The golden target burned like a sun on his left fist, yet being hermetical, it didn’t interfere with his grip on his ghiavarina.

He put the golden key he’d stolen from Miriam into the gate.

Lines of white fire ran from the corners to the center.

“The gate is live,” said Bin Maymum.

As the fire ran over the gate, Gabriel could see that, unlike Lissen Carak, with ten settings, this gate had only two.

He took a deep breath.

He turned the key to the second setting.

The tracery of stone and glass vanished, and a hot wind blew into his face.

Sand whispered against the edge of his green shield.

For a long heartbeat, Gabriel stood alone in the light of an alien dawn. Behind him lay the underhall of the Castle of Arles.

Ahead of him lay a road made of stone, running on a stone causeway above a desert. The road ran right to the mouth of the cave; he could see. Looking around, he seemed to be standing in what appeared to be the mouth of another cave.

His heart felt as if it might burst.

He took a step forward, even though that had not been the plan.

His green shield vanished. He stood, unprotected except by his golden buckler, in the intense heat of a desert summer day, just after dawn, and a ribbon of road ran away toward a lonely mountain rising at the very edge of the heat shimmer.

He took a breath.

It was so hot that the air seemed to burn his lungs, and he was already sweating.

“Jesu,” Cully said beside him. “You are taking us to fuckin’ hell.”

Part II: Entanglement

Part II

Entanglement

“Fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.”

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The Inner Sea—Aneas Muriens

Aneas landed his canoe on the south shore of the Inner Sea, and the peaks of the Adnacrags stretched away to the east like a wall. The shore of the great lake was ablaze with autumn leaves, and the sun was already high in a peerless blue sky.

“Once more into the woods,” Irene said.

Aneas made himself smile at her, although he was finding her advances increasingly distasteful and he was almost sure that Master Smythe was attempting to put a geas on the two of them.

Behind her, eight more great canoes landed his rangers, and the two round ships began to disgorge men-at-arms and crossbowmen.

Aneas scouted the immediate landing area and found Krek, the bogglin, and Lewen standing among the beech trees.

“All clear,” Lewen said in his odd lisp. “I have been away south, almost to the first river—Liliwithen.”

“Gardunsag,” spat the bogglin. Its four mandibles clashed together—laughter.

Lewen rolled his blue-black eyes. “Please,” he said. “The mere sound of your distorted tongue makes my shoulders itch.”

He showed his fangs, and the bogglin clacked away with pleasure.

“Gentlemen,” Aneas said in almost exactly his brother’s tone.