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our society to change very easily. It had occurred out of necessity, perhaps, but that didn't excuse it, and the necessity could be argued as well.

Still, deplorable as it might be, it did exist, and the one I loved was caught up in it as surely as a fish in a net. Dismounting at Rafe's door, it seemed to me that Leo should have been the master there. Rafe himself was rough and uncultured, whereas Leo was refined and regal in his bearing, though a less arrogant man I'd seldom chanced to meet. It was as though, even as a slave, he was a superior being, and being superior, he had no need to bring it to your constant attention. There was an aura of greatness about him, and it didn't take fine clothes or a crown to make it visible.

Entering the great hall of Rafe's keep, I opened my mind to hear the thoughts of the animals therein. The boys had a dog, Calla had said, and if so, I should be able to call him to me. It was unfortunate that I couldn't communicate with Leo in that manner, because with Rafe around, our conversation was kept to a minimum.

We passed through the hall into a smaller, torch-lit chamber where three dogs lay in blissful slumber before the huge fireplace. I walked toward them purposefully before I realized that I should be behaving more like a seer and holding my hands out to find disturbances in the fabric of time or some such thing. I tried it, but as I reached toward the fire and stared into it, the flames leaped higher, sending a flurry of sparks up the chimney and startling the dogs with its sudden roar.

"Well, at least you're awake," I said, meeting their eyes. "Yes, it's me talking to you. I'm here to find Rafe's sons. Which of you was their companion?"

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88.

Cheryl Brooks An old and very frail-looking black hound got slowly to his feet, gazing back at me with big, sad eyes. "I am called Toraga," he said. "Four men came and took the boys. I know nothing other than that. I was kicked out of the way when I tried to stop them and left for dead. The one they killed was...kind to me. It makes me very sad that she is gone."

"Don't miss those boys, though, do you?" a younger hound remarked. "They just about ran you into the ground."

"Better to wear out than to rust out," Toraga said with wheezy dignity. He yawned, stretching his jaws until they cracked. "Find them, my lady. They were still alive when last I saw them, and though they are boys and behave as many such beings do, their hearts were good."

"I will do my best," I assured him. "Is there anything you can tell me about the men? How they were dressed, their style of speech?"

"I wouldn't know, my lady," the old dog replied. "It happened very quickly."

"Did any of the rest of you see them?"

The younger dog looked at me with regret. "I was asleep," he said mournfully. "I wish I had been there to sound the alarm, but I wasn't."

"It's no fault of yours that you were not," I said reassuringly.

Nodding, I turned to Rafe. "There were four men, but who they were, I cannot say."

"You saw this in the flames?" he asked.

Since this was as good an explanation as any, I let *88 *20*.

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him think that. Leo, of course, knew exactly where my information had come from.

"Can you track them?" I asked Leo.

"Perhaps," Leo replied. "The scent is faint, and the trail is old, but I believe I can follow it. I can smell blood, but it goes in two directions."

"The body was taken out through the rear of the house," Rafe said. "Any other would be the direction the kidnappers took."

Leo nodded. "I will need to see the boys' room to get their scents, as well."

"This way," Rafe said with a gesture. "We must hurry."

"Rafe," I said slowly. "Why would someone take your children? Why not simply kill them?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea, Tisana," he replied gruffly. "This is why I came to you. I have no notion of who would want them."

"No enemies? No one who covets your land?" Or your wife? I left that question unasked, but with Rafe gone chasing after his sons for an unspecified period of time, anyone who wanted Carnita would have an excellent opportunity. That there might be men willing to kill to have her was evident in the flicker of interest I saw in Leo's eyes as she rushed into the room.

I might have been moderately attractive as women go, but Carnita? Well, Carnita was the stuff of which most men's dreams were made, and even after bearing two sons, she was still breathtaking. With eyes the color of a summer sky and long, thick golden tresses floating over shoulders that were just one more beautiful part of a body to die-or kill-for, she made me, and just *89 *20*.

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Cheryl Brooks about any other woman you'd care to name, look like a hag.

Well, okay, so that was an exaggeration, but men have been driven insane by the thought of possessing something so beautiful. Sort of made me want to stare at her long enough to set her hair on fire. I knew I shouldn't do it, but she was near enough to the fire that a random spark might set her gown ablaze-if I was lucky.

