Ruha ran her fingers up the corner and felt the seam of a door. She pulled the writing desk away from the cor- ner, and a small click sounded inside the wall. The scratching and squealing stopped, but the gamy odor grew stronger. Resisting the urge to pull laerjambiya-if she attacked anything, the sun spell would fail and ren- der her instantly visible-the witch laid her palms on a fresco of what looked like a slumbering mountain and pushed.
A hidden panel swung open, revealing the interior of a cluttered chamber. A small, white-furred face peered around the edge of the door. At first, Ruha thought the thing was a monkey, until she saw that its black-tipped muzzle was long and foxlike. Then she noted the black mask around its eyes and thought it looked like a rac- coon, save that its head was as small and narrow as that of a weasel.
The creature, whatever it was, regarded the empty doorway for an instant, and then its nose twitched and its ears pricked forward. It raised its dark eyes, which remained as expressionless as they were large, toward Ruha's face and chittered despondently. For a moment, the witch thought the little animal could not see her and was disappointed at finding no one in the door. Then it slipped forward, revealing an emaciated body and a white-ringed tail, and gently pawed at her with two tiny black hands.
Hoping the creature was not trying to defend its terri- tory, Ruha stepped past it into the secret chamber.
Beneath a brass chandelier in the center of the room stood a worktable, the surface barely visible beneath a jumble of braziers, balances, cauldrons, and other alchem- ical instruments. Three of the laboratory walls were com- pletely concealed behind rows of tall wooden cabinets, some so full of books and flasks they could not close. The fourth wall had two glass windows, beneath which were a red silk cushion, a box of fetid-smelling sand, and two sil- ver bowls licked so clean they gleamed like mirrors.
When Ruha paused at the worktable to examine Lady Feng's apparatus, Chalk Ears, as she was beginning to think of the black-masked creature, leapt onto the only clear corner. It fixed its expressionless eyes on her face, watching her so intently she raised a hand to make cer- tain she had not suddenly become visible. When the witch could not see her own flesh, she regarded Chalk Ears with a wary eye, then reached toward a flask of what looked like powdered blood.
A surprisingly sinister growl rolled from the creature's small throat. The hair rose along its spine and it lifted itself on its haunches, baring a mouthful of needlelike fangs. Ruha retracted her arm, and the little beast set- tled back onto its corner. The witch clasped her hands behind her back, then slowly walked around the table, studying the rest of the apparatus. Other than a fine coating of dust, she saw nothing to tell her what had become of Lady Feng. Chalk Ears watched her intently, but made no further objections as long as she did not attempt to touch anything.
Ruha went to the first cabinet. Chalk Ears jumped off the table and took a post at her heels. Keeping a careful eye on her little escort, she pulled the door open. As before, the creature watched her carefully, and any doubts about its ability to see her vanished from the witch's mind. Whatever it was, the animal clearly had some defenses against magic, and that could only mean
Chalk Ears was Lady Feng's familiar, linked to her by a special bond of magic and love.
Ruha had never had a familiar, since the spell that summoned them had more to do with the spirit than the elements. But she had heard other witches describe the strength of the union. Sometimes, the two were so closely bound that, over relatively short distances, they could see through each other's eyes and hear through each other's ears.
Ruha kneeled in front of the familiar. 'Lady Feng?' she whispered, looking into the creature's big eyes. 'Are you there?'
Chalk Ears blinked, but the tiny beast made no move to suggest that it understood.
'Why have you left your familiar alone, Lady Feng? It is starving. Shall I feed it for you and give it water?'
Again, Chalk Ears did nothing. The witch breathed a sigh of relief, confident there would have been some response if Lady Feng were listening. Even if the starv- ing creature's mistress was as cruel as Afar the Merciless, she would share its pain and be anxious to have it cared for. In fact, it seemed unthinkable that Lady Feng would allow the little beast to fall into such a wretched state unless she had been forced to depart under the direst circumstances.
