Shatterglass

He tried again to draw the lightnings out, but it was as if his magic no longer existed. It was maddening to sit here and wait, and risk the chance that they would be too late to save the next victim.

Dema put a hand on Keths arm. s clear what youre thinking,he said quietly. Keth shes probably dead by now, whoever she is.

Keth sat bolt upright, his mouth dry. s a horrible thing to say! We might see her in that, still alive!He pointed to the globe. t pronounce her dead until you ve found the body as well invite the gods to kill her, not the Ghost!

Dema leaned closer, inspecting Keths face by torchlight. Suddenly he placed the inside of his wrist on Keth s forehead. When Keth jerked away, Dema calmly produced a black leather case from his sash and opened it to reveal a lens. He held it up to one eye, then put it away, shaking his head. was right, and I was too hot to get moving to realize it, he muttered. skins clammy, youre hot and youre sweating a river. Youve overdone it. If you try to do more tonight, youll make yourself ill. You need rest.

m fine, Keth retorted. is it, getting a mages credential turns you all into old women, forever fussing and worrying over someone? I made that cursed globe and I ll see it through. You and Tris can go nursemaid each other!He struggled to his feet and stood, wavering, as sweat trickled down his cheeks. ll settle the Ghost. . . His ears buzzed. His legs turned to over-cooked noodles. Shadows filled the edges of his vision, shadows that grew and expanded as the buzz turned to a roar.

In the room that Tris shared wi th Glaki, they sat together on the bed, the little girl freshly bathed. Glaki petted Little Bear as Tris explained how Sandry, Briar and Daja had decided that Tris would miss the dog most of all of them during her travels. She had reached the point at whi ch Little Bear had to be coaxed on to the ship when she heard Ferouzes hoarse bellow in the courtyard below.

She stalked out to the gallery over the courtyard, ready to berate Ferouze for raising such a noise when it was nearly Glakis bedtime. Looking down, she saw the old woman at the entrance to the street passage. Three men stood with her, two in amrim red. The third, sagging between them, was Keth.

Tris tucked Glaki in, ordered her to sleep, then went down to her student.

keeled right over,the older of the arurimi said as Tris guided them to Keths room. Nomasdina was saying he overdid it, and Keth here was giving him what-for when his eyes rolled up and down he went.The arurimi laid Keth on his bed and set about removing his boots. Will he be all right, dhaskuV the man asked. Nomasdina said he would, but then, Dhaskoi Nomasdina didnt see this lad was reeling in the saddle.

wont even know he was ill in the morning,Tris assured them. is normal enough, when a students too big for the teacher to order him to bed.She waved them out and returned to open Keth s shirt and bathe his sweaty face. want to cure all the ills of the world in one day, because you think magic can do that,she murmured as she drew a sheet over Keth. ll learn.

DEMA

L

ess than an hour passed after Dema had sent Keth home when the globe began to clear. The men hed sent with Keth were riding into Derms view when one of his arurimi leaned in to stare at the globe. know that balcony! Its at Lagisthion, the debate arena at Heskalifos!

They scrambled for their horses, Dema tossing coins from his purse on to the table to pay for the dishes they broke. They rode to Heskalifos like fiends, scattering people left and right as they gallo ped up the Street of Glass. Bolting through Akaya Gate, they ignored the yells of the university peacekeepers as they sped over paths not meant for riders. Where the paths failed to provide the most direct route, Dema led them across carefully tended gard ens between buildings.

They reined in before a small, round hall built of white marble with pillars all the way around. Dema slid from the saddle, the globe clutched to his chest. He raced up the bank of steps that served as pedestal to the hall.

Open that thing,he ordered, pointing to the door.

One of the arurimi, a short black man with knots of muscle in his arms and legs, approached with a heavy pack over one shoulder. He inspected the double doors with an expert eye. he said, kneeli ng to extract a chisel and mallet from the pack. give me a leg up,he ordered.

The arurim Majnuna, a huge, olive-skinned woman who stood a full head taller than any of the others, knelt beside the door. Brosdes jammed hammer and chisel into his sash, then climbed on to Majnuna s shoulders. The big woman stood and braced herself.

Brosdes cut the head off the pin that secured the hinge with two hammer blows, then knocked the pin out. When Majnuna lowered him, Brosdes did the same for the lower hing e. Everyone moved aside as half of the door trembled, groaned, then fell to the marble floor.

Inside the globe, Dema saw a limp woman on the stage of the debating hall. He led his arurimi inside, motioning for them to spread out in every direction and cove r the doors out of the place. They obeyed, lighting torches from those that blazed outside the front entrance. The outer lobby was empty. Two arurimi vanished up the curving stairs on either side to search the balcony.

Dema and three arurimi, each with a lead-weighted baton in hand, passed into the immense theatre where the universitys famed debates were held. Opposite them was the stage.

It was empty.

The globe wrong?asked one of the men.

Dema looked at the globe, where the image was rapidly fading. Keth had done it, Dema realized. Hed made the inside visible before the Ghost could display his victim. His success wasn t complete -what Dema wanted was a look at the murderer himself- but Keth had come a long way towards their ultimate goal.

Hope burned in Derms chest like a red-hot coal. The killer might be nearby. he whispered. out and search. Inside and out.