I opened my mouth to protest, but met the fierce glare of the witch assassin, willing me to silence. Then her face softened, and she smiled.

“Things are going well!” she told me.

28

A Premonition of Death

IT was useless to object, so I watched nervously as Grimalkin offered my challenge to the prince’s champion. As she spoke, the man behind the throne glared at me angrily; I could see the veins in his neck standing out. He probably felt insulted to receive a challenge from someone who looked to be barely more than a boy.

We were escorted back to our camp by Majcher and his soldiers, who still seemed none too friendly. Indeed, when the high steward left, two of the soldiers stayed behind.

“What do they want?” I asked Grimalkin. “Are we under guard?”

She shook her head. “No, they are here to protect us and guard our camp.”

As I thought over what had just happened, my anger at Grimalkin grew. Now I was facing two fights against formidable opponents. I failed to see how I could win either.

I slumped down in front of the fire and stared into the flames.

“What’s wrong?” Jenny asked, warming her hands.

I shrugged but made no reply.

“I know you aren’t happy,” she persisted. “Why don’t you talk about it? Getting it off your chest will make you feel better.”

“It’s just that my death has now been arranged twice over,” I said. “Before I face the Kobalos assassin, I have to fight the prince’s champion.”

“It is scheduled to take place in three days, but you won’t have to fight that warrior. This I guarantee,” said Grimalkin, sitting down cross-legged beside me.

“How can you be so sure? Have you scryed it?” I asked.

She didn’t answer me directly. “All will be well. Focus your mind on the Shaiksa—he and he alone will you fight. It could not have worked out better. This Prince Stanislaw is the most powerful by far of the rulers gathered here. We will win his respect; eventually we’ll control him, and the rest will fall into line.”

Grimalkin proved to be correct. Less than twenty-four hours later, the news arrived that the prince’s champion had suffered an injury while training and would be incapacitated for at least a month. I was to be permitted to take his place and face Kauspetnd; I had almost two weeks to prepare.

“Did you scry that he’d suffer an injury?” I asked as we walked toward the river to watch the fight between the Shaiksa and his next challenger. With the prince’s men now guarding our camp, Jenny had been able to join us and was following close behind.

Grimalkin nodded. “Yes, it was almost certain to happen, but if it hadn’t, I would have arranged something to make it so,” she said with a smile.

The fight didn’t last long. The human challenger was young and scared, and the whole thing was over in less than a minute. I noticed Jenny cover her eyes when he ended up on his knees, shrieking in agony, trying to prevent his guts from spilling out into the water.