The meal had seven courses and lasted for three hours, during which a variety of entertainers took turns to perform before them. It was, of course, the scantily clad dancers who attracted the most attention from the men, but Tak found himself most fascinated by the fire eaters and he stared at them as they blew flames across the room and quenched fires with their mouths, trying to figure out how they did it. He thought at first that they must be using magic of some kind, but his magic sense registered nothing even when one of them came to stand right beside him. Close enough that he could smell the sweat filming his darkly tanned skin.

     He remembered a discussion he'd had with Lan Del-Tora, also known as Lord Opal, in which they'd wondered how dragons could breathe fire without burning their own mouths, and now he wondered whether these entertainers had somehow managed to duplicate the feat. It might well be worth speaking to them later, to see if they could be persuaded to part with their professional secrets.

     Eventually, though, the meal came to an end and the diners heaved their stuffed bellies out of their seats and into adjacent rooms where more entertainment was waiting for them, the men separating from the women so that each could be entertained in the way they liked best without shocking or, more likely, boring, the other. Tak and Barl, who'd eaten a great deal less than the others, watched them with pleasure, but most of the others dropped off to sleep and Lord Tallow, in particular, was soon snoring loudly, his mouth gaping wide and a line of drool running down his chin.

     The King had also refrained from eating too much, and now he and Barl slipped quietly away from the others to begin talking in earnest.

     "Do you want me to come as well?" asked Tak as the two of them stood.

     "No," replied the other Gem Lord. "You'd better wait here, in case anyone wakes up and wonders where we are. You can make up any story you like, so long as you make it plain that we're not together."

     Tak nodded, and the other two men left, already speaking to each other in low voices.

     That left Tak as the only one left awake in the room, except for the naked female dancers who didn't seem to care whether anyone was watching them or not. So long as they get paid, I expect, thought the wizard with a smile of amusement. He watched them appreciatively for a while, but his thoughts kept turning back to Essca, and his companions were now so thoroughly asleep that he didn't see that he was doing any good by staying there. He waited a few more minutes, therefore, just to make sure, then rose quietly to his feet and crept out of the room.

     To his surprise he met Essca coming down the corridor in the opposite direction. "You had the same idea I did?" she asked in delight. He nodded, smiling happily. "Come on," she said taking his hand. "I've been here before. I know a quiet spot where we won't be disturbed."

     "Why do we need a quiet spot?" asked Tak, his heart pounding with excitement as he hoped he already knew the answer.

     She only gave him a puzzled look, though. "You ate the Horn of Potency," she said. "Didn't you mean it?"

     "I did if it meant what I think it did," said Tak, squeezing her hand tighter. "I had no idea it had any, er, symbolic significance, though. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in there."

     "You honoured me," she said, though. "For you, a mighty Lord, to make a public statement of your interest in me, so far below your station..."

     "I did that?" cried Tak, surprised and embarrassed, but he could have bitten off his own tongue when he saw the look of hurt and pain that flashed across her face. "I'm glad I did!" he said. "I don't know your customs, but I'm glad if I accidentally sent you the message I wanted to send. And as for my station being above yours, I was born a peasant. I'm where I am now by accident, not by birth."

     He was delighted to see the smile return to her face. "Then you still want to..."

     "More than ever!" said Tak emphatically, and they said no more as she led him by the hand along the corridor.

☆☆☆

     Afterwards, he wondered why he hadn't just taken her back to his room. He didn't think it was likely that Barl would be returning any time soon. He and the King had a lot to talk about, and would probably still be hard at it when morning came. Essca seemed happier finding a secluded spot of her own, though, and Tak was happy to go along with her.

     It turned out to be a linen storeroom, and the soft sheets, laid out on the floor, were almost as comfortable as his own bed. "What happens if someone finds us here?" asked the wizard, who found the idea strangely exciting. "Caught like a pair of teenagers..."

     The servants wouldn't dare say anything," she said. "They know it would be their heads if they shamed a nobleman. We'll be long gone by the time they come in any case."

     "Will we?" said Tak in disappointment.

     "I have to be back in my room before I'm missed, or the Duke will be angry and punish me."

