Queen Anigel stared at the plate of food before her, a simple grilled fillet of garsu fish and a helping of glazed dorun tuber, and put down her knife and fork. ‘I confess that Hara’s dreadful account of the poor Blue Lady has robbed me of my appetite. It pierces my very soul to know that there is nothing we can do to free her from that hellish enchantment.’

‘If Iriane is frozen stiff,’ Kadiya said reasonably, ‘she cannot be suffering. What good can it do her if you pine and starve yourself?’

‘You are ever practical,’ Anigel said with a sigh. ‘But hardhearted.’

‘Nonsense,’ said the Lady of the Eyes, taking a goodly helping of bittercress salad and pouring rich cheese dressing over it. ‘One must sympathize with the troubles of others, but not to the point of impairing one’s own good health – especially if one has duties of state to perform. Don’t you agree, Hara?’

The Archimage inclined her head. ‘My talisman refuses to confirm my suspicions, but I believe that Iriane’s imprisonment may be only the beginning of a new time of peril for all of us. The return of the Star Guild, and the possibility that Orogastus may be gathering weapons of the Vanished Ones, poses a grave danger to the peace and good balance of the world. It may be that we Three will once again be called upon, and if this be so, then we will need all of the physical and mental strength we can muster. And you, dearest little Sister, have important personal obligations as well.’

Queen Anigel received this admonition in chilly silence. But she began with obvious reluctance to eat.

The triplets were at dinner in Ruwenda Citadel, seated at the high table with the Queen presiding, while others of the court feasted at lower boards in the torch-lit great hall. There were many persons missing – including King Antar and his military advisers – and the usual cheerful conviviality attending the evening meal was absent. Less than an hour earlier, the magic of Haramis had transported Kadiya and herself to the Citadel, where they had reported to the Laboruwendian court not only the misfortune of the Archimage of the Sea but also the apparent resurgence of the Star Guild under the leadership of Orogastus.

The latter piece of news had caused a furore, since only a single day now remained before the departure of the royal entourage on the long journey to Labornok. King Antar, Marshal Lakanilo, and General Gorkain had sequestered themselves in order to make hasty plans for increasing the security of the train, leaving the Queen and her two sisters to speculate upon what the dire events might portend.

‘At the present time,’ the Archimage said, ‘only the Lords of the Air know what Orogastus’s long-range plans might be. But we can be assured that they involve the conquest of the world – both by physical means and by dark sorcery.’

Anigel added more crystallized honey to her cup of darci tea and stirred it morosely. ‘I find it hard to believe that once again that evil man has cheated death. Who would ever have thought such a thing possible? Hara, how could your talisman have deceived you about his fate?’

It was Kadiya who made the unpalatable reply. ‘The talisman spoke true – only the Archimage misinterpreted its words.’

Haramis admitted the accusation with a doleful nod. She brought forth the portrait of Orogastus and put it on the table before them. ‘When I requested a view of his dead face, the talisman could not comply. Only when I worded the command differently, avoiding the mention of death, did it show me his likeness so that I could fashion this picture.’

Now the Lady of the Eyes cried fiercely, ‘Damn that wizard! For all we know, he has already found the star-box and bonded Ani’s Three-Headed Monster to himself!’

‘No,’ Haramis stated positively. ‘My talisman indicates that he has not. Some other person has the coronet and the box – but the Circle will not tell me who.’

Kadiya took up her tableknife and with precision sliced a drumstick from the succulent roasted togar on the platter before her. ‘You may wager platinum to plarr-pits that Orogastus will seek out this coy new magician and attempt an alliance.’

‘You are probably right, Kadi,’ Anigel said. ‘And this is all the more reason why you should heed Hara’s counsel, and give up your own impotent talisman into her safekeeping so that neither villain gets hold of it.’

‘Never!’ Kadiya said through her mouthful of meat. ‘Even though the Three Moons tumble from the firmament!’

‘Oh, Kadi,’ cried the exasperated Queen. ‘It is the only safe course and you know it.’

‘All very well for you to say,’ muttered the Lady of the Eyes, pointing in accusation with the fowl’s legbone, ‘having given up your own talisman to Orogastus in ransom – ‘

‘Thus saving the life of the King my husband!’ Anigel exclaimed in high dudgeon. ‘Should I have let Antar die in captivity?’

