LITMIR.BIZ

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am,’ said the young man, out of breath and his knees trembling from exhaustion and fear.

      ‘Chezarul sent me to find you in the plaza, but you were leaving behind the merchant when I got there. You followed him, and I followed you, for I feared that should I overtake you, the merchant might have seen us.’

      Zane nodded. ‘Why did you grab me, then?’

      ‘If you had followed after the merchant from where I found you, you would have been killed. It is their practice to leave their meetings by a false path, and any who follow are slain. We lost four good men until we discovered their practice.’

      ‘Who are they?’

      ‘The Guild of Death. The Nighthawks,’ said the bearded man. ‘I am Choyoba.’ He looked around. ‘Come. I will take you back to the Three Willows.’ Zane nodded and followed the man.

      ‘You did well,’ said Chezarul to Zane.

      Caleb nodded agreement. ‘Yes, you did.’

      Zane was too drained by the experience to even smile. He just nodded.

      ‘So now you know where to find the Nighthawks?’ asked Tad.

      Chezarul shook his head and said, ‘No, my young friend. The Nighthawks have found us.’

      When Tad’s expression showed he didn’t understand, Caleb said, ‘It’s a trap.’

      ‘A trap?’ asked Zane.

      Caleb said, ‘The mock amulet was put there so that I, or someone else from the Conclave, would find it. Anyone else would have ignored it or even purchased it as a charm, but for me to inquire about one that was similar, that signalled to the Nighthawks that I was seeking them. It may have been out there for months. It’s the sort of thing that would be of no interest to anyone but us.

      ‘And we are “taking the bait”.’

      ‘I don’t see …’ began Tad.

      ‘The Nighthawks are setting traps. They know that with the killings in the city it would only be a matter of time before we investigate,’ said Caleb. ‘So they put out a false amulet, one that looks enough like their own society’s mark that anyone looking for the Guild of Death would be curious as to its origin.

      ‘We did as they expected us to do. We inquired, and they deliver what we ask. The argument you observed was probably over telling us no to the true amulets, and then trying to follow us from the market, or agreeing to give us copies, then setting a trap: when we come to pick up the goods, they will either take us or, more likely, follow us back here to see where we are based. Then comes the killing.’

      Chezarul said, ‘These murderous dogs are a plague on the peace of our city. More, they’re bad for business. We shall see an end to them one day, and I hope that day is near.’ He turned to Caleb. ‘Avoid the market tomorrow. I need to make preparations for our coming encounter, and some of my men are out of the city. Give me two days to muster my forces, then go see this merchant. In three days they will come here, and we shall be ready for them.’

      ‘Pablo will not be pleased we’re going to turn his inn into a battlefield,’ said Caleb.

      ‘Nothing so bad happens that Pablo’s humour can not be improved by gold,’ said Chezarul. ‘Besides, in his way he’s as steadfast as any of us.’

      Caleb nodded and said, ‘Very well. I shall take the boys riding tomorrow, out of the city towards the shores of the Overn. We will be looking at something or another out there, perhaps exotic fish caught in the lake.’

      Chezarul grinned. ‘Crocodiles, perhaps?’

      ‘Something. We shall return in two days and see Mudara.

      ‘Good,’ said the trader. ‘Until then, I bid you good night.’

      He left and Caleb said, ‘Tad, go to the common room and tell Jommy he can come up now.’

      Tad left, and Zane said, ‘Are you planning on keeping Jommy around?’

      ‘I think so, for a time. He’s a rough and tumble sort of lad, and moreover, being from Novindus means he’s unlikely to have any ties to the Nighthawks. And there’s something about him I like.’

      Zane nodded. ‘He stood with Tad and me without cause.’

      ‘He had cause,’ said Caleb. ‘A sense of fairness most people lack.’

      Tad and Jommy came into the room and Caleb said, ‘Jommy, can you ride?’

      ‘Well enough to not fall off if we’re not in too great a hurry,’ answered the red-headed boy.

      Caleb said, ‘Good, because we’re riding out to the lakeshore tomorrow and I’d like you to come along.’

      ‘A job?’

      ‘Of sorts,’ said Caleb. ‘I’ll tell you about it as we ride. For now, get some sleep.’

      The three boys left Caleb’s room and crossed the hall to their own. Pablo Maguire had brought up a straw-stuffed pallet the previous evening at Caleb’s request and Zane now unrolled it and put it between the two beds. Jommy flopped on it, and Tad said, ‘I hope that’s not proving to be too hard for you.’

      Jommy laughed. ‘I’ve been sleeping on stone and dirt for most of the last year, and my last bed was a hammock in a ship at sea. I haven’t seen a proper bed to call my own since my dad threw me out. This’ll suit me just fine.’

      Tad blew out the lantern and the room was plunged into darkness. Tad and Jommy were both quickly asleep, but Zane lay there, the image of a black-clad killer barely seen in the doorway lingering in his mind.

       • CHAPTER FOURTEEN •

       Breakthrough

      MAGNUS WATCHED CAREFULLY.

      Nakor hovered over the Talnoy. Three Tsurani Great Ones also watched. ‘It’s nothing obvious,’ said Nakor. ‘And I may be wrong, but …’ He moved his hand over the thing’s helmet, and added, ‘… if my idea works –’

      The Talnoy sat up. Magnus’ eyes went wide and then he smiled. ‘You did it.’

      Magnus was holding the ring which had previously been required to control the creature.

      Nakor said, ‘I think I can now devise a way to control the Talnoy without using the ring. That would be a good thing since using the ring eventually drives you mad.’

      Illianda said, ‘Very impressive, Nakor.’

      Of the Great Ones who had met the wily Isalani, Illianda was the least bothered by the fact that Nakor didn’t fit into the Tsurani magical hierarchy of the Greater and Lesser Paths. Most of the time, Nakor even denied that he was a practitioner of magic. Illianda didn’t seem to care what he was, as long as there were results.

      ‘But we still need to concern ourselves with the rogue rifts that are attracted to our world by this thing,’ said Fomoine. ‘If we can’t establish protective wards we must return this thing to Midkemia, to divert the risk from our world. We have had another possible occurrence of a rift since you were last here. Nothing definite, but two of our brother magicians are visiting the site now to determine if such a thing did occur.’

      Nakor nodded. ‘I will tell Pug. He’s also attempting to understand the wards which shielded this thing from magical detection for so long.’

      Magnus said, ‘Perhaps we can divert whatever magical forces follow it, by removing it to Midkemia, but what if it’s already too late?’

      The three Tsurani magicians exchanged questioning looks before Savdari said, ‘If it is too late, then

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