Gradually Blade realized that the road was taking them toward one hill in the middle of the range. Squarely on top of the hill sat an enormous castle. Its walls formed a perfect circle nearly a mile in diameter. Twelve tall, round towers studded the wall, and in the center four even taller ones rose in a square.

Every visible part of the castle was a dull black that sucked in all the light and gave back none. It squatted uncompromisingly on the earth, seeming to weigh it down, visible, defiant, and terrifying from many miles away. If Blade had known nothing at all about the character of His Sublime Magnificence Kul-Nam, the castle would have told him a good deal. He wondered how many slaves had worked for how many years to raise it on that hilltop, and how many of them had died before the final stone was set in place.

Closer up, Blade could see that another towered wall circled the base of the hill, with several clusters of buildings just inside it. Duke Boros drew up beside Blade and pointed.

«We will dismount at the base of the hill, report to the house master, disarm, bathe, and don proper garb. Then we will wait for His Magnificence to summon us to the House of Blood.»

«That is the castle on top of the hill?»

The duke nodded. «His Magnificence Kul-Nam is not ashamed to be the slayer of many he calls-of many enemies. So he calls his castles by such names as the House of Blood, the House of Death, the House of the Sword, and so on. His principal castle is named the House of the Eagle's Claw.»

Boros hesitated, obviously reluctant to discuss the Empire's military strength with Blade, even in the most general terms. Then he shook his head and laughed. «It is no secret that the House of Blood is the strongest castle in the land. It was finished only three years ago, after ten years of work by five thousand men. The Emperor himself has boasted of its strength. With a strong and well-furnished garrison, it could stand off an army of fifty thousand for a year. The others are not quite as strong, but none of them would be easy to storm, or quick to starve out.»