‘You did not give Hara and me time to rescue him,’ Kadiya retorted, ‘but capitulated to the kidnappers with unseemly haste, opening the way to the invasion of your kingdom.’

Very quietly, so that none of the other supping courtiers noticed, the Queen began to weep. ‘You are right. I was at fault – but so are you. Your Three-Lobed Burning Eye is sure to be stolen by Orogastus or this unknown wizard sooner or later. My own foolishness and your stubborn vainglory may yet doom us all.’

‘For shame, Kadi,’ the Archimage said, taking her youngest sister in her arms. ‘Have you forgotten that Ani is with child and should not be upset?’

‘She is as rugged as a draft-volumnial dropping its yearly calf, for all her fragile looks,’ Kadiya remarked callously. ‘And do not either of you think to convince me to give up my talisman through this soppy charade.’

Anigel ceased crying. She sat up, wiped her eyes with a napkin, and shrugged. ‘It was worth the try,’ she said sweetly.

‘By the Flower!’ the Archimage said, chagrined as much by the Queen’s artful deception as by Kadiya’s intransigence. ‘You two will drive me to distraction.’

‘No, dear Hara,’ said Anigel, now in deadly earnest. ‘We will rather do whatever must be done to help you conquer the Star Men and restore the balance of the world, no matter what the personal cost.’ She turned to her other sister with a steely glance. ‘Is it not so, Kadi?’

‘Oh … lothok dung!’ cried the Lady of the Eyes, flinging the drumstick down onto her plate. ‘I suppose I will have to give in. You shall have the Burning Eye, Hara. What matter if my pride is in rags and my confidence undermined?’

‘It is for the best,’ the Archimage said, with evident relief.

‘May I keep the talisman with me until we Three separate, at least?’ Kadiya asked.

‘Certainly. There can be no danger here within the Citadel. I know for a certainty that there are no viaducts here, through which Orogastus or his agents might enter and steal the Eye.’

‘Those triply bedamned magical bolt-holes!’ Kadiya exclaimed. ‘You had better explain to Ani about them so she is forewarned.’

‘Viaducts?’ the Queen frowned. ‘Do you mean such as carried Hara from the Land of Fire and Ice to the home of the Archimage Iriane, when the Blood Trillium estranged us Three?’

‘Yes,’ Haramis said. She pushed aside dishes and tableware, laid out a large clean napkin, and touched her talisman to it. There was a faint smell of scorched linen, and immediately the cloth became a wondrously detailed map of the world-continent. ‘The viaducts are not truly magic, even though they seem so to us who know little of the science behind their making. Behold the viaduct portals.’

Anigel exclaimed in amazement, for the map became peppered with innumerable scarlet pinpoint dots. ‘So many!’

‘And now,’ said the Archimage, ‘since Orogastus stole a certain book belonging to Iriane that explained their operation, they are accessible to the sorcerer and his Star Guild.’

Kadiya said, ‘The villains are capable of popping up out of any one of those points like ziklu from a warren, and they can also go to ground through them, escaping their pursuers. Hara is thus far unable to destroy the viaducts or close them with her magic.’

‘It seems that the Vanished Ones used these passageways for casual travel about their world,’ the White Lady explained. ‘To ordinary people, the viaduct openings are invisible and imperceptible. But if one knows more or less where the portal is, it is only necessary to utter the proper arcane command – “viaduct system activate” – whereupon it becomes visible and operative. Some of the viaducts were destroyed in the great conflict between the Vanished Ones and the Star Guild, but these on the map remain. Heretofore, they have been used only by the Archimages of yore and by the sindona, when they venture forth from the Place of Knowledge.’

Kadiya said, ‘You’ll be interested to know, Ani, that this viaduct’ – she stabbed her finger at one of the dots – ‘opens right into Zotopanion Keep in the Winter Palace of Labornok! It was the way by which both Iriane and the sindona gained access to the keep during the climax of the Battle of Derorguila.’

‘Holy Flower!’ cried the dismayed Queen. ‘Is there no way of getting rid of these abominable tunnels?’

‘My talisman says there is,’ Haramis replied. ‘However, its instructions are given in archaic scientific gibberish and so far I can make no sense of it. When I return to my Tower I will look further into the matter of obliterating the viaducts, but for the present we shall have to barricade them instead. All that are in critical locations must be enclosed within sturdy cages or earthen mounds, and be heavily guarded withal.’

