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sent home. Had Hanner realized how many he would encounter, he thought, he might not have chosen to
take Kirsha and Gror as prisoners, since they had not harmed anyone and seemed to have regretted their
crimes-but having already made the decision, he was not inclined to reverse it.
The journey seemed interminable, but at last Hanner, at the head of his party, emerged from Arena Street
into the torchlit plaza-and found himself facing a wall of guardsmen, lined up six deep, armed with spears.
Spears were either for show or for serious fighting and putting down riots or insurrections; swords and
truncheons were standard for the far more usual patrol and police work.
"What's going on?" Hanner demanded as the rest of his group, including the prisoners, emerged from the
dark street and gathered behind him. Rudhira was still flying and swept up to hover above him.
The rows of guards promptly aimed their spears in her general direction.
"Put those down!" Hanner bellowed as best he could-he was exhausted, and at its best his voice had never
been the commanding roar his uncle could produce, so the result was not very impressive. "She's with me."
"That's Rudhira," one of the soldiers said. "I know her."
"Who is he?" someone else asked.
"I am Lord Hanner," Hanner shouted. "Nephew and heir to Lord Faran, the overlord's chief advisor. Now,
what's going on here? Who's in charge?"
The lines of spearmen shuffled for a moment, then parted, and a captain, gold-trimmed breastplate over his
yellow tunic, stepped forward. He bore no spear, but his hand was on the hilt of his sheathed sword.
The face was familiar; Hanner, tired as he was, needed a few seconds before he could attach a name.
"Lord Hanner," the captain said, before the name came to Hanner's lips.
"Captain Naral," Hanner said. "May I ask what is going on here, and why all these men are on parade in the
middle of the night?"
"It's no parade, my lord. Surely you're aware of the mad magicians running riot through the city-you appear to
have brought at least one of them with you." He nodded toward Rudhira.
"Of course I'm aware!" Hanner said. "And I've brought some of them here for the overlord to deal with." He
gestured at his party. "We've taken four criminal warlocks prisoner and brought them for trial."
"Warlocks?"
"That's what the witches call them. Nobody else seems to have a name for them."
"You've spoken to a witch about them, then?"
Manner nodded. "When I saw what was happening I went to the Wizards' Quarter for advice. The magicians
there are as puzzled as the rest of us, but Mother Perréa said this new magic resembles a technique used
by witches in the Great War, and she called it war-locking."
Naral frowned. "No one knew what caused this outbreak?"
"No one I spoke with," Hanner confirmed.
"That's bad." The captain frowned again, then turned up an empty hand. "Well, perhaps by morning someone
will have divined more."
"And in the meantime, Captain, I have gathered several warlocks of goodwill, and with their aid taken four
criminals prisoner, and I would like to bring them all into the Palace and get some sleep."
Naral hesitated. "I'm afraid I can't allow that," he said at last.
Hanner had expected and dreaded this answer. "Why not?" he asked.
"We have been ordered to allow no one to enter the Palace, and most particularly not to allow any of these
mad magicians- these warlocks, as you call them-near it."
"I'm sure my uncle didn't mean that to include me ..."
"It wasn't Lord Faran who gave the order, my lord," Naral interrupted. "It was Lord Azrad himself. The
overlord."
Hanner blinked. "Oh," he said.
That explained the apparent overreaction of lining up several hundred guards in the square. Lord Faran would
probably have been more conservative of manpower; Lord Azrad, though, had never demonstrated any sense
of proportion, nor shown any inclination to conserve anything but his own energy.
Right now Hanner was very much in the mood to conserve what little energy he had left himself-preferably
while comfortably tucked into his own bed. He glanced up over his shoulder at Rudhira, and wondered how
much she could carry.
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