'Very well, sir. And what message shall I send the Chiatze Lady?'

'No message, Omri. I will go and see her presently.'

'Yes, sir. Would it be considered a discourtesy to ask her how long she and her retainers plan to stay?'

'I am more interested to know why they came here – and how,' said Waylander.

'How, sir?'

'A priestess in robes of embroidered silk, with three retainers, appears at our gates. Where was the carriage? Where were the horses? From where did they come? They did not stay in Carlis.'

'Obviously they walked from elsewhere,' said Omri.

'And yet attracted little dust to their clothing, and showed no sign of weariness.'

Omri made the Sign of the Protective Horn. 'Regardless of the discourtesy, sir, I would gratefully appreciate knowledge of their departure date.'

'I do not believe there is any need to fear them, Omri. I sense no evil in her.'

'That is good to hear, sir. But some of us have little choice concerning what we fear. I have always been a frightened man. I don't know why.'

Waylander laid his hand on the old man's shoulder.

'You are a gentle soul and a good man,' he said. 'You care about people and their happiness. That is rare.'

Omri looked embarrassed. 'I would have liked to have been more . . . manly, shall we say? I was a terrible disappointment to my father.'

'Most of us are,' said Waylander. 'Had my father seen what I have done with my life he would have burned with shame. But that is neither here nor there. We live in the now, Omri. And now you are a steward, valued and respected – even loved by those who serve under you. It should be enough.'

'Perhaps,' said Omri, 'but then you are loved and respected by those who serve you. Is it enough for you?'

Waylander gave a rueful smile, but did not reply. Moving away, he climbed the terrace steps towards the North Tower.

Minutes later he reached the top of the circular stair to the largest of the library rooms. It had originally been designed as a large state room, but as his collection of ancient scrolls and books grew, so too did the need for added space. There were now five smaller libraries within the palace, as well as the huge museum in the South Tower. Pushing open the door, he stepped inside and bowed to the slender woman sitting at the long, oval table, scrolls spread out around her. He found himself marvelling once more at her beauty, the pale gold of her flawless skin, and her finely boned Chiatze features. Even the shaven head only emphasized her exquisite good looks. She seemed almost too frail to bear the weight of the heavy robes of red and gold silk adorning her body.

'What are you studying, Lady?' he asked.

She looked up. Her slanted eyes were not the deep chestnut of the Chiatze, but tawny gold, flecked with blue. They were disconcerting eyes that seemed to stare deep into the recesses of his soul. 'I have been reading this,' she said, her gloved hand lightly touching an ancient scroll of dry and faded parchment. 'It is, I am told, a fifth-generation copy of the sayings of a writer named Missael. He was one of the most extraordinary men of the New Order, following the destruction of the Elder Races. Some believe his verses contain prophecies for the future.' She smiled. 'But, then, words are so imprecise. Some of these verses could mean anything.'

'Then why do you study them?'

'Why does one study at all?' she countered. 'For greater knowledge, and with it greater understanding. Missael tells how the old world was destroyed by lust, greed, fear and hatred. Did mankind learn from the destruction?'

'Mankind does not have a single set of eyes,' said Waylander. 'A million eyes see too much and absorb too little.'

'Ah, you are a philosopher.'

'A poor one at best.'

'From your words you believe mankind cannot change for the better, evolve and develop into a finer species?'

'Individuals can evolve and change, Lady. This I have seen. But gather together any large group and within a few heartbeats you can have a howling mob, intent on murder and destruction. No, I do not believe mankind will ever change.'

'That may be true,' she agreed, 'but it leaves the taste of defeat and despair. I cannot countenance such a philosophy. Please sit.'

Drawing up a chair, he reversed it and sat opposite her. 'Your rescue of the girl, Keeva, does you credit,' she said, her voice low, almost musical.

'I did not at first know they had taken a hostage,' he admitted.

'Even so. She now has a life – and a destiny – that would otherwise have been robbed from her. Who knows what she may achieve, Waylander?'

'Not a name I use now,' he told her. 'And not one by which I am known by any in Kydor.'

'No one shall hear it from me,' she told him. 'So, tell me, why did you ride after the bandits?'

'They attacked my lands and my people. What other reason did I need?'

'Perhaps you needed to prove to yourself that you are still the man you were. Perhaps, beneath the hard, worldly exterior, you felt for the pain and the loss of the villagers, and were determined that those evil men would never again cause such distress. Or perhaps you were thinking of your first wife, Tanya, and how you were not present when the raiders came to kill her and murder your children.'

His voice hardened. 'You asked to see me, Lady. Your messenger said it was a matter of some importance.'

She sighed, then looked once more into his eyes. When she spoke her voice was softer, the tone regretful. 'It distresses me to have caused you pain, Grey Man. Forgive me.'

'Let us understand one another,' he said coldly. 'I try to hold my pain in a private place. Not entirely successfully. You opened a window to it. I would consider it a courtesy if you did not open it again.'

'You have my word upon it.' She sat silently for a moment, her golden eyes holding to his gaze. 'It is sometimes difficult for me, Grey Man. You see, nothing is hidden from me. When I meet someone for the first time I see all. Their lives, their memories, their angers and pains are all laid bare to me. I try to close myself to myriad images and emotions, but that is painful and exhausting. So, in the main, I absorb them. It is why I avoid crowds, for it is like being trapped under an avalanche of roaring emotion. So let me say again that I am sorry to have offended you. You have been most kind to me and my followers.'

Waylander spread his hands. 'It is forgotten,' he said.

'That is most generous of you.'

'And the matter you wished to speak of?'

She averted her eyes. 'This is not easy for me,' she said, 'for I need to ask your forgiveness a second time.'

'I have already said—'

'No, not for my earlier words. In coming here I may have placed you in some . . . danger. My followers and I are being hunted. It is possible – though I hope unlikely – that we will be found. I felt obliged to inform you of this, and to offer, with genuine intent, to leave immediately, should you desire it.'

'You have broken some Chiatze law?' he asked.

'No, we are not law-breakers. We are seekers of knowledge.'

'Then who hunts you, and why?'

Now her eyes met his. 'Bear with me, Grey Man, while I explain why I cannot yet tell you. As I have already shown, your thoughts and memories are known to me. They blaze from you like the rays of the sun, and like those rays they radiate out over the land. All human thoughts do this. The world is awash with them. Far beyond this palace there are minds attuned to such thoughts, seeking out a resonance that will lead them to me. If I told you the names of those hunting me they would form part of your thinking. And merely by thinking them you might alert those who seek to kill me.'

Waylander smiled. 'Since I do not understand the ways of magickers let us move on,' he said. 'Why did you come here?'