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Frood, Patera?"

He straightened up, clearing his throat "Where no other identi fication is od to which a prophecy refers is the one to whour is meant-also shall win the favor-"

At that instant, Oreb flew in through a"Watch out! Watch out!"

"And undertake a long journey, from which he shall not return Death er to his lips, he gave the bird a stern glance; it settled upon his shoulder, repeating, "Bad things! Things fly!"

"The god's prophecy concerned with all of us is about to be fulfilled, I believe Certainly the entrails warn that it is very iuns, I see You will need them Others may have less obvious weapons of other kinds, as I do You may wish to consider how best to employ them I remind those of you who are unare and resource is ever entirely helpless"

"Good Silk?" his bird croaked; and then, "Silk fight?"

He turned to the Prolocutor "Your Cognizance, I suggest that this victim be offered to the flames entire, and that the remainder of the ceremony proceed as swiftly as possible We haven't much time"

As has been said, Captain Wijzer led Vadsig down the aisle, he proud and tearful in crimson velvet tunic and trousers, she radiantly lovely in watered silk dripping with pearls Her bridal bouquet was of pink-and-white seaspuracious perfuhters Sweetbay and Madrone were her train-bearers, and Capsicu on a black silk pillow

Everything went nored vows, kissed, and started back up the aisle, bathed in the fervent good wishes of their guests, a whom Hoof and I were of course nuency that few if any had heard before: "Watch out!" A flying shape not quite a man swooped over the pews It struck Hide with such violence as to knock his and terrible claws that fell in a welter of blood and sli more terrible than any inhumi, vanished as swiftly as it had appeared, then darted forth again to spear a second inhumu at an open

No coherent description of that faht is possible Patera Remora (this is widely known) defended himself and his altar with the knife of sacrifice, as ritten two hundred years ago of another augur favored by the gods Capsicum, it is said, stabbed Gyrfalcon in the melee; certainly she herself was shot and killed by a randson and Marrow's, is said to have killed an inhuh he was only a boy Captain Wijzer, five inhu one with each hand

It would be possible and even easy to es Because they are omitted from all the other accounts, e must emphasize here are the indescribable noise, the welter of blood, and the wild confusion Everyone was screa, even those ould have fled if they could No count of the numbers of the inhumi was or is possible It has been said that half the inhumi on Blue at the time took part in the attack, but the assertion rests upon their own testimony, and of what value is that?

Those skilled in war report that an attacking force will scarcely ever sustain its attack when it has lost a third of its nuu their bodies) is one hundred and ninety-eight If it is correct, and they fought as crack troopers do, their number was about six hundred It seeer We would propose one thousand

What seems certain is that without the azoth, Gyrfalcon's needier, and the slug guns of his bodyguard, the subject of this volu party with him

Afterward, he visited Patera Re for a tiarden between the ," Patera Remora told him "In process, hey? If not inWindow, uod can conizance"

"Better, hum? Better so In-ah-Viron, eh? Thirty years? In, um, Old Viron, as we say now"

He snizance"

"What all men, and most-ah-females, require is not theophany, not the divine, uibility It is the-ha!-possibility"

"And yet Mainframe, too, will come Not in your lifetime, I believe In your acolyte's"

"He, u back the lank gray hair that had fallen over his eyes

His visitor gave hilance "Not you?"

"Er, yes To be sure"

"It would be presunizance"

"Yet I should welcome it, er, Horn"

Oreb corrected him

"Patera Quetzal de-e that Pas was dead He chose-doubtless wisely-to emphasize that of Scylla instead"

Patera Remora patted his forehead with a worn and yellowed, but neatly folded, handkerchief "I remember it well" It was the first warht choose to emphasize that of the Outsider, for exaod," Oreb renizance I believe I can assure Your Cognizance of that Not in your time, nor in your acolyte's, nor in his"

Patera Remora nodded slowly at first, then more rapidly "I, er, conizance, before the Whorl puts out again; but Mainframe can never have the power here that it had there, the reins of the sun Meanwhile it ht be well for New Viron-for all of Blue-if you were to exercise your discretion"

"I, um, have In another matter, hey? But-ah-first, Pat- Er, Horn May I say that you are most, um, perspicacious? You are correct I, ah, apprehend it noould, uiven the, er, hint? No, inti the-ah-the ceremony, eh? Your, um, son's nuptials I would have, um, conizance"

"Was it this? This the, er, topic? Upon which you, eh?"

"No, Your Cognizance" His visitor sighed "Or at least, only partially"

"In that case, u to take one's own life"

He waited for a reply, but none ca to put oneself in harm's way, in the hope that one's life may be taken?"

"Poor Silk!" Oreb exclai branch

"You, u?"

"Yes, Your Cognizance"

Reers "Not, unizance will recall the first inhuanu, or at least that is the name by which I knew him He was infatuated with a human woman, a ht to have told Your Cognizance"

"You, unizance, in such a way as to stir up Juganu's ill will asand tearing "I didn't-I've searched ine that Juganu would enlist hundreds of his kind for a public attack"

Reanu would con sleep and permit him to drink his fill, which would be much If I lived, so be it"

Remora nodded to hi a co two or even three; in either case I would certainly die"

"So-unizance It would be what I wanted I wanted souilt myself You know the result of my folly-the deaths of a round dozen people and hundreds of inhumi"

"Evil, eh? Vile, um, miscreations that deserve to-ah-perish, htened up and squared his shoulders "I have been on friendly terms with three, however No, four, because I was briefly on such ternizance, and two inhuh those I have known have been no worse than we I wish to be shriven of that, as well Shall we begin?"