Gods! Is the snake really asking me to join forces with him? You really don't understand at all, do you, Rau?

"We could be." He said the words so softly, she wasn't sure she heard him properly. His hand brushed the swell of her breast.

Anger soared within her until she could feel nothing but its blinding flame.

"What is it that drives you!" Only the leather bonds stopped her from throwing up her hands in utter frustration. She had to distract him from the topic of an alliance. "Is the songs, the monuments, the people bowing down before you? Or the killing itself?"

Foregoing caution, she brought her head down close to his and whispered, "Are you so cold and empty inside that you have to fill yourself with the lives of others to feel whole?"

Riordan felt the slow shudder of his anger.

"You understand nothing! And I was a fool to think it might be possible for us to be friends."

Her eyes widened at the sheer incredulity of his statement. "Friends! You killed my family, you reduced my kingdom to rubble!

Make no mistake, Rau. You and I will never, ever be friends."

"And you just threw away the opportunity to save your life."

"Did I?" she hissed back. "I rather think it was the other way around."

Rau was shaking his head. "You could have had it all, Riordan. You could have ruled beside me. From Hael to Golar and everything in between. I offered you a place at my side. And you threw it away. And for what? For stupid, Kanarekii pride."

"My ancestors built an entire kingdom with that stupid Kanarekii pride.""Where is your proud kingdom now?"

"In my heart."

His laughter echoed off the crystal mountain face.

"That is the difference between us," she snapped. "There is nothing in yours."

He reigned his horse in abruptly, nearly unseating her.

"This conversation is futile. Arguing with one of your kind is worse than useless. Have it your way, Your Majesty. Die like your father with your precious pride intact."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," she shot back, quoting him.

"And you're right, I wouldn't."

Riordan twisted away from him. "Fine, then let's agree to continue hating each other. I much prefer that arrangement to ruling at your side."

"You may pay for that preference with your life."

She stared up at the jagged wall of crystal that towered far past her line of sight into the sky. "So be it."

Her words sounded inordinately loud to her own ears. She became aware for the first time, that there was no sound save for the steady tread of Rau's stallion and the soft whisper of their breath.

No wind, no hiss of sand on sand. In contrast the desert teamed with life compared to the mountains. The entire landscape was barren, lifeless. And yet, it vibrated, like a single note struck on a fine piece of glassware.

Above her the mountains loomed in all their crystalline glory. Pale purple seemed to bleed from the ground into their roots, fading to glassy pink where they touched the sky. The setting sun touched their peaks in a prism of crimson.

Even Rau seemed awed. Every footstep, every uttered breath reverberated with tinsel clarity off the myriad quartz outcrops. It was easy to believe magic ruled in this unearthly territory. The cold breath of Shraal ghosts ruffled the hairs on the back of Riordan's neck. She shivered, longing suddenly for the oppressive heat of the desert and the clear, open sky.

And now, she thought with a pang of cold fear, comes the moment for which I was born.

The only problem was that she'd memorized only the path across the desert, she hadn't had time to memorize the route through the labyrinthine tunnels of the mountain.

How long will it take Rau to figure that out?

She fought back a sudden wave of panic.

The timbre of the vibration changed. Riordan turned her head toward it, called by its strange song.

The Sword, she realized with a shock of recognition. Out of the corner of her eye, she cast a glance back at Rau. But he was still eying the imposing peaks of the mountains above. And in the same instant came the awareness that Rau couldn't hear it.

Shraal magic. It hadn't failed her after all.

With a hiss of metal, she felt Rau's blade suddenly at her throat."And now, Your Majesty. You will lead me to the Sword of Zal-Azaar."

CHAPTER TEN

Riordan drew in a shallow breath, afraid to move and press her throat any harder against the razor-sharp edge of Rau's sword.

He shoved her toward the foot of the jagged quartz mountain range.

"Lead me to the entrance."

What now? If Rau discovers I don't know exactly where the chamber is, he'll kill me.

But in that second, she realized she did in fact know. The timbre of the sound changed, drawing her head to the left. Careful of the pressure of Rau's sword, she tilted her chin ever so slightly upward. Between nearly identical peaks of crystal she made out the shadowed indentation of an entrance. The gateway to the mountain. Following the route back down, she realized that what she'd taken for random sproutings of quartz was in fact a well-concealed pathway. And that knowledge posed another problem.

She couldn't enter the Sword's sanctuary, dragging Rau behind her. Especially after his stinging remarks about her lack of talent as a tactician.

See how fast I'm learning, Prince?

Most definitely the risks would be cut in half if she could rid herself of Rau before she entered. But how? Stalling for time, she titled her head so she could see him out of the corner of her eye.

"And if I don't know exactly where it is?"

"You lie." The pressure of his sword increased. She didn't dare breathe, didn't dare swallow. Another fraction of an inch and he'd slit her throat.

"I said I didn't know exactly. Not that I didn't know."

"The whereabouts of the Sword is a Kanarekii secret."

She played a delicate game, trying to keep Rau from the Sword's chamber while attempting to escape with her throat intact.

"How do you know the secret didn't perish with Kanarek? You did after all, burn most of the city to the ground."

"The map was not among the wreckage."

"Perhaps you should have looked before you burned the city."

