Chapter THIRTEEN

Mir-Kasa's taking the initiative so quickly silenced the opposition for a moment. That was long enough for the guards to reach the council table. Their leader bowed low to the queen, then turned to Blade. «Come with us, traitor. Leave your weapons, which you are not fit to bear, with the First Warrior.»

Blade rose to obey the order. But the mention of his name seemed to rouse the old man from his silence. «Your Splendor-«he began.

«Yes?» said Mir-Kasa coldly.

«It makes no sense-I cannot see-«

«What makes no sense and why cannot you see it?» said Mir-Kasa, an edge in her voice.

The First Warrior's mouth opened again, but this time no sound came out. Before anyone else could speak up against the angry Queen, the guards had surrounded Blade and were hustling him toward the door. As they passed Nris-Pol, Blade noticed the expression on the warrior's face. He looked as though the queen had just kicked him in the stomach. And Blade could see why. Sending him down among the Low People would put him out of Nris-Pol's reach. And he would be a major addition of strength to Bryg-Noz's «army.» Nris-Pol obviously knew the first, Blade hoped he didn't know about the second.

The guards did not slow down below a trot until they were through the listening chamber with its staring and muttering crowd and out into the corridor. They stopped for a moment to tie Blade's hands behind his back, then set off again even faster than before. Blade found it hard to keep his balance on the slick floors, and several times one of the guards had to keep him from falling on his face. It was obvious that the guards themselves were as much on edge as Blade, and he suspected that their reasons were much the same. They might not want to be involved in Mir-Kasa's conspiracy. But neither would they want to be involved in Blade's lynching. And that was a distinct possibility unless they got him down to the comparative safety of the Lower Levels as fast as possible.

All six of the guards let out audible sighs of relief when the door of the shaft of the warriors closed behind them and the car began its downward plunge. But all six immediately sprang to the alert when the door opened again. Two of them slipped out into the corridor and looked up and down it before signaling to the other four to lead Blade out. That made good sense to Blade. He didn't know how fast Nris-Pol was likely to recover from his surprise and start spraying orders by far-speaker to all his supporters in the tower. And he was certain to have supporters all over. The First Warrior and the two women were obviously in his pocket, but he would hardly have moved so far so fast without rank-and-file support as well. Blade hoped that Nris-Pol didn't have so many supporters that he would be tempted to launch a revolution of his own against Mir-Kasa.

By the time Blade had run through these thoughts, the two scouts had signaled that the corridor was clear. All six guards surrounded him again, and led him down the corridor to a recessed door. There they stopped, and again the leader turned and spoke to him.

«Here you leave the High People forever and enter among the Low People, Blade-Liza. Here you leave behind your name as one of the High People. Here you leave behind your honor as one of the High People. Here you leave behind your family as one of the High People.» The chant went on for several minutes, listing all the things that Blade was leaving behind in passing through the door into the levels of the Low People. Then the leader stopped, cut Blade's bonds with his sword, and barked a one-word order.

«Strip!»

As all six guards had their hands on their short swords, Blade decided not to argue the point. He pulled off his helmet, and began undoing the fastenings of the armored tunic.

As he pulled it over his head, momentarily blinding himself, he heard one of the guards say, «What and who are-«Then he heard the sound of several sets of feet approaching rapidly-and the unmistakable rasp of swords being drawn. He struggled the rest of the way out of his armor with more haste than dignity. He was just in time to see five fully armed warriors come up to the guards and stop. All five had their swords drawn, and as Blade stared the six guards drew also.

The leader glared at the five. «What do you here, comrade? This is the queen's affair, not yours-or that of those you serve.»

The five snorted contemptuously. One of them growled, «Nothing of the kind. This is the affair of all in the Tower of the Serpent who believe in the Peace Wisdom. This-creature-from the Beyond came to us, won the queen's favor, and now seeks to stir up the Low People. If the queen is so blinded that she cannot give proper judgment-«

«Watch your tongue, man,» snapped the guard leader. He had dropped the «comrade,» and his knuckles were white on his sword hilt.

«You watch yours, you shelterer of traitors,» snarled the man who had spoken. «And what is he to you now anyway? We all heard you proclaim him degraded, by the Wisdoms.» The other four men nodded. «Then by the Peace Wisdom he is naught but one of the Low People, and no law of the High People can have anything to say for him. And no warrior of the High People, either. Not even the queen herself, in fact.» The guard leader nodded reluctantly. Blade swore mentally. Once more he was going to get caught in the meshes of this damned people's wretched rule-mindedness. And it looked very much as if it might be the last time.

«Is this all true?» he asked the guard leader.

The guard leader did not condescend to speak to a Low Person. But he did nod again.

«Then stand back and let me have a fair chance at these louts,» snapped Blade. «I can break any of them over my knee without even taking a deep breath.»

The guard leader's mouth opened and he stared at Blade. «But you cannot-«

«Defend myself? I'll be damned if I'll just stand here and let Nris-Pol's gang cut me down like an administered slave girl.» And before anybody could react to that remark, Blade moved.

His left hand rose and shot out, driving a clenched fist into the back of the guard leader's head. The man staggered. As he did, Blade's hands darted downward and snatched both swords from the falling man's belt. As the guard leader thudded to the floor, Blade glared around him and flourished both swords.

«Take your leader and get out of here,» he growled to the queen's guards. «I've nothing against you. And you'd better go back to Mir-Kasa and tell her that Nris-Pol is sending gangs around to work against her royal justice. Get out of here, I said! I can take care of myself, and most of these floor sweepings too!»

He might have been degraded into a Low Person, but his tone was that of a man in command. And it was the tone that the guards heard-and obeyed. They snatched up the body of their leader and vanished down the corridor as if they were running from a forest fire. Blade took advantage of the surprise of his five opponents to set his back against the door. Then he flourished the swords again and grinned savagely.

«All right. Who wants to be the first to die? Or are none of you even worthy to wait on the Low People, let alone join them?»

The remark provoked a mad charge, as he had hoped it would. It was a charge much too frenzied to have any hope of success against a competent opponent. Blade was more than competent. It was no trouble at all for him to put his short sword into one man's throat and lop off the arm of a second. The scream from the second man echoed down the corridor like the blast of an explosion.

«Damn him,» swore one of the surviving warriors. «He'll have the whole tower down here. You!» he snapped at the man on his right. «Run to a far-speaker, tell Nris-Pol we need help. Six warriors, at least. Run, I said!» The man was off like a shot from a gun, and the two remaining warriors turned to face Blade.