it hurts us now,argued Dema, wanting her to understand. the case of these murders

She covered her ears with her hands. speak blasphemy,she retorted when he stopped talking. the rumours are true. You risk your soul and the safety of Tharios in your pursuit of the Ghost. I will not sully my hands by association, Dhaskoi Nomasdina. And you must decide which is of more value: a few lives, which are fleeting at best, or your familys standing and your own immortal spirit. Her body stiff with disapproval, she picked up her notes and walked away.

Ll go with you,Goldeye said, his voice clipped. may be only a shenos, but perhaps the Keepers will listen to me.

Dema hesitated. Would support from a shenos, even one as famed as Niklaren Goldeye, hurt or help him?

As if he read Demas mind, Niko said, ve been wanting to talk to them in any case. I want permission to scry the past on the sites where the victims have been found. Its possible your priests missed something as they cleansed.

At that Dema bristled: surely the priests knew their craft! Still, he told himself, it couldnt hurt to have a reputable mage at his side.

Most importantly, he was desperate. Hed seen the look on Keths face, when the glassblower recognized the dead woman. He remembered the accusations the people had thrown at him at the Forum and elsewhere, that he didn t care about their lives. Recently, to enter the arurimat, hed had to pass through a crowd that grew larger with each murder. They watched him in silence, their eyes accusing: how many more would he allow to die.

you have a horse?he asked Goldeye.

One of the Nomasdina clan servants awaited Dema at the First Class entrance at Serenity House. The woman greeted him with a bow, took charge of his horse and Nikos, and handed Dema a heavy, jingling purse.

mother says that coin always gets a quicker response than chits to be redeemed,explained the servant. also instructs me to tell you to take care. She hears what is bein g said of you, and worries that you risk forgetting your obligations to the clan in your eagerness to meet your obligations to the arurim. She bowed again and led the horses away.

Dema had visited Serenity House several times with his family and knew how things worked here. As servitor passed him on to servitor, he distributed the bribes that would ensure he was being sent in the right direction, a silver bik each. When he and Niko reached the greeting room set aside for the First Class, Dema gave five silver biks to have his name presented to the Keepers. Then he and Niko were granted a private room in which to wait. Servants came with food and drink; others came with dry tunics for them both.

After a short time a clerk arrived to write down the reason the y had come; Dema bribed him appropriately. Several hours later, when their clothes, dried and pressed free of wrinkles, were returned to them, another clerk came to clarify what the previous clerk had written down. She too received the proper bribe.

As the long hours dragged by, Dema and Niko talked of all manner of things: their educations as mages, Nikos travels and how hed come to teach Tris, Dema s family history. They even napped for a time. It was nearly midnight when Niko asked, know the customs of Tharios and the blood doctrine. I confess, Im curious why do you keep sticking your neck out to trace the killers steps? You risk a great deal for a procedure that may not lead you to him.

Dema looked at him, startled. dont think I could catch him if I could dog his trail?

Niko smoothed his moustache. there had only been one murder, I would say, almost certainly. But with each killing he has shown he is clever - and in our world, clever criminals always have ways to foil magical tracking . In any event, you have put your standing in Tharios in great danger. Why? Hes killed no one close to you. Is it the defilement of public places?

Dema raised his eyebrows, shocked. ment? Thats for priests to worry about. The busier you keep priests, the less chance they have to pry into our private lives. But the Ghost. . .He thought for a moment, then sighed. The All-Seeing, in his wisdom, arranged my birth to an honourable family in the First Class. I have privileges, but I also have a dut y to the lower classes, to protect and guide them. Not everyone takes that duty seriously, but we Nomasdinas do. Even if its to yaskedasi and the rest of the Fifth Class. They trust us to watch out for them. Thats what I mean to do.

if the Keepers dont listen?Niko asked gently.

Dema wanted to tell the older man that this was ridiculous, but he couldnt. Refusal was always a possibility. ll have to think of something,he said, feeling defensive.

you ought to start thinking now,suggested Niko. in case.

CHAPTER TEN

Tris watched as Keth roused everyone and gathered them in Ferouzes sitting room to break the news of Yalis murder. The result was chaos. Xantha collapsed in hysterics. Ferouze punched the wall before she started to cry; Poppy sat and rocked as tears streamed down her face; the male lodgers hammered Keth with questions. Glaki clutched her doll and screamed for her dead mother and her Aunt Yali.

her out of here!shrieked Ferouze. Poppy lurched to her feet and scooped up the child, taking her outside.

Tris went to the wailing Xantha, considering slapping her out of her hysterics. A seed of pity stopped her. Instead she took the scent bottle she carried for such occasions from the purse on her sash. She removed the top and waved it under Xantha s nose. Immediately the blonde inhaled and coughed. The men standing near her flinched from the smell.

is that stuff?demanded the flute-player,

A pretty young fellow with bronze skin and grey-green eyes. s hideous!

Friend who made it calls it Infallible, replied Tris, corking the vial. She chose not to mention that her foster-mother Rosethorn had no respect for hysterics. The herbs in her version of smelling salts were chosen with that attitude. need some water.