But, over the past ten days or so, Belial had indicated he wanted to develop their relationship to a more intimate level.

Last night he had come upon her in the stable as she groomed Belaguez, and had laughingly seized and kissed her. What had at first simply been a light- hearted kiss had deepened until Azhure had pulled back, afraid not of Belial, but of her own enjoyment. He had asked her, then, into his bed and into his life. But Azhure s eyes had filled with tears and Belial had been instantly contrite.

Reassuring him, Azhure had kissed him gently, asking for a night to think.

And, oh, by the heavens, how tempting it would be to accept such a proposal! Azhure was sure she could develop a loving for Belial. He would be a man with whom she could easily spend a lifetime. And he loved her. That was a remarkable experience for Azhure, for, apart from Rivkah, Azhure had never before been loved. The entire village of Smyrton, as Hagen, had regarded her with disdain for her Nors features and beauty, and for her temper and independent spirit. The young men of the village had sought only the use of her body, and when she had consistently refused their attentions, they had spread rumours of her willing cooperation.

On all counts, Belial's obvious regard and love presented Azhure with every reason to accept his proposal. But there were complications. She loved Axis, yet that alone would not stop her from accepting Belial's proposal. Azhure well knew that Axis planned and hungered for the day when he would be by Faraday's side again. She harboured no childish visions about Axis asking for her hand in marriage. Azhure had already seen the disastrous effects of an attempted marriage between an Icarii Enchanter and a human woman, and Azhure knew, knew, that a life with Axis was denied her.

In that case, why not leap for the life that Belial offered her?

Azhure's hands fluttered over her stomach. Because she was pregnant with Axis' child, and that changed everything. She remembered that on the night she had fled Smyrton she'd dreamed that one day she would find a hero to father her children, and...well...now she had her wish. And though Belial might well accept Axis' child, Azhure simply could not go to his bed not only loving another man, but bearing his child as well. Besides, Axis had grown to maturity never knowing his own father, always doubting that he loved him, and it would tear him apart to know that a child of his would suffer a similar fate.

Azhure could not deny Axis his child.

What should she do?

Explain to Belial. Confide in him. Belial deserved to know. Then? Wait for Axis. Axis would surely return to Sigholt shortly.

Beyond that Azhure did not want to think. She was terrified that Axis might take the child from her completely.

"Never," Azhure muttered. "No-one will take this child from me." She would not deny her child its mother. Her eyes filled with tears. Azhure had loved her mother deeply, had pined whenever she could not see her, whenever she could not hear her mother's footfall or hear her sweet voice as she cleaned the house or tended the garden and poultry. Azhure had believed that her mother was the most beautiful woman in existence. Her desertion had scarred Azhure irreparably -scarred her with a guilt that constantly gnawed at her. Had she not loved her mother well enough? Had her mother thought her a bad daughter?

"Why?" Azhure whispered, "why did you not take me with you, Mama? I loved you, Mama, I loved you!"

Of all her sins, Azhure constantly berated herself that she could not remember her mother's name; that single loss had festered at Azhure's conscience day and night for more than twenty years. She struggled, fought through sleepless nights. As a growing girl Azhure had once asked Hagen what her mother's name had been, but Hagen had lost his temper in a frightening display of anger and had badly beaten Azhure, and the girl had never asked from that day forth. Not only her mother, but her mother's name was lost to her.

Azhure took a deep breath. She would be there for her baby, and her baby would never have occasion to forget Azhure's name.

Her mind drifted, wondering what it would feel like to hold her baby for the first time, what it would feel like to have a child love and trust her and come to her for comfort and laughter. Axis' child would surely be wondrous. She smiled.

Would it be golden-haired like Axis? Or would it inherit her dark hair and pale skin? How Icarii would it be, and how human?

She looked about her, and quickly realised that the sun was already well above the horizon. If she did not hurry, the entire garrison might come searching for her. Azhure shot to her feet and grabbed Belaguez's reins, making the horse toss his head in alarm.

