The Knight WHO DO I HAVE TO KILL?" asked Tobin, astonished.

Master Lazur's eyes widened.

"That was a jest," Tobin told him swiftly. "I didn't mean . . ."

Master Lazur had composed his expressiona"but still something gave his thoughts away.

"You do want me to kill someone!" Tobin rose to his feet. "I'm not an a.s.sa.s.sin. Not for anybodya"not for any reason. Find some other traitor to do your dirty work."

The priest neither moved nor spoke as Tobin went to the door and yanked it open. The two guards outside glanced at Master Lazur and shifted to block Tobin's path.

They were both armed, and he wasn't. He couldn't get out. Several seconds pa.s.sed. One of the guards reached out and closed the door. Tobin stared at it, his back to the priest. He felt almost as foolish as he was furious.

"Come back and sit down," said Master Lazur quietly, "and listen. When I've finished, if you still want to leave, I'll let you. Surely it will do no harm for you to hear me out?"

Tobin returned to his chair and sat down, glaring at the priest.

"It isn't as bad as you think." Master Lazur was smiling, a charming smile of genuine amus.e.m.e.nt. Tobin didn't respond, and the smile faded.

"I'd best start at the beginning." The priest rose and paced across the room. The sunlight from the window picked out the seven-rayed sun inside five circles on his plain robe. A priest of the fifth circle was powerfula"only two levels below the council itself. But Tobin was no one's killer.

"You've been fighting the barbarians on the border for three winters now. Have you noticed a pattern?"

Tobin remained silent.

"Perhaps you haven't," the priest went on. "Not in just three years. Let me give you a wider view. The barbarians have been attacking our southern border every winter for fifteen years nowa"every year there are more of them, fighting with greater ferocity. Since the first attack, we've had to move our defended border back toward the midlands four times."

The grinding, b.l.o.o.d.y chaos of the great retreat two years ago echoed in Tobin's memory as the priest went on.

"In the early years, we a.s.sumed the attackers were only bandits. We thought they'd give up if we proved too tough for them."

Tobin frowned. His commander had told him that, just three years ago, but no one believed it now.

"When the attacks increased in size and became better organized, the southland lords were forced to call on the Hierarch for help. We sent spies in among the barbarians and discovered the reason for the attacks."

"But they're cannibals!" Tobin exclaimed. "How could your spiesa""

Master Lazur's gaze was cool. "A spy does whatever he must, to survive and complete his mission. You should remember that. Our spies discovered that the barbarians are attacking our land because theirs is dying. A long drought is beginning on the other side of the desert. Each year the rainfall is less, and their soil is poor and easily overfarmed. Each year, more are forced from their homes, to flood our borders. In four or five years, we estimate they will hold most of the southlands. Then they'll be able to fight us all year round. Their magic is different from ours. At first we thought it must come from the Dark One, but the spies say the barbarians worship no G.o.ds at all. Wherever it comes from, their magic is very strong. You've probably seen yourself how even strong winds fail to affect their arrows' flight. Or how muddy ground firms under their feet, how strong they are, and how fast their wounds heal. Our battle priests are barely holding their own. And there are too many of them for us to defeat."

"But there must be a way to stop them! Coulda"could we just give them the southlands? Since you say they're going to take them anyway?"

"It's impossible to negotiate with the barbarians."

"Why? If we sent an amba.s.sador, surely they'd listena""

"We did. And they may have listened, for all we know. But then they ate the amba.s.sador. And the next one we sent. After that, we stopped asking for volunteers."

Tobin's stomach twisted. "So you sent spies. But surelya"-"

Master Lazur shook his head. "They regard anyone except themselves as animals. They won't negotiate with animals."

"Then . . ." Tobin's mouth was dry, remembering things he'd seen in border villages the barbarians had overrun. "Then we have to defend the border. We can recruit more troops, if the need is this great."

"We can. And we'll have to. But you've been fighting on the border for the past three years. Do you think, even with more troops, we could defend our present border all year round?"

Tobin shook his head thoughtfully. "We might during the winter. We can take men off the farms then. But in spring the farmers have to plant, or we'll all starve."

"Exactly."

"But part of the problem is that the southern border is so wide, so open. If we fought in a more defensible place, we might be able to hold them!"