It was a nice thought, but I realized that it would only give the men an excuse to rip her clothes off- just to save her from the flames, you understand. I wondered who would win if Rafe and Leo were to fight over her. My money was on Leo, since I knew firsthand how quickly he could move, but you know how fierce men can be when they're fighting to maintain possession of something.

Carnita stopped short when she saw Leo. I couldn't blame her, since he was the most stunning creature I'd ever seen in my life. I saw her swift, assessing glance take him in, and an inappropriately carnal light flickered in her eyes. She was upset, but not so upset that she couldn't take the time to appreciate an outstanding male specimen. Leo's eyes were glittering as he turned toward her, regarding her in a way that no slave should ever look at his mistress. If Rafe had seen that look, he would have knocked Leo sprawling, but with Carnita in the room, I somehow doubted that Rafe was looking at anyone else.

"Have you found them?" she asked in an anxious, breathy voice.

I waited a moment, and, since no one else seemed willing to talk, replied, "No, Carnita. We've only just *90 *21*.

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begun our search. I can tell you nothing yet but that four men took them alive. Leo thinks he can follow the scent, though. Can you take him to the boys' room, or give him something they've worn?"

She threw a questioning look at Rafe.

"Yes," he said shortly. "Go, and be quick about it!"

Drawing Leo to her with an abrupt gesture, she was gone as quickly as she'd arrived, with Leo in her wake.

I gave it a moment or two to let them get out of earshot, and commented: "Still beautiful, isn't she?"

"What?" Rafe asked, seeming distracted. "Oh-yes.

Yes, I suppose she is. Sometimes I forget."

Eyeing him with skepticism, I expressed my doubts as to his sincerity.

"What, you don't believe me?" he asked.

"Not really," I said candidly. "She's far too beautiful ever to be forgotten."

"As are others I could name," he muttered. He seemed about to say something else, but appeared to think better of it, saying instead, "I didn't know you could see things in the fire, Tisana. Is this some new power of yours?"

"I couldn't say, exactly," I replied evasively. If I seem unnecessarily reticent concerning my powers, let me explain that I had heard tales of witches being burned at the stake-as well as being stoned, crushed, or drowned-and while that sort of thing hadn't happened in a very long time, I was still understandably nervous.

With that gruesome chapter in history in mind, my ancestors had always done their best to keep their true powers a secret and had done their utmost to rely solely upon herbal medicine to treat their patients.

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Cheryl Brooks I don't know why, but I suspected that to Rafe, my being able to see things in the flames would seem less disquieting than communicating with animals.

"Yeah, you might learn how he treats his dogs," the young hound put in. "He can be a bit testy at times.

Really, though, we do the best we can! He's just very hard to please."

I tried to hide my smile, but Rafe caught it, anyway.

"What?" he demanded irritably. "What is it you aren't telling me?"

"There are a great many things I haven't told you, Rafe," I said loftily. "This is just one more. Learn to accept it, will you?"

He managed to hold his tongue; perhaps thinking that if he wanted my help, it would behoove him to keep me placated. Not that I would ever stoop so low as to deliberately mislead him in the search for his children, but as long as he didn't know that, it might help keep him in line.

"Good luck," Toraga said dryly. "If you do keep him in line, you'll be the first."

I really did need to get out more! Talking mostly to Desdemona and Morgana had cut me off from a whole wide world of fascinating conversations. Other people's pets were a wonderful source of insight into their characters.

"Yes, and when he's mating with his wife, he makes lots of noise," the young hound reported. "Sounds like a pig."

"She knows that, you idiot!" the old dog wheezed.

"They were lovers once!"

"Oh, yeah, right!" the other said . "Forgot!"

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Despite the gravity of our current situation, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. "What are your names?" I asked.

"I'm Max," said the young hound, "and, like he said, this old guy is Toraga. That other lazy bum is called Nod. Aptly named, don't you think?" Since Nod had yet to open his eyes, I was forced to agree.

"Well, Max," I began, "I think you need to come with us. You can keep up with horses, can't you?"

"In snow?" he scoffed, prancing at my feet. "I can outrun them! No sweat!"

"Dogs don't sweat," I reminded him, "but I take your meaning. I have a squirrel with me, too, and he's a friend of mine, so please don't kill him."

"I'll try not to," Max said, grinning. "This will be fun!"

"I doubt it," I said aloud.