"Damn," Azhure muttered feelingly as she mounted the restless stallion. He would have to forgo his run down HoldHard Pass this morning. Was Belial already waiting for her in the stable?

He was.

Belial smiled at Azhure and took the stallion's reins from her. Azhure busied herself with unsaddling Belaguez.

As she undid the girth, Belial stepped up behind her and touched the back of her neck with his fingers. "Azhure, I hope you did not misunderstand me last night. I meant marriage, not simply a casual affair. I do not want you simply for a night, but for my life."

"I know," Azhure whispered, then closed her eyes as he gently kissed her neck, then her cheek, and then slipped his arms about her. He would make a good father for my children, thought Azhure. My dreams of heroes were so childish. What woman could ask for anything more than a good, solid man to support her?

"And your answer?" he said, his mouth in her hair now.

"Belial," she took his hands where they rested against her waist and slid them gently over her stomach. "Belial, I am pregnant. I cannot accept."

She felt his breathing falter and closed her eyes as she felt his pain. He did not deserve this.

"Axis," he said woodenly.

Azhure hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes," she said, and at her answer Belial tore himself away from her and thumped the stable wall in frustration and anger. Belaguez jumped sideways, startled, his ears laid back along his skull.

"Damn him," Belial seethed. "I have never, never, envied him his women until now!" He turned to face Azhure again. "Azhure, I love you. I want you whether you are pregnant or not. Whether you love Axis or not. You know that you have no life with him! You know that we could build a good life together!" Why couldn't Axis have left her alone? Had the man no conscience? No self control? What of Faraday?

Azhure started to cry silently. "Belial. You must know more than anyone how it would hurt Axis to know that a child of his would be raised without true knowledge of its parentage. Do I know that I have no future with him? Yes, I do, Belial. But until Axis returns and the child is born I can make no decisions.

None."

Belial looked away again, his eyes dull now. "When?"

"Early Raven-month next year. The child was conceived at Beltide. The first day of Flower-month." She looked down at her hands. "It was just that once."

Belial laughed sourly. "Once? That was all he needed?" Azhure nodded, knowing that Belial was angry at Axis rather than at her. She wiped away some of her tears.

Belial shook his head in disbelief. "Axis should have bastards littered across half of Achar if once was all he needed. to get a woman with his child. Why you, Azhure? Why you?"

He reached out and cradled Azhure against his body, certain that this would be the last time he held her. He could not compete with Axis. "Azhure, if you had not been pregnant, would you have come to me?"

Azhure did not hesitate. "Yes, I would have been honoured to do so."

For a long time they stood there quietly in the stable, listening to Sigholt wake up about them.

Rivkah had been up an hour when Azhure came back to change. Rivkah knew immediately she saw her that something was very wrong.

"Azhure? What is it?"

Azhure could say nothing as tears streamed down her face, and Rivkah hurried across the room and folded her in her arms. She hugged the younger woman and rocked her a little.

"Azhure, I know that you are pregnant." She smiled, trying to cheer Azhure up. "This will be my first grandchild."

"Belial asked me to marry him last night, and I cannot. Not carrying Axis'

child."

"Ah." Rivkah began to see. Azhure had wanted to walk away from the inevitable pain of Axis. Belial would have provided the perfect escape for her. But Azhure had not walked far enough nor quickly enough. And Axis was not likely to let a child of his go, especially if it was an Enchanter.

Rivkah led Azhure to the bed and held her while the woman cried herself out. Like Belial, Rivkah wondered at the fact that Axis had left no children behind him to this day, despite a string of lovers. Azhure s child would be his first.

Unlike Belial, Rivkah knew the reason why. Male Enchanters - indeed, Icarii birdmen generally - found it difficult to father children. And once they had managed it with one woman, they were as reluctant to let that woman go as they were to let the child go. In fact, Icarii often did not formally marry until the couple were expecting their first child - and sometimes a marriage would never take place if a child was not conceived. The couple would simply separate and reform partnerships with other people. A large part of the reason StarDrifter had been so fascinated with Rivkah, a large part of his love for her, had been her ability to bear him children. Now she was too old for a pregnancy, and StarDrifter still had the majority of his life to find another woman to bear him more children.

