Unfriendly faces peered at them from out of the shadows of alleys and doorways as Myna led her into a twisting warren of narrow streets. Klia shrugged her saddlebags higher on her shoulder and rested her left hand on the hilt of her sword, keeping a sharp eye out for trouble as they took one turning after another.

“Is your house close by?” Klia asked at last. She was exhausted and felt like they were going in circles.

“You must see the great lady first,” Myna told her. “All strangers must present themselves to her.”

“Who is this great lady?” This hardly looked the sort of place a noblewoman would live.

“She rules over all you see,” the woman replied and said no more.

Klia’s grip tightened on her sword. Something wasn’t right. “You said nothing of her earlier. Can’t I sleep first and meet her tomorrow? Perhaps she’s asleep.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s not.”

Around the next corner Klia found herself in a paved courtyard in front of the tower. Torches burned in brackets on either side of the huge, iron-bound doors, but there were no guards or watchmen. The hair on the back of Klia’s neck prickled as the doors swung out on creaking hinges, but she didn’t know where else to go in this cursed place. Inside was a huge, brightly lit receiving chamber. As soon as she stepped inside the doors closed with a hollow boom that echoed around the vaulted chamber, confirming her worst suspicions.

A trap.

Candles blazed in stands all around them, though there was not a stick of furniture to be seen. Or a servant. The only other way out of the room appeared to be a pair of tall oak doors framed by candle sconces at the far end opposite the main doors.

“What is this place?” Klia demanded, stopping in the middle of the chamber.

“The great lady’s house, of course,” Myna replied.

“I’m not going another step until you explain to me why you’ve brought me to an empty tower.” Dropping her saddlebags, she drew her sword.

Instead she found herself grasping a fat, hissing viper poised to strike at her face. Dropping the revolting thing, she sprang back from it and watched it slither away across the black stone floor. “What necromancy is this?”

Myna smiled at her, then changed form completely into a stunningly beautiful woman in a red velvet gown stiff with gold embroidery. She had flowing black hair that fell nearly to her waist and eyes the blue of skyflowers. Her flawless fair face was touched with rose at the cheekbones.

Klia drew her dagger—only to have the blade transform into a long black feather. “What do you want with me?”

“Why in such a hurry to leave, Highness, when you’ve only just arrived?” the woman asked, her voice kind and melodious.