi looked around. Galen was still leaning against the tree. His shivering seemed to have stopped, but he looked gaunt and weary. �Go on. Eat.�

Godric wiped grease from his beard with the back of one hand. �You too. And you, Cat.�

�We don�t eat meat,� the Sekoi said haughtily.

�I�d heard that.� The big man hauled out a wine flask and drank noisily. �Afraid you�d like it too much, eh?�

Raffi was barely listening. The meat was delicious, rich and tender and sweetened with herbs and salt; he swallowed every mouthful slowly, savoring the taste, licking every scrap off his fingers.

Godric watched him in real wonder. �Here,� he growled, �have more.� He glanced over at Galen and said grimly, �I�ll tell you this, keeper, we may be thieves, but we take more care of our own than you do.�

Galen watched, his dark eyes level and unmoved. All he said was, �We move on tomorrow. We�ll leave you tied here, your weapons in that bush. You�re near the road. You can shout. Eventually someone will hear you.�

�Probably the Watch!�

Galen nodded gravely. �Your problem. Tell Alberic that he won�t find us and that he will never get the box back.�

Godric snorted. �It�s you he wants!�

�Tell him. And next time he won�t find his men left for him.�

�Next time he�ll come himself.� Godric drank heavily and stretched out his legs. �You�ve made a bad enemy in the dwarf, keeper. Alberic has a puny body but big ideas. He rules because everyone�s afraid of him. He�ll ride out here with the whole thief-band when he knows you�re here. And he won�t go back without you.� He laughed loudly. �In pieces, probably.�

�We�re used to being hunted.� Galen rolled over, wrapping the coat around himself. �Will you watch?� he said to the Sekoi, sounding bone weary.

�I�ll watch. Go to sleep.�

As Raffi swallowed the last scrap of meat, Godric leaned toward him, clutching the flask. �Do yourself a favor, lad,� he whispered, his breath stinking of ale. �Leave this lot. Both of them care more about their dreams than about you.� He clapped a great hand on Raffi�s hair and ruffled it. �Clear out with me. Be a thief. If you like to live well, that�s the life, boy.� Drunkenly he leaned back, closing his eyes. �After all, what have you got to lose? You�re an outlaw already.�

Jerking back, Raffi glared down at him bitterly. �Thanks,� he said. �Thanks a lot.�

For Flain, the city of Tasceron, gold and sunlit;

In the form of an eagle he flew over

Promotion must be earned. Be ruthless; there are many who will be passed over.

Rule of the Watch

SHE WAS STANDING IN A DIM HALL. Light filtered through one window high up in a wall; the rest seemed shuttered or blocked.

The hall was crammed full of objects, piled high, and someone was moving down in the shadows among them. She heard steps, creaks, the bang of something closing.

Creeping nearer carefully, she found she was moving between huge towers of dusty boxes, ledgers, astrolabes, collections of skulls, hanging maps that brushed her face with soft, cobwebby edges. Ahead was a patch of light, oddly unflickering. Silently Carys crouched behind a wooden crate and peered cautiously around.

Harnor was sitting at a tall desk, in a pool of light from a lamp�a Maker-lamp, which lit his gray head and hunched shoulders with amazing clarity. He was reading a great volume of thick pages that turned with small, stiff crackles. There was no other sound at all. The hurrying lines and crowds of the tower seemed an eternity away.

Carys looked around, noting everything. Galen might know what some of these things were�she had no idea. There were boxes, panels, piles of broken wiring, bizarre devices with screens and buttons and dials that she knew were relics, ancient things collected by the Emperors. There were priceless books, marble statues, charts of trees, and the complete skeleton of some small, unknown animal, as well as a globe showing Anara�s continents, even the Unfinished ones, strange pieces of paper pinned all over it.

Harnor turned another page.

In the silence Carys scratched her cheek thoughtfully. Then she stood up and walked forward into the light.

He was so engrossed that for a moment he didn�t even notice her. When he did, his whole body jerked with terror; he leaped up, knocking the stool away with a smack that was deafening in the silence.

�You!� His eyes flickered over her shoulder, wide with fear. He seemed too choked to say anything clearly. �How . . . did you . . . ?�

�I followed you.� She perched on the edge of a table, the crossbow loose in her hands. �You needn�t worry. There�s no one else with me.�

As soon as she�d said it, she realized she might have made a mistake. But he was terrified. He swallowed, rubbing his face feverishly, then took a step toward her. She raised the bow, but he�d stopped already, gripping the desk as if to hold himself up.

�For God�s sake,� he said hoarsely, �for pity�s sake, don�t tell them!�

�I�m not surprised you�re worried.�

�Don�t play with me!� It broke from him like a cry of agony. �I�ve got a wife, two children! What will happen to them! Think about them, please!�

�I�m not going to tell anyone.�

�But you�re a spy. You work for Braylwin and if he��

�If he knew, you�d be in chains so fast you wouldn�t have time to blink, but I�m not him. I don�t work for him.� She grinned. �Haven�t you noticed how he has me watched?�

Confused, Harnor clutched his head. �Everyone is watched.�

�Except you, it seems. A small, timid man nobody notices.� She waved the bow, curious. �How long have you been coming here?�

He shrugged, then stammered, �I�I�m not sure . . . about twenty years.�

�Twenty years! Does anyone else know about it?�

�No.� For a moment his glance was proud, almost greedy. �This is mine. No one else�s. Except . . .� He put a hand to his head hopelessly. �Except you.�

Carys smiled. Deliberately she laid the bow on the floor and folded her arms. �Listen to me, Harnor. I�m not investigating you. Finding this place was an accident. Sit down.�

He sat numbly, as if he had suddenly become old, his hands clutched together, his thin face drawn. She could see the sweat on him. Leaning forward, she said quietly, �Will you trust me?�

�What does it matter! You�ve found it all now.�

�I certainly have.� She glanced up at the towers of boxes. �What is all this? Are they all relics? Are there other rooms?�

�Lots.� For a moment he stared down bleakly. Then he began to speak, and there was a faint edge of defiance in his voice, almost lost, but she caught it.

�I wanted to be a spy once. Out there, hunting outlaws, free, on my own. But they sent me here to keep accounts; year after year, petty records, endless reports, and I was weighed down by it, it buried me, closed over my head.� He stared hopelessly. �You can�t imagine that. You�re too young. Oh, at first I was hopeful, I put in applications, I bribed people. I waited my life away, but it was all useless. I was too ordinary. Just a number, a small, despairing pen-pusher no one cared about. I lost hope. This place does that to you.�

She nodded, swinging her foot. �I�d noticed.�

�Well, think of spending decades here. All the years of your life.�

They were silent. Then he looked up. �But somewhere, deep down, I wouldn�t give in. I thought, if I�m trapped here, I�ll make this place my adventure. I�ll learn it, as no one else ever has. If there are secrets, I�ll find them.� He glanced at her, and she saw his eyes were very bright. �I explored, Carys. I learned every corridor, every gallery. I spent years searching, all my spare time, planning, charting in my head, writing nothing down so they�d never know. And then, one day, I came into the corridor and found the hidden door.�

He wasn�t scared now. He was trembling, exultant. �There are whole suites of rooms here no one knows about. All the things in them, the Emperors� things, the Maker-things, are mine. I�ve spent years with them, these statues. Look . . . look at this, how beautiful it is!�

He jumped up suddenly and, picking up a cube, thrust it into her hands. As she turned it she gasped, because trapped inside what seemed like glass was a whole landscape, a place of green fields and strange trees, and the sky there was blue, a deep, perfect blue. It wasn�t a flat picture. Somehow it was real.

