Maia

Turning in the direction of the tower, she began walking along the ramparts. She was obliged to go slowly, for the paving was uneven and once or twice she stumbled over projecting stones. Ahead, where the Peacock Wall joined the ramparts, she could see a sentry gazing out over the plain below. As she approached he turned, levelled his spear and challenged her.

She stood still, looking at his face under the leather helmet. Just as Occula had said, this was an oldish man for a soldier-forty-five at least-with a grizzled beard, bushy eyebrows and lips sunk in upon a toothless mouth

above a sharp-nosed, canny face. He did not look like a Beklan. She smiled at him, throwing back her hood.

"Can you let me pass?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No one's to pass. You didn't ought to be up here at all: you must know that."

This man, if she was any judge, was from Kabin. Probably Eud-Ecachlon had held a few back from the draft. Anyway, he had not recognized her and clearly didn't know who she was.

"No one's seen me; only you. You can't get into trouble letting me pass." She paused. "I've got money."

He shook his head again. "You shouldn't offer money: you just go back, now, go on."

"Ah, but all depends how much, doesn't it? I've no time to bargain, dad. I'll give you all I've got-a thousand meld."

In the moonlight she saw the surprise on his cunning, peasant face. That had got to him all right.

"A thousand meld? Don't try it on, my girl: you haven't got that much."

"Oh, yes, I have. Only you be straight with me, just I'm in danger: I've got enemies and I've got to get out quick. You know as well as I do everything's upside-down. No one'll ever get to hear."

Far away, on the other side of the city, a sudden clamor broke out. They both started, turning to stare in the direction of the Blue Gate a full mile away below.

"What's that?" said the man. "That's never the Pal-teshis, comin' that way!"

"No," answered Maia. "The Lapanese have got here first."

"The Lapanese?" He stared at her.

"Those will be Lord Randronoth's men. Anything can happen now. If I were you, I'd take this thousand meld and make myself scarce. Either that or go and join them, dad."

He paused, his crafty eyes sizing her up-her good clothes, her beautiful face, her soft, well-kept hands. Even at such a time as this he must be bargaining: to the likes of him it was second nature.

"Well, but it's a big risk, now, missie, isn't it?" He shook his head. "Couldn't take a risk like that for less than fifteen hundred."

"All right," she said. "Only for Cran's sake leave it at

that. Here comes your tryzatt, I reckon, to see what that noise is about."

Indeed, they could both see the silhouetted figure of the tryzatt, about two hundred yards off along the rampart, staring eastwards. Maia offered the money, which the man at once grabbed and stuffed into his jerkin.

"Go on, then, missie, quick, 'fore he sees you."

Maia darted past him and was gone.

She had run hardly any distance, however, before she saw below her what could only be the warehouse of which Occula had spoken: a flat-roofed, sprawling place, too big for any private dwelling. There was a dim- light in one window, but no other sign that anyone was there.

She looked round for a way down, but as far ahead as she could see there were no steps. The drop from the walls to the abutting roof was all of nineteen or twenty feet: she could never hang and let go without risking injury.

She hurried back. The sentry was still where she had left him and the tryzatt had come no nearer.

She called in a low voice, "Sentry!"

Agonizingly slowly, he came up to her. "What you want now, then?"

"I got to get down onto that roof; only it's too far to jump. I could just about do it holding onto your spear, though."

She had expected him to ask for more money, but to her surprise, after a moment he said, "All right, then; only quick," and went back with her along the wall. Above the warehouse roof he lay down, holding his spear vertically over the edge of the wall to the full extent of his arms.

"You'd best be quick, missie: only I can't hold your weight more 'n a few seconds, see?"

It was still a long enough drop to frighten her, but once she was at the end of the spear, arms outstretched, there was no help for it. She let go and fell about eight feet onto the roof.

She landed with a harsh jolt, and doubled up painfully on her knees. She had scratched one arm and torn her cloak. She looked upward, but the soldier had gone. Scrambling to her feet, she leant for a minute or two against the wall, then began to limp across the roof. Somewhere there must be a way down.

After searching in the dark for some minutes, during which she could hear the uproar on the other side of the