“How did you know this would happen tonight?” Jenny demanded as she put more wood on the fire and set two rabbits to cook over it.

Grimalkin shrugged. “This has been going on for months. Every week a human champion is defeated and slain. I witnessed it myself on my previous visit here.”

“I’ve seen flying lamias before, but what was that?” I asked.

“It was an angel, as your apprentice suggested. Weren’t you listening to my translation?” Grimalkin asked with a smile.

“Angels are just things out of fables,” I said, shaking my head. Did Grimalkin really believe this? If so, she was going too far. I just couldn’t accept it.

“It flew down from heaven, cast beams of light, filled the three magowie with holy bliss, and then disappeared. Presumably it spoke to those three wise men in some mysterious fashion—perhaps giving them more of a message than they told us. It seemed very much like an angel to me,” Grimalkin said, a hint of mockery in her voice.

I suddenly felt foolish. She was just being facetious. She didn’t believe it was an angel at all.

“Maybe some form of dark magic was being used,” Jenny suggested, turning the rabbits on the spit so that the juices dribbled into the fire and sizzled. The smell made my mouth water. “Perhaps it was an illusion?”

“What does it matter what we believe?” asked Grimalkin. “The important thing is that all gathered around that hill were believers. When someone defeats Kauspetnd, they will accept that victor as their leader and follow him across the river to attack our enemies. It’s exactly what we want. This is why I brought you here, Tom. I need you to fight and kill that assassin!”

27

Prince Stanislaw

“BUT how could I?” I asked, looking at her in astonishment. “I’ve never seen anybody with so much skill with blades—except you.”

Grimalkin was adamant. “He has two weaknesses that I have detected already. I will study him to find more. Then I will train you until your victory is assured.”

“Why don’t you kill him?” I asked. “You could use the Starblade to deflect any magical powers.”

“You need to listen more carefully to what I tell you,” Grimalkin said. She sounded annoyed. “The Starblade works only for you. It will only repel magic directed at you. Not that I need that type of defense to fight that Shaiksa assassin; it is a point of honor with them not to use magic. I could kill him with my own blades, but you must do it. You will use the Starblade in any case because its balance is perfect for you.”

“Why won’t you kill him?”

“My victory would achieve nothing because I am a woman—and a witch to boot. These petty princelings and warlords of the northern border would never follow me. But you are male, and soon we will state your lineage.”

“What do you mean by my lineage?”

“Princelings will never deign to follow a commoner such as you,” Grimalkin said. “Therefore we will have to exaggerate your status. Have no fear—these border kingdoms are far from our homeland. They know nothing of the County here. They will accept you as their leader, even if they do so reluctantly. Then we can use this army to probe the Kobalos defenses, and in the process learn what we can about them.”