�That�s the home of the Makers, Carys, and there�s more here, much more. It would take years to show you all of it; beautiful books, statues you almost think are watching you. I love these things. I�ve grown to love them.� He stopped abruptly and looked straight at her. �I know it�s wrong. But I do.�

She frowned, thinking how he had suddenly become alive, and then his eyes fell and he was Harnor again, aghast at seeing her there. To give herself time, she got up. �Take me around,� she said.

For the next half hour each of them forgot all danger. Even Carys was dazzled by the treasures the rooms contained. Harnor had piled them all here, cleaned the frescoes and wall paintings so that they glowed: bright, colorful scenes of the world�s Making that would have silenced Galen. There were wonderful fragments of sculpture, jewels, crystals, strange artifacts, bizarre machines, a whole collection of brilliant and intricate tapestries. Fingering a small device that clicked a flame on and off, she looked up and saw him watching her.

�Did you mean it?� he whispered. �About not telling him?�

�I meant it.�

�Why?�

�Because I want you to help me.� She put the flamemaker in her pocket and sat herself in a huge, winged chair, feeling like some empress. �You see, I�m a bit like you, Harnor. Not quite what I seem. You say you know the tower. I want you to get me to the Overpalace. To the Great Library.�

He stared at her in horror. �But��

�Do your passages go that far?�

Bewildered, he ran his hand down an exquisite silver figure. �No . . . at least, well, yes they do. There are ways, but��

�No buts. That�s where we�re going.�

�But why?�

�Because I want to find things out,� she said shortly. �About who I am.�

To her surprise he laughed, a bitter laugh. �Oh, do you? Well, you won�t find anything.� Seeing her stare, he looked away. �You wouldn�t be the first. Even I tried that. Many years ago. The library is dangerous to get into, but I went there. Once was enough. There are no records, Carys. Each child�s first name is entered and that�s it. No one cares where they came from. It�s not important.�

She got up, furious, and stalked over to a box and stood looking down, seeing nothing. What would I have done anyway? she asked herself coldly. Gone and found the village? My parents? They wouldn�t have even recognized me.

�We�re still going,� she growled.

He glanced frantically around. �You�re crazy!�

�Listen, Harnor!� She turned on him, blazing with wrath. �You�re not the only one who breaks the rules. I know a keeper, well, two of them . . .�

He stared at her, aghast. �A keeper!�

�That�s right. And he�s made me think. Who is it that runs the Watch? What do they want with relics? Why stamp out the Order so savagely?�

He shrugged. �Everyone knows the Order was evil.�

�But the relics! Think about it! They were once full of power, a power we know nothing about. The keepers do. I�ve seen that. What I want to know is why the Watch teaches us it doesn�t exist!�

He shook his head in fear. �I don�t want to think about this.�

�Get me to the library, and you won�t have to.� She came over quickly. �I�ll go then. You�ll never see me again. And you�ll still have all your treasures.�

For a moment, seeing his despair, she felt like Braylwin and hated herself. But when he looked up, his face was set.

�All right. But only once.� He looked bleakly at the silver fish under his hand. �Be here tonight. And come armed.�

For a year they held me underground,

The creatures of the deep, how shall wenumber them?

Artelan�s Well

Always now, we will be hunted.

Third Letter of Mardoc Archkeeper

RAFFI WAITED ANXIOUSLY BY THE DOOR. The cottage was small; he could see the fire crackling inside, the dresser with its pewter plates, a basket of chopped wood. It looked cozy. For a moment it reminded him of home.

Then the woman came back, a toddler clutching her skirt. �Here. Take these.� She dumped the rough sacking in his arms hastily. �Cheese. Some smoked fish. Vegetables. That�s all I can spare.�

�It�s very generous,� Raffi muttered.

She gave him a hard looking-over, and he felt himself going red. �Wait,� she said.

In a moment she was laying a blue jacket on the sack. �That was my eldest�s. It�s too small for him now. You have it.�

He was really red by this time. �Thanks,� he mumbled.

�You�d better hurry. My husband will be back and he won�t stand for tramps. Which way are you heading?�

Off guard, he shrugged. �West . . .�

The woman turned and gathered the child up onto her hip. �Then be careful. The Watch are always patrolling that way.�

He nodded, walked to the gate, and turned to say thanks again. She was looking after him, the baby playing with her hair. Suddenly he saw how young she was.

�Give us your blessing, keeper,� she whispered.

For an instant Raffi was still. Then he raised his hand, as he had seen Galen do, and said the Maker-words slowly, carefully. It made him feel strange. Older. She bowed her head, and without looking up, went back into the house.

Three fields away, under a blackthorn hedge, Galen looked sourly at the jacket.

�Keepers didn�t use to have to beg for castoffs,� he said bitterly.

Raffi didn�t care. He tried the jacket on. It was dark blue and warm, and even the patches were better than his old, worn coat, full of holes.

�She knew what you were?� the Sekoi asked quietly, nosing in the sack.

�She guessed. She said the Watch are about.�

Galen snorted. The burst of fever was over, but it hadn�t improved his temper. He bit into a carrot. �You said nothing else?�

�No.� But the memory of that word, west, stung him. Galen stopped chewing and stared harder. Then he leaned over and caught Raffi�s arm. �What else? What did you tell her?�

�Nothing . . .� But that was useless. He frowned and took a breath. �That we were going west.�

For a moment he thought Galen would hit him. Then the keeper flung him away, his eyes black with fury.

�I didn�t mean to! She caught me unaware!�

Galen gave a harsh laugh. �Never mind. Too late to start being careful now.�

�She won�t tell anyone.�

�Let�s hope not,� the Sekoi said uneasily. It spat out the pips of a dewberry and stood up. �Still, it would be best to be gone. How far is this magic well of yours?�

Galen flashed it a vicious glare. �I don�t know.�

�You�ve never been there?�

�No one�s been there for years. It�s lost.�

�Lost?�

�In the marshes.�

They both stared at him, but he flung the pack at Raffi and stalked off, his tall stick stabbing the mud.

The Sekoi gave a tiny mew of disgust. �I should have taken my chances with Godric.�

For two days they trudged through fields and scrawny pastures, always upward. The weather was warm, and Raffi tied his new coat to the pack and watched the vast flocks of migrating merebirds flying over, always west, their loud cries breaking the evening hush. But the nights were cold; once they lit a fire in a copse of oak trees that Galen said still had much Maker-life and were prepared to allow it.

By now they were high up, and the pasture was poor, full of hollows and humps, studded with boulders, cropped by hungry sheep. Four moons, wide apart, lit the sky.

For a change, Galen was in a milder mood. He was wrapped in his dark coat, the firelight making shadows move on his sharp, hooked face. The Sekoi asked its questions carefully, flipping a gold coin over in its fingers.

�So what is this lost well?�

The Relic Master smiled. �It�s a long story. Once there was a keeper; his name was Artelan. He had a vision and he saw Flain. Flain told him to travel far to the west, to the edge of the Finished Lands, and he would find an island called Sarres, where fruit grew all year, where there was no snow, no strong winds, a place out of the world. And on the island was a well, and whoever drank out of it would have his questions answered.�

�So he went?�

�He went. The story of his adventures is a long one, but finally he climbed these hills and on the other side saw the Moors of Kadar, green and fertile. And rising out of them was a strange hill, remote and eerie, looking like an island in the mist, and Artelan traveled there, and they say he found the spring and the fruit trees, just as Flain had said. I�ve often thought it odd, though, that Flain should say it was an island.�

The Sekoi smiled, scratching its zigzag tribemark with one finger. �You people waste your stories. I could tell this so that we would all seem to be there now.�

Galen nodded. �Our gifts are different. But the Makers gave them all.�

�They did not!� It sat up fiercely. �Not ours!�

Galen frowned, but Raffi said, �Never mind all that. Tell us more about the well.�

This time they both glared at him, but he didn�t mind. He was warm in his new coat and a blanket, and the soft crackle of the fire soothed him. Galen dragged his hair back irritably. �It became a place of pilgrimage, a holy place. The Order built a great house there, and a custodian lived there always. People came, looking for peace, some of them for healing. When they came back they were different. The well had given them wisdom.�

�And you think it will tell us where this Interrex is?� The Sekoi looked politely dubious.

