The boy raised a hand and the black snaked his head around fast to bite it. Nikoclouted the horse between the ears as the boy scrambled back out of range. 'Comeon, come here. He won't try it again. Now, what's your master's message?'

Tamzen! Tamzen's gone out without her bodyguard, with -' The boy named six ofthe richest Sanctuary families' fast-living youngsters. 'They said they'd beright back, but they didn't come. It's her party she's missing. The master'sbeside himself. He said if you can't help him, he'll have to call the HellHounds - the palace guard, or go out to the Stepsons' barracks. But there's notime, no time!' the frail eunuch wailed.

'Calm down, pud. We'll find her. Tell her father to send word to Tempus anyway,it can't hurt to alert the authorities. And say exactly this: that I'll help ifI can, but he knows I'm not empowered to do more than any citizen. Say it back,now.'

Once the eunuch had repeated the words and run off, Janni said: 'How're yougoing to be in two places at once. Stealth? Why'd you tell him that? It's a jobfor the regulars, not for us. We can't miss this meet, not after all the bedbugsI've let chomp on me for this...'

'Seh!' The word meant offal in the Nisi tongue. 'We'll round her and her friendsup in short order. They're just blowing off steam - it's the heat and school'send. Come on, let's start at Promise Park.'

When they got there, the moon showed round and preternatur-ally large above thepalace and the wind had died. Thoughts of the witch he must meet still troubledNiko, and Janni's grousing buzzed in his ears: '... we should check in withCrit, let the girl meet her fate - ours will be worse if we're snared byenchantment and no backup alerted to where or how.'

'We'll send word or stop by the Shambles drop; stop worrying.' But Janni was notabout to stop, and Niko's attempts to calm himself, to find transcendentperception in his rest-place and pick up the girl's trail by the heat-trackshe'd left and the things she'd said and done here were made more difficult byJanni's worries, which jarred him back to concerns he must put aside, andJanni's words, which startled him, over-loud and disruptive, every time he gothimself calmed enough to sense Tamzen's energy trail among so many others likered/yellow/pink yarn twined among chiaroscuro trees.

Tamzen, thirteen and beautiful, pure and full of fun, who loved him with all herheart and had made him promise to 'wait' for her: he'd had her, a thing he'dnever meant to do, and had her with her father's knowledge, confronted by theconcerned man one night when Niko, arm around the girl's waist, had walked herthrough the park. 'Is this how you repay a friend's kindness. Stealth?' thefather'd asked. 'Better me than any of this trash, my friend. I'll do itright. She's ready, and it wouldn't be long, in any case,' he'd replied whilethe girl looked between the soldier, twelve years older, and her father, withuncomprehending eyes. He had to find her.

Janni, as if in receipt of the perceptive spirit Niko tried now to reclaim,swore and mentioned that Niko'd had no business getting involved with her, achild.

'I'm not your type, and as for women, I drink from no other man's tainted cup.'So Niko broached an uneasy subject: Janni was no Sacred Bander; his camaraderiehad limits; Niko's need for touch and love the other man knew but could notfill; they had an attenuated pairbond, not complete as Sacred Banders knew it,and Janni was uncomfortable with the innuendo and assumptions of the othersingles, and Niko's unsated needs as well.

The silence come between them then gave Stealth his chance to find the girl'sred time-shadow, a hot ghost-trail to follow south-west through the Maze...

As the moon climbed high its light shone brighter, giving Maze and then Shamblesshape and teasing light; colour was almost present among the streets, so brightit shone, a reddish cast like blood upon its face, so that when common Sanctuaryhorrors lay revealed at intersections, they seemed worse even than they were.Janni saw two whores fight for a client; he saw blood run black in gutters fromthugs and just incautious folk. Their horses' hoofbeats cleared their path,though, and Maze was left behind, as willing to let them go as they to leave it,although Janni muttered at every vile encounter their presence interrupted,wishing they could intervene.

Once he thought they'd glimpsed a death squad, and urged Stealth to come alert,but the strange young fighter shook his head and hushed him, slouched loose uponhis horse as if entranced, following some trail that neither Janni nor anymortal man with God's good fear of magic should have seen. Janni's heart wastroubled by this boy who was too good at craft, who had a charmed sword anddagger given him by the entelechy of dreams, yet left them in the barracks,decrying magic's price. But what was this, if not sorcery? Janni watched Nikowatch the night and take them deep into shadowed alleys with all the confidencea mage would flaunt. The youth had offered to teach him 'controls' of mind, totake him 'up through the planes and get your guide and your twelfth-plane name'.But Janni was no connoisseur of witchcraft; like boy-loving, he left it to theSacred Banders and the priests. He'd gotten into this with Niko for worldlyadvantage; the youth ten years his junior was pure genius in a fight; he'dseen him work at Jubal's and marvelled even in the melee of the sack. Niko'sreputation for prowess in the field was matched only by Straton's, and thestories told of Niko's past. The boy had trained among Successors, theNisibisi's bane, wild guerrillas, mountain commandos who let none throughWizardwall's defiles without gold or life in tithe, who'd sworn to reclaimtheir mountains from the mages and the warlocks and held out, outlaws,countering sorcery with swords. In a campaign such as the northern one coming,Niko's skills and languages and friends might prove invaluable. Janni, fromMachad, had no love for Rankans, but it was said Niko served despite a bloodhatred: Rankans had sacked his town nameless; his father had died fightingRankan expansion when the boy was five. Yet he'd come south on Abarsis'sventure, and stayed when Tempus inherited the band.

When they crossed the Street of Shingles and headed into Shambles Cross, thepragmatic Janni spoke a soldier's safe-conduct prayer and touched his wardingcharm. A confusion of turns within the ways high-grown with hovels which cut offview and sky, they heard commotion, shouting men and running feet.

They spurred their horses and careened round corners, forgetful of their pose asindependent reavers, for they'd heard Stepsons calling manoeuvre codes. So itwas that they came sliding their horses down on haunches so hard sparks flewfrom iron-shod hooves, cutting off the retreat of three running on foot fromStepsons, and vaulted down to the cobbles to lend a hand.

Niko's horse, itself, took it in its mind to help, and charged past them, reinsdragging, head held high, to back a fugitive against a mudbrick wall. ''Seh!Run, Vis!' they heard, and more in a tongue Janni thought might be Nisi, for theexclamation was.

By then Niko had one by the collar and two quarrels shot by close to Janni'sear. He hollered out his identity and called to the shooters to cease their firebefore he was skewered like the second fugitive, pinned by two bolts against thewall. The third quarry struggled now between the two on-duty Stepsons, one ofwhom called out to Janni to hold the second. It was Straton's voice, Jannirealized, and Straton's quarrels pinning the indigent by cape and crotch againstthe wall. Lucky for the delinquent it had been: Straton's bolts had pierced novital spot, just clothing.