Thraxas and the Ice Dragon - By Martin Scott Page 0,71

daughters so they were splendidly arrayed when the Star-God's sons came to visit. That part's probably legendary."

There are so many people converging on the tournament that we're unable to drive the whole way, and have to get out of the carriage and walk. We pass an impressive bonfire, beside a line of spits for roasting beef.

"Best bit of the whole event," I say. "Free food."

Minstrels wander through the crowd. It's a cheerful scene, though once again I can sense the air of abandonment that takes hold when war is just around the corner. Young couples dance, holding onto each other as if it's the last chance they'll ever get. As well as the revellers, there are a lot of Sorcerers present. Lasat Axe of Gold has brought his Guild out in force. Lisutaris accompanies Makri to her changing room. Someone taps me on the shoulder. It's Kublinos.

"I hear you've been sneaking round Lisutaris again," he says.

"I don't need to sneak around her. I'm her adviser and we live in the same house."

"Her adviser? Does that normally include bringing her flowers?"

I sigh. I should have known he'd soon learn about that. Arichdamis's servants are no doubt as keen on gossiping as everyone else. "Kublinos, I'm fed up with this. I have no romantic interest in Lisutaris. Not that it makes the slightest difference, because she'd never go for a fop like you anyway, with your fancy cloak and that ridiculous necklace. Do you think Lisutaris would be interested in some overdressed puppy who's never even been to war?"

Kublinos glares at me with loathing. "How dare you speak to me like that! I am a senior Sorcerer!"

"Turai had a better Sorcerer than you in every tavern."

Kublinos expression becomes even grimmer. "You will regret this," he says. "You are now my enemy for life." With that, he disappears into the crowd. A bit over-dramatic, I'd say, but probably what you'd expect from a Samsarinan Sorcerer who prances round in a fancy cloak.

Lisutaris and Makri appear. Makri has a new breastplate, courtesy of General Hemistos, along with her new sword, both of superior quality. Good quality equipment or not, she still looks small in comparison to Bhuralin of Kamara, another very large swordsman. It's going to be a tough fight, particularly if the Samsarinan Sorcerers get involved. Even if she gets past Bhuralin, she still has to fight Elupus. I'm suddenly gripped by the feeling that this whole enterprise might not have been fair on Makri.

"Do you want to do this?" I ask her.

"What do you mean?"

"You've had too many fights already. Maybe you should just stop now."

"I can't stop," protests Makri. "Lisutaris needs me to win."

"Lasat needs you to lose. The semi-final's going to be tough. The Marshals aren't so picky about illegal blows. More or less anything goes. If some Samsarinan Sorcerer manages to get a good spell onto your opponents sword, he's liable to take your head off."

"No one's taking my head off," declares Makri. "Lisutaris, tell Thraxas he's talking nonsense."

"I think Thraxas may be right," says Lisutaris, surprising us. "You're had a lot of fights. When I encouraged you to enter the competition, I didn't realise it was so dangerous. Maybe we should just call it a day."

"But you'd lose 10,000 gurans to Lasat."

"We can afford it. We've got more than 12,000 already."

"But Lasat will be War Leader!"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. We can come up with another way of boosting my status."

Makri looks from Lisutaris to me, and back to Lisutaris. "I need to fight," she says. "I can't give in. I'd never feel right again."

"Very well," says Lisutaris. She looks around her. "Has anyone seen Kublinos? He was meant to meet me here."

"I may have scared him off," I admit. "Also, he's declared me his enemy for life."

"How did that happen? We were only gone five minutes."

"I have a talent for offending people."

"Couldn't you have waited?" says Lisutaris. "I was hoping he'd give me information on Lasat's plans."

"That probably won't happen now. I'm off to place our bet. Bixo's going to regret he ever met me."

"He already does," says Lisutaris. "Didn't he send these men to kill you?"

"Possibly. Though I don't have any proof he was behind it."

Despite Makri's impressive performances, she isn't favourite for the fight. She's quoted at evens. Her opponent, Bhuralin of Kamara, is eight to eleven. That might be because Bhuralin has already won a few smaller tournaments, and people have been talking about him as a potential challenger to Elupus. But I wonder if word