�Me. It will tell me.� Galen was silent for a moment, then shifted, so the green and black awen-beads glinted. �If it still exists. Because the Watch have destroyed us, and who knows what happened there. Artelan once wrote that the spring would never fail, and never be foul. Let�s hope the Watch never found it.�

�What would have stopped them?� Raffi asked sleepily.

Galen gave him a strange look. But he didn�t answer.

Raffi was silent too. He�d had a sudden mind-flicker; it was water, the shimmer of it under leaves. Just a glimpse and it was gone. He turned over and checked his sense-lines, but the countryside was empty except for the numb minds of sheep, and the faint intelligences of the listening oaks, too deep and too old for him to reach.

Next day, for hours, they climbed the relentless ridge. Each time Raffi was sure they had finally sweated to the top, another fold of hill would rise up before them, and the bitter wind flapped their coats and rippled the long wet grass. The hills were empty; few animals lived here and fewer trees, only stunted shreds of old hedgerow, sheep-gnawed and bare, and the immense burrows of ridge-rats, the fat females scattering from under their feet.

Clouds swept over, some dragging showers. Soon they were soaked; Raffi was glad of his coat. Turning the collar up, he smelled suddenly, as if it were real, a scent of soap, of wood smoke. Ahead of him Galen limped grimly, finding ruts and tracks in the slippery grass; the Sekoi stalked far behind, its fur drenched, miserably silent.

Just below the ridge, Galen stopped. He turned quickly and stared out at the gray country below, blurred by showers.

The Sekoi walked past him. �Come on, keeper.�

�Wait.� Galen was alert, his eyes dark. �Do you feel that, Raffi?�

Raffi opened his third eye, groping into distance. Far at the edge of his mind-set, something rippled. �Men?� he said doubtfully.

�Men. Following us.�

The Sekoi had stopped; now it came slithering back in alarm. �Are you sure?�

�Certain.� The keeper glanced around hastily. �Over there. We�re too exposed.�

They ran to the hollow and slid in; the bottom was muddy and sheep-trodden. As Galen rummaged in the pack, Raffi kneeled up and stared out; the land seemed empty, but he knew Galen�s sense-lines were stronger than his, reaching far into stone and soil. The keeper had tugged out the seeing-tube, one of their most precious relics; as he murmured the prayer of humility and gazed through it, the Sekoi looked on with interest. Its yellow eyes flickered to Raffi.

�A relic?�

�It makes far-off things seem nearer.�

�Got them,� Galen muttered. He was rigid a moment, the tube pointing northeast into a brief moving patch of sunlight on a distant slope. �Ten. Eleven. All on horseback.�

�The Watch,� Raffi said.

�I don�t think so.� Galen�s voice was sour; he lowered the tube. �Take a look.�

Eagerly Raffi took the relic and held it to his eye, touching the red button so that the blurred circle suddenly shriveled into focus, and he saw trees, small in the distance, and between them horses running, red-painted.

�Alberic?� the Sekoi said to Galen.

�Without doubt.�

�But how could he be so close?�

�Godric must have been meeting him nearby. He wasn�t worried about having to take you any distance, was he?�

Across the circle a shape flashed: Raffi steadied the tube, brought it back carefully. The rider was tiny, muffled in coats; turning, shouting something.

�It�s him,� he muttered.

�Besides,� Galen said acidly, �they probably asked at some cottage.�

Raffi scowled, watching the minute horseman vanish behind trees. He gave the tube back curtly, and after a second�s hesitation, Galen offered it to the Sekoi.

The creature�s eyes glinted; it held the tube carefully with its fourteen long fingers, then lifted it and looked in, and its whole body quivered with surprise.

�I see them,� it said after a moment. �They�re riding fast. They�ll be here in less than an hour.� It looked around anxiously. �They�ll catch us.�

�Maybe.� Galen took the relic and stowed it away. �Come on.�

They hurried to the ridge-top. The gale increased, pushing them back; Raffi felt he was struggling with a great invisible force, coming out of the land ahead, a hostile force, something he had never felt before. �What is it?� he gasped.

Galen gave him a sideways look. �We�re coming to the end, boy.�

�The end?� For a moment he thought that the ridge was the edge of the world, that there was some vast giddy chasm on the other side, but as Galen hauled him up over the rocks and the full rage of the wind crashed against them, making him stagger over the skyline, he saw what the keeper meant.

They had indeed come to the end.

For in front of them were the Unfinished Lands.

Out of the Pit came disease. For leaguesaround, the trees died; grasses curled.

There no trouble will be;

To make the Deep Journey the keepermust be ready, and of age.

They questioned me. �What have youdone?� they raged.

Standing in Line

I saw my brother suffer a hundred yearsof remorse.

The stupid must be cast aside. Those of medium intellect are of most use. Beware the ones who are too clever. They may be taught to hate us yet.

Rule of the Watch

CLOSE UP, THE WATCHHOUSE was immense, a squat, ugly building of black brick, dumped in the forest. All around stood its defenses; a fence of spiked logs, a ditch, and one drawbridge, lowered now, for the children to straggle across.

From his hiding place under the thorns, Raffi watched them forming up in lines, many staggering under the weight of logs and kindling; even the smallest children had their arms crammed full. There were three guards; two laughing and joking together, the last calling up to someone at a window. None of them were watching the trees.

Carys nudged him sharply, and was gone.

He hoisted the wood bundle up against his face and stumbled out behind her, his heart thudding like a hammerbird�s knock. The sense-lines snagged under his eyelid; he knew Alberic�s hunters were only yards behind.

And still he couldn�t believe what he was doing.

�Line up!� Someone shoved him; he kept his head down, praying numbly. Children closed in behind. Quickly they began to walk.

The branches were heavy, but they kept him hidden, and the boy next to him didn�t even glance across. There was no talking, no pushing. In the silence he could even hear the leaves falling, and the whistle of an oat-piper far off in the wood. Then wooden planks were under his feet; the children�s boots rang in hollow echoes. They were crossing the drawbridge.

Glancing up, he saw the archway gaping over him, a great mouth, one lantern hanging from it like a single tooth. This was it. He didn�t know any passwords, any rules. Carys would get in, but they were bound to find him, drag him out, beat him. He closed his eyes.

She jolted against him. �Stay close.�

The arch swallowed them. He sensed it over him, felt suddenly small, as if his personality had shrunk, become crushed. Defiantly, miserably, he mumbled the Litany.

The smell of the place was overpowering. Old musty rooms, stale fat, a smell of fear, long-enclosed, as if the windows were never opened. And it was bitterly cold.

As the line shuffled on, he glanced at Carys; to his surprise he saw something like hatred on her face. She moved up to him, but before she could speak the line halted.

Ahead the children were chanting numbers to a boredlooking woman on a stool; then one by one they disappeared through a doorway. Nervously Raffi waited his turn.

�Next,� the woman said, not looking up.

He had decided what to say.

