prayers. In prison, the rituals had become a distressing process which she forced herself to

complete out of duty. Then had come the dark days of doubt, when every word felt like a curse

upon her. Now trusting, as Ramil had suggested, that the Goddess's way still lay before her even

if it was leading her down strange paths, she relaxed and lingered in the beauty and tranquillity

of the ancient liturgy. She began to see new depths to the movements, understanding that the

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gestures were not just punctuations to the speech but prayers themselves, like a symbolic

dance.

Sitting back after having completed the morning ritual, Tashi dwelt upon the lessons she was

learning. Her experience of faith had not been so pure or simple since her hillside prayers as a

child.

This must be good, she thought, this must be what the Goddess is teaching me. Remembering

how she had fretted in the palace on Rama, burdened with the demands of her office, she could

see herself far more clearly now that it had been taken away from her. She had tried so hard,

too hard, to be what others expected her to be, that she had forgotten that the only one she had

to please was the Goddess. And one thing Tashi now knew was that the Goddess did not care for

the ritual

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but what was inside the heart of the believer who performed it.

"Thank you for the lesson, Mother," Tashi murmured, "but did you have to go to such extremes to teach me?"

No answer--but it was not an empty, angry silence like before in Fergox's prison. Nature

continued calmly on its business outside, the reeds rustling, the wind whispering, and children

laughing in the distance.

"I suppose that means that you had your reasons, Mother." Tashi concluded her prayer time by putting her palms together, then pushing them out and dropping her hands to her knees. She

bowed low so that her forehead touched the rug. Opening her eyes, she found that she had not

been so private as she thought. During her meditation, someone had placed a sprig of winter

greenery on her pillow. Threaded through it was a thin gold chain with a tiny key on the end.

Having seen this around the camp on flags and uniforms, Tashi guessed this was the ac

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Mollinder family symbol.

So was it a gift, or part of her disguise--perhaps both? Tashi stood before her mirror and

fastened it around her neck. The chain was long, the charm disappearing down the front of her

dress, resting on her breastbone.

Leaving her chamber in search of breakfast, Tashi found Merl waiting for her at the table. His

eyes fell on the necklace and he gave a smile, making no comment.

"Now, fair cousin," Meri said when she had finished eating, "wouid you like me to show you the delights of our camp? That should occupy, oh, half an hour of your time."

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"Thank you. I would like that. But I would also like to make myself useful. Is there any task I can do?"

Merl gave her his most brilliant smile. "I would like nothing better than to have you beside me

as a helpmate. Indeed, I have much tedious work for the pen and you would free up a man for

fighting if you would do this."

"Then that is settled. I wil help you with your intelligence work."

"And now, for your tour of our little dukedom."

Merl proved to be an entertaining and informative guide. He showed her the armory and the

forge where the smiths were hard at work, bare-chested in the freezing weather, hammering

new blades and shoeing the resistance's horses. They stopped in the communal kitchens--tables

under a pavilion and open-air stoves-- to taste the bread offered by an apple-cheeked cook. At

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the school for the camp children, Professor Norling stood at the blackboard in front of the oldest

pupils. Their math lesson was most unconventional as he had them working out the amount of

explosive required to take out the supports of a local bridge.

"An interesting topic," Tashi remarked in a low voice.

"You should see the practical," Merl commented dryly as he led her away.

The last area he took her to was the stables. Outside, the fighters were honing their skills in

armed and unarmed combat. Again Tashi was

impressed to see women among the fighters. Her own army comprised half men

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and half women, but she had thought the Easterners did not allow their females into battle. She

expressed this view to Merl.

He laughed. "That is true in normal times, but we are not a conventional army. Our women

number among our best and most effective agents, getting into the houses of some of our key

targets."

"You use them as assassins?" Tashi watched enviously as one dark-haired girl not much older

than she was floored a man twice her size.

"Yes. They can also cause havoc in markets and barrack cookhouses, places where it is harder for

a man to go unnoticed. And as messengers they are invaluable."

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Tashi spotted Ramil among the men practicing with swords. He glanced once in their direction

but then ignored them, redoubling his attack on the unfortunate man who had volunteered to

be his partner.

"Ramil knows how to wield his blade," remarked Merl, watching him critically.

"Yes, he bested the Inkar in the practice courts. She thought him a match for Fergox," said Tashi, admiring the Prince's elegant pattern of strikes.

"He should perhaps ease up a little though," said Nerul, striding up behind them. "I do not want one of my best men in the infirmary." He bowed to Tashi. "Good morning, cousin."

"Good morning, Your Grace."

"I have a messenger leaving for the coast today if you would like to send word to your people.

Merl here will show you our codes."

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"Thank you."

Merl held out his arm. "Let us return to our desk, cousin, and I will induct you into the delights of the codebook."

The following days, Tashi spent much of her time with Merl, reading correspondence,

summarizing reports for Nerul, and generally managing the information coming into the

resistance headquarters from all over Brigard and beyond. Merl made sure she saw all

communications concerning the search for her and Ramil. Fergox had despatched hunters over

the

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surrounding areas, concentrating on the paths to the mountains and to the coast. He was

reported to be increasingly frustrated by the lack of information or sign of his fugitives. The

soldiers who had been on duty and survived the escape attempt were the least fortunate for

they had been executed the following day and their bodies now hung on the battlements as a

warning to others. Spies said that the Inkar Yellowtooth had killed a man on the practice courts

in her fury at the loss of her favorite horse.

Tashi said a prayer for the soul of all those who died, even though they were her enemies. She

hoped the Inkar's victim had not been her trainer who, though stern, had always been fair to her

under the rules of his faith.

Sifting through the papers, Tashi began to enjoy her work, finding she had an aptitude for

translating codes

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back into Common. Concentrating hard on a defined task like this took her mind off her

precarious position and made her feel useful--a pleasant change from the last few months. She

also expanded her knowledge of parts of the Empire to the south of Brigard: the warmer climes

of the forested Kandar, the Inkar's domain given to her by her brother after his first conquest;