To banish her leggy nakedness from the surface of her wine, she said straightout; 'You know the other bar owners. The Alekeep's proprietor has a girl aboutto graduate from school. Arrange to host her party, let it be known that youwill sell those children krrf - Tamzen is the child I mean. Then have yourflunky lead her down to Shambles Cross. Leave them there - up to half a dozenyoungsters, it may be - lost in the drug and the slum.'

'That will tame two vicious Stepsons? You do know the men I mean? Janni? AndStealth? They bugger each other, Stepsons. Girls are beside the point. AndStealth - he's a/wzzbuster- I've seen him with no woman old enough for breasts.Surely -'

'Surely,' she cut in smoothly, 'you don't want to know more than that - in caseit goes awry. Protection in these matters lies in ignorance.' She would not tellhim more - not that Stealth, called Nikodemos, had come out of Azehur, wherehe'd earned his war name and worked his way towards Syr in search of a Troshorse via Mygdonia, hiring on as a caravan guard and general roustabout, or thata dispute over a consignment lost to mountain bandits had made him bond-servantfor a year to a Nisibisi mage - her lover-lord. There was a string on Nikodemos,ready to be pulled.

And when he felt it, it would be too late, and she would be at the end of it.

Tempus had allowed Niko to breed his sorrel mare to his own Tros stallion toquell mutters among knowledgeable Stepsons that assigning Niko and Janni tohazardous duty in the town was their commander's way of punishing the slatehaired fighter who had declined Tempus's offered pairbond in favour of Janni'sand had subsequently quit their ranks.

Now the mare was pregnant and Tempus was curious as to what kind of foal theunion might produce, but rumours of foul play still abounded.

Critias, Tempus's second in command, had paused in his dour report and now