Hanse just stared at Stepson, whose voice had grown husky in the telling, whenthe mercenary left off.

'Now, will you help me? Please. He would want it to be you.'

Hanse made a sign.

' Would want it to be me?' the thief frowned. 'He does not know about this?'There came the sound of Shadowspawn's bench scraping back.

Abarsis reached out to touch the thief's shoulder, a move quick as lightning andsoft as a butterfly's landing. 'One must do for a friend what the friend cannotdo for himself. With such a man, opportunities of this sort come seldom. Ifnot for him, or for your price, or for whatever you hold sacred, do this thingfor me, and I will be eternally in your debt.'

A sibilant sound, part impatience, part exasperation, part irritation, camesliding down Shadowspawn's hawkish nose.

'Hanse?'

'You are going to surprise him with this deed, done? What if he has no taste forsurprises? What if you are wrong, and he refrains from aiding her because heprefers her right where she is? And besides, I am staying away from him and hisaffairs.'

'No surprise: I will tell him once I have arranged it. I will make you one moreoffer: Half again the doubled fee you suggested, to ease your doubts. But thatis my final bid.'

Shadowspawn squinted at the heartshaped face of Stepson. Then, without a word,he scooped up the short stabbing sword in its silver sheath, and found it a homein his belt. 'Done,' said Hanse.

'Good. Then, will you meet my companions?' The long-fingered, graceful hand ofStepson, called Abarsis, made a gesture that brought them, all smiles and manlywelcomes, from their exile by the bar.

5

Kurd, the vivisectionist who had tried his skills on Tempus, was found a fairway from his adobe workshop, his gut stretched out for thirty feet before him:he had been dragged by the entrails; the hole cut in his belly to pull theintestines out was made by an expert: a mercenary had to be at fault. But therewere so many mercenaries in Sanctuary, and so few friends of the vivisectionist,that the matter was not pursued. The matter of the Hell Hound Razkuli's head,however, was much more serious. Zaibar (who knew why both had died and atwhose hands, and who feared for his own life) went to Kadakithis with hisfriend's staring eyes under one arm, sick and still tasting vomit, and told theprince how Tempus had come riding through the gates at dawn and called up tohim where he was checking pass-bys in the gatehouse: 'Zaibar, I've a message foryou.'

'Yo!' Zaibar had waved. 'Catch,' Tempus laughed, and threw something up to himwhile the grey horse reared, uttered a shrill, demonic scream, and clatteredoff by the time Zaibar's hand had said head: human; and his eyes hadsaid, head: Razkuli's and then begun to fill with tears.

Kadakithis listened to his story, looking beyond him out of the window theentire time. When Zaibar had finished, the prince said, 'Well, I don't know whatyou expected, trying to take him down so clumsily.'

'But he said it was a message for me,' Zaibar entreated, caught his own pleadingtone, scowled and straightened up.

'Then take it to heart, man. I can't allow you two to continue feuding. If it isanything other than simple feuding, I do not want to know about it. Stepson,called Abarsis, told me to expect something like this! I demand a stop to it!'

'Stepson!' Tall, lank Zaibar snarled like a man invoking a vengeful god in closefighting. 'An ex-Sacred Bander looking for glory and death with honour, in noparticular order! Stepson told you? The Slaughter Priest? My lord prince, youare keeping deadly company these days! Are all the gods of the armies inSanctuary, then, along with their familiars, the mercenary hordes? I had wantedto discuss with you what could be done to curb them-'

'Zaibar,' interrupted Kadakithis firmly. 'In the matter of gods, I hold firm: Ido not believe in them. In the matter of mercenaries, let them be. You broachsubjects too sensitive for your station. In the matter of Tempus, I will talk tohim. You change your attitude. Now, if that is all... ?'

It was all. It was nearly the end of Zaibar the Hell Hound's entire career; healmost struck his commander-in-chief. But he refrained, though he could notutter even a civil goodbye. He went to his billet and he went into the town, andhe worked wrath out of himself, as best he could. The dregs he washed away withdrink, and after that he went to visit Myrtis, the whoremistress of AphrodisiaHouse who knew how to soothe him. And she, seeing his heart breaking and hisfists shaking, asked him nothing about why he had come, after staying away solong, but took him to her breast and healed what she might of his hurts,remembering that all the protection he provided her and good he did for her, hedid because of a love spell she had bought and cast on him long since. and thusshe owed him at least one night to match his dreams.

6

Tempus had gone among his own kind, after he left the barracks. He had checkedin at the guild hostel north of the palace, once again in leopard and bronze andiron, and he was welcome there.

Why he had kept himself from it for so long, he could not have reasoned, unlessit was that without these friends of former times the camaraderie would not havebeen as sweet.

He went to the sideboard and got hot mulled wine from a krater, sprinkling ingoat's cheese and grain, and took the posset to a corner, so the men could cometo him as they would.

The problem of the eunuch was still unsolved: finding a suitable replacement wasnot going to be easy: there were not many eunuchs in the mercenaries' guild. Theclubroom was red as dying day and dark as backlit mountains, and he felt betterfor having come. So, when Abarsis, high priest of Upper Ranke, left hiscompanions and approached, but did not sit among the mercenaries Tempus hadcollected, he said to the nine that he would see them at the appointed time, andto the iron-clad one.

'Life to you. Stepson. Please join me.'

'Life to you, Riddler, and everlasting glory.' Cup in hand, he sipped purewater, eyes hardly darker never leaving Tempus's face. 'Is it Sanctuary that hasdriven you to drink?' He indicated the posset.

'The dry soul is wisest? Not at the Empire's anus, where the water is chancy.Anyway, those things I said long ago and far away: do not hold me to any ofthat.'

The smooth cheek of Stepson ticced. 'I must,' he murmured. 'You are the man Ihave emulated. All my life I have listened after word of you and collectedintelligence of you and studied what you left us in legend and stone in thenorth. Listen: "War is sire of all and king of all, and some He has made godsand some men, some bond and some free". Or: "War is ours in common; strife isjustice; all things come into being and pass away through strife". You see, Iknow your work, even those other names you have used. Do not make me speak them.I would work with you, 0 Sleepless One. It will be the pinnacle of my career.'He flashed Tempus a bolt of naked entreaty, then his gaze flickered away and herushed on: 'You need me. Who else will suit? Who else here has a brand andgelding's scars? And time in the arena as a gladiator, like Jubal himself? Whocould intrigue him, much less seduce him among these? And though I -'

'No.'

Abarsis dug in his belt and tossed a golden amulet on to the table. 'The godwill not give you up; this was caught in the sorrel's new shoe. That teacher ofmine whom you remember ...?'

'I know the man,' Tempus said grimly.

'He thinks that Sanctuary is the endpoint of existence; that those who come hereare damned beyond redemption; that Sanctuary is Hell.'