«You are arrogant,» said Casta. «Intellectually arrogant, and that is the worst kind. How do you know what I know, Blade? Let me tell you-I have long suspected that there are other worlds, other times and dimensions, than are known here in Zir. We here are locked in ignorance, all but myself, and I think that you are such a person, come from such a place, and that your trick of growing from babe to man in a month is nothing but some advanced machinery of the brain. I cannot do it, nor even understand it, but I know that it can be explained and I do not fear it. There is nothing of the supernatural about you, Blade. That is my department, my skill, and mayhap one day I will show you something. But as of now, my bristling friend, I want to keep you alive and learn from you. When your knowledge is mine, when I have drained you of all you know, then is time to worry about dying. In the meantime we are not friends and will not pretend to be. But we can help each other. It would be a pity if we did not. What say you now?»

Blade, with a sinking feeling, knew that he had been right. He had met his match. This living skeleton was his peer. Blade did not like to think that Casta might be his superior.

«I will make a truce,» he said at last. «When time affords I will tell you what I can, and what you can grasp, of what I am and how I came here. It will not be easy. And what do I get in return, other than the assurance that you will not have me murdered?»

«I will give you power and freedom of movement. I will give you treasure, or at least show you where it is.»

«Treasure? What kind of treasure?»

«Hah,» said Casta. «I have struck a note. You are a seeker, Blade, and a seeker usually is after treasure of one sort or another. But we must see-perhaps the treasure I can offer is not what you seek.» He opened a drawer in the desk and reached into it.

Blade tested the crystal in his brain. Not working. Nothing. No matter at the moment. But treasure was what England wanted, needed, and treasure was what the Prime Minister demanded. Teleportation was working now-at least it worked in the labs in Scotland-and if there was anything in Zir worth sending back

Casta put something on his desk. It resembled a large lump of coal, irregular and many-faceted, except that it was colorless and of a crystalline purity. Blade gazed at it in awe. It couldn't be. It simply could not be. He left his cask and swept the lump off the table and took it to the fire. He held it up. A million fires danced and reflected in the giant prism; it sparked and burned in every facet and somewhere deep in it glowed a rainbow. It was! It was a diamond.

Chapter 8

Blade hefted the diamond in his hand. It weighed at least ten pounds and would run to thousands of carats. He held it to the fire again and his hand seemed to catch flame from it. Here was treasure indeed. If there were more of these stones, and if they could be teleported back to Home Dimension-

Behind him the High Priest said, «I was in the right of it, Blade. You are a seeker and you have found-it is written on your face. Already your mind changes and you are more inclined to bargain with me.»

Blade put the diamond on the table and stared at Casta. «You are partly in the right-it depends. How came you by this stone? Are there more? Are they easy to come by?»

Casta folded his hands on his frail chest. «Hold a moment. Knowledge for knowledge. What is this thing called in the place from which you come?»

«A diamond. They are deemed of much value and greatly sought after.»

Casta compressed his thin lips. «Indeed? How strange. Here they are but edged stones that are good for cutting. Thane, the builder, showed me the use of one to cut stone or metal. Diamond, you say? I have never heard the word.»

Blade poked the great diamond with his finger. «You do not answer my questions. Are there more of these?»

«Not in Zir. We have none.»

«Where then?»

«In the land of the Hitts. They have mountains of the stuff. They accord it no great value except to make statues of their kings and queens-after they are dead. So if you really value these diamonds, as you call them, you must cross the narrow water and take them from the Hitts. That will not be easy. Loth Bloodax, the leader of the Hitts, is a savage and a barbarian, but he is a great warrior. It will take a greater warrior to defeat him. I admit that you have the look of a warrior.. are you one in truth?»

«I am,» said Blade. «If you have a champion and wish to test me, bring him forward.»

Casta gave him a very odd look, then covered his lips with a hand. «In time-in time. I have such a champion, but the time for that is not yet. Let us get back-you want these diamonds. To get them you must invade the Hitts. To do that with any hope of success, you must have my help. Shall we strike a bargain?»

Blade pondered before he answered. Casta broke in on his thoughts and now there was a touch of impatience in his tone.

«If it will help you in coming to a decision I will tell you something-something I had not meant you to know just yet. The Izmir is dead. In this last hour.»

Blade stared. «How can you know that?»

Casta shrugged. «By mirror message, how else? Surely you have seen and understood that, and how we use the sun, you who know so much.»

Heliograph. Blade had seen the flashes in the sky many times and had tried to decode the messages to no avail. He decided that Casta was telling the truth.

So he nodded and said, «How came this about?»

Casta shrugged again. «I know only what the message spelt out. The Izmir had a seizure in his chambers and was dead before his surgeons could be sent for. You may be sure of it. My spies in the palace would not dare lie to me in this matter.»

The Izmir's death changed everything. The old man, as frail and ill as he had been, had afforded Blade some protection. He had pronounced Blade his son and heir, Prince, and now he was gone and Blade was bereft of sponsors-other than his sword and his strength and his cunning. What of Ogier and his twelve stout men? Would they cling to a man so disinherited?

Casta said, «I think you had best strike the bargain, Blade. For both our sakes. I want no trouble and you can afford none. If I have you slain I will be the loser, for you carry knowledge that I would have. Do not force it. Agree.»

Blade decided. «For the time being, then. To what would you have me agree?»

Casta smiled, showing toothless gums, and picked up the skull from his table. He toyed with it.

«Good. You are being wise. So hear me out and, when I am done, I will hear your objections.

«First I would have you marry Hirga. She is a princess, the sole blood of the Izmir that survives-all the other infants having been strangled to ensure this-and by taking her to wife you will become Prince Consort. The people of Zir will accept that and, though my hand will be suspected in it, they will not know for sure. For I am not loved, Blade, nor my priests. I am hated and feared and, while I do not care for myself, such hatred and distrust is an obstacle to my plans. So I remain hidden and you and Hirga will seem to rule.

«You will marry as soon as the funeral is over and the Izmir has been placed in his crypt in this place. A pity he did not live to see it finished for I could have wished him that. As soon as you marry you will move against the Hitts. I wish them destroyed.»

«Why?»

For the first time rage showed in Casta's face. «Because they are mockers. They laugh at me and defy me. Loth Bloodax is an arrogant savage and must be taught a lesson. And there are other reasons-I would have the lands of the Hitts. They are of no value to me, but my north flank must be protected when I march at last to the east and to the west and south. I have plans for conquest in due time, Blade, and I do not want the Hitts at my back. Are you agreeable so far?»