Seregil stared at the Akhendi charm. "I suspect she's in less danger now than we are. They found us with this once. They can again. Yet it's the one real piece of evidence we have against the Akhendi, so we can't afford to destroy it or throw it away. We'll just have to go on as fast and as cautiously as we can. Once we've dealt with Korathan, we'll figure out what to do."

"You mean we just leave her?" Alec kicked angrily at a loose stone. "This is really what it means to be a Watcher, isn't it?"

"Sometimes." For the first time in a very long time, Seregil felt the gulf of age and experience that lay between them, deep as the Cirna Canal. He gripped Alec gently by the back of the neck, knowing there was nothing he could say that would ease his friend's pain or his own. It was only the long years he'd spent with Nysander and Micum that allowed him to fend off visions of Beka dead, captured, lost.

"Come on," he said at last, helping Alec back to their makeshift shelter. "Thero chose her with good reason. You know that. Now get some sleep if you can. I'll keep watch."

He draped their blankets around Alec, settling him as comfortably as he could against the rough stone. Alec said nothing, but Seregil again sensed an unspoken welter of emotion.

Leaving him to his grief, he went out to keep watch. Duty was a fine and noble thing, most days. It was only at times like this one, when you noticed how it wore away at the soul, like water over stone.

43 DIRE SIGNS

Nyal rode all night and picked up the trail of Beka and the others just after dawn. They'd returned to the main road and pushed on at a gallop. Spurring his lathered mount, Nyal hurried on, hoping to catch up.

As he rode, he went over in his mind what he could say to Beka that would reassure her without giving away his own complicity in her friends' escape. At last he was forced to admit that, barring Seregil's own testimony on his behalf, there was little he could do for the moment except ensure her safe return to the city. Not that this should be such a difficult task. They were in Akhendi territory, after all.

Caught up in his thoughts, he galloped around a curve and was nearly thrown when his horse suddenly shied and reared. He clung on, yanking the gelding's head around and reining it to a standstill, then turned to see what had spooked it.

A young Gedre lay in the middle of the road, his face covered in drying blood. A chestnut mare grazed nearby.

"Aura's mercy! Terien," Nyal croaked, recognizing both man and horse. This was one of Beka's escorts.

Dismounting, he went to him and felt for a pulse. There was a nasty gash over the boy's

eye, but he was still breathing. His eyes fluttered open as Nyal examined the wound.

"What happened?" Nyal asked, pressing his water skin to the boy's lips.

Terien drank, then slowly sat up. "Ambush. Just after sun up. I heard someone yell, then I went down."

"Did you see anyone?"

"No, it all happened so quickly. I've never heard of bandits this far south on the main road."

"Neither have I." Nyal helped him onto his horse. "There's a village not too far from here. Can you get yourself there?"

Terien grasped his saddle horn and nodded.

"How was the Skalan when you last saw her?"

Terien let out a faint snort. "Sullen."

"Was she tied?"

"Hand and foot, so she wouldn't fall off if her horse bolted."

"Thank you. Find a healer, Terien."

Sending him on his way, Nyal strode into the trees and looked for signs of the ambushers. He found the prints of at least six men, and where they'd hobbled their horses.

Leading his horse, he walked on down the road, reading the marks of an ambush and chase in the trampled earth. Around another bend he found three more of his men. Two Gedre brothers were supporting his cousin, Korious, as they headed back in his direction. There was blood on the Ra'basi's arm.

"Where are the others?" he asked, heart hammering in his chest.

"An ambush, not an hour ago," Korious told him. "They came out of nowhere, with their faces covered. Teth'brimash, I think. They killed two of the Silmai, back down the road. We lost some others in the initial attack."

"What happened to Beka?"

Korious shook his head. "I don't know. She was with us until the second group jumped us here, then she was gone."

"And you haven't found her horse?"

"No."

"Terien's coming your way. Be sure he gets to a healer."

He found the marks of Beka's horse a little further on. It appeared she'd broken away in the confusion and burst past the ambushers, chased by two other riders.

The tracks turned up a disused sidetrack, and for a moment Nyal couldn't get his breath. He knew this road. It came to a dead

end in an abandoned stone quarry. He pictured her, bound and defenseless, clinging to her horse's mane as armed horsemen bore down on her. Her sword and daggers were still lashed behind his own saddle.

"Ah, talia, forgive me!" he whispered. Drawing his sword, he spurred his horse on, dreading what he would find.

44 PUSHING ON

Seregil heard the first telltale sounds of pursuit just before dawn. At first it was only the distant tinkle of dislodged stones that could have been nothing more than a large animal on an early hunt. Sound traveled in this rocky country, however, and he soon made out the occasional scrape of boots over stone, then the echo of voices. Judging by the amount of noise they were making, they were searching blind, not realizing how close they were to their quarry.

He couldn't see them yet but knew it would be impossible to get the horses away without being heard. With Alec wounded, fighting was not an attractive option, especially since he couldn't tell how many men there were. What he didn't hear were more horses.

Crawling over to Alec, Seregil gently covered his friend's mouth. Alec came awake silently.

"How's the leg?"

Alec flexed it and grimaced. "Stiff."

"Company's on the way. I'd rather run than fight, if you can ride."

"Just help me up into the saddle."

Grabbing the blankets and sen'gai, Seregil wrapped his free arm around Alec's waist and helped him down to the horses. He could feel the younger man wince with every step, but

Alec made no complaint. By the time Seregil had mounted his own horse, Alec had his bow and quiver slung ready over his shoulders.

By now they could both hear snatches of their pursuers' conversation.

"Go!" Seregil ordered.

Alec kicked his horse into a gallop and sprang away. Close behind, Seregil hazarded a backward look and made out a few dark shapes down the trail, men on foot.

They got away clean, but soon had to slow down again. As Nyal had warned, the trail skirted precipices and in places was just wide enough for a single horse to pass. Fresh blood was seeping through Alec's trouser leg, but there was no time to stop.

They left their pursuers behind but kept a sharp eye out for another ambush ahead. By the time they reached the summit, just before midday, both were tense and sweating. From here, the land fell away sharply, affording them a clear view of the patched and rumpled sweep of Gedre fai'thast and the pale expanse of sea beyond.

"I'd better have a look at that leg before we go on," Seregil said, dismounting. "Can you get down?"

Alec leaned heavily on his saddlebow, breathing raggedly. "If I do, I may not be able to get back on."

"Stay there, then." Seregil found the flask of painkiller in Alec's saddlebag. Pressing that and the last of the bread into his hands, Seregil set about cutting away the bandage Nyal had put on.

"You're lucky," he muttered, rinsing away the crusted blood. "It's just seeping. The wound seems to be closing up on its own."