"He does have certain reptilian qualities, doesn't he? He's a thief and a scoundrel, but he still managed the palace better than anyone else has ever been able to. If I hadn't been molting when he fell into disgrace, I might have forgiven him."

"Shedding one's skin is always a trying procedure," Ezahh agreed. "If you don't mind a bit of advice, Salmissra, you should probably make the humans stay away from you at those times."

"I need a few of them around me. If nothing else, it gives me someone to bite."

"Stick to mice," he advised. "They taste better, and at least they can be swallowed.”

“If I can persuade Sadi to return, it may just solve both our problems," she hissed dryly. "I'll have someone to run the palace without bothering me, and you'll get your little playmate back."

"Interesting notion, Salmissra." He looked around. "Is that human you sent out to fetch my mouse raising it from infancy?” be asked.

Yarblek and Vella slipped into Yar Nadrak late one snowy evening just before the gates were closed for the night. Vella had left her lavender satin gowns at Boktor and had reverted to her traditional tight leather garb. Because it was winter, she wore in addition a sable coat that would have cost a fortune in Tol Honeth. "Why does this place always smell so bad?” she asked her owner as they rode through snow-clogged streets toward the riverfront.

"Probably because Drosta let the contract for the sewer system out to one of his cousins." Yarblek shrugged, pulling the collar of his shabby felt coat up around his neck. "The citizens paid a great deal in taxes for the system, but Drosta's cousin turned out to be a better embezzler than he was an engineer. I think it runs in the family. Drosta even embezzles from his own treasury."

"Isn't that sort of absurd?"

"We have an absurd sort of king, Vella."

"I thought the palace was over that way.” She pointed toward the center of town.

"Drosta won't be in the palace at this time of night," Yarblek told her. "He gets lonesome when the sun goes down, and he usually goes out looking for companionship."

"He could be anywhere, then."

"I doubt it. There are only a few places in Yar Nadrak where he's welcome after dark. Our king isn't widely loved." Yarblek pointed up a littered alley. "Let's go this way. We'll stop by the office of our factor and get you some suitable clothing."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Sable attracts attention in the part of town we're going to visit, Vella, and we're trying to be inconspicuous."