Anigel studied the map intently. ‘There are not so many portals in the Mazy Mire as elsewhere, but here is one not far from the Queen’s Mireway. I wonder … The trip to the Winter Capital will be so lengthy and tedious in the early rains. If, as you say, there is a viaduct leading directly to Zotopanion Keep –’

‘Do not contemplate it for a moment!’ Haramis said, aghast. ‘Only one adept in the science of the Vanished Ones dare use the things. Sometimes their routing is fixed and one has no control over the ultimate destination. At other times, if a kind of complex magical spell is recited before entry, the viaduct carries the traveller to the location that is specified. But if this spell is not said properly, the person risks emerging within the Sempiternal Icecap or even deep beneath the sea.’

She pointed again to the map, and it was indeed true that some of the scarlet dots were in perilous places.

‘Damn,’ said the dainty Queen. Her fair hair was bound up with ribbons of a gold so deep it was nearly brown, and she wore a loose-fitting smocked satin gown of the same colour, trimmed with worram-fur and adorned with a collar of trillium-amber. Her pregnancy of four months was still unnoticeable. ‘I would have gladly whisked myself and the court by viaduct from here to Derorguila and spared us the long journey in the rain.’

‘I could transport you, Antar, and the children,’ Haramis offered, albeit hesitantly, ‘even though carrying others strains my magic to the utmost.’

But the Queen shook her head. ‘It was but a jest, Hara. I would not dream of asking you to exhaust yourself. No, we must go to Labornok with the others of the court entourage, as is fitting.’

‘I shall give each of you copies of this map to keep,’ the Archimage said. ‘Ani, you will have to arrange for soldiers – preferably with aboriginal helpers – to stand guard at those viaduct openings in critical places within Labornok and Ruwenda. I shall command Kadi’s Folk to watch the terminals in more remote regions – the Mazy Mire, the Ohogan Mountains, and the Tassaleyo Forest. If members of the Star Guild are seen, the Folk will sound the alarm using the speech without words.’

‘What of the viaducts in other nations?’ inquired the Queen.

‘I have already bespoken a warning,’ Haramis said. ‘Every civilized country will soon be on the lookout for suspicious persons wearing Stars.’

‘The scoundrels can wreak no sorcery without their medallions,’ Kadiya explained to Anigel. ‘Unfortunately, this does not hold true for their use of weapons of the Vanished Ones, which are not truly magical but partake of the same ancient science as the viaducts and those antique artifacts one may purchase from certain traders.’

‘How shall we defend ourselves against Star Men equipped with such dread armaments?’ asked the Queen in apprehension. ‘If only Hara had not destroyed those weapons that had been deployed by the forces of Tuzamen and Raktum during the Battle of Derorguila! We might have made good use of them ourselves.’

‘We still have our magic,’ the Archimage said. ‘And if the Triune wills it, we will also soon have an alliance of every nation under the Three Moons to counter the much smaller forces of those loyal to the Star. After giving warning to the other nations, I also requested that they dispatch special envoys in fast ships to Derorguila. The delegations should have arrived by the time the royal retinue of Laboruwenda completes its journey to the flatlands. We will hold a conclave of mutual defence there in your capital in forty days.’

‘I will gladly assist you and my Royal Husband in rallying the nations,’ said Queen Anigel. ‘I suppose Kadi will be doing the same work amongst the Folk.’

‘Not for some time,’ the Lady of the Eyes said, ‘for I have been given a larger job to do. Only one state balked at Hara’s plan of alliance: Sobrania.’

The Queen assumed a rueful face. ‘I might have known. The Feathered Barbarians are so fearful of plots against them by Galanar or the Imlit and Okamisi republics that they resist any pact that infringes upon their much-vaunted independence. Emperor Denombo of Sobrania is an honourable man, according to his lights – but impetuous and short-sighted, and hardly inclined to concern himself with nations other than his own collection of fractious tribes. Will you go to him, Kadi, and attempt persuasion?’

‘Yes, may the Flower defend me. Hara has commanded it and I will willingly obey.’

‘She will also have another task.’ The Archimage spoke more quietly, even though musicians had begun to play the introduction to the night’s entertainment, making such a noise that eavesdropping seemed impossible. ‘I told you of observing a young Star Man in the mountains above Zinora. He had with him feathered saddlebags of Sobranian make. This could be a meaningless detail … or it might be a valuable clue.’