     Tak gave a start of horror. "I had no idea! Maybe we'd better forget the whole thing, then. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

     She stared at him in astonishment. "You're not like most wizards, are you? Most would just take what they wanted and then forget about me. What kind of a man are you, to have such power and yet care about the likes of me?"

     "It's just the way I am," said Tak, growing uncomfortably self conscious. "Come on, let's get you back before... er..."

     She was undressing before him, though. Peeling off layers of clothing and dropping them at her feet. "We've got two hours," she purred enticingly. "I'll be safe enough if I'm back by then."

     Tak nodded, his passions now almost out of control, and he began to fumble with his own clothes.

☆☆☆

     It was as good as he'd known it would be, and when they'd spent themselves in sweat and passion they lay next to each other, her head in the crook of his shoulder, his arm around her waist. These sheets'll need to be washed again, he thought, chuckling to himself, but then he sobered as he remembered that it wasn't for love of him that she was there.

     This is when the questions will start, he thought, feeling a little hurt at how he was being used, but the sex had been so good that it was worth being used that way and he was eager to be used again. I'm going to have to tell her who I am and where I come from if I want her to come home with me, he thought. And if she won't come because she loves me, maybe she'll come because I'm one of the most powerful wizards in the world. A potentially much better teacher than this Hilfiler of hers. As my apprentice, she could learn a great deal, and if she married me she'd become one of the Queen Consorts of a mighty city. Possibly the mother of its next ruler. And maybe, one day, she'll come to love me the way I love her. One day. Perhaps.

     To his surprise, though, the questions didn't come. She lay there quietly for a few minutes until they'd both recovered, then rolled over onto him again, smiling and kissing him, and they made love again on sheets that were now damp from their sweat, and when they finished she still didn't ask any questions but stood and began dressing.

     "I have to go now," she said regretfully. "Thank you. You were wonderful!"

     Tak stared at her in wonder. Was it possible she really had wanted nothing more than the pleasure of sex from him? Had he misjudged her? Or maybe she knew that he was suspicious and was trying to lull him into trusting her. They were going to be guests of the King for at least another day, after all. Maybe two or even three more days. She still had plenty of time to wheedle information out of him if that was what she wanted.

     Tak found himself growing more and more hopeful that it wasn't so. Oh well, he thought. Only time will tell. He dressed as well, therefore, and they kissed one more time before she slipped quietly out through the door. Tak waited five minutes before leaving in turn and heading in the opposite direction.

☆☆☆

     He returned to his own room, finding it empty, and knew that Barl was still in conference with the King. He smiled at the thought that his fellow Gem Lord was having a much harder and less pleasant evening than he'd had, but the day's hunting followed by his time with Essca had left him exhausted and all he wanted to do was slip into bed and go to sleep. He removed his clothes for the second time, therefore, and slipped between the sheets.

     He slept deeply and dreamlessly, but was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a disturbance in the corridor outside. People were shouting, and there was the clomping of booted feet on the stone floor. The sound of soldiers. He rose from his bed and grabbed his robe, draping it around his shoulders and tying the cord around his waist as he moved cautiously to the door. Was the castle under attack? Had the Yinnfarsians figured out what they were up to and moved to stop them? He glanced at Barl's bed, finding it still empty, and brought the words of his spells to the forefront of his mind. If it was an attack, their attackers were about to receive a very nasty surprise!

     He threw the door open and burst out, hoping to catch someone off guard, but all he saw was one of the other guests, dressed in a nightshirt and staring around in bewilderment. Tak thought it was the Count of Welles, but he couldn't remember his name. "What the deuce is going on?" he demanded, as if Tak would have any idea. The wizard ignored him, hurrying along the corridor towards the central keep.

     All was quiet, though. Whatever had been going on seemed to be over, and nobody he questioned admitted to having any idea what it had been. Probably someone just got drunk and the guards had to escort him back to his room, he thought as he made his way back to his own room. He'd find out what it had all been about in the morning.

     When he got back, though, Barl was there, still wearing the clothes he'd worn to the evening meal. Worn and creased from having been sat around in. He looked weary but satisfied and gave Tak the thumbs up without saying anything. A precaution in case anyone was listening in on them. The talks had gone well, then. Might even have been satisfactorily concluded already. Barl would tell him when they were sure they could talk safely.

