Tagetarl turned right into the big, dark kitchen, warm enough from the banked fires in the big range. Orange light from the ash grate made an eerie glow on the flagstones: not bright enough to read by. The shutters were closed against the winter's cold so he flicked on a small light and saw Beauty perched on a chair back, ruffling her wings shut. She held up her left foreleg for him to remove the message tube, cocking her head at him as if reproving his slowness. Taking a deep breath, Tagetarl unrolled the thin sheet of the message.

"Runners confirm trouble at Wide Bay. Guard the Hall. Assistance planned."

Rosheen had been right. Had Arminet been just passing on suspicions? Which now the Harper Hall was confirming? Trouble? From whom? Instantly the Abominators came to mind. But there hadn't been any more activity from that source since Turn's End. Of course, the Fireball Flood had kept everyone busy.

"Trouble? What sort of trouble?" Out of habit, he filled the kettle, put it on the range, and stoked the fire with blackstone. Then he stared at the range. "Fire trouble?" He swallowed hard. Paper burned just as easily as dried herbs or powdered medicines. And he had all those books displayed in the Hall, more packed to be shipped north and south. The presses could be smashed just as easily as medicine bottles and equipment, toner and ink could be spilled, and the sheds where he stored paper had wooden doors, because he hadn't been able to afford steel doors.

The note didn't mention Abominators. What made him think they would attack his Hall? What made him think they wouldn't? He was using a process that Aivas had provided, encouraged. Was the use of "Aivas procedures" all that was needed to agitate them?

"What sort of assistance?"

Perhaps he should ask some of his male apprentices to sleep in the Hall, or in the sheds. And Ola. Which reminded him. Where was she? Menolly had helped train her and she was certainly most responsible when Rosheen sent her with messages, going and returning as quickly as anyone could expect.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to Menolly?" he asked, a little sharp with worry.

She blinked her green eyes. Well, shewasn't worried if her eyes were green.

A whir of wings and into the kitchen flew Rosheen's gold queen, Ola. She may have landed on his shoulder but the warble of her message was for the Harper Hall queen. For a brief second, Tagetarl was amused at Ola's proprietary perch. Beauty's eyes whirled and, with a very definite air of command, she trilled several long musical phrases at the younger fire-lizard.

Ola straightened on Tagetarl's shoulder, sending her claws into shirt and flesh.

"Easy there, Ola!" She stroked his cheek with her head in apology.

Beauty trilled again briefly and disappeared.

"So she was waiting to speak to you, eh, Ola? Just what did she say?"

Closing the first lids over her eyes, Ola regarded him in what Rosheen called her "you-don't-need-to-know" response. But, under the lids, her eyes were picking up speed, with little flecks of yellow. Tagetarl was not as good as Rosheen at reading fire-lizard eye colors but he knew the color was edging toward alarm. Orange or red meant danger. She pushed against his shoulder, digging her talons into his flesh deep enough to make him wince, and then she, too, disappeared.

Tagetarl went to the window and put back the shutters, wondering if Beauty had ordered her to guard the Hall. It wasn't quite dawn-the brightest of the northern stars just fading-so he could distinguish the uneven roofs against the dark blue sky. All of a sudden, he saw the silhouette of one fire-lizard, wings cupped high, head extended and the wink of a yellow-green eye. He liked to think his harper hearing sharp enough to catch the call she was obviously sending. Her summons brought immediate results: it was rather heartening for him to see the mass of fire-lizards that congregated along the rooftops.

"Assistance planned" the note had said. He knew that fire-lizards could be fierce in protection of their human friends but Ola was only one and, while Wide Bay had several large fairs of wild fire-lizards, the creatures were notoriously short of memory. Surely Menolly meant more substantial assistance than a watch maintained by fire-lizards?

The kettle began to steam so he measured klah into the big pot and poured in hot water to the top. Hadn't Benelek told him at the last Gather that he was experimenting with an electrically heated kettle? His stomach grumbled so he looked in the bread cupboard and cut himself several slices to toast on the reawakened range. He was looking for sweetening to spread on it when he detected just the barest sound, a scuff. Had he been stupid enough to unlock the outside door when he examined it? He picked up the full klah pot; moved toward the hall, ready to fling the hot contents on anyone who appeared.

"It's me," a familiar voice whispered.

"It is I, please, Pinch," Tagetarl corrected irritably, lowering the klah pot.

One step brought Pinch to the doorway, his gold Bista clinging to his jacket.

"How did you get in? No, don't tell me. Over the roof."

Pinch made an apologetic face.

"How'd you get in the hold?" Tagetarl was really startled now, having spent so much on a difficult lock for the hold door.

Pinch held up a slender key. "You told me how to release the safety catch when you gave me this. I didn't want to wake you up." He dropped the key back into an inner pocket where it gave a muffled clinkas it settled and Tagetarl wondered how many other keys the Harper had collected.

"But Ola's on the roof with fairs of fire-lizards." What good wouldfire-lizards do in his defense?

"For one, she knows me. And two, Bista vouched for me. I'll give her this, she was ready to call her fairs down on me." Then Pinch sniffed, noticing the klah pot still in Tagetarl's hand. "You knew I was coming?" he asked, faintly surprised.

"Beauty brought me a message. Are you and Bista my 'assistance'?"

Pinch's weary face was wreathed in a smile. "Part of it, but I'm glad to know that the warning got through to the Harper Hall, too." He looked over his shoulder and said in a louder voice, "It's safe to come in now. There's fresh klah. And," he went on to the startled Tagetarl, "by the way, I suspect that when they decide to enter these premises for their subversive activities, they, too, will use the weaver's roof. He's listened to loom clacking so long he's deafer than a shuttle."

Pinch moved confidently to the wall cabinet and started hooking cup handles on the fingers of his left hand, gathering four more together with a clink in his right fingers. He placed all on the table as his companions solemnly entered one by one.

"Still, it's wiser to letthem use a known vulnerability and prepare. Oh, by the way, these are more of the promised 'assistance.' Don't gawk, Tag. Pour the klah while I introduce them."

Five young men and three girls filed in, packs on their shoulders, covered buckets in their hands, giving him a nod or a shy smile.

"Oh, leave the stuff on the landing or there won't be anywhere to stand," Pinch said, gesturing them to do so before he handed out the cups. Then he named them as he poured klah. Macy, Chenoa, Egara, Magalia, Fromelin, Torjus, Garrel, and Niness.

"Much obliged, Master."

"Thank you, Master Tagetarl."

"You're very kind, Master."

"Appreciate this."

"Eight, Pinch?" Tagetarl said, automatically steadying cups as he filled them; trying to absorb the presence of the Harper and the assistance. Would there be enough klah left for him?

"Yes, that's the number we figured it would take to paint all the wood you've got," Pinch said with a weary sigh. He snagged a stool to set his backside on, gesturing for his followers to be easy. "For all that most of your Hall is made of good fieldstone, you've wood in your doors and floors and window frames. They'd burn just as easily as paper will." Pinch raised his hand to soothe Tagetarl's explosion. "So we have thoughtfully brought a fire-retardant. A coat of that's to go on all your wooden surfaces between now and full daylight. Doesn't smell either. Or won't with all the stinks this close to the wharves. The stuff dries quickly, Piemur assures me, and since our Abominators would scarcely have delved that far into Aivas's files to know such useful substances exist, it'll help foil their plans."