"Where did you get that?" Alec asked.

"A gift from my sisters." Seregil tossed the sword belt to him and went to sling his pack over his saddlebow.

Alec drew the blade. "It's a beauty."

Seregil took the belt back, wrapping it twice around his waist. Alec gave him the sword and he sheathed it, fiddling with the

scabbard lacings until it hung at the proper, low-slung angle against his left hip. His hands remembered each movement without the need for thought; the off-centered weight of the weapon at his side felt good and right. "Let's go."

"Luck in the shadows," Thero murmured again, walking them to the gate.

"And in the light," Seregil replied. He clasped the wizard's thin shoulder a moment, wondering what else to say… If this all went wrong, this would be their last parting.

Thero covered his hand with his own for a moment. The silence between them was charged with sentiments neither knew quite how to express.

Alec spared them the necessity. "We'll see that your rooms at the Oreska House are aired out for your return," he joked.

Thero's smile flashed in the darkness, then he was gone, barring the gate behind them.

Mounting his horse, Seregil looked up at the black disk of the new moon, just visible among the blazing stars.

Ebraha rabas.

Astha Noliena.

Nyal watched Beka and the others out of sight, then slipped away in the opposite direction, unaware of the rhui'auros who watched him.

Though it seemed a foolish risk, Seregil stopped one last time at the Vhadasoori. Across the dark span of water he could see a few people gathered around the Cup for some ceremony, but this side of the pool was deserted. Driven by some half-formed desire, he dismounted and went to the water's edge. Kneeling, he drew his sword and plunged it into the sacred pool, hilt and all.

"Aura Elustri, I accept your gift," he whispered, too low for the others to hear.

Reversing his grip on the hilt, he stood and offered the weapon to the moon, then let out a soft laugh.

Alec joined him, scanning the surrounding shadows nervously. "What's so funny?"

"Look at this." Seregil held the pommel up; the round, dark stone looked like a second new moon against the stars. "My uncle and his dreams."

"So that runs in the family, too, does it?"

"Apparently." Sheathing his sword, Seregil scooped up a handful of water and drank. He felt edgy, light, a little giddy, the way he used to, just before a job.

It was time to go.

They set off to the north, anxious to get away from the populated streets. The unrest was worse tonight. Angry voices rang out in all directions around them. Alec thought he caught a fleeting hint of the Bash'wai's mysterious scent and remained vigilant, expecting pursuit at any moment.

But most of the people they met paid them little mind, until they reached the edge of the Golinil tupa, where a half dozen youths emerged from a side street to follow them.

"Off to serve your foreign queen, Akhendi?" one of them shouted after Alec. The insult was followed by a hail of thrown rocks. One bounced off Beka's helmet. Another struck Seregil in the middle of the back. The horses shied, but Seregil kept a slow, steady pace.

"Aura bring you peace, brothers," he said.

"Peace! Peace!" came the jeering reply, together with more rocks. One grazed Beka's cheek when she unwisely looked back. Alec reined in angrily, ready to retaliate, but she blocked him with her horse.

"Come on; there's no time for this!" she warned, kicking her horse into a gallop.

The Golinil soon gave up the chase, but the riders didn't slow until they burst out onto the open plain. How far do we have to go before he's breaking the law? Alec wondered as they slowed to a canter under the star-studded sky.

Just then the Bash'wai scent closed in around him again, strong enough to take his breath away. Reeling in the saddle, he felt rather than saw a dark force surround him, blinding him and roaring in his ears. Then the stars were back, brighter than ever, but sliding sideways.

He landed hard and gave thanks later that he hadn't flung out his arm in time to break or dislocate it. As it was, his ribs took a nasty jar. He lay still for a moment, gasping and tingling strangely all over.

Then Seregil was there, cursing fiercely under his breath as he ran his hands over Alec's face and head. "I didn't realize—I don't feel any blood. Where did they hit you?"

"Hit me?" Alec struggled up. "No, it was just the Bash'wai. That's the strongest I've ever felt them."

Beka loomed over Seregil's shoulder, drawn sword in hand. "What did they do to you? You just swooned over."

"Must have been their idea of saying good-bye," Alec said, grimacing as Seregil helped him to his feet.

"Or a warning," Beka put in darkly, scanning the darkness around them.

"No, this was different." He shivered, recalling the sense of being engulfed.

"You're chilled through," Seregil muttered, pressing a hand to Alec's cheek.

"I'm fine. Where's my horse?"

Beka handed him his reins. "We better go slowly for a few minutes. We don't need you keeling over at a gallop."

Alec glanced back at the city as they set off again, half expecting to see mysterious shapes drifting after him. Sarikali looked deceptively peaceful from here, a dark, jumbled sprawl against the sky touched here and there by the yellow gleam of a watch fire.

"Good-bye," he whispered.

The starlight was enough to see by as they crossed the bridge and rode into the shelter of the forest beyond, following the main road.

As the night wore on Alec reached tentatively out across the talimenios bond, seeking answers to the questions there had been neither the time nor the privacy to ask earlier. Seregil glanced back at him and smiled, but his thoughts were wrapped in silence.

Tall fir and oak massed darkly on either side of the road, leaning over it in places to form an oppressive tunnel. Bats chirped and swooped around them, chasing huge moths with wings like dusty handprints. An owl flew along beside Alec for a moment, some long-tailed prey dangling from its talons. Other creatures marked their passing with a golden flash of eyes or startled yip.

They reined in briefly where a stream cut close to the road and watered the horses. Thirsty himself, Alec dismounted and walked a little way upstream to drink. He'd just bent down when a rank odor hit him. The horses smelled it, too, and blew nervously.

"Get back!" Alec hissed to the others, knowing this was no Bash'wai.

"What is it? " Beka asked behind him.

The horses shied again, then fought the reins as an enormous bear burst from the alders and splashed across the stream toward Alec.

"Don't move," he warned the others, mind already racing down

well-known paths. It was a sow bear, thin from the winter's cub bearing. If they'd somehow gotten between her and her young, then he'd reached his journey's end for certain.

The bear had stopped a few feet away, swinging her massive head from side to side as she watched him. Seregil and Beka were still mounted, able to break for it. With one eye on the bear, he gauged the distance to the nearest climbable tree.

Too far.

The bear let out a loud grunt and lumbered forward to sniff his face. Alec gagged on the hot, fetid breath, then felt himself knocked backwards. Sprawled on his back, he looked up at the bear silhouetted against the sky, its eyes glowing like molten gold.

"You'd better not linger, little brother," she told him. "Smiles conceal knives."

With a last deep grunt, the sow wheeled around and splashed away upstream. Alec lay where he'd fallen, too stunned to move.

"By the Flame, I've never seen a bear act like that!" Beka exclaimed.

"Did you hear it?" he asked faintly.