Master Lazur smiled and pulled a scroll off a shelf. "It took the Hierarch's council more than ten years to reach that conclusion. Or at least, to accept the consequences." He unrolled the scroll and a map of the known world lay before Tobin. "You're a knight. Find me a border we could defend against a barbarian force eight times the size of the one you're fighting now."

"Eight times!"

"That's how many there are. When the drought has driven them out, they'll all come here, so find us a defensible border."

Tobin turned shocked eyes to the map. Sea to the east and west. In the far south lay the desert, with the unexplored lands of the barbarians beyond. In the far north, past the vast expanse of the goblin woods, the map trailed off into a great white plain of ice and snow. Between the desert and the goblin woods lay the Realm of the Bright G.o.ds.

First the southlandsa"rolling, rocky hills, dry and warm and dusty. Poor soil for crops, but the best wine in the realm.

Above them, the midland plainsa"gra.s.sy, flat, and fertile with the great rivers twisting through them and the low-lying wetlands off to the east. The heart of the realm, wider and even less defensible than the south. Tobin's eyes sought the curve in the Abo River that bounded his home, and sickness twisted through his stomach.

North of the midlands were the light woodlandsa" poorer crops, but they produced timber and furs. The land narrowed here. Fewer miles to hold, but the barbarians could slip an army through those woods, man by man, and nothing could stop them. And that was where the realm ended, at the narrowest point where the great goblin wall . . .

The great wall, stretching right across the narrowest part of the continent, ten feet high and six feet thicka"the army could hold that wall against all the barbarians in the world, but. . .

"But that's the northern border of the realm! There's nothing beyond it but the deep woods, and then the ice! We couldn't possiblya""

"Move the whole realm behind that wall over the next ten to fifteen years? It's already begun. What do you think happened to the southern villagers when the border pa.s.sed over their lands? The ones we were able to evacuate have moved north and resettled. Since we understood the situation, we've been trying to talk them into traveling all the way to the north woods and settling beyond the wall. Most refuse to believe the barbarians will make it that far, and they settle in the midlands. Only a few of them have been wise enough to see the truth and gone all the way, to build anew on the other side of the wall. And these are people who've already been driven out of their homes!" Master Lazur sighed. "Even with the enforcement of the Decree, which consolidated our power, we haven't been able to persuade anyone else to start moving. And we can't really begin to try, untila""

"The Decree of Bright Magic." A chill pa.s.sed down Tobin's spine. "You didn't pa.s.s it because the Bright Ones stopped favoring the army."

"Of course not. How could the Hierarch's army lose the Bright G.o.ds' favor? But peasants who will turn to a hedgewitch for healing, even though their magic is far inferior, just because it's cheaper ..." The priest shook his head. "You can imagine how they'll react to being asked to pack up and leave land they've farmed for generations. The church's power must be absolute-a"proven to be absolutea"long before that question arises." For a moment, naked steel sounded in his voice. "But there's an even more urgent problem before us."

"I can imagine," said Tobin. "Having to uproot a forest to plant a field must appall the southerners."

"It does," Master Lazur admitted. "But the ones who go that far are determined, farsighted people. Trees wouldn't stop them. The problem, ironically, is goblins. Three centuries ago the church sought to drive the goblins into the north, and failed. But the Decree of Bright Magic has accomplished what those old priests couldn't. A large number of goblins have been driven out and settled behind the wall, precisely where we ourselves must now go."

"But surely goblins couldn't stop us. They've been dwelling in this land for . . . well, forever."

"Yes, but they're extraordinarily hard to exterminate, as we've learned since the Decree pa.s.sed. Goblins have neither loyalty nor courage, so they're easily discouraged. Even if we couldn't kill them, we could defend our settlers against normal goblins. However, these goblins are different, because a human is leading them.

"There is a powerful sorceress in the northern woods. Somehow she's managed to enslave a vast horde of goblins who drive out anyone who pa.s.ses the wall. Even our armed exploratory troops have been killed or forced to retreat."

"A sorceress? I didn't think they still existed."

"They're rare, thanks to the Bright Ones' grace. But occasionally someone obtains power from the Dark One. Then we must destroy the sorcerer, which isn't always easy, for they can be very powerful. Make no mistake about that, Tobin; never underestimate hera"it's likely she has the power, if not the training, of a high-ranking priest."

"Then she, this sorceress, is the one you want me to kill? I thought it took a priest to kill a sorcerer. I thought you needed magic to fight magic."

