trull who had been about to kill Taimin.
But Arren was a skilled mystic. He didn’t have her power, but he had his years of training with Merin.
The dagger in his hand kept moving.
43
Vance stood guard outside the white tower. With him were a handful of other fighters and the irritating rover, Lars.
The tall tower cast a broad, tapered shadow on the plaza. It was growing dark and, high above, the azure sky shifted hue, becoming deep blue and then black. Vance glanced up and saw the cratered moon, pale and glowing now that its brighter rivals had departed. The plaza was deserted, as was the broad avenue that led to the city gates. Everyone was either hiding in their homes or had joined the crowd at the wall.
As Vance paced, he kept looking askance at the tower’s oversized door, wondering who was inside and what was happening within. He tilted his head back but couldn’t make out the open-sided room at the tower’s summit.
Lars stood nearby with his fingers hooked into his trousers. “Do you have to move so much? You’re making me nervous.” The bald, bearded skinner scowled. “I’m surprised you’ve got the energy.”
Vance put his back to the skinner. He didn’t know how Taimin had managed to put up with Lars when they had traveled the wasteland together.
Now that Vance had turned, he couldn’t help looking at the corpses of several uniformed soldiers, sprawled out a dozen paces from the tower. The last of Galen’s men were dead. Vance had killed two of the soldiers standing guard himself. In another life, when Cora had been caught in his bed, these were the same men who had thrown him into the arena.
“No one’s going to miss them,” Lars said, noticing Vance’s attention.
Vance nodded but didn’t reply. Instead he glanced again at the tower and wondered if Cora was still alive. She had been the Protector’s mistress. How vengeful had the Protector been? Was she locked up inside? He was desperate to find out. He tried to clamp down on the faint hope that he still held on to. Over and over again, he kept telling himself that she was almost certainly dead.
A startled sound from one of his companions made Vance return his attention to the street. His eyes shot wide open. Even Lars had frozen and looked poised to run.
A huge bax, the biggest Vance had ever seen, was striding directly toward them. The insect-like form of a mantorean walked at his side. Half a dozen younger bax warriors followed, all carrying axes. Vance began to panic. If the city had fallen, why hadn’t he heard anything?
Lars let out a breath. “It’s all right, lad,” he said.
As Vance saw that Elsa was part of the group, his heart rate slowed to something approaching normal. He had been so focused on the huge bax that he hadn’t seen her. Elsa didn’t seem afraid. Nonetheless, it didn’t put Vance at ease to see the circle of bones around the bax’s neck.
“Is that . . . is that Blixen?” asked one of the former prisoners.
Another glanced at Vance. “It must be.”
“Be prepared for anything,” Vance muttered in reply.
While Elsa continued walking toward them, the imposing bax stopped to crouch beside one of the bodies of the soldiers. He reached out and gripped the dead man’s chin. He then tilted the soldier’s head from side to side and stared into his glazed eyes. When he straightened, the folds above his dark eyes gave him a satisfied expression.
“Yes, you are looking at Blixen, Warden of the Rift Valley,” Elsa said to Vance, coming to a halt. “Now I need you to stand aside.”
“But Taimin said—” Vance began.
“Taimin is the one who brokered this arrangement,” Elsa interrupted. Her eyes narrowed with impatience. “Do as I say.”
Vance turned and nodded to the others. “Let them in.”
His companions moved away from the tower’s entrance and allowed Blixen and the mantorean to approach the door, with the six axe-wielding warriors flanking their leader.
Before he tried to enter, Blixen addressed the mantorean. “You may remain outside, Rei-kika. If you say you cannot find her, I believe you. No matter what happens next, I release you from my service.” He turned his grim attention to the tower. “The only man who might give me some answers is inside.”
The mantorean bowed her head.
Blixen then turned to Elsa. “I will consider our agreement broken if the Protector is not within.”
Elsa gave Vance an inquiring look.
He spread his hands. “I came as