Suddenly he lunged straight forward, guarding with the sword and striking with the dagger. The sudden lunge and the uplifted sword caught the four men off guard. Their swords came up to meet a blow that Blade would never strike, and their eyes went with the swords. The man second from the right never saw the dagger that flashed out of nowhere and drove into his stomach. The light went out of his eyes and the life out of his body before he could see Blade pulling the dagger back. It came up to the guard position, and now the sword came in. Blade feinted at one man's sword arm and at another's head, then slashed down to cut a third man's thigh. Blade let the weight of the sword take it down and around. When it came up, a twist of the wrist sent it into a man's stomach. The fourth victim dropped his sword and clapped his hands over the gaping wound in his belly as he reeled back out of range.

Only two left now, and both of them looked distinctly on edge. But they said nothing to Blade, only moved out on either side of him and began sidling in, step by step. Blade realized at once that these last two were either better or at least more careful fighters than the four he had put down. He decided the first thing to do was lead them away from the princess.

He made a half-hearted rush at one, saw him back away, but saw the other moving in on the flank. Blade repeated his feint with the other man. Again the partner moved in. Blade went through the sequence twice more, then decided against doing it a third time. These men might be smart enough to catch on and catch him. Besides, they were now well clear of the princess. He decided to end the whole affair.

Instead of moving at one of the men, he moved toward the space between them. They in turn moved to close that gap. As they stepped toward each other, Blade shifted left in three leaps. All three took him only seconds. Before the two men could turn or separate, Blade had moved in on the one on the left. A flurry of slashes and parries made both swords ring like bells, then the man's sword flew into the air, his severed hand with it. He stared for a moment at his spouting wrist, then for another moment at Blade. Then he turned and ran. His companion waited for a second, but Blade took one step more toward him and he too ran.

Neither got far, though. They vanished behind the bushes, their feet thudding hard on the grass as they ran. Then the sound stopped. A moment's silence, and a hideous gurgling scream echoed through the grove. It was followed by a second one, rawer, harsher, as though the man were burning out the lining of his throat in his death agony. Then silence. No, not quite silence. Listening carefully, Blade could make out the not-too-distant murmur of voices. He did not return his sword to its scabbard or his dagger to its sheath. Instead he stood, arms crossed on his chest and both weapons held point upward, ready and waiting.

Footsteps sounded again, from the direction where the last two assassins had died so horribly. Many footsteps. Blade dropped into a defensive stance, sword ready, dagger guarding. The footsteps grew louder.

Then around the corner of the bushes came the High Councilor Klerus himself. Following him was what at first seemed to Blade like an entire regiment of archers. Actually there were only about thirty, but they seemed to fill the clearing as they formed a circle around Blade. He noticed that all of them had their swords drawn and their bows strung, with full quivers slung on their backs. For a moment he felt more tension and more danger in the air than he had felt when surrounded by the six assassins.

Then Klerus broke that tension. «Pendarnoth! My lady princess! What-what villainy has been happening here?»

The princess stepped forward and was about to speak, but Blade shook his head slightly at her. Her mouth opened and stayed open, but no words came out. Then she returned his nod.

«Murder is what's been happening, Klerus,» said Blade shortly. «Six men came into the clearing with swords and tried to kill me.»

Klerus' eyes took in the four men lying on the grass. Two were dead; two were still moaning feebly. He made a chopping motion with his hand, and an archer stepped over to each one. Two sword cuts and there were two more dead bodies on the ground. Watching Klerus' face as the last two assassins died, Blade saw something flicker in the man's eyes. Satisfaction? Relief? He didn't know. He only knew he still had to stay on the alert.

Klerus shook his head. There was horror and amazement written all over his fat face. Horror and amazement-or at least a good imitation of them. «This is altogether abominable. That anyone would try to slay the Pendarnoth here in the very palace itself! It is beyond anything I would have believed possible. I must implore your forgiveness, oh Pendarnoth.»

Klerus went on in this same vein for quite a while. He sounded utterly sincere. If Blade hadn't had his little interview with Klerus earlier in the morning, he might even have started believing the man. As it was, he listened with a secretly skeptical ear. And he noticed the Princess Harima was listening in much the same fashion. In fact, she was making no effort to conceal her skepticism. Hardly surprising, considering how much of Klerus she must have heard over the years.

Eventually Klerus ran out of either words of horror and protest or the breath to say them. He was silent for a long moment, breathing deeply and looking hard at Blade. Then he said, «Pendarnoth, this cannot be allowed to happen again. The villains who launched this effort may still be around. You must have a guard. I will see that one is chosen for you. Only the best archers of the palace troops will serve.»

«Are you going to have them cleansed by the priests, so that they do not have to fall on the ground when they see me? I have enough trouble moving about the palace as it is, with this ritual of honor to the Pendarnoth. I would hate to see such imposed on my personal guards.»

«Do you find the rituals of honor to you displeasing, Pendarnoth?» said Klerus. Blade noticed that the High Councilor's tone was both humble and probing at the same time.

«They are fit and proper, Klerus. But the archers can hardly guard me very well on their bellies like snakes. They must be able to stand on their feet like soldiers.»

«Very true, oh Pendarnoth. Your wisdom is that of a warrior of long experience indeed.» Blade almost winced at the sickening sweetness of the eunuch's tone. «The guards will be cleansed as you wish. I shall choose-«

«No, Klerus, I shall choose,» said Blade. There was more of an edge in his voice than he had intended. It brought Klerus to a sudden stop, rather like running into a brick wall might have done. The High Councilor stared at Blade again, his mouth opening and shutting several times. For once he seemed at a loss for words. Blade took the chance to continue.

«I shall choose, Klerus. If I can be attacked in the very gardens of the palace, those who wish me ill clearly have some way to get into it. Perhaps they have corrupted certain of the palace officers. Consider that in your plans for my safety.

«But I do not know whom to trust, whom to shun, here in Pendar. There are only fourteen men in all Pendar that I myself, would trust with my life.»

Klerus had recovered his voice if not his poise. «These are-?»

«Captain Guroth and the soldiers who brought me in from the mountains of the Rojags. I can trust them absolutely. If they had wished me ill, they had a hundred chances to slay me on the road to Vilesh, with no man the wiser and no warning for me. I was totally at their mercy. Yet they so honored the Pendarnoth that they brought me here swiftly and faithfully, as good and honorable warriors should. They are my choice for a personal guard.»

At this bald declaration Klerus lost his voice again. It was several moments before he recovered it. During those moments there was a thin smile on Blade's face and a furious churning in his mind.