"I've questioned them all myself," Miro said, his patience growing thin, "and my men are not prone to delusions, particularly not when their honour is at stake."

"Think about it," Rogan said. "It makes a horrible sense. The Akari are said to have been exiled to the north by the first emperor, Xenovere the Great, when the Tingaran Empire was newly formed. They used their dead in unholy ways — that's the story. What if this has something to do with Primate Melovar Aspen's new source of essence? What if the Akari have allied themselves to the Primate, or are perhaps under the thrall of his elixir?"

"Preposterous," the lord said haughtily.

"We'll soon find out," Miro said, grim-faced, "for our objective of reaching Seranthia ahead of the Hazarans means we will need to move quickly. I would have preferred to move into Torakon via Loua Louna, leaving a small force behind us to lay siege to the Ring Forts, but for expediency we will now need to assault the Ring Forts directly. Marshal Scola has a large force with him, which, added to ours, will give us the manpower we need to take back Manrith, Penton, Ramrar, Charing and finally the great fortress Sark. We will, however, suffer heavy losses."

"When we once more have control of the Ring Forts," Rogan continued, "we'll have a strong base from which to launch a direct assault on the Azure Plains in Torakon. Our objective is to push through quickly and decisively, using every weapon at our disposal, until we are standing in the streets of Seranthia."

There was a hesitant knock on the door, causing every man in the room to frown, a situation that would have been comical if their words weren't so grave. "What is it?" High Lord Tiesto called. "I left orders that we weren't to be disturbed."

A steward popped his head in; Miro recognised the man who had been planning the evening meal with Amber.

Suddenly he felt a shiver of fear run through him. Why was the steward here?

"What is it?" Miro demanded.

"I'm sorry, terribly sorry, but I need to speak with the Lord Marshal."

"Tell me now," Miro said, unable to wait until he was outside the chamber.

"Lord Marshal, it's about Lady Amber… She was due back from the market hours ago. I went looking for her, but it appears she's gone."

~

AS LORD Marshal, Miro had the prerogative of telling his men what to do. He felt no guilt at ordering the city of Ralanast to be searched from one end to the other.

He had never felt so furious, but the anger was directed completely at himself. His men leapt at every snapped command, fearful of their commander's rage, and soon there wasn't a soul in Ralanast who didn't know the Lord Marshal was looking for a young Alturan woman with brown eyes and auburn hair.