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Takara, on the other hand, seemed to thrive on his fury.
He hissed, "They're trying to get to Weatherlight before we can. They're trying to renege on the deal."
Folding arms over her breastplate, Takara replied, "That's not reneging. They've met all the demands and will let you have your force when they are trained. The Mercadians never agreed to leave Weatherlight alone."
Gerrard nodded, sweat falling from his forehead. "Well, we'll just have to take these soldiers sooner."
"The Cho-Arrim aren't just ca
"All the more reason to whip these sad sacks into shape, and quickly. Orim is a prisoner among them-if she still lives," Gerrard said. "Go find Tahngarth and Sisay. I know this is their day off, but from now on none of us gets a day off until we have Weatherlight back."
"As you wish," Takara said, striding away.
Gerrard turned toward the Mercadian troops and barked out, "Back to the drill!"
The minotaur grumbled as they left the merchant's tent. Squee greedily seized another melon and began to munch on it, the juice dribbling over his chin.
A porter rushing along with a heavy basket of fruit on his shoulder barreled into the goblin and sprawled, the basket spilling bright red berries. Ha
Tahngarth gave a snort, trying not to laugh. "Kyren goblins! What sort of place is ruled by goblins?"
Ha
"Goblins! What 'bout goblins?" Squee appeared at her elbow, his nose and mouth smeared with red berries.
Ha
"Yeah, but how're you go
The trio passed on down the street. Every few yards they were confronted with yet another merchant shouting and gesturing. It was a dizzying spectacle. The whole city was dizzying. During their six-week stay, the crew had come to realize the labyrinth of streets was ruled by a contorted, recursive geometry. A person could reach a landmark not by walking toward it but by walking away. A woman striding down a straight street would discover that she had been going in circles. A man wandering in circles would quickly reach his destination. It was as though a city of millions had been impossibly squeezed into a city of a hundred thousand. Space folded and refolded, maddeningly unpredictable. Sobriety led to utter confusion. Delirium led to truth.
Squee did quite well under these conditions. He did not even notice the disparities. Ha
Tahngarth stumped irritably along. Buyers and sellers scattered before his hooves. The navigator looked at him and was struck at the change that had come over the minotaur. His bulky muscles were impressive, his frame more imposing than before his imprisonment in Volrath's Stronghold. Yet in his brown eyes there was a haunted look, as if something deep within him had died.
On an impulse, she put her hand on his broad arm and guided the minotaur to the base of a small tree. Here there were no stalls, and the noise was somewhat diminished. Ha
"Come, my friend. Sit down." She tugged at Tahngarth's tunic. He cleared his throat and knelt by her side with every appearance of reluctance.
"Do you want to tell me what the matter is, Tahngarth?"
"No. You would not understand."
"Perhaps I would. Suppose I tell you what I think is troubling you, and you tell me if I'm wrong?"
He stared sullenly into the middle distance where the Tower of the Magistrate rose against the lemon sky.
Ha
"Afraid!"
Ha
"I am afraid of nothing!" He looked at her and blew a deep breath through his great nostrils. "Yet you are right. I would prefer I had died on Rath."
Ha
Tahngarth stared silently into space. When Ha
Ha
"There is, of course. One must train long and hard, hone one's fighting skills, prove oneself against others. But looks are by no means unimportant." He looked at her sharply. "Tell me this is not true among humans."
"It isn't," protested Ha
"Of course it is. Do you mean to tell me, Ha
Ha
The minotaur shook his great head. "If Squee were heir to the Legacy, would you follow him?"
Ha
"No. Strong but twisted. Volrath's soldiers placed me in a room where a beam of light shot from the ceiling. No matter which way I turned I could not avoid it." His voice cracked at the memory. "Finally it struck me, pi
Ha
"Yes, yes, but I might have joined the dark ship had not Gerrard rescued me."
Ha