�N-nine one four,� he stammered, then walked on fast, in case she raised her eyes from the page and looked at him. In seconds Carys was behind him; there was no outcry. It seemed to have worked. In relief he breathed his thanks to Flain.

They found themselves going down a dim stairway; at the bottom was an evil-smelling cellar where the children were stacking the wood. Their silence scared Raffi. They didn�t laugh, or joke, or even smile. And he saw how they all watched one another, slyly, as if none of them were friends, or to be trusted.

Carys pulled him gently by the sleeve, then turned and marched out of a different door. Trying to look calm, he followed. She looked as if she knew where she was going. Through a warren of crypts and cellars, up some stairs, then into a corridor where the roof leaked. Opening the first door on the left she peered in, drew her head out, and nodded.

They slid inside, and closed the door tight.

It was a storeroom. Barrels were stacked against a cracked wall. The hearth was a drift of wind-blown ashes.

Raffi breathed out slowly. Then he said, �I can�t believe we�re in.�

She went over and knelt on top of the barrels, rubbing dust from one pane of a tiny window. �Keep your voice down.�

�Will they come in here?�

�It�s unlikely.�

He looked at her back. �How did you know about it? How did you know your way?�

Cold suspicions moved in on him like eelworms, but she turned and stared at him contemptuously. �Don�t be stupid, Raffi. These places are all the same�if you know one, you know them all. The Watch pride themselves on that. Wherever you go, always the same. One big family.�

She turned back to the window, but he still watched her. Quietly he said, �So you knew this room somewhere else?�

For a while he thought she wouldn�t answer. Then she said, �It was the one I spent hours in at Marn Mountain. I had it all worked out. The rotas were easy to alter�everyone thought I was in some other class. I kept food here, books, all the things you weren�t allowed. I did it for years, till they found out.�

�What did they do to you?�

�They promoted me, of course.� She turned and grinned at him. �In the Watch, the slyer you are, the better. You look shocked.�

�I just . . .� He shook his head. �I always assumed you liked it.�

�Liked it!� She spat viciously into the ashes. �These places are hell, Raffi! You�ve got no idea. Come up here.�

He climbed up beside her. She rubbed the spot on the window wider, and looking through it he saw a grim courtyard, with a high spiked wall. Children huddled around. Some sat in groups, others ran to keep warm, but there was still little noise, except from one end of the yard where a group silently watched three boys beat a smaller one, punching him in the face and stomach while he sobbed. Raffi stared in horror. �Why doesn�t someone stop them?�

Carys smiled grimly. �It�s probably a punishment. Look.�

Two Watchmen were standing behind the crowd, their arms folded, laughing. One shouted encouragement.

Raffi turned away. He was white with anger. �No wonder Galen hates the Watch. How can they make the children punish each other?�

�They don�t make them. They volunteer.� She climbed down and sat beside him.

�Volunteer!�

�You get better food. And credits on your workcard. The more of those, the better you do. I�ll bet Braylwin collected plenty.�

�What about you?� He stared at her. �Did you �volunteer�?�

�Sometimes.� She said it softly, looking away from him. �They teach you how to use people here, Raffi. I never realized that until after. To hunt and lie and lay traps but never to care. And you have to survive, you have to get through it somehow. Have you ever thought of what happens to those who don�t?�

Numb, he shook his head.

�Well, they vanish. It�s said they�re thrown down the Pits. The Watch has no failures.�

In silence they heard a bell ring, far off in the building. The scuffles stopped outside. Then Raffi said, �Where do we look for her?�

�We don�t, yet. At five bells they all parade in that yard for name-check. Then you�ll have to see if she�s there. You haven�t told me how you know what she�s like.�

He shrugged. �It doesn�t matter. Then what?�

�From where she stands in line I�ll know where she sleeps. But listen. If I get caught, you don�t know me. Understand? You just walk by. One of us has to get her out.�

�I can�t,� he muttered.

�You can. You�d better. Because if you�re caught, that�s what I�ll be doing.�

He didn�t know whether to believe her or not.

All afternoon they stayed hidden in the cramped storeroom, except that every hour Carys led him out through a maze of corridors, walking quickly, looking at no one, coming back to the room when the patrol would have looked in and passed on.

�The sweep, we call it. Two men check every room in the whole house constantly. It took about an hour at Marn. You have to time it just right.�

Bewildered, Raffi sat on the floor. The place upset him. He dared not send out sense-lines; they touched things that made him feel sick. Odd noises and cries echoed in the building; he had glimpses of desolate classrooms, like the one in his vision. He felt trapped, totally cut off. �And if we find her,� he said, �how do we get her out? Or help Galen?�

Carys licked thirsty lips. �Galen can take care of himself. But you�re right about one thing. Getting in was easy. I haven�t a clue how we�re going to get out.�

They didn�t notice the darkness come. But after a while the room was too dim for them to see each other clearly, and the faintest edge of Agramon was glimmering from somewhere high over the roofs.

A bell rang. Raffi was already sick of them, but Carys stiffened. �Name-check.� She jumped up to the barrels. �Right. Get ready.�

The courtyard was dark now and lit with flares; garish red flames that crackled and guttered in the cold wind, sending shadows leaping. The Watchchildren were lined up, silent and sullen, in identical rows rigidly spaced, feet apart, arms behind their backs, eyes fixed on the ground. They wore thin clothes; most were shivering. Raffi ran his eyes anxiously along the lines, past thin boys, tall lanky girls, a sobbing infant everyone ignored.

�Well?�

�I can�t . . . yes! That�s her! Third from the end, in the back row! That�s her!�

Carys pushed him aside and put her eyes to the pane. She saw a small stubborn-looking seven-year-old, her hair hacked off, her face freckled, already thin. �Are you sure?�

�Certain. I�d never forget her.�

She spent a long time looking, then turned and leaned back thoughtfully against the wall. She was oddly silent, Raffi thought. A tinge of sadness came out of her and touched his sense-field.

�Right.� She lifted her head firmly. �We need to plan this. Get her on her own. Diversionary tactics. Something to deal with any pursuit.� She grinned slyly. �Just like they taught us.�

He looked baffled.

Carys laughed. �Don�t worry, Raffi. I was always top of the class. Look, that thing you did in Tasceron, the bangs and flashes, the inner eye thing, can you do it here?�

He shrugged, uneasy. He was cold and hungry, and he loathed this place; the very air was miserable. �There�s no awen here.�

�Awen?�

�Energy, power. Life.�

He shivered, and she felt anxious. �But you�ll do your best?�

�Of course I will. But, Carys, it�ll take an army to get us out.�

Angry, she shook her head. �One step at a time.� Unstrapping her crossbow, she loaded it, then pulled a small pouch from under her coat. Opening it, she took out some fine rope, candles, a tinderbox, some tiny boxes, and a package wrapped in black cloth.

He touched the package and she saw his eyes widen. �This is a relic!�

�Yes.� She shoved it back. �I got it in the Tower of Song. It�s for Galen. Now come on, Raffi. We�ve got to be ready in an hour. Before the patrol comes around.�

It was exactly an hour and a half later that Carys walked cautiously down the middle of dormitory twenty-seven, glancing at the bed numbers, the sleeping huddles under gray blankets. The bed she wanted was third from the end, near where the night candle spluttered in its lantern. She leaned down and took a deep breath. Then, quickly, she twitched the girl over, clamped a cold hand tight on her mouth, and hissed, �Don�t scream. Don�t speak. Just listen.�

Wide brown eyes stared up at her.

�My name is Carys Arrin. I�m a Watchspy, silver rank.� She dangled the insignia carelessly in the child�s face. �You�ve been selected for a special mission. It�s highly secret; none of the other children must know. Do you understand?�

The girl nodded. Her body was tense in the bed.

