The High Lord

grimaced. Shrugging, he tossed the cup away. It shattered against the wall, leaving a splash of red.

'Is that enough?' Sonea murmured.

'I doubt it,' Faren replied. 'But he's got the idea, and might go for something fresher.'

The Ichani began to walk around the table. Regin edged away. Suddenly he leaped forward and grabbed a bottle of wine by its neck. The Ichani laughed as Regin brandished it threateningly. He made a quick gesture. Regin staggered forward as if struck a heavy blow from behind and sprawled face first on the table.

The Ichani grabbed Regin by the back of his neck and held him down. Sonea grasped the handle of the door, but Faren caught her wrist.

'Wait,' he whispered.

The Sachakan took the bottle from Regin's hand and regarded it. The cork slowly wriggled out and fell to the floor. He lifted the bottle to his lips and gulped several mouthfuls. Beside her, Faren let out a sigh of relief.

'Is that enough?' Sonea breathed.

'Oh, yes.'

Regin writhed on the table, knocking plates and cutlery flying as he straggled against the Ichani's grip. The Sachakan took another swig from the bottle, then smashed it against the table. He reached toward Regin with the broken end.

'That's not good,' Faren said. 'If he cuts Regin the poison will—'

The door behind the Ichani opened. Sonea's heart skipped a beat, but Akkarin didn't leap out. The corridor beyond was empty. Hearing the noise, the Ichani twisted around. He stared at the open door.

'Good. That'll delay him a little longer,' Faren muttered.

Sonea held her breath. The door handle was slippery with sweat in her grasp. If she and Akkarin revealed themselves to the Ichani, he would call out to Kariko. It would be much better if the man succumbed to the drug instead.

'Here we go,' Faren said quietly.

The Ichani suddenly released Regin and staggered away from the table. As he clutched at his stomach, Regin hauled himself up and ran through the main doors.

- Kariko!

- Rikacha?

- I have... I have been poisoned!

Kariko did not reply. The Ichani dropped to his knees and doubled over. A long, low moan escaped his mouth, then he vomited up red liquid. Sonea shivered as she realized it was blood.

'How long until he's dead?' she asked.

'Five, ten minutes.'

'You call that quick?'

'I could have used roin. It's faster, but bitter.'

Akkarin appeared in the open doorway. He stared at the man, then pulled off his shirt.

'What is he doing?' Faren asked.

'I think...' Sonea nodded as Akkarin stepped forward and wrapped the shirt around the man's head. The Ichani shouted in surprise and tried to pull it off.

- Sonea.

Akkarin's mental voice sounded different - clearer - through the ring. She opened the door and hurried to his side.

- Hold this for me.

She took hold of the shirt and held it tightly. The man continued to struggle, but there was no strength in his movements. Akkarin drew out his knife, cut the man's arm and pressed his hand to the wound.

Sonea felt the Ichani go limp. It did not take long before Akkarin released him. As she let go of the shirt, the dead man slumped to the floor. She felt a wave of nausea.

- That was horrible.

Akkarin looked at Sonea.

- Yes. But at least it was quick.

'It worked. Good.'

They both looked up as Regin entered the room. He regarded the dead Ichani with satisfaction.

'Yes,' Sonea agreed. 'But we won't be able to do it again. The other Ichani heard him say he was poisoned. They won't fall for the same trick.'

'But your assistance is appreciated,' Akkarin added.

Regin shrugged. 'It was worth it to see one of those bastards get it.' He put a hand to his throat and grimaced. 'But I'm not sad to hear I won't have to do that again. He nearly broke my neck.'

Every man ought to have an ambition, Cery told himself as he stepped between the broken gates. Mine is quite simple: I just want to get inside all the important places in Imardin. He was proud of the fact that, though he hadn't quite turned twenty yet, he had managed to enter almost every major building in the city. The exclusive areas of the Racecourse had been easy enough to sneak into disguised as a servant, and his lock-picking skills had gained him entrance to some of the mansions within the Inner City. Thanks to Sonea, he had been inside the Guild, though he would have preferred to have succeeded because of his own skills rather than because he had been taken prisoner by a meddling, bigoted magician.

As he crossed the courtyard, he couldn't help smiling. The Palace was the one important place left in Imardin he had never been able to sneak into. Now, with the Guard defeated and the heavy Palace gates hanging from their supports, nobody was going to prevent him exploring.

Not even the Ichani. According to the watchers posted by the Thieves, the Sachakans had left the Palace an hour ago. They had been inside the building for only an hour or two, and could not have destroyed everything in that time.

He stepped over the charred bodies of guards and peered through the broken doors of the building. A large entrance hall lay beyond. Delicate staircases wound up toward the higher levels. Cery sighed with appreciation. Moving inside, he wondered why the Ichani hadn't destroyed them. Perhaps they didn't want to waste their powers. Or perhaps they had quite sensibly left the stairs standing so they could reach the upper floors.

Cery looked down at the mullook symbol on the floor. He doubted the King was still in the Palace. The ruler had probably left Imardin once the Inner Wall fell.

'Avala is going to be a problem.'

'Probably. She likes to wander. I expect she'll wander away from Kyralia soon enough.'

'Got her eye on Elyne, I suspect.'

Cery spun around. The voices were distinctly Sachakan, and were coming from beyond the Palace entrance. He cast about, then ran toward an archway at the back of the hall. Just after he had skidded through it, he heard their footsteps echo on the hall floor.

'We all heard Rikacha's call, Kariko,' a third voice said. 'We know how he died. He was a fool for eating their food. I don't see why we need to come back here to discuss his mistake, and Avala and Inijaka probably agree.'

Cery smiled. So Faren's nasty little trick had worked.

'Because we have lost three already,' Kariko replied. 'Any more, and it might be more than bad luck.'

'Bad luck?' the first Ichani scoffed. 'The Guild got Rashi because he was weak. And Vikara might still be alive. We can only be sure that our slaves are dead.'

'Perhaps,' Kariko agreed. He sounded distracted. 'But there is something else I want to show you. See these stairs? They look fragile, don't they? As if they shouldn't be able to hold their own weight. Do you know how they stop them falling down?'

There was no reply.

'They put magic in them. Watch this.'

Silence followed, then a tinkling sound. The sound grew louder, until the hall suddenly filled with a crashing and shattering. Cery gasped and peered through the archway.

The staircases were collapsing. As Kariko touched one railing after another, the beautiful structures buckled and dropped to the floor, fragments scattering everywhere. One slid in Cery's direction. An Ichani glanced toward