A muffled crash rumbled through Lady Feng's apartment, and guards began to call from the anteroom. Ruha stepped into the bedchamber and pulled the writing desk back into its comer, then slipped into the laboratory and closed the secret door. She pressed her ear to the panel and heard several men rush into the room, still calling out as though they expected Lady Feng to return at any moment. Wei Dao arrived and began issuing commands.
The witch listened for several moments more. When she heard no one dragging the desk from its place, she decided they did not know about the secret room and qui- etly resumed her search.
With Chalk Ears watching intently, Ruha carefully opened each cabinet and looked over the contents. To a nomad's eye at least, they contained an overabundance of magical supplies: scrolls and tomes in many different languages, a glut of ingredients for every spell imagin- able and some that were not, arcane instruments so obscure the witch could not guess their purpose. Still, she found no sign ofYanseldara's staff, nor any clue of Lady Feng's whereabouts, nor any hint as to why the Shou sorceress had abandoned her familiar.
Finally, Ruha came to a locked cabinet, and Chalk Ears' long tail began to flick madly. The little beast rose on its haunches and sniffed at the doors, dripping a long stream of drool from its muzzle. The witch examined the latch and discovered that she could pop it easily enough, but Wei Dao and the guards were still shuffling about in Lady Feng's bedchamber. Fearful of making any sharp noises that might draw their attention to the secret room, Ruha decided to move to the last cabinet.
A long, deep growl rumbled from the familiar's throat.
The fur rose along its spine, and it slunk toward Ruha with bared fangs. The witch pulled herjambiya and brandished it menacingly in front of Chalk Ears' face.
The creature's tail rose straight into the air. It slowly backed away, then took refuge beneath another cabinet and began to whine.
Cursing the black-masked beast for a scoundrel and a blackmailer, Ruha returned to the locked cabinet and slipped her dagger blade into the door seam. Chalk Ears stopped crying and slunk from its hiding place, being careful to remain well out of reach. The witch worked her jambiya down to the latch, then twisted the blade against the jamb.
The door popped open with a loud bang and a puff of yellow smoke. Ruha cried out in shock and found herself sitting halfway across the room, hurled there more by her own surprise than the force of the blast. A scolding harangue erupted from inside the cabinet, and the image of a tall, willowy woman appeared in the air before the doors. She looked almost ancient, with coarse gray hair pulled into a tight bun and a deeply wrinkled face. Something seemed wrong with her eyes; one of them was almost closed, while the other bulged from its socket as though it might fall out. The woman wagged her finger at the floor and continued her diatribe, send- ing Chalk Ears yelping and skittering across the floor to take refuge behind Ruha. The illusion looked so real the stunned witch did not fully grasp that the trap had not been intended to frighten her until Lady Feng's familiar peered out from behind her and voiced a pitiful plea for food.
The voices of several astonished Shou guards cried out from the other side of the wall, at once puzzled and frightened. Wei Dao called something out, sounding more shocked and bewildered than the soldiers.
The illusion-no doubt an image of Lady Feng her- self-continued to harangue the floor. Ruha gathered herself up, forcing herself to remain calm and consider her options. Hiding was out of the question, for the Shou would certainly investigate until they discovered the cause of all the strange noises. That left only escape, and, as far as the witch could see, there was only one possible route.
Finally, the illusion faded. Chalk Ears cautiously slunk toward the doors Ruha had pried open, where two large ceramic urns contained supplies of food and water that, apparently, the familiar had been unable to reach for several days. The guards, and then Wei Dao herself, called out. When they received no answer, the princess spoke again, this time in a more commanding tone.
Ruha went to the glass windows and looked out. She was on the second story of the palace, no more than thirty feet off the ground. The sentries lurking in the shrubbery around the opal path were all looking away from the mansion, toward the strange enclosure. When they heard the glass break, they would certainly turn toward the sound, so the witch would have to take care not to reveal herself by moving too fast.
Wei Dao spoke again, this time in Common. 'I know it is you, Witch! Come out now, or you go to Chamber of