�You must come with me now. Get dressed, and hurry.�

She took her hand away and stood back. This was the test; if the girl screamed . . . Carys folded her arms and looked away up the room, as if she was impatient. But the child dressed silently, hastily. She was used to obeying orders, as they�d expected, though once or twice she peeped up, curious, into Carys�s face.

�Come on!� Carys growled.

�I am!� the girl said impudently. She pulled on her shoes and went back to the bed. Plunging her hand into the straw, she pulled something out and turned, but Carys had seen. �What�s that?�

�Nothing.�

�Liar.� Carys came and snatched it; the girl glared, furious. �He�s mine! And I�m bringing him!� The hiss was loud, but Carys barely heard it. In her hand was a small stuffed toy, a night-cub, so battered one ear was gone, and the dark fur almost rubbed away.

The girl snatched it back and pushed it into her dress. �I�m not going without him.�

Carys was amazed. There were no toys allowed in Watchhouses�for the girl to have kept it this long meant she was cunning. Incredibly cunning.

�All right. Follow me.�

She turned and marched down the dormitory, the little girl pattering beside her. In the silence their footsteps sounded loud; Carys felt sweat chill her back. But no one woke.

Once again she hurried, up the steps, then up again to the dim landing. Lamps burned down long corridors. Far below, the endless patrol closed and opened doors.

�Where are we going?� the girl demanded suddenly.

�Wait and see.� Carys stopped. �Raffi?�

He stepped out behind them, and the girl stared at him, her brown eyes solemn. �Who�s he?�

�He works with me.�

�I�ve seen him before. I saw him in a dream.�

Aghast, Carys looked at him. �What?�

Raffi bit his lip. �It�s�it�s all right,� he stammered.

�No it�s not. You�re from the Evil Order.�

�No . . . Listen.�

But the girl�s voice was louder. �I don�t believe you. Where are you taking me?�

Carys clamped her hand tight over the girl�s mouth, crouching. �Keep quiet! I told you, this is a secret!�

The child�s eyes blazed; she squirmed with anger, then clenched her teeth on Carys�s fingers and bit down savagely. With a gasp, Carys snatched her hand back.

The little girl looked at Raffi, a cold look.

Then she opened her mouth and screamed.

To open and close,

In the unlikely event that all training fails, the agent must use whatever strategies are left.

Rule of the Watch

INSTANTLY A BELL BEGAN TO CLANG, hard and insistent, appallingly loud. Doors banged open; someone shouted.

Carys cursed bitterly; she grabbed the little girl�s arm and twisted it up behind her back with a savage jerk. �One more sound and I�ll break it!� she hissed.

White-faced, the girl stared up at her, pain forcing tears into her eyes. Raffi looked around in terror. �Come on!� he said.

They ran down the corridor, through the lamp-shadows. Turning the corner, they saw two men; Carys pushed the girl aside, raised her bow, and fired. One man collapsed, clutching his arm; the other fired back, the bolt embedding in the lintel over Raffi�s head. Rolling, Raffi gathered up all his energy and flung it in a flaring explosion down the corridor. There was a bang, and a crackle of light. When the smoke cleared he saw both men were down.

�Brilliant!� Carys hauled the child up and jammed a new bolt in the bow. Raffi ran down to the men and knelt by them anxiously.

�Are they dead?� she asked.

He looked up sharply. �Of course not!�

�Then come on!� As she tugged her away, the little girl stared back. �What did he do? What was that?�

�That was the Order at work.� Carys laughed sourly. �You�d better forget all that stuff they taught you about illusions. These people know a few tricks.�

They ran up the stairs, around a corner, then crouched, breathing hard. Far off the Watchhouse was astir�voices were yelling orders.

�How long?� Raffi said.

�They�ll check the dormitories. They probably already know she�s missing.� Wrathfully Carys glared down. �Why couldn�t you have kept quiet! And why didn�t you tell me about this dream, Raffi?�

He frowned. �I didn�t realize she would . . . It was more like a vision. Anyway, it means she really is the Interrex.�

�The what?� the girl asked.

�Nothing.�

Silent, the child surveyed them, especially Raffi. �In my dream,� she said, remembering, �you were in the classroom.�

He crouched beside her. �That�s twice you�ve gotten me into trouble.�

Her quick face grinned. �Yes. I�m good at that.�

�I�ll bet you are,� Carys said.

�They�ll never let you out.� Calmly the girl pulled the night-cub out and smoothed its head. �You�ll be killed. I won�t care.�

Chilled, Raffi reached out and held her thin wrist. �What�s your name?� he asked.

She looked surprised. �Felnia. What�s yours?�

�Raffi.� He turned the insignia on her neck. The number was 914.

They were silent a moment. Impatient, Carys shuffled down to peer around the stairs. �It�s late. I knew that fuse was�� Before she�d finished, a vast explosion deafened them, shaking the walls; then another, far off in the depths. �Now!� Carys breathed. Slipping out, she raced ahead, checking every corner, Raffi pulling the little girl hurriedly after. Halfway around the next bend a small, cold hand slipped into his. He held it tight.

But there were too many patrols, too many people. Twice they were nearly caught; at last they stumbled into an empty classroom as a group of tall women stalked by, banging open every door and looking in.

Crouched under a desk, Raffi waited for the footsteps to fade. �What now?� he whispered.

Carys pushed back her hair. �The front gate is impossible. We won�t even get near it.� She scowled. �Mind you, I never thought we would.�

�Is there any other way out?�

�Not from here.�

�So what do we do?�

�Withdraw. Somewhere we can defend ourselves.� She turned to Felnia. �The north tower. What do they use that for?�

The girl stuck her tongue out. Carys shrugged. �We�ll try it. It�s usually staff quarters�they may not think we�ll go there.�

They moved quickly, putting out every lamp they passed. Then Carys stopped, so abruptly that Raffi ran into her. �Listen.�

�What?� But as he said it his sense-lines swirled; he felt it intensely in a shiver of sweat, a black, swollen thing, some grotesque six-footed beast slavering down the corridors.

�The bloodhound.� Carys sounded furious. �We�ve no chance.� She rammed the bolt home and turned to face the dark.

�Not here!� He grabbed her. �Up in this tower. We can wedge the doors. Don�t give up, Carys!�

She looked at him strangely; he pulled her away. Around the next bend was a door they tugged open, but inside there was no way to lock it, so they raced and gasped breathlessly up the wooden stairs, pushing the girl in front of them. Up a high flight was a kitchen, full of barrels and stores. Carys flung down the bow and grabbed the nearest cask. �Push them down!�

They toppled the cask and rolled it to the stairtop and over; it crashed down, splintering with an enormous thud against the door below.

�All of them!�

Barrel after barrel they rolled, Felnia pushing with them, all suddenly helpless with giggles, laughing stupidly, as if it was a game, till the stairwell was jammed with splintered wood and sour wine, the reek of cheeses and dried salted fish.

Below, the door jerked, rammed hard, but the barrels clogged it, kept it closed. Someone yelled furious orders.

Carys stopped laughing, clutching her side. �They�ll get an ax. Come on.�

They burst into the top room. Two beds, the blankets sprawled, a chest, a small table. Nothing else. Raffi ran to the window, tugging it open. Then he stood still. Directly below was the ditch, yawning, rammed with sharp, upright spikes.

All at once, cold hopelessness came over him. He felt sick and tired, as if all the energy had gone out of him with that bolt of light. And he knew what Carys had known since the girl screamed. They were finished. There was no way out.

Carys had jammed the table against the door. Now she sat against the wall, tense, the crossbow aimed.

