[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

wife!"
The other women looked at one another.
"Please, Mother, this is her home," Aniara said. "Where else would she go?"
Mavi immediately knew what would happen then, and sure enough, Thetta and Oria turned to look at her.
Pancha's mother pointed at her, and Aniara turned as well.
The puzzled theurgist also looked at Mavi, simply because everyone else did.
"All right," Mavi said. "I can take her there." That this would not only be a kindness to Pancha but would give
her another chance to see Lord Hanner did not escape her.
"May I ask where?" the theurgist said.
"You explain," Aniara said, heading for the stairs. "I'll go help Pancha pack."
As Tanna the Thief worked the crowd in the plaza, cutting purses from people's belts and slipping them into
her own shoulder bag, she was still trying to decide who she should tell about Elken-if anyone. Her original
intention in coming here had been to warn the magistrates about the warlocks, but it had been instantly clear
that they already knew. The guards in front of the Palace, the shouting crowds, made it plain that everyone
knew about the warlocks.
No one was going to pay her for the information.
She wished she hadn't taken a day to bury Elken, clean herself up, steal new clothes, and get up her nerve-if
she had arrived yesterday she might still have gotten a couple of bits for her report.
Of course, she was doing fairly well at her customary trade, certainly taking more than a few copper bits. The
crowd was large and angry, which meant it was also more careless than usual, and she had gotten half a
dozen purses. Still, it was the principle of the thing-she had something that ought to be worth money, and
she wasn't able to collect.
Of course, she told herself, in a way it was paying off. Ordinarily she would never have come here, right in
front of the Palace, where any number of guards and magicians might be watching, and she would never have
found this crowd of unsuspecting prospective victims.
Just then she was distracted as someone shouted, "Hai! My purse!"
Tanna turned to see who spoke, ready to flee if anyone pointed her out as the culprit. Perhaps these people
hadn't been quite so unsuspecting as she thought.
An elderly man was staring down at the severed cords dangling from his belt; then he raised his head and
looked around at the crowd.
"Who did that?" he bellowed. "Did anyone see who took my purse?"
Suddenly inspired, Tanna called, "The warlocks!"
The elderly man's head snapped around, and he stared directly at her.
"It vanished," Tanna said. "I saw it! It just disappeared. It must be the warlocks!"
"The warlocks?" the old man said. "First they took my son, and now they take my purse?" He turned to look
at the guards on the north side of the square. "Blast it, it's time something was done about this!"
"You tell them, sir!" Tanna said as she slipped behind a tall man.
A moment later she had worked her way well away from the angry old man, who was arguing with the nearest
soldier. It was time to go, she decided. She had tried to do her civic duty by reporting Elken's attempt to take
over the Hundred-Foot Field, and she had gathered a few fat purses for her efforts, and that was enough; it
was time to go, before things got really ugly.
Ten minutes later she was trotting down Arena Street, trying to ignore the shouting behind her.
Kennan was absolutely furious. The guards had referred him to their captain, who had stolidly listened to his
story, then told him to go away.
"But they stole my purse!" he shouted.
"Sir, I doubt it was a warlock who stole your purse," the captain said. "It looks to me like the work of an
ordinary cutpurse."
"But that girl saw it!"
"More likely she was the one who took it."
"Captain, I have been robbed of my child and my money by these people, and I demand that you do
something about it!"
"The overlord is consulting his advisors and magicians as to what action to take."
"What action to take? Go get them, and demand they return what they've taken!" Kennan said. "They're all
right there in that big black stone house on High Street, at the corner of Coronet!"
"Sir, I doubt that all the warlocks are there," the captain said dryly. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • mew.pev.pl

    		•