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CHAPTER ONE

ONCE, WHEN HE was a young child, six years old, Gerek Hessler had asked his great-grands of past lives that cah she no longer saw anything but shadows, she swung her head around and stared at hi, she whispered I drea, little man

But when he asked again, she sucked in her lower lip For a aze turned inward, as if recalling those dreams Then her mouth twitched in an unhappy sently than she used to Live blind and you die blind, she said in swift soft tones One day, Blind Toc himself makes sure you see the truth about yourself

She had not answered his question, not directly, but he had not dared to say ht and dawn, she died in her sleep One life ended, her soul winging through the void to its next Later, after he had studied the old philosophers, Gerek alondered about his great-grandmother’s words Had she lived blindly, life upon life, absorbed in the daily dull minutiae? Or had she at last faced the truth with eyes open, unflinchingly?

Gerek passed a hand over his face Strange, unsettling memories They had coh Tiralien’s northern gates Was it the sight of that aged fresco of Lir and her brother Toc over the gate itself? Or did the memories revive because of Tiralien itself, because of his cousin Dedrick, whose death had brought him so many miles?

Dedrick Years ago, as children, he and Dedrick had spent awith their families A second visit caht study with an old scholar in the Little University Now, riding in a freight wagon along a boulevard croithto see if the present city ue recollections He remembered that bell tower, built of dark red brick and topped with an elaborate openwork crown for the bell itself, which flashed in the thin sunlight That bridge led over the Gallenz River to the southern highway And there, on the rising hills above, was the regional governor’s palace—Lord Vieth was the man’s name He could not see the coast fro He closed his eyes and tried to recall the hushing sound of water against the shore A foreign sound to someone from the inland hill country

From the nearby tower came the creak of ropes, the dull thump of the clapper A pause, like the silence between each breath, then bell and bell and bell rang out over the

The driver shouted to his teaon jerked to the left Gerek, used to this ainst the nearest crate His bones ached fro, his teeth rattled in time with the wheels as they jounced and bounced over the stone-paved streets Soon they left behind the chaos oftheir catch, far countryside to trade for supplies; it dropped away like an old cloak as they entered a quieter neighborhood where the merchants and richer tradesmen lived

After the merchant houses ca houses and storage buildings Just as he wondered how er until they arrived, the driver flicked his whip and barked out a coon lurched, and they turned onto a broad avenue Oh yes Here were houses such as Gerek had iht live Even without his cousin’s description, Gerek recognized his destination

The driver reined his horses to a stop Gerek cli ride, buckled He grabbed the wagon to keep froainst the wheel He yelped, in spite of himself

The driver coughed It sounded suspiciously like a laugh “Would you like me to unload your trunks here, sir?” he asked

“N-n-no” Gerek sed and started over “No Thank you Please leave them at the warehouse I will send for them later”

“As you wish, sir” The retted that ill-tih Perhaps he knew of Gerek’s connection to House Maszuryn, itself elevated by the queen’s friendship with Gerek’s cousin Alia More likely, he sier

Gerek paid the driver the final installe, then added five s And for your kindness during the journey” The words caantly It was more than he often hoped for

The wagon lu stones Gerek stood alone on the broad and quiet avenue He sniffed, smelled the scent of freshly turned dirt in the cool, cleanair This was one of the richest quarters in the city A handful of stone h the trees, which were still winter-bare on this early spring day The one that interested him—Lord Raul Kosenate In the center of the gate, an artisan-smith had twisted the iron bars into the likeness of a sinuous leopard The insignia of House Valentain

Memories, thirteen years old, came to life

Gerek re from his father’s estates, breathless with the news A letter had arrived frorandfather was to receive an award for his service to the Crown, and froovernor’s own hand

“We shall all attend,” his great-grandfather had declared

Standing here in Tiralien oncesuovernor’s palace The pervasive stink of ocean tang, overlaid by sweat and too ether, which even the sweetest herbs could not overcorandfather kneeling before Lord Vieth to receive an astonishingly ugly chain, worked of silver and gold and studded with

jewels of all sorts His cousins whispering jokes to each other Dedrick’s handso just as quickly, but not before he’d ? That vulgar chain? At Gerek hi his cousins of all degrees?)