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Jaril settled to the floor. He changed and stood radiating fear and rage, his eyes fixed on the Yaril stone.

Brann dropped her hands. “If that viper beside you attacks, I will defend myself,” she said, “I will not stand still and allow myself to be destroyed, even for her.”

“I have no intention of destroying you, Drinker of Souls. You are going to be much too useful.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“That’s the question, isn’t it.” PaIarni Kumindri cupped her hands about the gleaming stone, still not quite touching it. “There’s something I want. You can use that to ransom your friend.” She took her hands away, rested them on the chairarms. “I will see.that she is bathed in sunlight so she will keep as well as possible in this state. I will not harm her in any way, but I cannot prevent her from harming herself. I see you understand.”

“What do you want?”

“In the Temple of Amortis, in the holy city Havi Kudush, there sits one of the Great Talismans. Churrikyoo. A small glass frog rather battered and chipped and filled with thready cracks. Bring it to me and I will give you your friend.”

“There’s a problem. Amortis. She doesn’t love me and she knows me far too well. If I go near her, she’ll eat me alive.”

“You are a clever woman, Drinker of Souls, you will find a way.”

“There are other talismans, send me after one of those.”

“Churrikyoo is the only ransom I will accept, Drinker of Souls. Bring it here and claim your friend.”

“Why should I trust you to keep. your word?”

“I repeat, you are a clever woman, work that out. In any case, you have no choice.”

Brann clasped her hands behind her, let her shoulders go round. She took time for a leisurely examination of the Chuttar, then the Housemaster. *Jay.

*What?* His mindvoice was sullen, unfriendly.

*Can they hear this?*

*No.*

*You sound very positive.*

*I am.*

*You know any way out of this?*

*No.*

*Terse.*

*What’s to say?*

*We snapped up the bait, didn’t we.*

*Yeh. Trolled us right in.*

*Trust me?*

*You know it.*

*Stay quiet, then, I’m going to do some pushing.* She finished her look round the room, faced the Chuttar. “I have no choice if I let you dictate terms, if I value my friend’s life above everything else. Listen and weep, whore. I do value her, but not beyond a certain point. Beyond that I WILL NOT BE PUSHED! Believe it. I will go after Churrikyoo. I will trade it for my friend. But not here. The exchange will be on my terms, not yours. I won’t come back to this house. I won’t come near this city.”

“Where?”

“Let me consult with my friend.” She turned to face Jaril. *Any ideas, Jay?*

*Yeh. A Waystop in the Fringelands. Yaro and me, we’ve been past there more than once. It’s just north of the Locks. The place is called Waragapur.*

*Tell me more about it. Why there?*

*It’s a truceground, which should mean something, but probably won’t and there’s an old fossil of a sorceror there, one of the Primes. Tak WakKerrcarr. If that bitch smiglar starts playing games with us, she’ll have him on her neck. He’s the one laid down the guarantee and it’s one of the few things he gets stirred up about.*

*Good. Maybe we can use him to kick something loose.* *Anything’s better than here.*

*Agreed. She faced the Chuttar, straightened her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. “These are my terms, I will get Churrikyoo and bring it to Waragapur on the edge of the Fringelands. As soon as I get there, I’ll send a message north by one of the riverboats. Come there. Bring her with you and we will make the exchange.”

“Why should I?”

“You get nothing if you don’t. If you refuse, we fight. You can destroy our friend, but we’ll, get you. One way or another you die. If not now, later. I have friends I can call on and I will, if you force it, and if you think you can stop me getting out of here, dream on.”

“Calmly, calmly, Drinker of Souls. I too must consult. Step outside, please. I will call you when I am ready to answer you.”

Brann bowed her head, strolled out.

Jaril hesitated, then followed her. *Bramble…* *What could I do?*

*Nothing, I suppose. *

*Be patient, Jay. Our time is coming, has to.*

*Yaro’s in there.*

*1 know. Does she have any idea we’re here?*

*It’s that shield, Bramble. The same as the one in the cave. I can’t feel anything through it, so Yaro can’t feel me.*

*Damn, I was hoping we’d get at least that much out of this.*

*We could still try breaking through. I think I was close.*

*So do I. But we’d have to start over again and we couldn’t break it fast enough to save Yaro. Well, we might have to try it. I meant what I said, Jay. If she gets us back here, none of us will get out.*

*I know.*

*One thing, we’ll have the talisman.*

*You can’t use it.*

*No, but WakKercarr can and from what Maksi said, he might not be a friend, but he’s no enemy.*

I didn’t think of that. After all these years you can still surprise me, Bramble-all-Thorns.*

*Let’s hope I can surprise them.*

*Yeh.*

“Drinker of Souls.” It was a surly growl. Cammam Callam held the door open for them, then went back to stand beside Palami Kumindri, glowering like a chastised boy, obviously hammered into an agreement he wasn’t strong enough to refuse.

Brann went back into the room. She waited, saying nothing.

The Chuttar sat with her hands cupped about the Yaril stone as if she were warming them at the changer’s glow. “We have considered your terms, Drinker of Souls. We find them acceptable. We will meet you at Waragapur and make the exchange there.”

Brann nodded, swung round and stalked from the room. Jaril backed up after her, not taking his eyes off the pair.

They went down the stairs in silence and left the doulahar without breaking that silence.

14

For the next several nights Drinker of Souls hunted through the streets of Dil Jorpashil, soaking up energy so she could assume a new shape. During the days she was the Jantria

Bar Ma and kept up her healing, Jaril taking the form of a small M’darjin boy and acting as her attendant. A few of the local women asked about Carup; they were pleased, angry, happy for her and jealous, when Brann said she’d sent the girl home with a dowry.

Those same nights Jaril flew in and out of Isu sars and the Merchant doulahars, collecting clothing, jewelry and gold for the trip south. He was profoundly disturbed at the thought of leaving Yaril, churned to the point of instability because the days were passing and there was nothing he could do to shorten the time ahead and each day Yaril died a little.

15

One week after the abortive attack of the doulahar, an hour after dawn, when the new-risen sun was a muted blur in the clouds, providing little light and less heat, and the incessant east wind was whipping whitecaps off leaden water, a wealthy Jana Sariser widow attended by a M’darjin page dismounted from a hired palanquin and went aboard the riverboat Dhah Dhibanh.

About mid-afternoon the Dhah Dhibanh cast off her lines and started south, widow and page standing at the rail watching the city recede behind them.

II SETTSIMAKSIMIN

Sending Todichi Yahzi home drained Maksim so completely he was easy prey to a party of demons (geniod) sent to capture him. He woke unable to speak or move; it was hard to think, impossible to act. The demons put him into his boat and took him out of the Myk’-tat Tukery into the sea called the Notoea Tha where they transferred him into a small sleek Coaster and nailed him into a large crate.