"What do you mean?"

"You shake the entire world every time you take a step, father dearest," Jula said with a little smile. "Stories of you are flying everywhere. Stories of Sheba, stories of Zakkites, stories of your fights with Jegojah and Triana. The people who've seen you fight spread those tales, as do many of the people in this circus. There's a trail of legendary stories laid out behind you, spreading from every port you've visited. You're reputed to be a hundred spans tall and have gods brush your hair every night before bed." She leaned back slightly when he scowled at her. "That reputation actually works in your favor," she explained. "The people who've heard the rumors are afraid of you, so most of them won't directly interfere with you. Your power and your ruthlessness are universally known. They're afraid they'll just be added to the list of enemies you've destroyed. The only ones that will try to directly interfere with you are the strongest ones. The ki'zadun, the Zakkites, the Wikuni, the Arakites, Sharadar, Shu Lung. Groups with that much power and influence."

"I say, she makes sense, lad," Phandebrass agreed. "I've heard some of those rumors myself, I have. They're very flattering for you."

Tarrin crossed his arms. "Silliness," he grunted. "But I'm not going to gainsay it. If people are too afraid of me to get in my way, those are people I won't have to kill."

"Something like that," Jula agreed. "Only the ki'zadun and the Zakkites know the truth about you, so they're your greatest adversaries."

"What truth?" he demanded.

"That you are the Mi'Shara," she replied. "Not just any mi'shara, the Mi'Shara. They know that means that you're the greatest threat to their own plans, but they also have to work around you in case you succeed where they do not. That means that they'll try to stop you. That's what Kravon's been trying to do for over a year. But if it becomes clear you're going to get the Firestaff, they'll stop trying to kill you, let you get it, then try to take it from you when you succeed."

"This is something we have discussed before, dear one," Dolanna reminded him. "It fits with what we already know."

"I know," he grunted, leaning on the table. Sarraya walked over and patted him on the forearm, looking up at him with her blue eyes and a light smile.

"Well, unless you want some specifics, that about covers what I know," she said. "That's the plan, as far as I remember."

"So, what do we do about it?" Camara Tal asked.

"Simple," Tarrin said, looking right at the Amazon. "We do nothing."

"What?" Sarraya demanded.

"We do nothing," he repeated. "Jula said they're not going to interfere with us, because we may find the book. If we do, they intend to take it from us. Right now, that's the most important thing there is. If we stop looking for the book to get into a running war with the ki'zadun, we'll be wasting precious time. We let them be, at least for now. We kill any agents we come across and discourage them from following us, but we don't crusade."

Dolanna looked at Tarrin sharply. "That is what I was going to suggest," she agreed. "I do think that we should locate their hidden places, in case we are the ones who must attack them to gain the book. It is only wise."

"We'll take care of that," Tarrin said, looking at Jula. "She can find them for us. It'll give us something to do during the day."

"Us? We?" Jula asked curiously.

"Let me make this clear to you right now, woman," Tarrin said bluntly. "Until I release you, you're not getting out of my sight. You are going to be right beside me. You are going to eat with me, sleep by me, and you will even bathe with me. If you find yourself away from me without my permission, you will come and find me. If you don't, I'll consider you a runaway, and I'll deal with you like any other Rogue. I'm not joking about this, and I won't give you any warnings. Do you understand me?"

Jula paled, then nodded fervently.

"Good." He turned to Dolanna. "We may want to consider moving to an inn, Dolanna," he said. "I carried Jula through half the city. Alot of people saw us, and some of them are going to connect Jula with the killings."

"Killings?"

"I, I've been here nearly a ride," Jula said slowly. "I was a wild animal dropped into a city full of defenseless prey."

"I, understand," Dolanna said, her eyes softening.

"There are other reasons," he said. "The circus is too tempting a target to anyone who wants to get at us. They know we'll move to defend it if we're here. We should leave them, if only to protect them from our problems. These tents just aren't secure enough. One fire, and we'd be done for."

"No argument there," Camara Tal nodded. "I'm getting tired of sharing my tent with a bunch of jabbering girls, anyway. Kids talk endlessly."

"I say, I think Tarrin's right," Phandebrass nodded. "We're too open here, too vulnerable, we are. And too many people know where to find us."

"Then I will look into renting an inn," Dolanna told them. "Just as it was in Shoran's Fork. If we control the entire inn, then we reduce our vulnerability."

"Something as close to the center of the city as you can, Dolanna," Sarraya said. "Do you have any idea how far I have to fly to get to my search area? And it's even worse for Dar and Camara Tal. They have to travel over an hour just to get to where they can start looking."

"That reminds me of what we were talking about before Tarrin dumped Jula on the floor," Camara Tal said. "You'd better be very careful out there, Tarrin, Sarraya. There's a Demon in Dala Yar Arak."

"A Demon?" Tarrin said in surprise. "I thought they were all banished from Sennadar. I didn't think even a Wizard could summon one anymore."

"Wizards can summon a Demon, my boy. They're just not stupid enough to try," Phandebrass said. "A Demon would make Jegojah look like an apprentice's conjured shade. No living Wizard has the power or skill to contain such a monster. And to even be able to summon one, the summoner has to know the Demon's true name. You can't find that information anymore."

"Why not?"

"Such information is commonly written in spellbooks, and they were destroyed in the Breaking," Phandebrass told him, pulling a bit at his robe. "I say, no Wizard before the Breaking would have dared write such a thing in anything but a spellbook. The consequences would have been utterly disastrous."

"What do you think this Demon wants?" Tarrin asked Camara Tal.

"I have no idea. I didn't see it, I only saw a pack of Hellhounds."

"What are those?"

"I say, Hellhounds are denizens of the Lower World," Phandebrass replied. "They're special creatures, servants of Demons. No Wizard can summon a Hellhound, because they don't have true names. Only Demons can summon them from their evil dimension, so if you see a Hellhound, then the Demon who summoned it must be somewhere nearby."

"What would a Demon want here?"

"The same as us," Sarraya grunted. "A Demon could use the Firestaff just as easily as anyone else."

"That's a pleasant thought," Camara Tal grated.

"Fighting the ki'zadun or the Zakkites is one thing, but a Demon is an entirely different game," Jula said hotly. "I don't want anything to do with that."

"You'll do what I tell you to do," Tarrin whirled on her, his eyes boring into hers like daggers. "If I tell you to attack a Demon with a soup spoon, you'll do it, or I'll kill you myself. Do you understand me?"

"I understand, Tarrin," she said after a moment of silence. "But you wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"Probably not, but I won't tolerate any defiance out of you. You'd better get that in your head right now. I've killed men for less sass than you just gave me."

"They're not me," she said with a small smile.

"No. I'd enjoy killing you, witch. Don't forget that."