Sorceress of Darshiva

here think of me. I'm not here to waste time."
    Silk took hold of his friend's arm with a firm grip. "Garion," he said seriously, "we know that Zandramas and her underling have come here. She knows that we're after her, and there are people in Melcena who can be hired for various kinds of mischief.
    Let's not make it easy for them by standing out in the crowd."
    Garion looked at him. "All right," he said. "We'll do it your way.''
    They walked at an infuriatingly slow pace down a broad avenue. At one point, Silk stopped with a muttered oath.
    "What's wrong?" Garion asked him.
    "That fellow just ahead—the one with the big nose—he's a member of Brador's secret police."
    "Are you sure?"
    Silk nodded. "I've known him for quite some time.'' The little man squared his shoulders. "Well, there's no help for it, I guess. He's already seen us. Let's move along."
    But the man with the large, bulbous nose moved forward to stand in their path. "Good morning, Prince Kheldar," he said, bowing slightly.
    "Rolla," Silk replied distantly.
    "And your Majesty," Rolla added, bowing more deeply to Garion. "We weren't expecting you to appear here in Melcena. Brador will be very surprised."
    "Surprises are good for him." Silk shrugged. "An unsurprised man gets complacent."
    "The Emperor was most put out with you, your Majesty," Rolla said reproachfully to Garion.
    "I'm sure he'll survive it."
    "In Mallorea, your Majesty, it's the ones who offend Kal Zakath who need to be concerned about survival."
    "Don't make threats, Rolla," Silk warned. "If his Majesty here decides that your report to the Chief of the Bureau of Internal Affairs would be embarrassing, he might decide to take steps to keep you from ever writing it. His Majesty is an Alorn, after all, and you know how short-tempered they can be."
    Rolla stepped back apprehensively.
    "Always nice talking with you, Rolla," Silk said in a tone of dismissal. Then he and Garion walked on. Garion noticed that the big-nosed man had a slightly worried look on his face as they passed him.
    "I love to do that to people," Silk smirked.
    "You're easily amused," Garion said. "You do know that when his report gets to Mal Zeth, Zakath's going to flood this whole region with people trying to find us."
    "Do you want me to go back and kill him for you?" Silk offered.
    "Of course not!"
    "I didn't think so. If you can't do something about a situation, there's no point in worrying about it."
    When they reached the harbor, Garion tightened his grip on the Orb. The pulling of Iron-grip's sword had sometimes been quite strong, and Garion had no desire to have the stone jump out of his hand. They walked northward along the wharves with the salt tang of the sea in their nostrils. The harbor of Melcena, unlike that of most of the port cities in the world, was surprisingly clear of floating garbage. "How do they keep it so clean?" Garion asked curiously. "The water, I mean?"
    "There's a heavy fine for throwing things in the harbor," Silk replied. "Melcenes are compulsively tidy. They also have workmen with nets in small boats patrolling the waterfront to scoop up any floating debris. It helps to maintain full employment." He grinned. "It's a nasty job and it's always assigned to people who aren't interested in finding regular work. A few days in a small boat full of garbage and dead fish increases their ambition enormously.''
    "You know," Garion said, "that's really a very good idea. I wonder if—" The Orb suddenly grew very warm in his hand. He pulled his robe open slightly and looked at it. It was glowing a sullen red.
    "Zandramas?" Silk asked.
    Garion shook his head. "The Sardion," he replied.
    Silk nervously tugged at his nose. "That's a sort of dilemma, isn't it? Do we follow the Sardion or Zandramas?"
    "Zandramas," Garion said, "She's the one who's got my son."
    "It's up to you." Silk shrugged. "That's the last wharf just up ahead. If we don't pick up the trail there, we'll go on and check the north gate."
    They passed the last wharf. The Orb gave no indication of interest.
    "Could they have landed on one of the other islands?" Garion asked with a worried frown.
    "Not unless they changed course once they were at sea," Silk replied. "There are plenty of other places to land a ship along this coast. Let's go have a look at the north gate."
    Once again they moved through the streets at that frustratingly leisurely pace.
    After they had crossed several streets, Silk stopped. "Oh, no," he groaned.
    "What is