Bheid jerked his hand back.

"I'm only joking, Bheid," Althalus said.

Are you really all that certain, pet? Emmy asked, her green eyes turning sly.

Bheid's hands were trembling as he took her from Althalus, but he relaxed when Emmy started purring.

"When are we going to stop for lunch?" Eliar called from behind them.

They rode on across western Medyo, keeping off the main roads whenever possible. The sudden appearance of the cockeyed man back in Awes indicated a likelihood that Ghend had agents everywhere. Althalus knew that they could deal with those agents, but unnecessary killings went against his grain. A really good thief shouldn't have to kill people.

It was midsummer by the time they approached the bridge across the west fork of the River Osthos, and Althalus prudently turned aside from the road and led Eliar and Bheid into a grove of trees some distance upstream.

'Em,' he said silently after they'd dismounted, 'just exactly who are we supposed to find there in Osthos?'

'Guess,' she replied rather smugly.

'Don't do that,' he scolded.

'You've already met her, pet.'

He blinked. 'You're not serious!' He almost said it out loud.

'Oh, yes.'

'How are we supposed to get inside her palace?'

'You're the thief, Althalus,' she replied. 'If you can steal things, I'm sure you'll be able to steal one little girl.'

'Emmy, her palace is guarded by an army. One little squeak out of her and I'll have thirty armed men climbing all over me.'

'Then we'll just have to make sure she doesn't squeak, won't we?' She considered it. 'I think we'd better leave Eliar and Bheid here-and your horse. We'll want to move very quietly. I'm a cat, and you're a thief. We know how to be quiet; they don't.'

'How long have you known that Andine would be joining us?'

'Since the moment Eliar read the Knife.'

'Why didn't we pick her up before we went to Awes?'

'That would have been out of sequence, pet. Everything must be in its proper place and time.'

Althalus glanced at Eliar, and he remembered the way Arya Andine had looked at the boy. 'I think your brother's got a very warped sense of humor, Em,' he said.

'Why, Althalus,' she said, 'I'm shocked at you. Shocked.'

It was well past midnight when Althalus and Emmy slipped into Andine's palace in the center of Osthos. This time, Emmy chose to walk rather than ride, and she moved on silent feet ahead of the thief, passing warnings back to him. Once they were inside the massive palace, she led him to the Arya's private quarters. 'She's asleep,' Emmy advised. 'There are two guards outside her door. Encourage them to take a little nap.'

'How?'

'Try "leb."'

'Will that work?'

'It always has before. After we leave, you'd better wake them up again, though. People might think it's a little peculiar if they sleep for fifty or sixty year the way you used to do back in the House.'

'Is that the way you did it?'

'Of course. Step right along, Althalus. The night won't last forever, you know.'

The pair of guards at Andine's door were still standing, but their chins had sagged down onto their chests and they were snoring softly. Althalus reached past them and took hold of the door handle.

Then Emmy hissed.

"What's the problem?" he whispered.

'Argan!'

"What's an Argan?"

'It's a who, not a what. This guard on the left is Argan.'

"Is that name supposed to mean anything to me?"

'I mentioned him before. Argan's another one of Ghend's underlings.'

"That's convenient." Althalus reached for his dagger.

'Put that away,' Emmy said in a disgusted tone.

"It's a nice, simple solution, Em."

'Perhaps, but how do you plan to solve the problem that'll come up later?'

"Which problem is that?"

'Returning him to life when he absolutely must be alive and well.'

"I didn't follow that."

'I didn't really think you would. Put the knife away, Althalus. You aren't the one who's supposed to deal with Argan-any more than you were the one who's supposed to deal with Pekhal or Khnom. Just leave him alone.'

"Hold it, Em. Doesn't this mean that Ghend knew we were coming here?"

'Probably, yes.'

"How did he find out?"

'Probably because Daeva told him.'

"How did Daeva find out?"

'The same way I did, of course. We hear things that you can't, Althalus. I know about people like Khnom and Pekhal and Argan, and Daeva knows about people like Eliar and Bheid and Andine. They're significant people, and significant people give off a certain sound that we can hear. Just leave Argan alone. Let's get Andine and get out of here before Argan wakes.'

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

The moon was full, and its pale light streamed in through the open window of the Arya's bedroom to fall upon the sleeping girl's face. Her mass of dark hair spilled out over her pillow, and sleep had softened her imperious expression, making her seem very vulnerable and very, very young.

As silent as a shadow, Emmy flowed up onto the bed and sat beside the sleeping girl's pillow. Her green eyes were a mystery as she regarded the face of her sometime mistress. Then she started to purr.

'How do we get her out of here?' Althalus asked silently. 'I suppose I could carry her, but-'

'She'll walk,' Emmy replied. 'Look around and find her some clothes and a dark cape.'

'Doesn't she have to be awake to walk? And won't she start screaming even before her eyes are open?'

'I know what I'm doing, Althalus. Trust me. Get her some clothes.'

Althalus poked around until he found boots, a well-made cloak, and clothing suitable for travel. When he turned, he saw Andine sitting on the edge of the bed. Her huge eyes were open, but they obviously saw nothing.

