That was when he was startled so that he nearly let go and fell, for his earswere assaulted by the loudest and most terrible yowling screech he had everheard in his life. Wincing, scrabbling desperately, Hanse twisted his neck tolook up-He saw the Beysib guard all astagger, shocked by that ghastly sound;and he saw the red streak that was Notable on the pounce. The cat began eatingholes in the Stare-Eye's arm and the poor worse-than-disconcerted idiot forgotwhat he was about and struck at the cat with his sword. That cost him not justthe pain as he struck his own arm, but his balance. With only a grunt he wentright over Hanse and through the crenelation and down a hundred feet and moreto a messy splat of an end.

Mignureal did it again, Hanse thought, wriggling onto the roof in double-time.She knew, and Notable just saved my life. Twice, probably. But he also went downwith the Stare-Eye... how'II I ever explain to Ahdio? Then he was on his feet,ready to seize the taut rope stretching down and out and down, and the cat onthe nearer merlon said "mrowr?"

Hanse could not control his chuckle. "I like you, cat! Want to hop on and rideme down? Careful now-you sink a claw into my shoulder and I'll tell Ahdio you'resoft on mice!"

They went down.

The snake from the Beysa's apartment would be useful-it and its venom and a fewphysicians working away in quest of an antitoxin. As for the Beysa, the sandviper in her bed had doubtless given her a lot of fun. As for the Ti-Beysacrown-the PFLS was made. Amid all the yammering chatter of PFLS voices, Hansesort of faded into the shadows, fleeing all the praise and overblown encomiums.He was sure that there was no way the word was not going to get out. The theftand the blow against the invaders were enormous accomplishments. Someone wouldtell: Shadowspawn did it.

I've got to get out of this dam' town!

Mignureal went up the long, long hill with him, she leading the ass and he thehorse.

"I've got to leave town," he had told her. "Maybe... maybe forever. You'recoming with me, right?"

She stared at him for a long while, until at last she nodded. "Right."

Up at Eaglebeak, they tethered the two animals to fallen chunks of fine buildingstone and Hanse went to the old well. If only I hadn't dropped all that coindown here, he thought. This is going to be a job among jobs. Gods, but I wish Ihad it out already!

Since by choice he remembered only that he was Hanse, son of a barely-knownmother and the never-seen father who had been only her casual acquaintance, heknew nothing about previous wishes. He was mightily surprised when the twoladen, leathern saddlebags came floating, noisily dripping, up to his waitinghands.

Zip and Jing and a lot of others were mightily surprised, a little over an hourlater, when a big leather bag came flying down, seemingly from the sky. Itstruck the hard-packed earth of a Downwinder "street" with an enormous •crashing jingling noise... followed by a lot of little jingles as a flashingclinking rolling skittering mass of good minted silver splashed out.

"For Sanctuary," a voice called from above, and it was not the voice of Ils oreven Shalpa, but of a thief on a rooftop. Getting that bag up there had been alot of work, but it was worth it for the effect: "Shadows can go anywhere, intopalaces and even into the hallowed and guarded precincts of Zip!"

"Hanse! You've just been elected second-in-command and Master Tactician! Comedown, man!"

They waited a long time.

Much, much later than that, an aide ushered a sentry into the tent of theirleader.

"Your pardon. General. Go ahead, Pheres."

"Sir, there's a man and a woman, both mighty young out here. Wrigglies. I meanIlsigi, sir. On a horse and an ass. With a lot of silver coin in an old crackedleather bag- a big one. Threw back his white robe and hood to show me he'sdressed all in black. Said he's a friend of yours? From Sanctuary? Right out ofthe shadows, he says. Sir."

The general stared, then smiled and rose from his camp-table to stride past thetwo men and out of the tent. "Hanse!" Tempus called.

[i] Detailed in "Shadowspawn," in Thieves' World, 1979

[ii] For a detailed description of Hanse's entry into the upper precincts of the palace, see "The Vivisectionist" in the third Thieves' World volume. Shallows of Sanctuary. No better way in has been found, although having help is nice.

Illyra needed no special S'danzo power to read the young man's past. He hadbeen, and still was, a sewer-snipe. His face was marred by neglect and disease.He watched her, and her scrying table, with the desperate intensity of one whohad been beaten, betrayed, yet still hoped for victory. She stood beside hertable to stare him out of her shop, when he tossed an ancient, filthy goldencoin onto the gray baize beside her.

"I need to know. They said you would know, one way or the other." Hissurprisingly deep voice made the simple phrases into an accusation.

"Sometimes," she replied, listening to the steady pounding of Dubro's hammer,her fingers poised over the coin.

They came to her in greater numbers now that Moon-flower was dead and herdaughter had run away with the thief, Shadowspawn. Illyra could not think of theimmense woman who had defended her right to be S'danzo in Sanctuary withoutfeeling a storm of grief as immense as the old woman herself. She wanted to tiea knot across her doorway, turn her back to the Sight, and give way to hergrief, but they came with their coins and demanded and she did not know how toturn them away. Dubro helped, intimidating the ones he sensed danger in, but hehad let this one through. Her forefinger brushed the gold. "If the answer can beknown, sometimes I can know it." Gathering her skirts over one arm, she settledbehind the table and gestured for him to sit on the stool. The gold was still onthe baize and the silk was still tied around her cards when he began his story.

"I killed a pig last night. By the White Foal-for luck. I need lots of luck."

Illyra felt the first lies drift between them. Sanctuary was swollen with Beysibstomachs and Ranke, tearing itself apart with wars and assassinations, was afading presence in this comer of its once-great Empire. Even sewer-snipes shouldknow enough to sell a pig for Beysib gold and use the gold to buy luck.

"I-I took the blood to a place, a special place. It's mine, and Vashanka's. Igave Him the blood."

She set the cards aside and suppressed a 'shiver. Unlike many S'danzo womensitting in their rooms throughout the Empire, Illyra did have the Sight. An unSighted S'danzo woman survived by listening to her clients without laughing; sheused the cards for mystery. Illyra used the cards for inspiration andguidance when the Sight came to her; she had no need for inspiration as thisyouth unburdened himself.

"It was like a wind. It was hot and cold; wet and dry all at once."

"Then it could not have been a wind," she told him, though she Saw the truth ofhis memories swirling around her. It was not like her Sight to be. out of hercontrol this way; she sought to rein it in.

"It was a wind. And the blood-the blood was covered with sparks.

She Saw the secret place in his mind: an altar abandoned to the marshes anddiscovered by the snipe who prayed there without knowing what it was or hadbeen. Blood sacrifices made on its mossy stones-not pig's blood but men's blood:Beysib blood and bits of flesh he'd hacked from their corpses as offerings inhis own private worship. Illyra felt the unholy wind whip around him while therest of the marsh froze motionless and saw the blue-white flames dance on theblood. She heard the shrill giggle of a child's laughter as the congealed messon the altar was absorbed into the flame; then the Sight was gone and there wasonly the ragged, scared youth-who called himself Zip and tried to hide his truename even from himself-staring at her.