Egar the Dragonbane grunted. Tipped his head a fraction of an inch sideways and felt the steel scrape skin. With a major effort of will, he kept his neck where it was and stared up at the barbershop ceiling.

It was harder than he remembered.

Do not disconcert yourself, my lord, the barber purred. He thumbed the gathered soap foam off his razor and flicked it into the basin. Angled in close for another draw up the Dragonbane s lathered neck, voice turning a little tighter with concentration. You are in Yhelteth now, crowned queen of civilized cities. In this chair have sat visiting dignitaries from every corner of the known world. All left with throat intact.

Egar fixed him with one baleful eye no easy thing to do with his head at the angle it was.

I have done this before, you know.

Well, my lord, you ll be pleased to hear that makes two of us. The barber wiped his blade clean again and tilted his customer s head back the other way. Just so, and hold there. Thank you. Though I don t recall having had the pleasure of serving your worthiness previously. Was it one of your steppe brethren who recommended me?

My steppe brethren wouldn t pay your prices.

True enough in fact, most Majak went bearded in Yhelteth pretty much as they would have back home on the northern plains. Why pay good money to scrape hair off your face that was just going to grow back the following week? Why, for that matter, scrape it off at all? Kept the sun off, didn t it? Tickled the wenches, let them know they d been with a man, not a boy. Trim it back if you had to, if the grooming standards of whichever imperial mercenary brigade you d signed up with required it, but otherwise

The barber frowned a little as he bent and peered at his handiwork. I beg to differ, my lord. In fact, I had a brace of your brethren in here only last week. Young lads, not long in the city by the way they talked.