Queen of Sorcery

startled glance; then he laughed too, although a bit nervously. The two of them turned and walked away, leaving the dead man sprawled on the stones.
    Garion stared in horror at them and then at the black-faced corpse lying so grotesquely twisted in the center of the marketplace. The Tolnedrans near the body seemed to ignore its existence. "Why doesn't somebody do something?" he demanded.
    "They're afraid," Silk said. "If they show any concern, they might be mistaken for partisans. Politics here in Tol Honeth are taken very seriously."
    "Shouldn't someone notify the authorities?" Durnik suggested, his face pale and his voice shaking.
    "I'm sure it's already been taken care of," Silk said. "Let's not stand around staring. I don't think we want to get involved in this sort of thing."
    Aunt Pol came back to where they were standing. The two Cherek warriors from Grinneg's house who had been accompanying her were loaded down with bundles and both of them looked a little sheepish about it.
    "What are you doing?" she asked Silk.
    "We were just watching a bit of Tolnedran politics in action," Silk said, pointing at the dead man in the center of the square.
    "Poison?" she asked, noting Radan's contorted limbs.
    Silk nodded. "A strange one. It doesn't seem to work unless the victim gets excited."
    "Athsat," she said with a grim nod.
    "You've heard of it before?" Silk seemed surprised.
    She nodded. "It's quite rare, and very expensive. I didn't think the Nyissans would be willing to sell any of it."
    "I think we should move away from here," Hettar suggested. "There's a squad of legionnaires coming, and they might want to question any witnesses."
    "Good idea," Silk said and led them toward the far side of the marketplace.
    Near the row of houses that marked the edge of the square, eight burly men carried a heavily veiled litter. As the litter approached, a slender, jeweled hand reached languidly out from behind the veil and touched one of the porters on the shoulder. The eight men stopped immediately and set the litter down.
    "Silk," a woman's voice called from within the litter, "what are you doing back in Tol Honeth?"
    "Bethra?" Silk said. "Is that you?"
    The veil was drawn back, revealing a lushly endowed woman lounging on crimson satin cushions inside the litter. Her dark hair was elaborately curled with strings of pearls woven into her tresses. Her pink silken gown clung to her body, and golden rings and bracelets clasped her arms and fingers. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, and her long-lashed eyes were wicked. There was about her a kind of overripeness and an almost overpowering sense of self indulgent corruption. For some reason Garion felt himself blushing furiously.
    "I thought you'd still be running," she said archly to Silk. "The men I sent after you were very professional."
    Silk bowed with an ironic little flourish. "They were quite good, Bethra," he agreed with a wry grin. "Not quite good enough, but very good, actually. I hope you didn't need them anymore."
    "I always wondered why they didn't come back." She laughed. "I should have known, of course. I hope you didn't take it personally."
    "Certainly not, Bethra. It's just part of the profession, after all."
    "I knew you'd understand," she said. "I had to get rid of you. You were disrupting my entire plan."
    Silk grinned wickedly. "I know," he gloated. "And after all you had to go through to set it up - and with the Thullish ambassador, no less."
    She made a disgusted face.
    "Whatever happened to him?" Silk asked.
    "He went swimming in the Nedrane."
    "I didn't know that Thulls swam all that well."
    "They don't - particularly not with large rocks tied to their feet. After you'd destroyed the whole thing, I didn't really need him anymore, and there were some things I didn't want him mentioning in certain quarters."
    "You always were prudent, Bethra."
    "What are you up to now?" she asked curiously.
    Silk shrugged. "A little of this, a little of that."
    "The succession?"
    "Oh, no." He laughed. "I know better than to get involved in that. Which side are you on?"
    "Wouldn't you like to know?"
    Silk looked around, his eyes narrowing. "I could use some information, Bethra - if you're free to talk about it, of course."
    "About what, Silk?"
    "The city seems to be awash with Murgos," Silk said. "If you're not presently involved with them, I'd appreciate anything you could tell me."
    She smiled at him archly. "And what would you be willing to pay?" she asked.
    "Couldn't