Rivkah rocked Azhure in her arms. After only one night, Azhure had fallen pregnant to Axis. No matter what the bond between Axis and Faraday, Azhure's simple fecundity would weld him tightly to her. Had Azhure left it too late to walk? Yes. Azhure could run as far as she liked now, but Axis would hunt her down. He would be unable to help himself.

The Enchantress' RingThey sat in a flat- bottomed boat in the centre of a vast violet lake. Above them soared a massive domed roof of multifaceted crystals.

The Ferryman's eyes reflected the violet of the lake. "Your mother won for you the right to ask me for assistance. You ask to be taught. I will do that. But I have a condition."

"What?" Axis' voice was wary. Both StarDrifter and Rivkah had warned him that the Ferryman was a cunning bargainer - and one who spoke in riddles.

"I will teach you whatever you ask. But of you I will ask one thing. Whatever I teach you is for your use and the use of your issue only. When you return to the OverWorld, you will not teach StarDrifter, or any other Icani Enchanter, what you have learned down here. My teaching is for you and your children only. Do you agree?" "Why?"

The Ferryman's eyes glinted. "My purpose is not your concern. Do you agree? Or would you like me to return you to the OverWorld?"

"Agreed. I will teach none but my children."

"Good. What do you wish to know?"

"Your name."

"My name was once Orr, and you may call me that. Whatnext?"

Axis looked about him. The massive lake was completely deserted except for the boat they sat in, and Axis had seen no-one else in the waterways they had travelled. "Where are the other Charonites?"

"/ am the Charonites, Axis SunSoar. Not simply the last one left alive, but I am myself the complete race. We all reside in here." Orr tapped himself on the chest.

Axis looked at him strangely, but decided to let it pass. "Orr, what are the waterways?"

Orr actually chuckled, surprising Axis. "The waterways are far less mysterious than most suppose. It is simply that they are hidden so far from sight and so deep in memory, that whenever anyone from the OverWorld thinks of them, they think of them in shadows of mystery."

"Then tell me." "You are impatient, Axis. That is your father in you."

Axis had already learned that Orr did not think very much of StarDrifter.

"Don't waste my time in riddles, Orr."

Orr sighed and meticulously adjusted his ruby-red cloak. "You have learned of the Star Dance?"

"Yes. I hear it about me every moment I am awake, and at night it rustles through my dreams."

"Axis, as you know the Icarii Enchanters use music to mirror the patterns of the Star Dance. The waterways do the same thing, except the pattern is laid down in a physical form. To travel the waterways is literally to move through the patterns of the particular 'Song' you wish."

"So for each Song there is a corresponding waterway?"

"Yes," the Ferryman said, a little hesitantly.

"As an Enchanter I have learned Songs, melodies, each with a specific purpose. I use each Song to manipulate the power of the Star Dance, the Songs serve as a conduit to weave the power of the Star Dance to my particular purpose."

"Yes, yes. All know that."

"But the waterways act as a different conduit for the power of the Star Dance? Instead of singing a Song, I simply travel the particular waterway that suits my purpose? Each of the waterways has its own purpose?"

"Yes. The waterways are just another way of manipulating the power of the Star Dance. Icarii Enchanters use music. The Charonites travel a particular waterway. It is a, ah, slightly more cumbersome way."

"In Talon Spike StarDrifter and MorningStar taught me all the Songs they knew. It is a finite number," said Axis.

Orr's great violet eyes sparkled. "A finite number? Really? How many?"

"Perhaps a thousand. It is what I find most restricting. If I have a purpose but no Song to suit, I cannot use my powers." "They only know about a thousand Songs?" Orr said, his mouth twitching. "Have they forgotten so much?"

Axis leaned forward, his excitement growing. He had been right to come down here. "How many do you know?" he asked, his voice tight. "How many waterways do you have?" Orr fought to control his humour. "Let me answer that by asking you another question, boy. Did StarDrifter teach you how to use your ring?"

