‘Look. What do you think’s going on up there?’Clovis gazed upward toward the battlements as a tiny bowl of what looked to be dust was upended. The dust caught the soft late summertide breeze and was borne away.‘I don’t know. You’re the one who can get into people’s heads,’ he grumbled.‘Ssh!’ Kirin cautioned. ‘And you’re the one who sees things.’‘I see nothing other than a woman who could be the queen.’‘What?’ Kirin squinted as he concentrated. ‘You’ve seen her?’‘Only from a distance and in paintings.’‘No, I don’t think so. That woman looks like she’s feebleminded. Look at how her mouth hangs open.’‘I can’t see as well as you, Kirin. Your eyes are younger.’‘Well, what I can tell you is that Loethar’s on the rooftop and Stracker’s next to him. Promise me you’ll steer clear of him.’‘As if I have a choice,’ Clovis commented absently. He’d never told Kirin that it was Stracker who slaughtered his family. Although Kirin seemed excited by their loose plan to work against the barbarian king, Clovis was tired from the enforced walk to Penraven, and anxious about what awaited them here.They were being herded through the vast main gates of Penraven, where in a moment of whimsy perhaps, Cormoron — the original great king of the Valisar dynasty — had installed an impressive bell in one of the huge pillars and a shadow timepiece in the other.
