"Do we know how they are dangerous?"

"According to the records, they are accompanied by creatures that can suck the lifeforce from any living thing. They are supposed to be able to draw lifeforce themselves, but this has never been observed. Artifacts found in several places suggest that they are quite skilled. As a matter f fact, our light-torches are based on one of then-designs..."

That was something else that Dainyl had not known.

"Now... there are other matters you will need instruction in, including the use of the Tables. For these, you will be flying to Lyterna on Octdi..."

"This Octdi?" Dainyl asked.

"I did say the timing was most inconvenient." The High Alector's voicecontained a trace of irritation.

"I apologize, Highest. I was just thinking about the situation in Dramur."

"That seems to have stabilized for the moment, and what you learn in Lyterna may also prove helpful when you return to Dramur."

"Could you tell me what else I might be learning in Lyterna."

The High Alector laughed, warmly and humorously. "If I could explain all that, you wouldn't need to go. I won't say more because I want you to learn from the senior alectors who have studied Acorus far longer than anyone else. You'll find it both interesting and intriguing. That, I can assure you."

After years of experience in the Myrmidons, Dainyl had come to distrust anything a superior described as interesting. That usually meant dangerous, difficult-or both.

The Highest rose. "Congratulations, and my best wishes go with you."

Dainyl stood and bowed slightly in response. "Thank you." What puzzled him more than slightly was that the Highest had sincerely meant his best wishes, unlike some of the other statements he had made, which had been tinged with the feeling of incompleteness, or outright dissembling. The combination suggested Dainyl was being set up to be used as a tool-again.

As he left the chambers of the High Alector of Justice, he just wished he had a better idea of what sort of tool he was and for what purpose he was being shaped and honed.

64.

Mykel looked at the bread and cheese in front of him. The cheese was white, hard, and not quite rancid. The bread was stale enough that each bite sprayed crust crumbs. Beside them was a green apple banana.

Nothing looked appetizing in the dawn of a Septi morning that was the last in winter, but very little food had looked appealing in recent days.

Mykel was worried. Not because anything had happened, but becausenothing had. From the moment Fifteenth Company had started patrolling in Dramur, they had run into problems of one sort or another. Now, while the locals were no more friendly, no one seemed to pay any attention to the Cadmians, and no one had fired a shot at any of the squads in more than a week. People who had been shooting at Cadmians for months just didn't stop for no reason. Mykel hadn't gotten any answers from Captain Meryst, either, on his question about the crimes committed by prisoners who were missing. He doubted he would. Still, it had been worm a try.

His thoughts drifted back to Rachyla, as they often did. Was it just that he hadn't seen an attractive woman in months? He shook his head. She was striking, but not a raving beauty. There was too much understanding, and too much confidence in those green eyes, for most men to be comfortable with her. Was that why he was drawn to her? He frowned.

No. As he'd noted to himself before, there was something else, something that he still couldn't identify, that worried at him even as it attracted him.

His lips curled into a faint smile. Maybe it was just that she was dangerous.

He looked down at his food. With a grimace, he peeled back the banana and took a bite. It was green, and- edible, if barely. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Captain Meryst enter the dining shed, look around, and head toward him. I Out of courtesy, Mykel stood.

"I'd hoped to find you before you left on patrol. I put in the inquiry along the lines you asked about." Meryst inclined his head. "How did you know?"

Although Mykel had asked about the crimes committed by missing prisoners, he had no idea what the other captain meant. "How did I know what?"

"Almost all of the miners who disappeared in the mine, something like twenty-seven out of the thirty where the jus-ticer had records, were the violent types."

"Sentenced for murder or beating someone up?" asked Mykel.

"Yes. How did you know?" asked Meryst.

"I didn't. I wanted to know if there were any patterns as to why theyvanished."

"Almost looks like the other miners just took care of them," suggested the local Cadmian captain. "They would have known."

"It could be," Mykel admitted. "Or it could be that the dangerous ones were the ones most likely to try anything to escape."

"Either way"-Meryst offered a faint smile-"I'd be interested in your thoughts on it sometime."

"I'll have to give it some thought." Mykel could sense that Meryst didn't accept his explanations, but the other captain wasn't going to press, not in the mess shed with rankers and squad leaders passing and listening.

After Meryst departed, Mykel reseated himself and looked at the remains of breakfast.

"It doesn't get any better, sir," called Dravadyl from an adjoining table.

