He stood up from his desk, stood before me, knelt, and bowed his head. “Your orders, ircastra’n?”
I studied the flickering gems and thought to them, “It is Tord’an, and the work is begun.” The gems flickered more in answer, and the warmth I felt from it filled my soul. I put the Palm inside my shirt, against my skin, until I could find a thong to hang it from my neck.
Then I nodded to the man who knelt in front of me. “For starters, you’ll fill me in on what you know of the other ircastra’ i. Then we’ll make plans. To begin, you’ll all wipe that silly paint off your fingernails. We’ll move slowly, this time. There is a healer named Pel who may be able to help Arizak. If so, the person who brings the healer will have a nice entry to the ear of those who rule. That will save us a few years. What is your name?”
“Rynith.”
I nodded. “We have a lot of work to do,” I told him. “Let’s be about it. Oh, and as soon as someone has cleaned off his nails, have him go buy me another cresca.” I chuckled. “Killing my best friend was easy, but I hated to lose the instrument.”
Copyright Acknowledgments
“Introduction” by Lynn Abbey. Copyright ©2004 by Lynn Abbey and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Widowmaker” by C. J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher. Copyright © 2004 by C. J. Cherryh and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Deadly Ritual” by Mickey Zucker Reichert. Copyright © 2004 by Mickey Zucker Reichert and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Pricks and Afflictions” by Dennis L. McKiernan. Copyright © 2004 by Dennis L. McKiernan and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Consequences” by Jody Lynn Nye. Copyright © 2004 by Jody Lynn Nye and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Good Neighbors” by Lynn Abbey. Copyright © 2004 by Lynn Abbey and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Gathering Strength” by Selina Rosen. Copyright © 2004 by Selina Rosen and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Dark of the Moon” by Andrew Offutt. Copyright © 2004 by Andrew Offutt and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Protection” by Robin Wayne Bailey Copyright © 2004 by Robin Wayne Bailey and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Legacies” byJane Fancher and C. J. Cherryh. Copyright © 2004 by Jane Fancher and Thieves’ World 2000.
“Malediction” by Jeff Grubb. Copyright © 2004 by Jeff Grubb and Thieves’ World 2000.
“The Ghost in the Phoenix” by Diana L. Paxson and Ian Grey. Copyright © 2004 by Diana L Paxson and Thieves’ World 2000.
“The Man from Shemhaza” by Steven Brust. Copyright © 2004 by Steven Brust and Thieves’ World 2000.
This volume of Thieves’ WorldTM is, as always, dedicated to the loyal fans and followers of life in Sanctuary.
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—Booklist
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—Kirkus Reviews
“The stories are excellent—Lynn Abbey gathered an excellent group of writers for this second book: Mickey Zucker Reichert, Andrew Offutt, C. J. Cherryh, Steven Brust, Diana Paxson, Dennis L. McKiernan—all authors I really like. And the others are excellent as welclass="underline" Robin Wayne Bailey, Jane Fancher, Jeff Rosen, Selina Rosen, Jody Lynn Nye, Jeff Grubb.”
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