"And you should dispense with this juvenile game you're playing. If you don't know the Sword's whereabouts, I have no reason to keep you alive, now do I?"

"I thought you liked me," she snapped, in spite of herself. Rau's company brought out the worst of her nature."I've changed my mind."

"Fickle, aren't you." The words slipped past her lips before her brain could call them back.

"You, Your Majesty, are a colossal fool. Not only do you scoff at my offer of an alliance, you would have me slit your throat not steps from the Sword's tomb rather than take me there."

Well, you've got that part of it right, Doan-Rau.

The weight of his words swung in the balance.

"We're going to have to climb," Riordan said finally. "The entrance lies several feet from the ground. And no, as I told you, I do not know where exactly. But it's more than you will find out by yourself, so you're just going to have to trust me."

"Scant likelihood of that," Rau said, his lips only inches from her ear.

He glanced upward, scanning the mountain face for signs of the Sword's entrance. Finding nothing obvious, he scowled. Relaxing his grip on his sword, he shoved her toward the jagged thatches of crystal. "Climb then."

Those spiked clusters of rock could easily slice a man in half, she thought, putting her foot against the first of them, leading Rau deliberately away from the path to the entrance.

I'm not sure this is an improvement in my tactical ability, but it beats leading him to the Sword's door. As long as she didn't fall and render the whole exercise useless.

Riordan gripped a bolt of crystal, testing its strength. Surprisingly strong, it held her weight without difficulty. Hauling herself up after it, she began to climb.

"Not so fast." Taking out a length of leather thong, Rau tied one end securely around her foot and fastened the other about his middle. "Wouldn't want you getting too far ahead of me." He smiled, an unnerving expression that didn't warm the ice in his eyes, and gestured to the crystal mountain. "Please continue, Your Majesty."

She noted that while Rau didn't sheath his sword, he tucked it through the belt at his waist, keeping it close at hand.

Dropping it would be too much to hope for, now wouldn't it?

Stretching herself out to her full length, Riordan reached for another handhold. Deliberately, she led Rau away from the pathway she knew extended mere feet to her left. Crevices and handholds were fewer on that side, further apart. The path had been fashioned there for a reason, constructed out of the natural crevices in the rock. Scaling the mountain face made the game all the more dangerous.

Lot of good it'll do, if I kill myself. Unless, of course, I drag Rau with me into the afterlife.

Her foot precariously balanced on a narrow bolt of quartz, her knee wedged against another, she dug her fingers into the jagged rock and flung her free hand toward the narrow outcrop above her.

The world swayed beneath her. Jagged quartz sliced into her flesh, but she forced her hand to close around it. Beneath her fingers she felt the stickiness of blood. But for the moment she rested there securely. Her eyes closed in relief and she hung there panting, afraid to look up or down.

Amazing how even that distance above the ground could set her heart pounding. I can't believe we climbed so far so fast. She vowed to slow down as much as possible before Rau got impatient.

From a few feet below came his labored breath, as he hauled himself up the mountain.That's good. You just hold on real tight now, Rau. Wouldn't do for you to fall off the mountain and take me with you.

Slowly, she dragged her leg across the rough rock, searching for a foothold. Already her hands stung with a multitude of tiny cuts.

Her bare knees showed through tears in her breeches.

The toe of her boot connected with a narrow bolt of crystal. Riordan wedged her foot against it and tested it with her weight.

Leaning on it, she stretched out her right arm, searching high above her head for the next handhold.

Below her, she heard Rau panting as he mirrored her actions.

She found the handhold, wrapped her fingers around it and prepared to moved her other leg.

A tinkle, like the sound of glass falling, and the entire slope seemed to fall out from under her. She heard the crack before she felt the crystal give beneath her foot.

Riordan dug in her fingernails and held fast. Crystal shards rained down the mountain.

Several feet beneath her, Rau swore, realizing belatedly the flaw in his strategy of joining the two of them with rope.

And who's the better tactician now, My Prince?

Her foot scraped against sheer quartz, searching for any crevice deep enough to accommodate the toe of her boot. She found a shallow indentation, wedged her foot against it and swung for a more secure resting place with her other hand.

But crystal crumbled beneath her fingers, throwing off her balance. She hung even more precariously above the dizzily swirling ground.

Biting her lip, she extended her hand, grasping after a bolt of crystal strong enough to hold her weight while she searched for a more secure foothold.

Rau crept up the mountain behind her, carefully avoiding the unstable spots that had nearly knocked Riordan from the mountain.

He was gaining on her, out to her left, a few feet below her.

Not good. Riordan forced herself to quickened her pace. She couldn't have him racing ahead of her toward the Sword's tomb.

As if the Sword sought her out, the timbre of its vibration increased. Searching for her, confused as to why she insisted in moving in the other direction.

Perhaps I should have taken the path after all. Riordan dug her toe into another indentation and hoisted herself to the next rise.

She cast a quick glance at the ground and instantly regretted it. Maybe I should have let Rau take his chances with the Sword.

Rau inched closer, practically neck and neck with her now. His eyes roved over the jagged quartz, searching for a shadowed indentation that could be the entrance. He looked back at her, eyes dark with suspicion, and Riordan knew she'd shortly have to dream up another tactic to keep him satisfied.

"How much further," he demanded between panting breaths.

"We're close, I'd imagine." Riordan hiked herself up another few inches.