Sarabian raised one eyebrow questioningly.

‘He’s done everything he possibly can to make you inaccessible to us, Sarabian,’ Ehlana explained.

‘He was told not to do that,’ Sarabian said bleakly.

‘Apparently he didn’t listen, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk said. ‘We have to wade through his people whenever we get near the main palace, and every time one of us so much as sticks his head out of a window, whole platoons of spies start to form up to follow us. Your prime minister doesn’t approve of us, I gather.’

‘It rather looks as if I’m going to have to explain some things to the esteemed Pondia Subat,’ Sarabian said. ‘I think he’s forgotten the fact that his office isn’t hereditary – and that his head’s not so firmly attached that I can’t have it removed if it starts to inconvenience me.’

‘What charges would you bring against him, Sarabian?’ Ehlana asked curiously.

‘Charges? What on earth are you talking about, Ehlana? This is Tamuli. I don’t need charges. I can have his head chopped off if I decide that I don’t like his haircut. I’ll take care of Pondia Subat, my friends. I can promise his complete co-operation from now on – either his or that of his successor. Please continue, Lord Vanion.’

Vanion pushed on. ‘Patriarch Emban will concentrate his attention on the prime minister,’ he said, ‘whoever he happens to be. Sir Bevier will spend his time with the faculty of the university. Scholars pick up a great deal of information, and governments tend to ignore their findings – until it’s too late. Ulath, Kring and Tynian will observe the general staff of the army – the Tamul high command rather than the Atans. Atan Engessa will cover his own people. Milord Stragen and Talen will serve as liaison with the thieves of Matherion, and Alean and Khalad will circulate among the palace servants. Sephrenia and Zalasta will talk with the local Styric community and Melidere and Sir Berit will charm all the courtiers.’

‘Isn’t Sir Berit just a bit young?’ Sarabian asked. ‘My courtiers are a very sophisticated group of people.’

‘Sir Berit has some special qualifications, your Majesty.’ Melidere smiled. ‘The younger women of your court – and some not quite so young – will do almost anything for him. He may have to sacrifice his virtue a few times, but he’s a very dedicated young man, so I’m sure we can count on him.’

Berit blushed. ‘Why do you always have to say things like that, Baroness?’ he asked plaintively.

‘I’m only teasing, Berit,’ she said fondly.

‘It’s something that men don’t understand, your Majesty,’ Kalten told the emperor. ‘Berit has a strange effect on young women for some reason.’

‘Kalten and Mirtai will attend Sparhawk and the queen,’ Vanion continued. ‘We don’t know exactly how far our opponents might be willing to go, so they’ll provide you with some additional protection.’

‘And you, Lord Vanion?’ the emperor asked.

‘Vanion and Oscagne are going to try to put it all together, Sarabian,’ Ehlana replied. ‘We’ll all bring everything we find directly to them. They’ll sort through it all and isolate the gaps so that we’ll know where to concentrate further efforts.’

‘You Elenes are a very methodical people,’ Sarabian noted.

‘It’s an outgrowth of their dependency on logic, your Majesty,’ Sephrenia told him. ‘Their plodding search for corroboration is maddening sometimes, but it does get results. A well-trained Elene will spend half a day making observations before he’ll allow himself to admit that it’s raining.’

‘Ah,’ Emban said to her, ‘but when an Elene says that it’s raining, you can be absolutely sure that he’s telling you the truth.’

‘And what about you, your Highness?’ Sarabian smiled down at the little girl in his lap. ‘What part are you going to play in this grand scheme?’

‘I’m supposed to distract you so that you don’t ask too many questions, Sarabian,’ Danae replied quite calmly. ‘Your new friends are going to do things that aren’t really proper, so I’m supposed to keep you from noticing.’

‘Danae!’ her mother exclaimed.

‘Well, aren’t you? You’re going to lie to people and spy on them and probably kill anybody who gets in your way. Isn’t that what you mean when you use the word “politics”?’

Sarabian laughed. ‘I think she’s got you there, Ehlana,’ he chortled. ‘Her definition of politics is a little blunt, but it’s very close to the mark. She’s going to make an excellent queen.’

‘Thank you, Sarabian,’ Danae said sweetly, kissing his cheek.

Then Sparhawk felt that sudden chill, and even though he knew it was useless, his hand went to his sword-hilt as the flicker of darkness tugged at the very corner of his vision. He started to swear – half in Elenic and half in Tamul – as he realised that everything they had said had just been revealed to the shadowy presence that had been dogging their steps for all these months.

CHAPTER 26

‘Please take my word for it, your Majesty,’ Zalasta said to the sceptical Sarabian. ‘It was most definitely not a normal phenomenon.’

‘You’re the expert, Zalasta,’ Sarabian said dubiously. ‘My instincts all tell me to look for a natural explanation first, though – a cloud passing in front of the sun, perhaps.’

‘It’s evening, Sarabian,’ Ehlana pointed out. ‘The sun’s already gone down.’

‘That would sort of weaken that particular explanation, wouldn’t it? You’ve all seen this before then?’

‘Most of us, your Majesty,’ Oscagne assured him. ‘I even saw it once myself – on shipboard – and there was nothing between me and the sun. I think we’ll have to accept the testimony of our Elene friends here. They’ve had experiences with this particular manifestation before.’

‘Stupid,’ Sparhawk muttered.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Sarabian said mildly.

‘Sorry, your Majesty,’ Sparhawk apologised. ‘I wasn’t referring to you, of course. It’s our visitor who’s not very intelligent. If you set out to spy on someone, you don’t announce your presence with drum-rolls and trumpet fanfares.’

‘He’s done it before, Sparhawk,’ Patriarch Emban reminded him. ‘He put in an appearance in Archimandrite Monsel’s study in Darsas, if you remember.’