Axis frowned and looked at the ring on the middle finger of his right hand.

Made of red gold and encrusted with diamond chips in star patterns, it was the SunSoar ring. Each House only had one ring, passed down through the generations, and StarDrifter had been happy to let Axis wear it.

"It is simply a symbol of my status as an Enchanter," Axis said finally. Use it?

What for? "The senior Enchanters of each House wear them. It has no use...does it?"

Orr covered his face with his hands and rocked back and forth with silent merriment. Axis frowned in exasperation. What had he said now? "My dear young man," Orr said finally, patting Axis affectionately on the knee. "My dear young man. I had not realised that the Icarii Enchanters had forgotten so much, had supped so deep into ineptitude. How can they still call themselves Enchanters?"

Axis almost shouted in his impatience. " What is it?" "Axis," Orr said, "there is almost no limit to the Songs you can sing, just as there is almost no limit to the waterways you can travel. You can wield the power of the Stars virtually any way you wish. How is it that the Icarii have forgotten this? Look at your ring."

Axis dropped his eyes. "Is the pattern uniform?" Orr asked. "No. The same pattern never seems to be repeated." "Quite. Now, think of a Song you know, think of the music, and look again at the ring."

Axis thought of the Song of Harmony. As the music ran through his head, his eyes widened. The pattern of the stars on his ring had shifted to match the Song.

"Now, Axis," Orr whispered, "think of a purpose for which you have no Song.

Something simple. I do not want you to blow us out of the water. Think of the purpose, and then look at the ring."

Axis thought, and the colour of the Ferryman's cloak caught his eye. A Song to change the colour of Orr's cloak to silvery grey, he thought to himself, then glanced at the ring. The pattern of the stars on his ring had shifted again - into a configuration that he did not know. He translated the pattern the ring showed him into a melody in his mind and instantly the Ferryman's cloak altered colour from ruby red into silvery grey.

Orr smiled. "Such a simple thing, eh? Yet the Icarii Enchanters have forgotten how to use their rings. The number of Songs that can be sung are limited only by the number of purposes you have."

"Do you mean," Axis said, hardly believing it could be this simple, "that all I have to do is to think of the purpose, watch the ring show me the pattern of the melody, and then I have the Song for the purpose?"

Orr nodded. "In the same way I use die waterways. There are relatively few physical waterways. If I have a purpose, or a place to go for which there is not a physical waterway, I simply diink of the purpose, and die waterway is created."

"Can I use the power of die Star Dance for any purpose?"

"No. You can't. Certainly there is a Song for most purposes, and all you need to do to learn the Song is to watch the patterns that the ring forms for you. But some Songs, some melodies, would be too dangerous for you. They would allow too much of the power of the Star Dance through - and you would die. A great deal of your learning as you grow in power, Axis SunSoar, is going to be knowing what patterns, what Songs, are too dangerous for you to attempt to use. That is why I asked you to think of a simple purpose. Generally, the more complex the purpose, the more you need to do, and the more power of the Star Dance you will be required to manipulate through Song. Having learned to use your ring, Axis, you must be very, very careful. Otherwise you will die as you attempt to use it." Axis looked at die ring widi new-found respect. For what purposes would the ring show him Songs that were too dangerous to use?

"You will learn, Axis," Orr said. "You may scorch yourself now and again, but you will learn. There are purposes for which no Song exists. Only a few, and diey are mosdy to do widi healing. Rarely will you be able to use the music of die Star Dance to heal. Strange, because you can manipulate the Star Dance to recreate die dying, but a simple cut or bruise? At that die Star Dance baulks. I do not know why."

"For what you have told me I thank you, Orr," Axis said finally. "It is a great gift you have given me."

Orr inclined his head. "And you have given me a gift in return, Axis SunSoar.

I had not realised to what depths of stupidity the Icarii had sunk, but your revelations have been most informative. Forgotten how to use their rings, indeed!"

"Orr. MorningStar has told me some disturbing news," Axis said, cutting through the Ferryman's laughter.