I.

"I could always hope," Mykel retorted.

Several rankers-and Dravadyl-laughed.

When he finished stolidly slogging through the cheese and bread, Mykel rose and made his way to the stable shed, where he saddled the chestnut.

He'd planned to ride the mine road patrol with Chyndylt and third squad.

He walked the chestnut out into the cool sunlight, looking around for the third squad leader.

"Captain!" called Bhoral. "The overcaptain sent us near-on a full wagon of ammunition. There's a dispatch for you with it." The senior squad leader hurried across the dusty stable yard.

"A wagonful of ammunition?" Mykel took the dispatch from Bhoral's extended hand.

"Must think we'll need it up here."

Mykel was afraid of that. He opened the dispatch envelope and began to read.Captain Mykel- Since you left Dramuria, a number of events that bear watching have occurred. Some of the seltyrs west of the Murian Mountains have been training armed horse troopers. In addition, we have just learned that a number of smugglers' craft were sighted sailing around the south cape almost a week ago. The vessels appeared to be heavy-laden. Those vessels may be carrying more rifles and ammunition.

On several occasions, Seventeenth Company has reported heavy fire from the hills on both sides of the road to the west and, at my request, is repositioning closer to Dramuria. Because Fifteenth Company has often been involved in heavy action, I have dispatched an additional ammunition wagon for you. Use the utmost caution in any pursuit actions. Report by messenger if you encounter and observe any large bodies of foot or mounted troopers.

Mykel read through the short missive once again, nod-ling as he did before handing the dispatch to the senior quad leader. He waited for Bhoral to read it After several moments, the older Cadmian looked up. Overcaptain's worried, and he doesn't worry easy-like."

"Have all the men carry extra rounds on patrol, and find iomewhere to put the wagon where it can be guarded. Pull some men from each squad for guards."

"Six men, I'd think, sir. One from each squad, and two rom third squad."

Mykel grinned. "Because I'm riding with third?"

"It keeps the numbers equal, sir." The hint of a smile ap- i peared at the corners of the senior squad leader's mouth.

As he rode toward the ammunition wagon, Mykel glanced at the peaks to the west of the camp. Would there be an attack from the west? Was water wet? Did nightwasps sting?

Even after he drew the chestnut beside Chyndylt and waited for the remainder of third squad to form up, Mykel continued to fret, both aboutDohark's dispatch and about Meryst's information.

Why would the rock-creatures-or even the soarers- have wanted to feed on the most violent prisoners? He couldn't escape the feeling the soarers had a way of knowing which men were dangerous, even if he had no idea how. The soarer's words also echoed in his thoughts-You must find your talent to see beyond the world... He had no idea how to turn his talent for shooting better into a broader talent, or even where to start-as if he even had the time to do so.

His fingers moved to his belt, and the slit and hidden sheath that held the ancient knife. Had she found him in the rocks above the mine because he carried the knife, or had it been a coincidence? Did it matter?

"Third squad, ready, sir!" Chyndylt announced.

"Head out!" Mykel glanced back at the squad, then at the road ahead.

65.

While he waited for the marshal on Septi, Dainyl moved his papers and gear to the study that had been Tyanylt's. That took less than a glass, because Dainyl had never had many personal effects in his study and because everything that had been the former submarshal's had long since been removed. Then he went through the remainder of the reports that had piled up in his absence. For all the pages from the Myrmidon and Cadmian companies across Corus, there was surprisingly little new or detailed information.

An older report addressed one question. The closure of the Cadmian compound in Scien had been postponed until the coming spring when the snows ceased and the weather would be more suited to riding horses along the North Road to Pystra and south to Norda, where the existing compound was being enlarged to take another two companies. There 1 still wasn't any information on why the Scien compound was being closed or the companies relocated to Norda-or about the need for the earlier Myrmidon winter recon flights. The Twenty-third Cadmian Mounted Rifles from Alustre was being permanently relocated to Lysia.

There was no explanation, except that the High Alector of Justice had ordered the move. Why Lysia? Although it was a seaport, it was another compound more than a little out of the way, well southeast of Prosp, andmore than eight hundred vingts from Alustre by road.

At the request of the High Alector of Engineering, Seventh Company had sent a squad of Myrmidons to Coren for aerial reconnaissance of the town and forest fires. A battalion of Cadmians was en route from Alustre to deal with the revolt and unrest.

