Methydia, dead for many years now, had been his father's lover and mentor. She'd rescued Safar from the desert and had let him join her troupe of circus performers while he had hidden from the Walarian spymaster, Lord Kalasariz.
The circus lived on in Biner, the muscular dwarf; Arlain, half fire-breathing dragon, half fabulous woman; Elgy and Rabix, the intelligent snake and the mindless flute player; and, finally, Kairo, the strange acrobat who could detach his head from his shoulders, tossing it about on the tether of his ropy neck.
In normal times, Palimak thought, they'd be preparing for a royal performance at the castle. Biner would've been stirring up excitement with his traditional bellow of: 'Come one, come all! Lads and maids of All ages! I now present to you-Methydia's Flying Circus of Miracles! The Greatest Show On Syrapis!'
Palimak grimaced. The airship and circus troupe had spent more time than they liked acting as a military force, rather than entertaining. He was as sorry about that as Biner and the others. But what could be done about it?
From the moment Palimak and his fellow Kyranians had landed on Syrapis they'd been at constant odds with the violence-loving inhabitants of the island. How so many warring factions could be packed onto an island one hundred and twenty miles long and thirty miles across at its widest was a continuing and unpleasant amazement to Palimak when he was at his most depressed.
As if reading his thoughts, Leiria said, 'Honestly, sometimes I think the Syrapians have got some sort of congenital war disease.' She shook her head. 'Remember how they greeted us at the beach that day?
Olive branch in one hand, dagger up the other sleeve!'
Palimak sighed. 'Poor father thought Syrapis would be a paradise for us all,' he said. 'A new home-maybe even a better home-than the one we left behind.'
The yellow demon flecks faded from his eyes, leaving them sad and all too human. 'Instead we landed right in the middle of about twenty wars all going on at the same time. Everybody in Syrapis hates each other. But now that we're here they finally have something in common-which is to hate
His eyes misted slightly. 'I guess things don't always work out the way you want,' he said. 'Even if you're someone as great as my father was.'
Leiria wished she could give Palimak a comforting hug. But that would only make the boy feel awkward.
Actually, he was a 'boy' only in human reckoning.
The product of a romance between a demon princess and a human soldier, Palimak's demon side made him mature at a much faster rate than was normal for humans. At thirteen he was nearly six feet tall, although he hadn't filled out yet and was quite slender. Still, his shoulders were wider than those of most boys of his age and his broad-palmed hands had long, supple fingers. When he was angry or upset, sharp talons lanced from his finger tips like a cat's claws: a phenomenon so disconcerting that even Leiria, who'd known him since he was a babe, had never become used to it.
He also didn't act like a boy-except in rare moments when he allowed himself to relax enough to be playful. Or, blushingly so, when he was in the presence of a flirtatious maiden. Thank the Gods, Leiria thought, this part of his nature hasn't matured at the same rate as the rest of him. He had enough problems without adding sex to the equation.
Despite his youth, Palimak was the undisputed leader of the more than one thousand Kyranian villagers he and Leiria had led across the Great Sea to Syrapis and supposed safety. He had the strength of will and the charisma of his adoptive father. Backed by demon magic nearly as powerful as Safar's-who'd been the greatest wizard, demon or human, that Esmir had ever known.
During the three years since Safar's death and the Kyraniansa€™ flight from Esmir in a fleet of hired ships, Palimak had used all these attributes, plus a sometimes chilling ability for calculation, to keep the Kyranians from being overwhelmed by the fierce natives of Syrapis.
Palimak suddenly shifted. 'There's the king,' he said. Then he grinned. 'Maybe Rhodes is going to keep his side of the bargain after all.'
Leiria peered down at the courtyard. Though the airship still wasn't low enough for them to make out individual faces, there was no way she could miss Rhodes, ruler of Hanadu, the northernmost kingdom in Syrapis.
He was a giant of a man sitting on a huge, gaudy throne, placed on a platform in the center of the courtyard. The only other people on the platform seemed to be two liveried attendants. Leiria spotted a dozen or so uniformed soldiersa€™ but they were scattered throughout the crowd, rather than being in any sort of military formation.
'That's a scene with peace painted all over it,' Leiria said dryly. 'I wonder why I'm not impressed?'
Palimak curled a lip. 'Maybe it's because Rhodes is the last and trickiest of the bunch,' he said. 'And neither one of us thinks that after all this time he's finally going to roll over on command like a dog!'
Just then the crowd stirred and the sound of fierce martial music thundered upward. Banners waved, flags were unfurled and a hundred or more colorful kites took flight.
'I think that's our official welcome,' Leiria said. 'Either that, or a declaration of war.' She was only partly joking, knowing from bitter experience how quickly the Syrapians could turn on the unwary.
Palimak patted the fat purse hanging from his belt. 'I've got enough gold here to light up even King Rhodesa €™ scowling face,' he said. 'With promises of more to come for his cooperation.'
He laughed. This time it wasn't forced. 'My father used to always say that if you sue for peace you'd better bring both swords and money. I didn't know what he meant then, but I sure do now!'
Rhodes was notorious for his greed: Palimak was counting on this in his bid for peace, as well as on the bloody defeat the Kyranians had handed the king's forces not one month before.
'My best bet,' Leiria said, 'is that any treaty we work out with Rhodes will be violated by spring.'
Palimak laughed. 'That long, huh?' Then, more seriously: 'If this is the right place-the castle I saw when I was with my father that day-then all we need is a couple of weeks and a free hand. After that, King Rhodes can do whatever he wants-up to and including going to the Hells.'
The airship had made a full circle and they were once again hovering just off the rear of the castle-the waterfall and the cave now in clear view. Palimak leaned far over the rail to get a closer look. The tide was running out fast, water retreating from the bottom of the cliff face at an amazing rate.
Palimak probed the atmosphere with his magical senses. Instantly, he felt a powerful force dragging at him, as if his spirit self was a bit of flotsam caught in that raging tide.
Instead of breaking away, he fought against the force, wave after wave of sorcery smashing over him.
Leiria was shocked at his sudden struggle, seeing the blood drain from his already pale features. Talons emerging to cut into the rail as he gripped it. She had an urgent desire to grab him and rip him away from whatever invisible enemy he was fighting.
But she steeled herself to remain a witness, knowing there was nothing she could do to help.
Then Palimak gasped. 'There it is!' he said, voice shaking with effort. 'The island! And the idol, too! Just the way I remember it!'
Leiria dragged her attention away from Palimak. Below, about a hundreds yards from the cliff face, a small rocky island was emerging from the frothy waves.
Towering over the island was an immense stone image of a demon, with a long narrow face and heavy brows arching above deep-set eyes. The sculptor had given the demon a sad smile, which added to the overall effect of making the demon seem very wise.
'It's Lord Asper!' Palimak breathed.
Magical tendrils reached out to take him and suddenly he was a small boy again, gripping Safar about the waist as the great white warhorse, Khysmet, bore them both through a blinding snowstorm. Behind them an enormous ice beast was closing in fast as Safar shouted the words of a protective spell.
'Let me help you, father!' Palimak cried out, adding his own magic to the spell.
Safar hurled a magical jar into the beast's path and Palimak heard an explosion, followed by a shriek of agony. Then he gasped with relief as he sensed the beast falling away. But he knew instinctively that this wasn't enough and the ice beast would soon be upon them again.
He peered around his father and saw the beautiful Spirit Rider racing ahead on a black mare. She held a blazing magical torch high to guide them through the storm. They were heading for the point of a narrow peninsula, waves breaking on either side.
To Palimak's amazement, the Spirit Rider didn't stop when she reached the end of the peninsula. Instead,