In the silence he said, �We can�t just wait for them!�

�What else can we do, Raffi?� Wearily she shook her brown hair. �Never get into a one-way trap, old Jellie used to say. He never said there was sometimes no choice.�

Something clanged below.

Felnia stood by the door, the night-cub still under one arm. Looking at them, she sat cross-legged on the floor and said, �You could give yourselves up.�

Carys snorted.

�No.� The girl nodded. �I suppose not.� Her brown eyes fixed on Raffi. �Why did you want me? Where were you taking me?�

�Out of here.� Suddenly he knelt up close to her. �We�re your friends. We came to rescue you. We were taking you to a place, a beautiful place, full of trees and flowers, peaceful, even in winter. The Watch never come there. Everything you want is there, food and clothes and people to look after you and love you. Wouldn�t you like that? Wouldn�t you?�

Expressionless, she stared at him. �No punishments?�

�None.�

�I don�t know.� She glanced at Carys. �Would I like it?�

�Not at first,� Carys said quietly. �But I think you�d come to like it.�

�Have you been there?�

She looked at Raffi. �No. But I believe it would be a good place.�

�But why me? Why not Helis, or Dorca?�

�Because you�� But Raffi stopped warily. Carys had given a quick shake of her head; the little girl saw it.

�I won�t tell,� she said at once.

Raffi felt a sudden surge of bitterness. Somehow it hurt most that the Interrex might die without even knowing who she was. He knew well enough that when the Watch stormed the room, none of them were likely to survive. �Do you remember anything, before you came here?�

The girl looked surprised. �Of course I do. I remember an old woman called Marta. She cried a lot. She gave me Cub.� She frowned. �Was that my mother?�

Raffi sighed. �No.�

�Is my mother in this garden you were talking about?�

He glanced despairingly at Carys. �No. Not your mother.�

The girl nodded. She seemed quite satisfied.

�It�s a pity we won�t be able to go there,� she said.

Raffi rubbed his hair. He was so terrified, he felt like hugging himself tight. �I wish Galen was here.�

�He�d only end up dying with us.� Carys was listening calmly; now he could hear it too, the regular, harsh thwack of the ax on the distant door.

�Couldn�t you lie to them?� he said abruptly. �Take me prisoner. Say��

�Raffi.� She looked at him in amusement. �In this situation I�d have no chance. They�ll shoot first.�

�You could call down.�

�I could. Then we�ll both be tortured and they�ll know all about Tasceron, and the Crow, and the Interrex, and anything else that�s in your mind.�

He felt foolish.

She looked back at the door. �It�s strange,� she said, �but I always had an idea it would be my own people who would get me.�

�They�re not your people,� he said quietly.

The ax splintered through the wood. Warily Raffi sent a sense-line down to it; he could feel a crowd of Watchmen. At least fifteen. All armed.

But there was something else too. Faintly, beyond them, beyond the walls of the house, he sensed it. Without knowing, he raised his head sharply.

Carys glanced over, alert. �What is it?�

Rippling out, he touched them. Wild people, smelling of the forest. Bright with stolen gold. An army of them.

�Alberic?�

�What?�

�Alberic!� He scrambled to the window. �Look!�

A shower of arrows was slashing over the fences. Men were running; a few fell. Already the drawbridge was smoldering; as he watched, a blast of familiar white fire shot out of the forest again, roaring the wood into flame. �That�s the box! What�s he doing?�

Carys gave a yell of joy. �It�s Galen! He�s gotten them to come!�

�But how?�

�Who cares!�

The ax-thumps stopped. Then, furiously, they came again, faster. Raffi wrenched the window open. A sudden wild idea had come to him, as if it had shot out of the forest like an arrow, and he had caught it. He turned to her. �Give me that relic!�

�What?�

�The relic!�

She reached into the pouch and threw it. Raffi tore off the black cloth and saw a small gray console, faintly glowing. Holding it tight, he reached into it, felt the Maker-power there, drew it out in long blue lines, sending them spinning down out of the window, long ropes of power, weaving and twisting them into a net, suspended above the deadly spikes.

Below, the door crashed down.

He grabbed the Interrex and forced her up onto the sill. �Jump! You�ll be all right. Quickly!�

Footsteps came warily up the stairs.

�I�ll be killed!� She looked down at the spikes and grabbed him with both hands.

�You won�t!�

�I will!�

�For Flain�s sake, go!� Carys screamed. �They�re here!�

The door burst open. Instantly she fired. Snatching up the girl, Raffi squeezed himself through the window.

Then he jumped.

The Falls of Keilder

From a high place, Soren looked out at the Unfinished Lands. �The winters will be long now,� she murmured.

Book of the Seven Moons

THEY CRASHED INTO THE NET.

It dipped and sank and steadied, the blue lines sparking under his hand. He tried to get up and couldn�t; suddenly he felt utterly spent, clutching the relic tightly in case it fell.

Someone was shouting at him and tugging his hair, then the net plunged again and flung him over. He moaned, opened his eyes, and saw just below a terrifying glimpse of the sharp stakes. Then Carys with her shoulder soaked in blood was hauling at his arm.

�Raffi!� she yelled. �Come on!�

He staggered over the edge of the net and collapsed onto his knees. The forest seemed a hundred miles away.

Arrows slashed the air around him. He felt exhausted, wished they�d leave him alone, let him sleep, let him crumple, but Carys hauled him up with one arm under his, calling him vicious names, and on the other side two small cold hands clasped tight around his waist.

Half dragged, he stumbled away from the Watchhouse, into darkness, into a roar of voices and one strong grip that heaved him up, over its shoulder, and away.

When he opened his eyes it was dark, and warm. For a moment he thought he was back in Sarres, but above him was the roof of a cave, seamed with glittering quartz, red in the low glow of a fire. The rocks around him felt calm and ancient. Briefly, deep within them he touched a song, a drift of music so old it barely existed. Then, gradually, memory crept over him, and an ache in his chest that made him catch his breath.

He sat up.

A tiny lamp burned on the sandy floor. Outside, someone was yelling in anger. Alarmed, Raffi pushed the blankets away wearily and stumbled out, but a long hand caught him and steadied him. �Take care, small keeper!� The Sekoi stood, its sharp eyes bright in the moonlight. �How do you feel?�

�Terrible. What�s wrong with me?�

It shrugged. �Nothing I can understand. Your master says you did too much in making that magic net.� It winked at him. �He won�t say it, but he�s proud of you.�

�Galen!� Weakly Raffi laughed. He found that very funny.

The Sekoi scratched its fur and bit a nail. �You Starmen,� it said. �We�ll never understand you.�

It was Alberic who was angry. From the cave mouth Raffi could see him now, furiously slamming his hands against a tree.

�What�s going on?�

�Come and see.� The Sekoi led him outside; he saw Galen standing tall and grim in the dark clearing, arms folded. The keeper glanced across but his face didn�t change. Between them Alberic raged, kicking over a stool in uncontrollable fury.

The change in the dwarf astonished Raffi. He looked pinched and gray; his hair seemed thinner, and his temper was foul. A tipped goblet of wine spilled among the leaves; as they watched, he picked up a gold plate full of fruit and hurled it hard at the bushes with a scream. The Sekoi looked after it eagerly.

�Are we his prisoners?� Raffi asked, bewildered.

�I think not. Galen has put some fearsome curse on him. In fact, I rather think he�s our prisoner.� It slid into the undergrowth quickly.

Suddenly Alberic stopped raging, breathless. Clutching his side, he swung around. �You promised me!�

�I promised you nothing.� Galen was remorseless. �I asked you to attack.�

�We attacked! We burned the drawbridge! Three of my boys are having bolts picked out of them! I even used up all that damnable blue box. What more do you want? Take the stinking curse off me!�

�Not just yet,� Galen said calmly.

