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Tshamarra's eyes blazed up the king's steel. "How can that be?" she snarled at him. "Or have you forgotten the fallen, these past few years? Armaragors and armsmen and farm folk beyond number! Raevur Talasorn, my father! The Baron Esculph Adeln, whom he served! Baron Cardassa, and Eldagh Ornentar, who was baron before the sly fool who holds that castle now! The former Baron Loushoond, too! The wizards Corloun and Oen Darlassitur! Faerod Silvertree and his Dark Three! Ilisker Baerund, Tersept of Tarlagar, and half a dozen tersepts more! The arch-wizards Tharlorn of the Thunders and Bodemmon Sar, gods spit on you! Are you blind, King of Aglirta? Or are so many lives nothing to you?"

"They are everything to me, daughter of Raevur," he said grimly, "but they are a list that a trained bard could remember, and recite entire during, say, a single meal. You have doomed countless more, you and your sisters."

She laughed incredulously. " We! How have we doomed anyone?"

King Kelgrael shook his head slightly, those old, old eyes on hers, and under that sad gaze she fell silent. "You awakened me, you four, and destroyed the only swift means of my returning to Slumber, all in the same stroke."

He waved at the ruined throne behind him, and asked gently, as if patiently schooling a child, "Now, Tshamarra, you are the sorceress of us two, so you tell me: what does that mean?"

The woman on her knees looked up at him with something strange kindling in her dark eyes and moved her lips twice without saying any-thing, ere she murmured, "I-I, Lord, I know not. Tell me, please."

The king nodded, as if satisfied, and said in the same gentle voice, "It means that, at long last, the Serpent is stirring. Awakening as I have done, with no way-short of almost every wizard in all Darsar whelming to work together, or all the Dwaer-Stones being found and properly used-to drive Aglirta's ancient foe back down, in time."

"And so?" Tshamarra whispered, foreboding in her eyes.

"And so it has come down to this," the king said slowly, and threw back his head to draw in a deep breath. "All I can do now," he added, more briskly, "is use the binding 'twixt the Serpent and myself to buy Aglirta a little more time."

He turned his head, then, and raised his voice. "Overdukes, hear my royal command: get to the Serpent swiftly, with force enough to slay-and do what must be done. This is imperative, if Aglirta is to survive."

A frown crossed the king's brow, and he asked, "Lady Embra-any of you-where is my regent? I can't feel either Blackgult or the Dwaer-why?"

Glarsimber and Sarasper traded long glances, and said nothing. Then they both turned to the young bard standing with them.

So it was left to Raulin to spread helpless hands and gulp, "Gone… all of them."

"Aglirta has always been thus," Kelgrael growled, swinging his sword aloft and glaring at it. "What must I do, to win peace at last?"

He shook his head sadly-then looked down, as keen as a striking hawk, at Tshamarra Talasorn. Her hands were moving in stealthy spell-casting, and her eyes, fixed on him, held open hatred once more.

With a speed she'd never seen in any man before he bent and caught both her wrists in his free hand, snatching them together with astonishing strength. He shook the sorceress slightly, as the ruined spell curled away in little twinkling motes and sparks from her fingers, and bent the rest of his body to stare into her eyes from only inches away.

"Do you truly want me dead, Lady of the Talasorn?" he murmured.

Her eyes blazed up into full fire again. "Ifes!" she snarled, and spat in his face.

King Kelgrael smiled slightly, then lifted his head, and called, "Over-dukes, keep back!"

Sarasper took another stealthy step to one side, bending to peer and hear every word.

The king put his face back nose to nose with Tshamarra again, her spittle dripping unregarded from his chin, and muttered, "There is one way-and only one way-you can make sure of that. Turn from me, and use your spells to hold