‘To the location of the Star Guild headquarters!’ Queen Anigel’s eyes, blue as the Dry Time sky, sparkled with excitement. ‘Have you any other indication pointing to Sobrania?’

‘None as yet,’ Haramis admitted, ‘for my talisman is powerless to descry Guildsmen who are in full control of the Star’s magic. It was only good fortune – or the kindness of the Lords of the Air – that enabled me to detect and Send to that young Star Man who incited the Skritek. He was a novice, not yet fully adept in commanding the Star’s protection, perhaps undertaking a mission of minor import while his fellows deal with weightier conspiracies.’

They left off talking for a moment while pages cleared the table of earlier courses of food, brought in tarts and fresh fruit, and refilled the wine goblets. Then there was a fanfare of bugle-horns. A troupe of Tuzameni acrobats pranced into the hall to much applause.

‘But how,’ the Queen asked Haramis under cover of the renewed noise, ‘will Kadi hope to spy out the Star Men in Sobrania, if your own great magic is powerless to do so?’

‘Eyes,’ said Kadiya laconically. ‘Not Three-Lobed Burning ones, but the two that God set into my head. Wherever the Star Men hide – and it might well be in a backward place like the Land of the Feathered Barbarians – the scoundrels must eat and sleep. And unless they subsist wretchedly as wanderers in the wilderness they require a permanent dwelling of fair size, food to eat, clean clothes to wear, beasts to ride when they are not zipping hither and yon through magical viaducts, and a corps of servants to keep all these things in order. Nor will they go invisible at all times, for that takes much effort. If they are hiding in Sobrania I will find them. If they are not, I will look elsewhere, as Hara instructs me.’

‘The Star Men will know that you search for them,’ Anigel said baldly. ‘They will descry you through sorcery and hunt you down.’

‘Have you forgotten,’ Kadiya said, pretending to watch the performers with an idle smile, ‘how we Three, as young princesses, fled for our lives from Orogastus, his Voices, and the evil King Voltrik? None of those miscreants could seek us out through magic, because we were protected then … as we are protected now.’

She drew from the shirt beneath her forester’s jerkin a faintly glowing amber pendant with a fossil Black Trillium within, swinging upon a golden chain. ‘Only the three talismans of the Sceptre of Power were able to countermand the magic of the Flower.’

‘Ah,’ breathed the Queen, smiling with relief. ‘Of course. I fear that I take its magic too much for granted.’ Her hand moved briefly to touch her bodice, where her own amulet was hidden.

Haramis smiled. Her trillium-amber nestled within the silvery wings of the Circle wand hanging about her neck. ‘Kadi will be shielded from the oversight of those who would do her harm through magic. The amber has other powers, but that one is perhaps the most valuable.’

‘The Star Men or their followers may still recognize my person as I go among them,’ Kadiya admitted, ‘as I may know them by their Stars. But I will disguise myself and my travelling party well. Perhaps, if I can persuade the amber to obey, I will even be able to go invisible!’

‘If you take any of your Mire Folk with you to Sobrania, you will be conspicuous,’ Anigel warned. ‘The aborigines of that distant region are said to be much different in appearance from those of the Peninsula.’

‘I must take Jagun, for his counsel is necessary, as is his ability to speak without words across long distances and keep me in touch with Haramis. My other comrades on this quest will be human … Ani, I ask that you find six of your most valiant young Oathed Companions to accompany me as volunteers. The Wyvilo will take us down the Great Mutar to Var and the sea. I have friends in the Varonian capital who will provide us with a ship and all other things necessary for the Sobranian quest.’

The acrobats did a spectacular turn and the Queen clapped her hands dutifully. ‘It seems you have thought of everything. Of course I will find you six brave knights. More, if you wish.’

‘I would travel lightly and swiftly. Six will suffice.’

‘There is still great danger in the enterprise,’ Haramis noted. ‘And as you have said, if Orogastus should once again obtain a working talisman, not even trillium-amber would prevent him from viewing and listening to all of us. With a talisman, he could locate you easily, Kadi. I do not know if he could slay you while you wear the amber, but you would ill serve our cause embedded in a block of blue ice like poor Iriane.’

Kadiya grinned at the Archimage. ‘It is your job to see that does not happen. Keep me under surveillance as best you can, and warn me of danger if you are able to. I will find the Star Men’s nest and smoke them out like night-carollers from a honey-tree.’

