'If we wish to regain contact before a second tunnel can be built, we must restore our own fortunes and deal with matters at this end. Without Lord Isak we cannot fulfil the prophecy and destroy Tir Duria, but before we can turn our attention to that problem, we need to concentrate on shoring up our position here.' She grimaced. 'Our first concern is the Farlan. Once Lord Isak arrives home, he will gather an army and invade. We have recruited as many mercenaries as we can afford, and enlisted citizens of Scree, but they are not an army and the nobles leading them are not officers. They lack discipline and organisation.'

Siala looked harried now and Zhia realised that whatever she might think of the woman personally, Siala truly believed in the White Circle's cause, and she was barely holding everything together.

'That,' she continued grimly, 'is why I have employed Raylin mer¬cenaries.'

'They call themselves Raylin, certainly,' Zhia interrupted, 'but that is an affectation. The Raylin were an Elven order devoted to the per¬fection of martial skills; what you are employing is little more than a rabble of renegade mages and deranged psychopaths.'

The distinction did not appear to bother Siala. 'We need them. There are others, sniffing round the gold. Tachos Ironskin, Veren's Staff and Bane I've heard of, Mistress and the Jesters I have not. Do you know of them? Are they rabble; are they worth paying for?'

Zhia nodded. 'I know them, and if you can control a group of Raylin, some are a veritable army in themselves. Think of Mistress as a superlative horse-trainer, except the horses are wyverns. The Jesters are worth whatever obscene price they will demand; they are bastard sons of Death himself and Demi-Gods in their own right. Veren's Staff, though, might be too much trouble: his reputation often fails to mention his intractable madness – for pity's sake, Veren died dur¬ing the Great War. I'm at a loss to know how the man thinks he is inhabited by the former God of the Beasts. The same goes for Bane, whose obsession with vampires will make him impossible to trust.' She smiled. 'You know, I cannot remember the last time I heard of so many Raylin in the same place at once. It's rare to have more than two or three together, and yet you've gathered a dozen of the strongest in Scree.'

'Whatever it signifies, it will be a blessing for us if we can forge them into an army. That is what I need you to do, Sister Ostia, or¬ganise them so that when the Farlan come we have soldiers who are trained, and know who's giving the orders. The noblemen leading them are under my control, but the troops are not battle-ready. Since you know these Raylin already, you can use that connection to influ¬ence matters. Can you do that? I have few other Sisters of the Circle I can rely on.'

Zhia made a show of thinking, but this was exactly what she wanted. She had a number of enemies amongst the Raylin, but if she was in a position to influence Scree's armies, she could dictate the coming course of events.

'I can do it,' she said finally. 'I'm no soldier but I can organise the legions to bring this about. Do you have any competent Sisters at all I can add to my staff?'

Siala spread her hands helplessly. 'Half of them have fled to Helrect, to be further from the Farlan – as though Helrect could stand if Scree fell – and of the rest, I despair. All I have is what are left of the Fysthrall, who are stretched thin enough already. The Third Army consists of our remaining Fysthrall troops' soldiers, and I need every one of those.'

'What about that new girl, Legana? She doesn't look like a fool, and a pretty face is always useful to get soldiers to do what you tell them. Can I trust her?'

Again, Siala looked defeated. 'I cannot say. If you want her, then take her. Can you trust her? She was working as a whore until I took control of the city and her pimp thought to make some money by selling her to us. A shame he didn't understand the principles of the Circle a little better.' That put the ghost of a smile on Siala's face; the pimp had obviously found a squad of soldiers at his door, keen to explain how the Fysthrall thought women should be treated.

'Then I will take her and deliver you an army as soon as I can,' Zhia said brightly.

'Good. You will find the mercenary captains based in the Dawn Barracks, where I can ensure their obedience. Recruit as many more as you can, just be sure their commanders are drawn from Scree's nobility.' Siala's eyes narrowed. 'There is only one ruler of Scree, so please do not forget that my agents will be keeping a careful eye on everything. And now, I have yet more city officials waiting with yet more requests. Please, send them in on your way out.'

Zhia gave a slight bow and left. Outside, the men stretched and smiled with relief, then trotted obediently into Siala's room while Zhia walked to where Legana and Haipar were leaning on the banister of the stair, talking softly together. She beckoned to the pair and they followed her downstairs.

'I need somewhere private,' she told them, and Haipar nodded curtly and led the way to a secluded corner on the first floor.

Once Zhia was certain they were alone, she relaxed and turned to face her new aides. 'Haipar, a pleasure to see you again, and alone, too.'

The Deneli tribeswoman smiled like a cat. 'Erizol is outside the city, but I'm sure she'll gladly return to see you.'

'Don't bother telling her; I really don't need the irritation.' She stopped herself baring her teeth; Erizol the Fireraiser brought out

Zhia's temper in a way that few could these days. Bane and his petty little crusade against vampires bored her, but there was something about Erizol's very personal hatred that annoyed Zhia immeasurably.

'I don't doubt it, but, ah-' Haipar cocked her head towards Legana, who was watching the exchange with a puzzled expression on her face.

Zhia smiled. 'Oh, don't worry about Legana. She doesn't pose any threat; no true member of the White Circle would be here under orders from a man.'

Legana stepped back, instinctively reaching for her dagger, but Zhia, moving faster than any human could, grabbed Legana's wrist in an iron grip and pulled the woman close. Legana froze, trapped in Zhia's gaze, until she blinked and let her expression soften. She released Legana's wrist and pushed her back to beside Haipar.

'Let's not get dramatic here,' Zhia said calmly. 'I think we might yet become allies. What are you, a devotee of the Lady?' Legana looked at Zhia and Haipar and nodded hesitantly, though she showed no fear now, only a flicker of apprehension. Zhia felt a small glow of satisfac¬tion: Legana would indeed prove useful.

'I thought as much. Your employer is Lesarl, the Chief Steward of the Farlan, yes? When you report to your master, please tell him that one day I will instruct him in the finer points of subtlety.' She smiled. 'Until then, you're both my aides while I take charge of the army here and decide what I intend to do with it. Siala has just bitten off more than she can chew.'

'Does this mean I'm the only genuine person here?' beamed Haipar, her accent noticeably more refined than when she was in Siala's office.

'Well, shapeshifter,' Zhia snapped, 'I suggest you don't spend too much time crowing about that – you've picked a poor employer this time, though I doubt you'll have heard yet.'

'About the White Circle? Please Zh- Apologies, Mistress Ostia, the entire city knows of it. They attacked Narkang and almost killed King Emin.' Haipar shrugged, as though the news did not interest her one bit. 'But I'm a mercenary, war is my trade and I go where they can afford to pay me. If that means going up against Narkang, so be it.'

'But you would prefer to be alive at the end? What Scree doesn't yet know is that the White Circle has made it clear their principal goal is to kill or capture the new Lord of the Farlan. Siala needs this army because she will soon be at war with the Farlan. Lord Isak is young and headstrong, and he now commands the largest army in the entire Land. I doubt he will be reluctant to use it.'