“I’m sorry, I just don’t know. After that it’s all confused until I woke up last night. It was like I was caught in a bad dream and couldn’t wake up. All I remember is blood, Highness, and being visited by awful—I don’t know what to call them. Big smoky things with yellow eyes like a cat’s and they meant to finish the job. And that’s all I can tell you. I swear to it.”

“Smoke? I’d like to touch your mind again,” said Thero. “Now that you’re clearheaded, there might be something more I could bring out.”

Sedge nodded and Thero stood and placed his fingers on the man’s temples. After a moment he grimaced, then nodded to himself and withdrew his hands. “Something definitely emerged from some sort of unnatural portal, and I believe we encountered it last night.” He shook his head. “This is beyond my knowledge, but it most certainly was not a dra’gorgos. I hesitate to use the term, but for want of a better word, it may in fact have been some sort of demon.”

Alec instinctively made a warding sign and noticed that Seregil did the same.

“That only adds to the confusion,” said Seregil. “I mean, you seem certain that it was a dra’gorgos that Karis saw that night, yet you’re saying what Sedge found in the governor’s chamber was something else?”

“Yes.”

“Karis?” Sedge brightened at that. “He’s a good lad. I’m glad he escaped that night.”

No one disabused him of that idea, and Alec guessed it wasn’t time to burden the man with another death in his condition.

“So the governor and his lady were killed by a demon, rather than a dra’gorgos?” he asked. Sedge was watching them with renewed fear. “You’re saying I had a demon in me? Why didn’t it tear me to pieces, as well?”

“Only the demon would know that, if such creatures think and reason,” Thero replied. “Really, you know as much as we do at this point. Perhaps it was curious.”

“Have you ever heard of a necromancer who could control demons?” asked Micum.

“There are ancient tales, but I haven’t heard of one in my lifetime.”

“Assuming that this necromancer can, then maybe he wanted to make a very definite statement,” said Seregil. “Such as, ‘Try and take this island from Plenimar and I’ll slaughter anyone you send to rule in the nastiest possible way.’ ”

Thero gave Klia a stricken look as the enormity of the possibility became clear. “You’re in danger here, more than I guessed!”

“Only if I sleep in the old palace, apparently,” she replied calmly. “Otherwise, the necromancer could have killed Toneus much sooner, down in Deep Harbor, where there are more people around to get that message.”