Another revolt? In yet another isolated locale? All Dainyl knew about Coren was that it was one of the few areas authorized for logging and lumbering and that the raw timber was sent down the river to Alustre.

Why Seventh Company? The Myrmidons in Lyterna were far closer. Dainyl shook his head. It was winter. Between the storms, the cold, and the height of the mountains in the Spine of Corus, a direct flight was difficult, if not impossible, until late spring, and there were neither Myrmidon nor Cadmian outposts or compounds anywhere close to Coren.

Dainyl kept reading, trying to catch up on everything that he had missed.

Even though he had started right after morning muster, by two glasses past noon, he still had not read half of the reports he had dug up from the files and stacked on his new desk.

The door opened, and the marshal stood there.

Dainyl jumped to his feet. "Sir."

"Sit down, Dainyl." Shastylt closed the study door and settled into the chair across the desk from the submarshal. "I can see you've been busy."

"I was trying to catch up on what had happened." Dainyl reseated himself.

"You never will." The marshal laughed, once, harshly. "I never have, not on everything. I apologize for being late. Matters with the Highest took longer than I had thought. We have to make a quintal presentation to both Duarches next week." Shastylt offered a rueful smile. "Matters are not what we would like, and there are certain to be questions." He gestured toward the stack of reports. "You've found some of them, I'm sure."

"Has anyone discovered anything more about the problems in Hyaltand Dereka?"

"We've isolated the wild Talent in Hyalt, and our Myrmidon squads are closing in. That's likely to be finished in a matter of weeks, if not days. As for Dereka... nothing else has vanished, and no one can explain how the skylances vanished."

"What about the missing alectors?"

"They're still missing, with no signs of where they went. They left everything behind." Shastylt shrugged. "They were all on the Table contingent there, but they were off duty."

"First the skylances, and now alectors," mused Dainyl.

"We're leaving that problem to the senior alectors at Lyterna."

Dainyl got the unspoken message. "I was reading the reports. What can you tell me about what happened in Coren?"

The older alector offered a disgusted snort. "It's another instance where the regional alectors haven't paid any attention. So long as the timber came downriver, they thought everything was fine. The locals didn't like the rules on how and when and where to log, and some of them started forest fires..."

"So that they'd have even fewer trees to log? And more restrictions?"

"Sometimes, steers don't think. The local indigens killed the patrollers, or most of them, three weeks ago. We finally heard about it last week. The first time there was any sign of trouble, either the Myrmidons or the Cadmians should have been called in. In the end, we'll lose forests and lifeforce mass, a bunch of indigens, and some Cadmian troopers.

Much better to see things in advance, the way you're handling Dramur."

Dainyl wasn't so sure he was seeing anything that much in advance in Dramur, or that the marshal and Highest wanted him to do so. "It doesn't always work out that way."

"No, it doesn't. I wish I didn't have to send you to Lyterna right now,but some rules we just can't break, even for convenience. You know, that's one thing that gets people into trouble. They bend the rules because they're pressed or because it's inconvenient, and then the next time it's easier, and before long there aren't any rules, and matters are worse than they would have been if they'd just put up with a little inconvenience."

Shastylt smiled.

Dainyl easily sensed the lie. The marshal wanted him in Lyterna. Dainyl doubted that Shastylt was that enthusiastic about Dainyl learning more.

Was that because Dainyl had gotten a grasp on what was happening in Dramur? Or because he had been about to, and neither the marshal nor the Highest wanted that to happen? "The rules become easier and easier to ignore."

"Exactly. Principles do matter, and which principles you act on and which you don't are equally important." The marshal stood.

Dainyl rose to his feet as well, waiting.

"Now... tomorrow, you'll take your two Myrmidon escorts with you. Fly the southern route, and stop in the way station at Syan. Be sure to enjoy some of the good wine while you're there. Asulet is expecting you in Lyterna, and he'll be the one training you on the use of the Table for travel and providing you with the submarshal's briefing and background. After they've had a day's rest, two if it's been a hard flight, you can dispatch the pteridons back here. You'll be able to return by Table, of course, right to the Hall of Justice. You'll find that to be a great convenience at times."

Shastylt smiled wryly. "Only at times. We still have to deal with I.

problems in places like Dramur and Iron Stem. Now... if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare some calculations."

"Yes, sir."

After the study door closed, Dainyl stood behind his desk, motionless, thinking.