‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘Evidently Ctuchik warned him about me.’ I looked sternly at our guest. ‘Now we come to the more unpleasant part of the evening, I’m afraid,’ I said with feigned regret. ‘Would you prefer to tell us everything you know about your master’s scheme right here and now? Or am I going to have to persuade you? You are going to tell me what I want to know – eventually. We can do it either way; it’s up to you.’

His eyes went flat and were suddenly filled with hatred. ‘Do your worst, witch-woman,’ he said defiantly. ‘I am a Dagashi, and I can withstand any torment you can devise.’

‘I’m so happy that you’ve dropped that tiresome masquerade,’ I said. ‘Oh, by the way, let me relieve you of that knife you’ve got hidden down the back of your mantle. We’d be so disappointed if you decided to murder yourself – not to mention the terrible mess it’d make on the carpet.’ I translocated the triangular dagger he’d had concealed under his clothes into my own hands and looked at it curiously. ‘What a peculiar implement,’ I noted frowning slightly. ‘Ah, I see. It’s a throwing knife. Very efficient-looking. Shall we press on, then?’ I stared intently into his eyes as I gathered in my Will. I’ll admit that I had a certain advantage in this situation. I was going to show him the image of something he was afraid of, but if it didn’t work, the real thing wasn’t too far away. I made a small gesture with my right hand as I released my Will.

Yes, I know. Father’s been chiding me about those gestures for thirty or so centuries now, and I’ve been ignoring him for just as long. It’s a question of style, actually, and since I’m the one who’s doing it, I’ll do it any way I like.

So there.

Those of you who know my father know that above all else, he’s a performer. This is not to say that he can’t turn mountains inside out if he chooses to, but he always does things with a certain panache, a grand and flamboyant style that’s very impressive. His face is really no more than a tool, and his expressions speak whole volumes. Believe me, I’ve seen all of those expressions at close range over the centuries, and so the illusion I created for the Murgo’s entertainment was very lifelike. Initially, father’s face was stern, accusatory, and the Murgo flinched back from it, his face going pale and his eyes bulging from their sockets.

Then father frowned, and the Murgo gave vent to a pathetic little squeal and tried to cover his head with his arms.

Then my father’s illusory face twisted into an expression which I’d seen him practicing in a mirror when he thought I wasn’t watching. His eyes narrowed with his lower eyelids sliding upward, and he tilted his head slightly back so that it almost appeared that he was glaring over the top of those ominous lids. To be honest about it, the expression made him look like a madman right on the verge of tearing someone apart with his teeth.

Then I hardened the image, giving it that momentary flicker of decision that comes just prior to the releasing of the Will.

The Murgo screamed and tried to scramble from his chair in sheer panic. ‘No!’ he wailed. ‘Don’t!’

I froze him in place while he howled and whimpered in absolute terror. ‘Please!’ he shrieked. ‘Please make it go away, Polgara! I’ll do anything! Anything! Just make it go away!’

There are all sorts of wild stories which have been circulated about me over the years, but I don’t think Kathandrion had actually believed them before. He did now, though, and he drew himself back, looking just a little bit afraid.

‘Why don’t you begin by telling me your name, Murgo?’ I suggested, ‘and then you can tell me what a Dagashi is. We’ll go on from there. Always keep in mind the fact that I can bring my father back any time you decide not to cooperate.’

‘I’m known as Krachack,’ the Murgo replied in a trembling voice, ‘and the Dagashi are members of a secret order in Cthol Murgos. We gather information and eliminate people who are inconvenient for those who employ us.’

‘Spies and hired assassins?’

‘If you choose to call us so.’

‘How is it that you don’t have Murgo features?’

‘Breeding,’ he replied. ‘Our mothers and grandmothers are slave-women from other races. They’re killed after we’re born. I’m about one quarter Murgo.’

‘Peculiar,’ I noted, ‘particularly in view of Ctuchik’s obsession with racial purity. Let’s set that aside for now, though. Exactly what’s the purpose of your mission here in Arendia?’

‘I’ve been instructed to persuade Duke Kathandrion that Ran Vordue will come to his aid when he attacks Vo Astur. With the help of the legions, Kathandrion would be able to obliterate Asturia. Then I’m to hint that the combined force of Wacite Arends and Tolnedran legions would be able to turn south and do the same thing to Mimbre.’

‘That’s absurd,’ I told him. ‘What’s Ran Vordue supposed to get out of this?’

‘Southern Mimbre,’ Krachack replied with a shrug, ‘the part where most of the cities are.’

I looked at Kathandrion. ‘Would it have worked?’ I asked bluntly. ‘Would this offer have tempted you?’

My friend looked slightly guilty. ‘I do fear me that it might well have, Polgara. In my mind’s eye, I would have become king of most of Arendia, and the civil wars that tear at our beloved homeland would have come to an end.’

‘I doubt it,’ I told him. ‘A peace founded on such conniving could not have lasted.’ I turned back to Krachack. ‘I assume that similar schemes are afoot in Vo Astur and Vo Mimbre?’ I suggested.

Krachack nodded. ‘There are variations, of course – all depending on the strategic positions of the three duchies. I’m told that there are some real Tolnedrans at Vo Mimbre who’ve been bribed to further our plan, but that’s none of my concern. The end result of our maneuvering is to be the same. The three dukes will attack each other, each expecting aid from the legions. Then, when that aid doesn’t materialize, the dukes will feel that they’ve been betrayed. Other Dagashi, posing as Arendish patriots, will urge each one of the dukes to ally himself with the other two and to march on the empire. That’s Ctuchik’s goal, an ongoing war between Tolnedra and Arendia.’

‘Tolnedra would crush us!’ Kathandrion exclaimed.