'Khysmet,' Quintal said. 'He's called Khysmet.'
Safar's eyes widened. The vision in Asper's burial vault leaped up and he once again heard Asper's ghost whisper,
He smiled, patting the big stallion, 'Khysmet. Khysmet. Yes, now I understand!'
Then, to Quintal, 'This is why I'm here. For Khysmet.'
Dazed, Quintal waved a hand. 'Then take him!'
'We're not thieves,' Safar said. 'I don't intend to steal him.' He turned to Ulan. 'Besides, he belongs to you.'
'I'm with his Majesty,' Ulan said. 'If that's what it takes to get you out of here, he's yours. We've got troubles enough on account of you. Call him a gift, call him anything you want. Just take him and go!'
'Actually,' Safar said, 'I had a trade in mind.' He lifted the horse amulet from his neck. He came forward, Khysmet trailing him like a big dog.
Safar handed the amulet to a puzzled Ulan. Then puzzlement turned to surprise. 'It's warm,' he said.
'Like it's been toastin' next to the heart.'
'It's an old witch's charm,' Safar said. 'The story is that whoever owns it will someday find a great horse, a magical horse.' He nodded at Khysmet. 'Like him.' The horse rubbed its head against him like a cat.
'As you can see, that part is true. So the next part must also be true.' He indicated the amulet. 'Someday you'll find such a horse and the owner will have no choice but to trade it for the amulet. And so on and so on.'
'Who cares?' Ulan snapped. 'Don't matter one way or the other if it's magic or not! Iraj Protarus is maybe gonna come down on Naadan like a hammer 'cause of you! Thousands of innocent people could die for somethin' that wasn't their fault!'
Quintal groaned and Ulan turned to him. 'Isn't that right, Majesty?' he said. 'Naadan's in big trouble all because of-' The rest was cut off when he saw Quintal slumped over in his throne.
'Ah, hells!' Ulan said. Ignoring Leiria and her warriors, he stalked over to the throne and bent to listen to Quintal's chest. After a moment his head came up and he announced grimly, 'He's dead! Guess this was too much for him.' He straightened, shaking his head. 'Can't say as anybody'll be sorry. Even his kids didn't like him much.'
Before Safar could speak, the high priest wailed, 'But who will speak for us now, Ulan? Who will plead for us to King Protarus?'
Ulan thought a minute, then thumped his chest. 'I will!' he said. 'I'll tell Iraj Protarus what happened here!
And if wants a head for revenge, he can take mine. And godsdamn his eyes!'
'I can help you with Iraj,' Safar said.
Ulan peered at him. 'Oh, yeah? How?'
Safar pointed at the amulet around Ulan's neck. 'That used to belong to him,' he said.
Ulan jumped, snatching at the amulet. Safar laughed. 'Don't worry, I came by it honestly. Though not the way the charm is normally supposed to work.'
'So what about the amulet?' Ulan growled impatiently. 'How will that help?'
'Give it to Iraj as a gift,' Safar said, 'and all will be forgiven. I guarantee it.'
Ulan stared at him, hard. Then: 'You've got no reason to lie about that. So I'll take your word for it. But don't expect any thanks.'
'I don't,' Safar said, taking Khysmet's reins and preparing to lead him away.
'One other thing,' Ulan said.
'What's that?'
'If you're ever in this region again…'
'I'll give Naadan a pass,' Safar finished for him.
'Yeah,' Ulan said. 'Like that!'
The escape from Naadan was slow going. Supplies were low in the main Kyranian encampment and Safar had tarried long enough to force Ulan to sell him all the goods they could haul away. Now there were so many wagon and camel loads of food and other badly needed things that they had a fairly large train. Plus there was a herd of goats and fresh horses to tend, so they barely made it into the hills by nightfall. Safar didn't know how much time they had. He assumed the worst. Ulan was clearly no fool and Safar suspected the new king would send runners to Iraj the moment they cleared the gates.
Once in the hills, Safar and his companions only rested a few hours. They set out again before dawn, using the stars to guide them and the Demon Moon to light the way. Their goal was the main camp, where all the villagers were well hidden in a woody ravine.
When first light came Safar dropped back to the rear of the column, where Leiria and her best men were positioned.
Leiria waved at the rumbling wagons and slow-moving camels. 'We'll be a week at this pace,' she said.
'We never counted on the expedition taking that long.'
'We'll be fine,' Safar assured her.
'Are you soothsaying, or just trying to make me feel better?' she said, but she said it with a smile.
'Neither one,' Safar said. 'I was merely expressing my faith in you, Leiria.'
'Then we're lost for certain,' Leiria laughed.
'I'm supposed to be the wizard in this group,' Safar said, 'but you're the one who's had all the magic.'
He nodded at Renor and the other men, weapons at the ready, alert for any danger. 'They were all just farm lads and goat herders not many month ago,' he said. 'But you've turned them into a real force to be reckoned with. As professional a group as I've ever seen, even when Iraj was at his peak.'
'It wasn't that difficult,' Leiria said, with not a trace of false modesty. 'In a way they're better than professionals. They have a greater reason to fight than money or ambition.' Once again she indicated the caravan. 'They're fighting for their own. You can't ask for a better goad than that.'
Safar agreed and was about to praise her more, when she said, 'All right, Safar, you've got your horse …
Khysmet … and you've rather belatedly told me that he was the reason we were in Naadan. That it wasn't just a routine raid. Fine. Wonderful. Asper speaks and we obey, whether we know we're obeying or not! Now, what else are you holding back?'
'I can't say,' Safar replied. 'I've already told you why.'
Leiria groaned. 'I know! Wizard business!'
'It's not that simple,' Safar said. But before he could go on Renor whistled a warning.
They turned to see an ominous cloud of dust puffing up on the horizon.
Leiria examined it with expert eyes. 'Not that big a force,' she said after a moment. 'But it's coming up fast.'
Safar frowned, concentrating until he caught a whiff of purpose in the oncoming cloud. 'I think it's a scouting party,' he said. 'Iraj's men, that's for certain.'
'Doesn't look like there's enough to mount any kind of serious threat,' Leiria said. 'I'll get some men together and ride out and meet them. Make them sorry for being so stupid.'
Safar started to agree, then hesitated. 'That's not necessarily a good idea,' he said. 'You'd have to catch or kill them all. If you failed, Iraj would be able to pinpoint us exactly for the first time since we left Kyrania.'
Leiria was irritated. 'What are we supposed to do,' she said, 'let them follow us all the way back to camp?'
'What are your chances of getting them all?' Safar asked.
Now it was Leiria's turn to hesitate. After a bit, she sighed and shook her head. 'Not very good,' she admitted. 'They're most likely Iraj's best scouts. They'll be smart. They'll be fast. And they'll never forget that mission takes precedence over all else.'
Safar nodded, then said, 'Give me your water.'
Leiria was startled. 'Water? What are you talking about.'
'I have an idea,' he said. 'Their prime mission is to capture me, right?'
'Rii-ght.' Leiria wasn't sure where this was going.
'Fine, then I'll ride out to meet them,' Safar said, 'wag my tail and get them to chase me. I'll lead them off in
