Her eyes brightened. ‘Goat’s milk would be just fine, my Lord. Cow’s milk is so bland, and we Styrics prefer something a bit more robust.’

Sparhawk shuddered.

The abbot sent the other young monk to the kitchen for milk and supper, then poured red wine for Sparhawk, Kurik, and himself. He leaned back in his chair then, idly toying with the stem of his goblet. ‘Can we be frank with each other, Sparhawk?’ he asked.

‘Of course’

‘Did any word get to you in Jiroch about what happened here in Cippria after you left?’

‘Not really,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘I was a bit submerged at that time.’

‘You know how Rendors feel about the use of magic?’

Sparhawk nodded. ‘They call it witchcraft, as I recall.’

‘They do indeed, and they look on it as a worse crime than murder. Anyway, just after you left, we had an outbreak of that sort of thing. I got involved in the investigation since I’m the ranking churchman in the area.’ He smiled ironically. ‘Most of the time Rendors spit as I go by, but the minute somebody whispers “witch-craft”, they come running to me with their faces white and their eyes bulging out. Usually the accusations are completely false. The average Rendor couldn’t remember the Styric words of the simplest spell if his life depended on it, but charges crop up from time to time – usually based on spite, jealousy, and petty hatreds. This time, though, the affair was quite different. There was actual evidence that somebody in Cippria was using magic of a fair degree of sophistication.’ He looked at Sparhawk. ‘Were any of the men who attacked you that night at all adept in the secrets?’

‘One of them is, yes.’

‘Perhaps that answers the question then. The magic seems to have been a part of an attempt to locate something – or someone. Maybe you were the object of that search.’

‘You mentioned sophistication, my Lord Abbot,’ Sephrenia said intently ‘Could you be a bit more specific?’

‘There was a glowing apparition stalking the streets of Cippria,’ he replied. ‘It seemed to be sheathed in lightning of some kind.’

She drew in her breath sharply ‘And what exactly did this apparition do?’

‘It questioned people. None of them could remember the questions afterwards, but the questioning appears to have been quite severe. I saw a number of the burns with my own eyes.’

‘Burns?’

‘The apparition would seize whomever it wanted to question. Wherever it touched them, it left a burned place. One poor woman had a burn that encircled her entire forearm. I’d almost say that it was in the shape of a hand – except that it had far too many fingers.’

‘How many fingers?’

‘Nine, and two thumbs.’

She hissed. ‘A Damork,’ she said.

‘I thought you said that the Younger Gods had stripped Martel of the power to summon those things,’ Sparhawk said to her.