was a grating sound, followed by scrabbling, a square of light that came andwent, and when his horse danced forward, both Kama and the boy called Zip weregone-if they'd ever been there.

Riding Mazeward on a horse suddenly and unreasonably skittish, he cursed himselffor a fool. No proof that it was Kama-what he'd seen could have been someapparition, even the witch, Roxane, in disguise. He'd touched nothing; only seensomething he thought was Kama-there were undeads in Sanctuary who resembled theforms they'd had in life, and some of those were Roxane's slaves. Though if anysuch had happened to Kama, he told himself, Strat would have sent word to him.At least, the Strat he used to know would have. Right then, Critias could countthe things he knew for certain on the fingers of one hand.

But he knew he was going to the vampire woman's house to find his partner. Itwas just a matter of time; Kama's allegations were already eating at his soul.He had to leam the truth.

Kadakithis's palace was full of fish-eyed Beysibs: Beysib men with more jewelryon their persons than Rankan women from uptown or Ilsigi whores; Beysib womenfemale shock troops with bared and painted breasts and poison snakes wound abouttheir necks or arms-who seemed never to blink and gave Tempus gooseflesh.

Kadakithis wanted to introduce Tempus and Jihan to his Beysib flounder,Shupansea; before Tempus could protest, in the prince/governor's velvet-hungchamber, that he needed no more women in his life, the Rankan prince had calledthe woman forth.

Jihan, beside him, took Tempus's arm and squeezed, sensing what passed on firstglance between her beloved Riddler and the lady ruler of the Beysib people.

For Tempus, noises lessened, the world grew dim, and in his heart a passionrose, while in his head a voice he'd not heard clear for years urged: Take her.