     "What was all that noise about?" he asked instead, therefore. "I thought I heard soldiers marching about out there."

     Barl sobered instantly. "They caught a spy," he said. "The King received a report from one of his own men, one of the few he can really trust, and sent the guards to arrest her."

     "Her?" said Tak. The look on his friend's face turned his stomach into a lump of cold lead.

     Barl nodded unhappily. "I'm sorry, old man. It was Essca, the girl you were telling me about. She's suspected of being a Sholl agent."

     "Where is she? The dungeons?" Tak didn't wait for an answer but dashed from the room, no clear thought in his head except that he had to save her. He was halfway down the corridor before he came to a stop, staring both ways down an intersection, realising he had no idea how to get there. He started looking around for someone to ask, but by then Barl had caught up with him.

     "Slow down!" he hissed. "They're not going to hurt her yet! They'll want to question her. Find out who she was reporting to."

     "Torture her!" cried Tak in anguish. "I can't let them do that!"

     "We'll get her," promised Barl, taking his arm, "but we've got to be careful." He lowered his voice to a whisper, glancing around nervously. "If the King finds out we've got her, he'll think we're working with Sholl too and it'll be the end of our deal..."

     "I don't care about the bloody deal!" exclaimed the other Gem Lord furiously. He strode along one of the corridors, looking for the stairs. "The bloody deal can go to hell as far as I care!"

     Barl ran to keep up with him and grabbed his arm again, glancing nervously at the doors they were passing, behind which people were undoubtedly listening to their conversation with interest. "Look, stop a moment will you? We need to talk! We need to talk in private!"

     "All I need to know is where she is. We've got to get her out of here before they, they do something to her."

     "Give me one day!" begged Barl. "One day to finish the deal. Please, Tak!" He winced with anger at having unthinkingly used his real name, but it probably didn't matter. Although the Gem Lords were well known across the continent, not many people knew their real names. "One day! Please!"

     "She might be dead in a day!" cried Tak furiously. "I'm not leaving her there. Not for one minute longer!" Then a thought struck him. "We don't need to rescue her," he gasped, his voice lowered, much to Barl's relief. "We can just ask the King for her. We're here to help him, aren't we? To free him from the Yinnfarsians. Well, if we help him, he can give us something in return. Essca."

     "He's not going to just hand her over, just like that," cried Barl, guiding his fellow wizard into a cupboard and closing the door behind them. "She's a spy for an enemy city! You know what happens to spies."

     "All the more reason to get her out of there as quick as possible. And he won't be 'just handing her over'. He'll be saving his own neck by securing our co-operation and goodwill."

     "We can't just walk away from this deal if he refuses to comply..."

     "Speak for yourself," said Tak, however. "We've got a flight of gem steeds waiting for our signal just a few miles away. I'm willing to call them in to help rescue her if that's what it takes, and to hell with the deal!"

     Barl's eyes widened as he saw that Tak was serious. Saw the implacable look of determination in the other wizard's eyes. An expression so foreign to the normally amiable and easy going man that it took Barl a few moments to recognise it. "Oh Gods! You've really fallen for her, haven't you? She's found a way to enchanted you."

     He cast a spell designed to reveal the presence of enchantments and was dismayed to see no trace of the telltale nimbus of white fire that would have flickered above his head if he'd been spelled.

     Tak smiled a little. "My feelings for her are real," he assured him. "I don't understand it any more than you do, how I could have fallen for her so quickly, but it happened nevertheless and I'm sure she has feelings for me as well. Not love maybe, not yet, anyway, but feelings that I'm sure will grow with time. She's not staying in that dungeon, old friend. I'll do whatever I have to to get her out, and you'd better believe that."

     Barl nodded, a look of dull acceptance appearing on his face. The knowledge that this could split them up. Tear the Gem Lords apart. He wouldn't allow that, Tak knew. Since the death of Khalkedon, it was only the unity of the Gem Lords that had kept the enemies of the city at bay. If they started fighting amongst themselves, the armies of Yinnfarsia, Sholl, Kor-Thell and half a dozen other neighbouring cities would be squabbling amongst the ruins of Domandropolis within the year.

     Barl nodded, therefore. "All right, we'll speak to the King. We'll go now. He's probably still awake, and if he's not we'll wake him up."