He shook his head slightly. Hard to believe, but it sounded true. Her schemes could kill thousands, could distress millions, and to her it was play.

Ill never understand you.

She giggled the giggle of a girl with nothing between the ears. She was neither young nor empty-headed. I dont understand myself. But I gave up trying a long time ago. Its distracting.

Games. From the first she had been involved in tortuous maneuvers and manipulations, to no obvious end. Her great pleasure was to watch a scheme flower and devour its victim. Her only plot to fail had been the one meant to displace her sister. And she had not failed completely then because she had survived, somehow.

She said, Soon Kinas followers will start arriving. Well have to be somewhere else. So lets go down to Dejagore and cause some confusion. We ought to get there about the time Spinner figures hes ready to make an independent move. Be interesting to see how it goes.

Croaker did not understand but did not ask. He was used to her talking in riddles. She let him know what she wanted him to know when she was ready to tell him. No point pressing her. He could do little but bide his time and hope.

Its late, she said. Weve done enough for today. Lets turn in.

He grunted, not eager. The place gave him the creeps when he thought about it, which meant every night as he fell asleep. Which meant at least one potent nightmare. He would be glad to get out.

Maybe out there he could vanish-if he could think of a way to hide from the crows.

Fifteen minutes after the lamp went out Soulcatcher asked, Are you awake?

Yeah.

Its cold in here.

Uhm. It always was. Most nights he fell asleep shivering.

Why dont you come over here?

The shivering worsened. I dont think so.

She laughed. Some other time.

He fell asleep worrying about how she always got her way instead of about the temple. His dreams were more troubling than nightmares.

Once he wakened momentarily. The lamp was alive again. Soulcatcher was murmuring with a clatch of crows. The subject seemed to be events in Taglios. She appeared pleased. He drifted off without understanding what it was about.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Neither potential campsite was perfect. One had been fortified before, in ancient times. For centuries people had carried the stone off for use elsewhere. I chose that site.

Nobody remembers the name, I told Ram as we rode toward town. Makes you think.

Huh? About what?

The fleeting nature of things. Taglios entire history could have been influenced by what happened there and now nobody remembers the name.

He looked at me oddly, straining for understanding. He wanted to understand but he didnt have the capacity. The past was last week, the future tomorrow. There was no reality in anything that happened before he was born.