"Ahdio," Hanse said as if he hadn't heard and without changing expression, "Ineed to borrow Notable. Just for awhile, just tonight. Please, Ahdio, don't giveme a hard time. I've got to."

"Hanser, that cat wouldn't ever-"

Ahdio broke off to watch as Notable came in and started in rubbing Hanse'sbuskined legs.

And so Shadowspawn bore a cat in a claw-proof, fang-proof pouch on his chestwhen he went up the wall this night, and a flask, and a (presumably sorcerous)wand-thing and bow and two arrows on his back. The cat was a bit weighty andHanse was used to climbing light. Still, the junk on his back aided the balanceand Notable was still and quiet. The cat was no heavier than a glazed brown potwith a cross on it, Hanse told himself, and up he went. Eventually he peereddownside up through the diamond-shaped window, into the luxurious apartment thathad been Prince-Governor Kadakithis's and now was the dwelling of the Beysaherself. It was unoccupied.

Hanse swung in. Without even looking around he saw to his egress, as planned.The silken cord dangling from the pinnacle was a loss. The one he'd come down onwas bound and braced on the roof-wall above. So was the third one, which wasvery long. Lacing its end through the prepared arrow, he dumped the rest of thecord out the window. Then, awkwardly bracing himself, he nocked arrow to shortbow and took aim as well as he could.

I can do it. Have to. Don't want to have to pull the thing back up and shootagain! You can do it, Hanse! Breathe out, in, out; suck in a good deep one.Pull. Sight. Oops. Now-

The string twanged and the arrow zipped out the window, trailing its line.

Peering out, Hanse saw at once that it was a rotten shot, way wide of the mark,arcing leftward. Oh Thousand-Eyed Ils, and there was someone down there, too,watching. Suppose it's a Stare-Eye...

That one of many posted PFLS members let the arrow pass, caught the cord, heldit aloft and waved it, and started running to where Kama and the archer waited.Knew I could do it, Hanse thought smiling. He turned, opening the rocky-hardpouch on his chest. Without a sound Notable emerged and bounced feather-lightonto the pillow-strewn, silken-sheeted bed. It sat, examined a paw, and began tolick it.

Oh, really wonderful, Hanse mused, and supposed that he would just have toaccept that Mignureal was a young S'danzo and inexperienced, and couldn't beright every time. And he had to get the fool cat back down, too-but thinking ofMignue had reminded him of Moonflower, and that put mist in his eyes. Once hehad angrily rubbed them clear, he saw two things.

The first was not the Beysa's wand of office but her crown, a coiled snake donein gold with emeralds set as eyes; with markings of coral and of ruby andtwinkling bits of glass banding the body again and again. That was the firstthing he saw: a golden snake of far more value to the PFLS than a mere wand. Thesecond thing he saw, however, was the real thing.

A beynit, he knew. A nasty-tempered snake with a bite that killed in a minute orless-and no way of stopping or countering that toxin. This one was probablytrained-a watch-snake. It was about four feet away on the carpet, and it wasstaring at him.

Oh my god, Hanse thought, I'm dead!

At the very edge of the bed, not two feet directly above the beynit. Notablearched its back and hissed. The snake snapped its head over to stare up at thecat. Notable made a mean sound in its throat. The beynit recoiled just a bit, asinuous rope, and Notable made another nasty remark. Then it hissed with whatseemed to Hanse enough volume to rouse every unblinking sword-backed fish-eyedguard in the palace. Sliding his feet, Hanse moved back and to the side. Hemoved more slowly than ever he had, as he eased one of the throwing stars offhis belt. The beynit caught that motion, and twitched its head to stare... andwith a low growly sound Notable pounced at its tail. The snake's nerve broke. Itrushed into the nearest nice, dark haven-the pouch so recently occupied byNotable.

Hanse whipped the flap over and back up and over again, winding the bag, andfastened it tight. The chances were that not even a worm could have gotten outof that pouch, but Hanse dumped a pillow out of its nice striped satin casingand popped the pouch in. The fit was very snug. With an azure robe-sash he tiedthat pillowcase as tightly as he had ever bound anything in his life.

"Remind me to take that with me," he muttered, and hurried to the Ti-Beysa'scrown. Notable said nothing, but only stared at the pouch while his tailimitated a nervous snake. Hanse shook another pillow out of its casing, choosinga dark one, and with a smile popped in the crown worth the ransom of a prince-orof a scurvy little town called Sanctuary. He tied that silken package, too, andmade it very, very fast to his back.

"Notable," he said, gingerly picking up the pillow casing that housed a bag ofboiled leather he kept reminding himself was hard and thick enough to turn agood dagger-blow, "we've got to go. I'm afraid you can't ride in the bag. Thissnake'll be of some value to Z-to Sanctuary. Got any ideas about your travelarrangements?"

Uncharacteristically, Notable gave him a nice little "mrow."

"That," Hanse said, "is a rotten dumb answer. Here." And he took the littleflask from the pouch at his waist, and poured beer into a superbly wroughtRankan bowl that was not Beysib property. After that it was maddening, jitteringthere by the window while the damned cat lapped daintily as if it had all thetime in the world not to mention a sore tongue.

After about a month of that. Notable finished and looked up with eyes like blackmarbles. He licked his mouth exaggeratedly, and started in on his whiskers.

"I'm impressed," Shadowspawn said. "I am also leaving."

Notable said "mew" in a sickeningly sweet voice and sent his tongue all the wayaround his yawning mouth again. Hanse made a face, started to swing up into thewindow, remembered, and turned to toss the snake-carven staff onto the floor. Itlanded about a foot from Notable and rolled a foot. Notable pounced straightpast Hanse to the windowsill and turned back to look.

"Look at you. Bravest cat in the world with the real thing, and afraid of alittle st-"

The staff shimmered, its wriggly carving seeming to wriggle in reality. Then,while a few hundred ants played footrace up Hanse's back, the staff moved. Itglided along the floor, and up onto the bed, and to the far end, and into a nicedark sheltering place: under the Beysa's figured silk bedspread.

"I've got to get out of this damned town," Hanse muttered in a voice wavery asthe sand-viper, and went out the window. He had to drag himself back up thatfulvistone wall on one silken rope so that he could go down another-all the wayacross the palace grounds and wall and the Processional to where Kama andcompany would have made the arrow-end of the line fast.

Notable passed him on the way to the roof. Hanse gave him a glare, wishing hecould go up walls that way. Maybe with the talons the Stare-Eyes slid onto theirfmgers when they ate...

He was up and on his belly, pulling himself up between two merlons of thattoothily crenelated defense-wall around the roof, when he heard the voice. Theaccent was neither Rankan nor Ilsigi.

"So. A rotten little thief tries to invade us, does he? Well, Ilsiger slime,this is your last climb!"

And Hanse heard the sound of the guard's sword clearing its scabbard on hisback, doubtless to come down on Shadowspawn's neck. Or wrists, or forearms; itdidn't matter. He was helpless and absolutely vulnerable, on his stomach andclutching with both hands while his legs dangled.