Alberic clutched his arms around himself like a man in a nightmare. �For Flain�s sake, keeper! Everything I eat tastes like ash!�

�First,� Galen went on, �you get us out of the forest. We�ll need horses�the boy�s too worn out to walk. And you protect us from any Watchpatrols till we get to the marsh. A day�s journey, no more.�

�The marsh?� Despite his pain, Alberic�s eyes went sly. �What�s in that marsh?�

�Nothing you�ll ever find.� Galen shifted the weight from his stiff leg; he looked grim, but Raffi could tell he was enjoying this. �Agreed?�

The dwarf swore. �I�ve no choice.�

�No, you haven�t. And if anything happens to me, the curse will never be lifted. Take care of me, thief-lord. Without me, six weeks of suffering . . .�

�I know! Don�t start that again!�

Galen grinned darkly. �And if my friends are hurt, I�d see them die before I�d cure you. Believe me.�

�I�d believe anything of you.� Alberic spat, and watched him sidelong, a murderous look that chilled Raffi. �But what I really want to know is, did I have to suffer all this just to rescue that?�

He jabbed his finger out. Raffi looked over.

Felnia was sitting near a campfire, eating a huge slice of melon; there were pips all over her face. She rubbed them off, fascinated, her brown eyes staring at the dwarf.

�Is he crazy?� she asked.

Galen grinned. �I hope not. I can�t cure that.�

Someone came up behind Raffi. �Feeling better?� It was Carys. She had a different shirt on, and a bloody slash down her jacket sleeve.

�A bit. What happened to you?�

She frowned, shaking her head. Reluctantly she said, �I couldn�t jump.�

�Couldn�t?�

�Too scared.�

He laughed, but she looked up quickly. �I mean it. I saw how it held you, but . . . it was only made of light, Raffi!�

He nodded. �But you did it. Galen would say that was a leap of faith.�

They watched Felnia. She stood up and came out into the dim clearing, deep in leaves. First she looked at Galen, then Raffi. �Are we going to the garden now?�

He nodded, feeling suddenly happier. Lightning glimmered silently, high above the trees; the girl looked up at it, surprised. �Good.�

�You�re willing to come with us?� Galen asked harshly.

She pointed. �With him. I�ll go with him.�

Raffi felt foolishly pleased. Then he realized she was pointing behind him, and turned. The Sekoi lurked there, astonished.

�Me?�

�I like you.� The girl took another bite of her melon. �You�re furry,� she said, indistinctly, �like Cub.�

�Thank you.� The creature looked dubiously at the moth-eaten toy; moving forward, it thrust something from behind its back into Carys�s hands. She hid it expertly, but not before Raffi had glimpsed the golden plate.

�This is so sickening,� Alberic spat.

The Sekoi crouched on its long knees and held out a seven-fingered hand. �Shall we go into the cave?� it said quietly. �Because I think it�s going to rain.�

The little girl nodded. As she passed Alberic, she whispered loudly, �He is crazy.�

�Indeed?� the Sekoi said mildly. �Then that makes two of us.�

That night, in the back of the stuffy cave with the rain crashing outside, the four of them sat on their own, deep among stalactites, with the Interrex asleep in blankets on the Sekoi�s lap.

It pulled dirt from her hair thoughtfully. �She�ll be a handful. She�s as haughty as an Emperor�s child ought to be.�

Raffi grinned, feeling warm and rested. He�d had plenty to eat, and Alberic�s guards prowled the woods for miles around. The Interrex was safe, and they were going back to Sarres, and Braylwin was tied up and guarded somewhere. And yet, he thought sleepily, they were still in the middle of their enemies.

Carys was telling Galen about the Watchhouse. He nodded grimly. �It sounds worse than even I thought. You think the child will be satisfied to stay with us?�

�If she�s got any sense.�

�What about you?� Raffi said suddenly. �You can�t go back now.�

She shrugged, uneasy. �Of course I can. No one knows it was me in there.�

�Except Braylwin.� Raffi stopped. Galen�s warning had snagged every sense-line he had; he looked down, giddy.

�There�s time to decide. It will take a day to ride clear of the forest.� Galen tugged the hair carelessly from his face and knotted it in the dirty string. �Now one of us stays awake, all night. But first it�s time for the Litany, boy. And don�t fall asleep.�

Bind a bright web about the doubtful

Kest raised himself in great pain. �I have done evil and I know it. I went to war on my own creatures; the dragon is destroyed, but I have to follow it, even to the caves of death.� He closed his eyes, Tamar lifting him. He spoke only once more. �Beware the Margrave,� he whispered.

Book of the Seven Moons

MY RANSOM!� Alberic�s howl rang over the waterfall. �God rot you, girl, my ransom!�

Galen leaped fiercely up the cliff; he grabbed the Interrex and swung her down into Godric�s grip. Then he stared up.

�You�ll have your ransom, thief-lord.�

Braylwin was standing stock-still, his face white. The bolt had split the rock inches from his left eye. He reached up and touched it, unbelieving. When he spoke his voice was only a whisper in the water crash. �So we�ve lost you, Carys. We�ve lost you.�

She stood silent, looking up at him. Then she turned and climbed down, past Raffi, into the wood.

It took some time to get Braylwin down and back over the river, Alberic fussing and moaning the whole time, cursing Galen and the clumsy bearers. In the end, Godric had to carry the dwarf back, and all the way the thief-girl, Sikka, mocked him about how much care he was beginning to take of his enemies.

Raffi was shocked, as if some bolt had gone through him too. He had sensed nothing as Carys had passed him; worse than nothing. An emptiness, black and deep and cold. Stumbling on the path, he shuddered. Had she meant to miss? he thought. Or to kill?

All evening, in the hasty camp they made under the rocks, he waited for her to come back. Completely unworried, Felnia had taken Cub back from him and gone to sit by the Sekoi; it had told her intricate rambling stories until she slept and now it lay, long legs stretched out next to the fire, brooding on the pain in its head. Galen was nowhere to be seen, and Alberic was yelling at the grumbling, half-drunken man he called his �surgeon.�

Raffi moved uneasily. When he looked up, the Sekoi was watching him, its yellow eyes narrowed to slits.

�Why don�t you go and look for her?� it said quietly.

He shrugged. �Do you think I should?�

�I do, small keeper.� The Sekoi chewed a nail thoughtfully. �Someone should. It would be best if it were you.�

Abruptly Raffi stood up. He went straight past the sentries and walked back along the river trail, moving quietly in the dark till the noise and stir of the camp were distant.

The forest rustled. Far off, the great falls roared. Sending out sense-lines he touched sleeping trees, their deep consciousness stirring; startled the tiny minds of voles and shrews; woke a weasel that curled back up into weariness.

Then he winced. Something else was there, so sharp it stung him like a black bee. He pushed off the path, through a thick stand of larch trees, forcing his way through the dusty, matted branches until he stumbled into a clearing, brushing needles from his hair.

Carys was sitting on a rock in the moonlight.

She had her back to him, and she made no sound, but he knew she had been crying bitterly; he could feel that, a raw urgency of grief and fury that made his palms sweat.

He stood, awkward.

After a while she raised her head. �Well?�

�Felnia�s all right.�

�I know that!� She turned, furious, her eyes red and sore.