‘You will act only according to our agreed plan!’ the Archimage admonished. ‘You must not attack Orogastus or the Star Guild on your own!’

Kadiya sketched a mocking bow. ‘Of course not, White Lady.’

‘Forgive my abruptness,’ Haramis apologized. ‘But for the love of God, Kadi – promise me to eschew any rash action.’ ‘You must take great care,’ Anigel added. ‘I feel guilty – my own task is so much easier and safer than yours. Dearest Kadi, I would accompany you myself, together with all my knights of the Oathed Company, if I were bearing but a single babe and not triplets.’

‘Triplets!’ Both Kadiya and the Archimage were astounded.

‘Immu has only lately been certain of it,’ the Queen said, referring to the little old Nyssomu woman who had been midwife to their own unfortunate mother, Queen Kalanthe, and later the nurse and trusted friend to the sisters.

‘Can this pregnancy be another omen?’ Haramis wondered. ‘Might these also be children of high and awful destiny, as we Three were?’

Anigel placed a reassuring hand on that of the Archimage. ‘More likely it is an entirely natural thing. At any rate, Immu says that all of my unborn babes are boys, so the Petals of the Living Trillium need fear no usurpers.’

‘Idiot!’ laughed Kadiya, and turned in her chair to embrace and kiss Anigel. ‘May the Flower bless you and your new sons. Antar must be so proud.’

‘He is,’ said the Queen, ‘and so are my two eldest children. Only Tolivar seems dismayed by the prospect. Twelve is such a difficult age, when a boy is on the brink of manhood and torn by unfamiliar emotions. Poor Tolo has always been plagued by self-doubt and envy of his older brother and sister, and he seems now to resent the impending birth of the babes. But when he sees them, I am sure he will love them dearly.’

Haramis and Kadiya exchanged glances over their sister’s head. Young Prince Tolivar was a secretive and jealous boy who had been a thoroughgoing brat not too many years earlier. He bitterly resented being subordinate to Crown Prince Nikalon, who at fifteen was not only taller and better looking but also considerably more popular with the courtiers and common people. Princess Janeel, a year younger than Niki and clever as a she-fedok, had never been able to resist teasing her little brother, whom she thought deficient in character. Tolo loathed her heartily in return.

Over the years, Kadiya had made a special effort to be kind to the unhappy younger Prince; but she feared he might think she was only taking pity on him. Tolivar seemed to have no real affection for either of his illustrious aunts and had been barely civil when presented to them tonight before dinner.

Kadiya now studied the lad, who sat with the other royal and noble youth at one of the tables not far from the triplet sisters. Crown Prince Nikalon and Princess Janeel were laughing and throwing coins with the others as the acrobats retired, but Tolivar only sat with his elbows on the table, an inscrutable expression on his face.

The boy’s mire-name was Hiddenheart. And Kadiya thought that it suited him only too well.

‘Tolo needs to be given useful work to do,’ she said. ‘Ani, have you ever considered cutting him free of your apron strings? Letting him leave the court for a time, so he would not constantly compare himself to Niki or feel belittled by Jan?’

‘He was always my baby,’ Anigel confessed, ‘and since he was restored to me four years ago I have kept him close to me, hoping that my love would suffice to boost his fragile self-esteem. But perhaps you are right. The newborn sons will take all of my attention for some time, and Tolo might possibly feel worse than ever.’

‘Let the lad accompany me,’ Kadiya said impulsively. ‘Perhaps not as far as Sobrania, but at least during the first part of my mission. Jagun and I will keep him so busy he’ll have no time to sulk or feel sorry for himself

‘He is so young,’ Anigel said, looking doubtful, ‘and his body is not strong.’

Kadiya’s expression was sardonic. ‘He survived being snatched by pirates and held captive by Orogastus. Even though he is a bit lacking in stature, he is robust enough. Do not overprotect the boy, Ani. We may not deny children the right to encounter and overcome great obstacles. Such can turn even a shy or petulant soul heroic.’

‘As I myself know full well,’ the Queen admitted, smiling. ‘What do you think, Hara?’

‘The idea has merit,’ said the Archimage, ‘provided that the lad is carefully supervised. Is not the retired stablemaster Ralabun his close friend? He is a responsible person, if not overly endowed with brains. Perhaps he could accompany Tolo.’

‘Let us put it to the boy himself,’ Kadiya suggested. ‘I would not take him, were he unwilling.’

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