'Just bundle up her clothes,' Emmy said. 'I'll have her dress herself once we're outside the city. The cloak should be enough for now.'

Andine stood up, her eyes still blank, and she was holding Emmy in her arms. Althalus draped the cloak about her shoulders. 'How long can you keep her asleep like this?' he asked Emmy.

'As long as I need to.'

'Six or eight weeks might not be a bad idea. If the first face she sees when she wakes just happens to be Eliar's, things might start to get noisy.'

Emmy's eyes grew thoughtful. 'You might have a point there,' she murmured in his mind. 'Let me think about it for a bit. Shall we go?'

They led their sleeping captive out into the corridor, and Althalus stopped briefly to examine the face of the sleeping Argan. Ghend's henchman had yellow hair and regular features.

'What are you doing?' Emmy asked.

'I want to be sure I'll recognize him when I see him again,' Althalus replied grimly.

They went back down the corridor, and after they'd rounded a corner, Althalus reached back and woke Argan and his companion. Then he silently led the Arya of Osthos out of her palace.

They moved quietly through the darkened streets of Osthos. Althalus used "leb" to put the gate guards to sleep, and they left the city.

"I think you were right, Althalus," Emmy said as Andine woodenly dressed herself. "It might be better to keep her mind asleep until we cross over into Perquaine. By noon tomorrow, her soldiers are going to be looking under every bush in Treborea for her."

They soon rejoined Eliar and Bheid, and Eliar looked rather closely at the young woman who probably still wanted desperately to kill him. "Is she all right?" he asked with a note of concern in his voice. "I mean, you didn't have to hurt her, did you?"

"Emmy put her to sleep," Althalus replied. "It'll probably be better to keep her that way until we get her out of Treborea."

"She won't be able to sit a horse in her present condition," Bheid suggested.

"I'll take care of her," Eliar said. "I'll sit her on my horse in front of me. I can keep her from falling off."

"All right," Althalus agreed. "She's your responsibility. Take care of her. Let's move out. I want to put some distance between us and Osthos by morning."

They crossed the River Maghu just to the north of the Perquaine city of Gagan two days later and moved into the drought-stricken countryside to the west. Arya Andine had remained semiconscious, and Eliar had been strangely solicitous of her throughout the journey. He held her in place in front of him as they rode and lifted her on and off his horse with a peculiar gentleness. He fed her at mealtimes, and his own appetite seemed to have fallen off considerably.

"Is it my imagination, or is he behaving just a bit oddly?" Bheid asked Althalus after they'd crossed the river.

"Eliar takes his responsibilities very seriously," Althalus replied, "and he's always volunteering because he wants to be helpful. He'll probably outgrow that in time."

Bheid chuckled. "From what you've told me, I don't think he should be quite so close to Andine when she wakes up. If she hates him as much as you say she does, she'll probably try to reach down his throat and jerk out his heart as soon as she lays her eyes on him."

"We'll find out before long, I expect. Emmy's going to wake our little girl this evening, and you and I should probably be on our toes when Eliar holds the Knife out for her to read. She might take that as an invitation."

They took shelter in the ruins of a long abandoned house late that afternoon, and Althalus called up beef for supper before Emmy could suggest fish. Eliar, as he had since they'd left Osthos, cut up Andine's supper and fed her carefully. She sat placidly with her hands folded in her lap, opening her mouth as he held each bite to her lips, much as a sparrow chick might.

After they'd eaten, Emmy commandeered Althalus' voice again to give them their instructions. "I want you to be standing directly in front of her with the Knife right in front of her eyes when I wake her, Eliar. That way she'll see the Knife before she sees you. Once she reads the Knife, she'll be more or less compelled to do as she's told. She might rant and rave a bit, but she won't try to kill you."

Eliar seated their captive on a square stone block by their fire, took out the Knife, and stood in front of her with the blade before her eyes. Emmy leaped up into the girl's lap, nestled against her, and purred.

The life flowed back into the Arya's huge dark eyes.

"Can you tell me what that peculiar writing says, your Highness?" Althalus asked her, pointing at the Knife.

"Obey," Andine said almost automatically.

The Knife sang joyously, and Emmy purred all the louder.

Andine's expression was at once baffled and stunned. Then she seemed to realize suddenly that Emmy was in her lap. She seized the cat up in her arms and held her tightly. "Naughty cat!" she scolded. "Don't you ever run away like that again. Where have you been?"

Then she looked at the ruins around them in utter astonishment as the Knife continued its song. "Where am I?" she demanded.

"You'd better stay seated, your Highness," Althalus suggested. "You'll probably be a bit dizzy right at first."

The Arya, however, didn't appear to be listening. She was staring at Eliar instead. "You!" she said sharply. She dropped Emmy and sprang directly at the young Arum, both of her hands extended clawlike at his face. "Assassin!" she shrieked.

Then she reeled and would have fallen had Eliar not caught her. "Be careful, your Highness!" the boy exclaimed. "You'll hurt yourself!"