"Not necessarily. Put a blade through her heart, and anyone will die. The problem with sorcerers is getting close enough to do it. You're right, though, ordinarily we'd send seven high-ranking priests to take a sorcerer, because one cannot stand against seven. The problem"a" irritation flashed over the lean facea""is that horde of goblins she's compelled into her service. They killed two of the seven priests we sent and drove the rest off before they could even find the sorceress. That was four years ago, when we first heard rumors of her existence. Since then we've sent armed troops, with another group of priests, and several bounty hunters have tried for the reward, but all have failed."

"Then what makes you think I could succeed? Even if I agreed to become an a.s.sa.s.sin, which I haven't."

"Don't you think it would be worth sacrificing your scruples to save this whole land?" Master Lazur leaned forward. "That's what's at stake, Tobin. If we're to get our people behind that wall in time, the early settlement, and the exploration of the outlying woodlands, must begin now. A flood of panicked refugees crashing over that wall would simply starve. It must be an organized resettlement if we are to survive it, and that means it must begin soon. Within the next year, three years at the very latest. So this sorceress who prevents us must be stopped. And she's already earned death, for the deaths she has wrought in the Dark One's name." The pa.s.sion in his voice sounded sincere.

Tobin, having spent years learning to resist his mother and Jeriah, distrusted pa.s.sion in charming and persuasive people. And Master Lazur struck him as both. Still, if the sorceress truly deserved to diea" "What makes you think I could do it, when so many others have failed?"

"Frankly, I've no reason to think you could. Your presence is part of my larger plan. I'll send you in, and at the same time I'll arrive with a band of priests and a troop of guards, mixed in with, and disguised as, a large group of settlers. Our presence should distract her from you, and your presence should distract her from us. Your real job is to find where she lairs and plant this nearby." He held out a small, flat, brownish orange rock.

"What's this?" Tobin took it reluctantly. "Is it magic?"

"No, which is why I hope it will work. If it was magic, she'd be able to sense it and would take care to keep it under her hiding spells."

"Hiding spells?"

"You've never had a hiding charm? You must have been a very honest childa"most apple-thieving boys have bought one from the local hedgewitch by the time they're ten. At least they used to. It's a simple charm, but even if it's made by someone with very little power, it will shield its wearer from detection by magic. The hiding spell is like a hiding charm, only it covers an area. You put this rock outside that area, and I'll be able to scry for ita"to see it in my crystal, or in water if I wish. And, though this is more delicate and might take several days depending on the distance, I can locate it. Planting the stone may take some work. If she captures you, she'll put a hiding spell on you. I'm hoping you can drop it outside her spells, but close enough to her lair to enable me to find it."

"What's so special about this rock that you can find it?"

Master Lazur smiled. "It comes from the Otherworld."

He laughed at Tobin's expression.

"I thought the Otherworld was a myth!"

"Oh, no, it exists. Priests have always been able to open small gates to it. Remember the story of St. Agna's escape?" He ran a finger down the spine of one of the leatherbound books beside the desk, and Tobin realized they must be his personal spell books.

"Have you seen it?" asked Tobin, fascinated.

"Yes. It's a beautiful place, in a strange sort of way. We once considered trying to send the barbarians therea" which should tell you how desperate our situation is." The smile flashed again, conspiratorial, inviting. "Only a handful of priests can make a gate big enough for a man to pa.s.s through. Those who simply step through and return are unharmed. So we tried some experiments with convicted criminals, but . . . Never mind. What's important is that this rock is the only one of its kind in this world. I'll be able to find it."

Tobin thought that whatever had happened to the criminals was important, too, at least to them. A ruthless man, this priest.

"Suppose she kills me instead of capturing me?"

"Then I'm hoping she'll either take the rock with her, or leave your body close enough to her lair for me to locate it. I can't claim this isn't dangerous. But I can give you something that might help." He rose, took a box from a lower shelf, and set it on the desk. "Open it."

Tobin did. It looked like a loose-woven shawl. "A net?"

"Of a sort. This is magic, of a very special kinda"it's drawn to magical power and absorbs it. If you can wrap this net around the sorceress, she'll be completely unable to work magic for as long as it clings to her."

"What happens if it falls off?"