He nodded. �So is he. You could have killed him, but you didn�t.�

�I wanted to!� She pushed her hair back; her face was taut and white. �I really wanted to, Raffi. My mind was empty, except for hating him.�

�It�s all right . . .�

�Don�t be stupid!� Ripples of agitation slammed against him. �Of course it�s not all right! I wanted him dead. And Galen knows I did. I�m finished now, with the Watch and with you.� She laughed bitterly. �How did I get to this, Raffi? I thought I had everything under control.�

Quietly he came forward. Standing opposite her he said, �Come with us to Sarres.�

�Why? To be punished for my sins?�

�No. To be healed.�

Amazed, she stared at him. �What?�

He chewed the ties of his jacket nervously. �You�ve been hurt, Carys. You may not know it, but I can feel it. It�s like a big emptiness in you. We can help . . . the Order has ways . . .�

�To forgive me?�

�That�s not what I mean.�

She stood up quickly, brushing her hair back. �You�re soft, Raffi, that�s your trouble. You�d never survive without Galen. He won�t want me along. He probably despises me.�

But something had changed in her. Raffi smiled. �You don�t know him.�

�I know he�s hard as nails.�

�He�s a Relic Master. And it says in the Book that love is as fierce as hatred�as strong, and as reckless.�

She looked at him strangely. �Does it? Perhaps that�s why they never let us read all of it.�

She pushed past him through the larches. He trailed behind, catching the branches that swung back into his face.

At the campfire Galen was talking to the Sekoi, but when he saw them coming the keeper stood, tall and grim, his hawk-face half hidden in the shadows.

Carys walked right up to him and flung the crossbow down.

�You were right. It�s not the way.�

His silence forced her to look up. �All right, Galen,� she breathed. �I missed him. I meant to. But . . .� Hopeless, she shrugged. �I�m sorry.�

�You don�t feel sorry,� he said. �You feel angry. And free.�

�I don�t suppose you care what I feel.�

He laughed then, his rare harsh laugh. �The Order welcomes anyone, Carys. We have no failures either.�

She smiled. �Even Watchspies?�

�Especially those.�

The Sekoi went to say something, but then waggled its long fingers and was silent.

Carys sat down. The fire glow made her look red and tired. �I would have killed him once,� she said. �Before I knew you, I probably wouldn�t have thought twice. Now it�s all more difficult.� She looked up firmly. �Look, I�ll give you all the information you want. Everything. Numbers, passwords, details of patrols . . .�

�Carys.� The keeper crouched, his eyes dark in the flame light. �We don�t want information. We want you. Will you come to Sarres?�

�Where is that?�

�Beyond your world. The place where the Order will begin again. The heart of the web, where we�ll wait for the Makers. Will you come? We want you to come.�

She looked at him a long time, then away into the flames. �I�ll come. After all, where else can I go?�

Then, quickly, she reached into the pouch at her waist and brought out the relic, thrusting it into his hands. �You�d better have this. I stole it from the Tower of Song. I think it�s important.�

He stared at it in surprise, then at Raffi. �Was this what you used for the net?�

�Yes.�

Galen clicked his tongue in annoyance. �It�ll have little power left, if any.� He spread his fingers over it. �It feels faint.�

�So do I, sorcerer.�

The voice was a snarl; Raffi jumped up nervously.

Alberic had to be helped to the fire. Sikka brought a chair for him and placed it down; the dwarf lowered himself into it as if he were an old man. His hair was thin, his face drawn with pain. His chest heaved, as if he had no breath. But he glared at Galen as furiously as ever.

�You�ve got what you want. Take the curse off.�

�And then?� Galen asked.

�Then I take my lads and lasses and clear out. Oh, and the Watchman. He�s mine. You can have her.� He pointed a tiny finger at Carys. �She won�t fetch you much.�

�On the contrary.� Galen turned the relic over. �She already has.�

The dwarf eyed it without interest. �You people and your bits of junk. Well?�

Galen sat still, the moonlight falling on him. �The curse has been on you a long time,� he said softly. �How can I take if off?�

Alberic went rigid. �By Flain, you�d better!� he raged. �Or you�ll never leave this wood.�

Galen grinned. �You mistake me.� He stood up suddenly and leaned forward. �You�ve read the Book, you told me once?�

�The Litany.� Alberic waved his fingers painfully. �Rather obscure style, I thought.�

�So you know about the Crow?�

�I�ve heard of it.�

�Now you can see it.�

Galen tossed the relic to Raffi; sparks were leaping from it. As he stood there, he seemed strangely taller; the darkness closed in around him. He reached over, caught Alberic�s hand, and pulled him upright. The dwarf stared, astonished, and as Galen looked down at him a sudden shiver of energy moved through their linked fingers, and in an instant of breathtaking clearness everyone saw it, the sharpness of the black eyes, the power that looked out of them, the abrupt shift that made the dark figure something else, something charged, out of myth, out of legend.

Alberic swore, snatching his hand away. Behind him his people stared.

Galen grinned.

�God, keeper,� the dwarf breathed. �What are you?�

�I�m the Crow.� He said it quietly, and the ghost images of seven moons drifted between his fingers. �See it and believe it, thief-lord, because apart from these, you�re the first. Things are changing. The Interrex is found, Anara will have a leader again. And the Order has a home; we�ll make it such a powerhouse it will re-energize the world. Above all, I�ve spoken with the Makers. The Makers are coming back, Alberic.�

The dwarf swallowed. He stood up straight now, breathed easy. �Crackpot fanatics,� he muttered. �I almost believe it.�

�You should. Because I haven�t finished with you.�

�Oh no!� Alberic jumped back. �Oh no. I came looking for you once, but never again! I�ve had my fill of sorcerers. From now on I�ll avoid you like fireseed, Galen Harn.�

Galen nodded darkly. �That�s what you think.�

He turned, took the relic from Raffi, and held it in both hands. It spat and crackled. Suddenly it hummed, and the dwarf stepped closer greedily.

Raffi stood up. To his amazement he saw the tiny screen had lit, and words were racing across it, minute white Maker-words that Galen hurriedly began to read aloud.

. . . Things are desperate; it may be we will have to withdraw. There�s been no word from Earth for months. Worst of all, we�re sure now about Kest. Against all orders, he�s tampered with the genetic material. Somehow, he has made a hybrid out of what was once a . . . Flain fears it has a disturbed nature, certainly a greatly enhanced lifespan . . . When it was let out of the chamber it destroyed all . . .

The screen flickered; Galen frowned and shook it desperately.

. . . We have flung it deep in the Pits of Maar. Kest called it the Margrave. We should have destroyed it. We should . . .

The screen went blank.

In the silence only the fire crackled. Then Raffi said, �That was what I saw in the vision.�

�It�s what rules the Watch,� Carys said in disgust.

Slowly Galen turned the relic over in his hands. He seemed slightly dizzy. Finally he said, �This may tell us more. In Sarres, we might be able to restore it in some way.� He looked at Raffi.

�It seems the Makers have spoken to us again. How can they re-make the world if the most evil of its creatures still lurks here?�

Worried, Raffi said, �What can we do about that?�

The keeper folded his arms. �I don�t know.�

It was dark in the wood now; the fire had sunk. As the Sekoi piled wood on, the flames sparked up and crackled. Alberic yelled at his people, �Get me something to eat! Plenty!�

He sat down by the Sekoi, who said idly, �I suppose there�s no chance, now that you�re cured, of me getting my gold back?�

�Don�t push your luck, tale-spinner. It�s not half what you stole from me.�

�And do you still want me as your prisoner?�

�Want you!� The dwarf put his face close up to it fiercely. �I fully intend never to see any of you scumbags again.�

Carys grinned, and Raffi smiled too. But then he turned and saw Galen. The keeper had a dark, thoughtful look.

Raffi knew it only too well.

It always meant trouble.

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