The symbol of the House of Scholars shone out in the bright colors of stained glass, striking a spot on the floor of the model city. It seemed to be in the middle of one of the open squares of houses, in one of the green spaces that filled it. There was a stone built arch there, perfect in miniature. Greave had no doubt about what would lie beyond it.

You did it, Aurelle said, staring at Greave with surprise, but also respect. Youve found the library!

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

When the guards came to drag him to his execution, Renard knew it for what it was.

Hed seen the faces of men who wanted to kill him before, and this was like a cut down version of that, shorn of the anger, but still with the same twist of certainty to it, the same hardness that said that he wouldnt be able to change their minds with a well-placed word or a coin.

Well, lads, he said, as they dragged him from his cell in manacles. How has Lord Carrick decided to have me killed?

They looked round at him in surprise, as if they thought he shouldnt have been able to work out what all this was about.

Youll see, one of them assured him, as they made their way up from the featureless stone and straw of the dungeon.

Ah, something bad, is it? Renard asked. Then, without pausing, he elbowed the man in the ribs and ran as fast as his chains would allow him. It wasnt very fast, but it wasnt as though he had much to lose at this point, either.

Of course, the problem with trying to run while chained was that it simply didnt let a fellow move very fast. The same problem applied to trying to fight while chained too, although Renard did at least manage to get his chains around a guards neck before one of them slammed the pommel of a knife into his skull, making him see as many stars as there were in all the heavens.

They pretty much carried him up the stairs after that, which seemed only fair to Renard. A man shouldnt have to walk to his own execution. They took him out into a courtyard, ringed by high walls that even he couldnt climb in chains. There were peasant folk there, crammed in tight and surrounded by guards to keep them in line. Yselle was there, and Renard had the feeling that having to watch this was part of the lesson that Lord Carrick wanted them to learn. He looked over to her, but did not dare declare what he felt while he did so. That would just have seen her hurt. There was a gallows set up, of course, and on it a burly executioner stood, next to a block, axe in hand.