"It won't fall off. I told you, it's attracted to magic. She might be able to peel it off, but it won't be easy."

The priest noted Tobin's skeptical expression. "Watch." He reached into the chest. As soon as his hand neared the net, tendrils of string stirred, rose toward his fingers, and wrapped around them. Master Lazur shivered and pulled his hand away, and a fold of the net followed it. He closed the lid firmly on the fabric and pulled his hand free. As soon as he was out of range, the strings went limp. The priest rubbed his hand as if it was cold. "You'll have to close it," he said.

Tobin tucked the net back into the small chest and fastened the latch. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Such things are made only for the capture or holding of sorcerers. One of the reasons I'm giving it to you is that I'm not . . . comfortable traveling with it in my luggage."

"I might be able to use this, if I could find her."

"My guess is that she'll find you. Or her goblins will. Which reminds me." He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a small iron medallion on a chain.

"What's that?"

"A charm that repels goblins. They won't be able to get within ten feet of it. It might make it possible for you to reach her, and if you can get that net on her, you've won. Most sorcerers just sit down and shake when you take away their power."

"If I bring down their leader, what will the goblins do?"

"If they were human, they'd probably thank you. But goblins are completely mercenarya"they never do anything except for payment, or to avoid punishment. Once her hold over them is broken, they'll probably just run off. But place the stone before you try anything else. Just in case."

In case he died in the attempt. "I see." Tobin drew a deep breath, his gaze wandering over map, chest, stone, and charm. "Isn't there any other way?"

Master Lazur shook his head. "The barbarians are coming. We have no place to go except north. They have no place to come except here. There is nothing in this world I would not sacrifice to get the Bright Realm behind the goblin wall in time. How high do you weigh the life of a sorceress, one who has killed again and again, against the survival of this whole realm?"

Tobin's finger traced the river curve that marked his home. He couldn't imagine living in the woodlands, but he'd seen the barbarian armies for himself. Master Lazur was silent, letting him figure it out. Tobin didn't like it, but surely the priest was right. How many knights, men Tobin knew and respected, had already died? If it would end the war, save the whole realm, then the life of one sorceress was a cheap price to pay.

"All right," said Tobin. "I'll go find this sorceress, and do what I can, though I don't promise to kill her."

"If you plant the stone so we can find her, you'll have done enough. And if you survive, all the honor you've lost will be restored, in the eyes of the law and of the world. In fact, you'll be a hero. Remember that tonight."

Master Lazur took the chest and the charms and put them away. "I'll see that these things reach you later. We won't be able to meet again, for the goblins' eyes are everywhere. This room is protected, but others may not be.

"I think I'll take your brother into my service for a time. It wouldn't be wise to place him in the Hierarch's service until he's had time to become a little more . . . politically sophisticated."

Was this for Jeriah's protection, or was he a hostage for Tobin's good behavior? Either way, if the priest would keep his suspicions to himself, and keep an eye on Tobin's impetuous brother, he could only be grateful. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Your mother mentioned it."

"My mother?"

"Yes, she's an old friend of mine."

Tobin knew he should have guessed. Any scheme this devious was bound to have his mother behind it. Her friends were everywhere. Tobin knew what his father had paid; wondering what his mother was trading for these favors was downright unnerving. But he could hardly complaina"this scheme might save his future, and Jeriah's as well. He should have known she wouldn't abandon him to disinheritance and disgrace, even if Jeri was her favorite.

"I'll be watching you when I scry for the stone," Master Lazur continued. "I can see and hear what happens around it, so you don't have to worry about reporting to me. Just remembera"if you succeed, you can get it all back, and more." He paused, eyeing Tobin gravely. "And remember also that the Seven Bright Ones are watching over you. Whatever happens, you are always in their hands. May their grace go with you."

A whip cracked and someone snickered. Tobin tried to meet their gazes boldly, defiantly, but he couldn't seem to raise his eyes from the wet, torchlit stones of the courtyard. It had rained that afternoon while he huddled in his cell thinking about Master Lazur's offer and trying to prepare himself for this.

His heart pounded sickly, and his hands, bound in front of him, shook despite his efforts to keep them still. It was a sign of manliness to pa.s.s through the gauntlet without screaming or fainting, and Tobin had resolved with all his will to do it. Now he couldn't even raise his head to meet the eyes of the men he had fought beside.

Men who had trusted his honor.