“From the empire? Or the northern army? Surely the leaders of the northern army know who was responsible for their defeat.”

“Anji has many enemies.” So the hero always did, in the tales and songs. Sometimes he won and lived, and sometimes he lost and died. And often he won, and died anyway.

“Captain Anji is a very clever man, I am sure from everything you and Eliar and my father and uncles say, not that I will ever be allowed to speak to him conversationally. I am sure he knows what he is doing.”

“I am also sure of it, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t in danger. And it’s doubly worse because Seren did not see who stabbed him, and was then overtaken by the poison so he never saw what happened to Tam.”

She shuddered. Anji had arrived in time to see Tam’s ghost, but of course he could not hear the speech of ghosts, and the spirit had departed with the setting of the sun. If only Shai had been here!

A dog barked, answered by another. In a nearby district, drums beat a rhythm uncannily like the thunder of hooves on a hard road, but the pounding faded away into silence. A light flared in the sky.

“What was that?” Eliar released the scroll, stood, and stepped into the open. Miravia looked over her shoulder, her brow furrowing with puzzlement as she stood and bent back her head, the better to stare. Twisting, Mai could see nothing above the curved roof.

Nearby, many voices joined in shouting, the noise expanding outward like the clash of bells. From the courtyards, at their stations, guards cried the alarm.

A door slid open, and Sheyshi came onto the porch carrying a tray of fresh tea. Oblivious of the others, she got to the steps before she responded to the outcry. She raised her eyes to stare along the peaked roof and, with a shriek, dropped the tray. The pot shattered. Miravia reached down to pull up Mai, but by now there was nothing to see in the sky. Yet shouts and curses from the gardens grew louder, more intense. Priya hurried down off the porch without putting on outdoor sandals.

“Mistress, come quickly. Back inside.”

“What did you see?”

“A demon,” said Priya. “Come quickly, Mistress.”

“A ghost!” Sheyshi collapsed beside the shards of the teapot, weeping noisily. “It will eat us!”

“That horse had wings!” cried Eliar as he clattered up to his sister and gripped her shoulder.

“It is a Guardian,” said Miravia breathlessly, her face alight with wonder. “A Guardian has entered your house, Mai.”

The household alarm bell began to ring.

O’EKI SET ASIDE his counting frame and accounts book and rose from his desk. “Master Keshad, you’ve done plenty. I think you can quit for the night.”

“No, thanks.”

With a shrug, the big man padded off, remarkably quiet-footed given his size, slid open the doors that led in to the public receiving rooms, and left Keshad alone in the office.