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."Where's the wine?""In a pitcher." Xar gestured, his gaze on Aleatha."Where did you say the dwarf was, my dear?"She cast him a haughty glance, turned her back on him, spoke to Paithan."Wewere in the maze.We found.the theater.There are people there, lots ofpeople.Elves and humans and dwarves.""Quit kidding, Thea." Paithan flushed, embarrassed."Where's the wine?" Roland mumbled, his mouth full."I'm serious," Aleatha cried, stamping her foot."They're not real people.They're only fog-people.We can see them when the starlight comes on.But.but now." Her voice quivered."Drugar's.one of them! He's.changed intofog."She grabbed hold of Paithan's arm."Just come, will you?" she insistedangrily."Maybe after we have some food." Paithan attempted to placate his sister."Youshould eat something, too, Thea.You know how you see things on an emptystomach.""Yes!" Xar hissed the word unpleasantly."Eat, drink.You will all feel muchbetter.""I found the wine pitcher," Roland called."But it's empty.The wine's allgone.""What?" Xar whipped around.Roland held out the empty pitcher."See for yourself."Xar snatched the pitcher, glared inside.A small amount of reddish liquidsloshed around in the bottom.He sniffed at it.He raised his gaze to thefour, who shrank back, alarmed at his fury."Who drank this?"From beneath the table came a thin, strident voice, raised in song."Goldfinger."Xar's face blanched, then went red with outrage.Reaching beneath the table,he caught hold of a protruding foot, tugged on it, dragged the foot out.Therest of the old man came along with it, sliding on his back, singing happilyto himself."You drank the wine.all the wine!" Xar could barely talk.Zifnab gazed up at him with watery eyes."Lovely bouquet.Exquisite color.Slightly bitter finish, but I suppose that must be due to the poison." Helay on his back, began singing again."You only live twice.""Poison!" Paithan caught hold of Rega, who clutched at him.Roland choked on the food, spit it out all over the floor."He's lying!" said Xar harshly."Don't believe the old fool.This is aprank." The Lord of the Nexus bent down swiftly, put his hand on the old man's chest,began to mutter and move his fingers in a strange pattern.But suddenly theold man's face contorted in pain.He let out a horrible cry.His hands clawedat the air, his body twisted and twitched.Reaching out, he grabbed hold ofthe hem of Aleatha's skirt."Poison! He meant.for you!" Zifnab gasped.Hisbody curled in on itself; he writhed in agony.Then he stiffened, shuddered.Afinal convulsive scream, and the old man lay still.His eyes were open, wideand staring.His hand was locked firmly on to Aleatha's skirt.He was dead.Horror-stricken, Paithan stared at the corpse.Roland was off in a corner,heaving his guts out.Xar's eyes swept over them, and Paithan saw the gleam of the scythe bladesweeping past, mowing them down."It would have been a painless death," Xar said."Swift, simple.But this foolhas changed all that.You must die.And you will die."Xar reached out his hand toward Aleatha.She stood terrified, unable to move,her dress caught in the corpse's grip.Aleatha had a dim impression of Paithanleaping in front of her, knocking aside the wizard's hand.Wanting only to escape this horrible place, this terrible man, the hideouscorpse, Aleatha tore her skirt from the dead man's hand and ran,panic-stricken, from the chamber.CHAPTER 40THE LABYRINTH"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'SHE'S BETRAYED us'?" ALFRED ASKED nervously."Marit's told them you're a Sartan," Haplo answered."And that I brought youinto the Labyrinth."Alfred gave the matter careful thought."Then she's only really betrayed me.I'm the one putting you in danger." He thought longer, brightened."You couldtell them that I am your prisoner.That." His words died out at the sight ofHaplo's grim expression."Marit knows better.She knows the truth.And I've no doubt she's told them.Ijust wonder," Haplo added somberly, staring into the forest, "what else she'stold them.""Are we just going to stand here?" Hugh the Hand demanded, scowling."Yes," said Haplo quietly."We're just going to stand here.""We could run "Haplo pointed."A good idea.I've been trying to convince Coren here to ""Alfred," the Sartan corrected meekly."Please.That is my name.I.I don'tknow that other person.And no, I'm not going back.""I go where he goes," said Hugh the Hand.The Patryns were in sight now andmoving closer."We can fight.""No," said Haplo, not pausing, not even considering, "I won't fight my ownpeople.Bad enough." He stopped, let it hang. "They're taking their own sweet time.Maybe you made a mistake about her?"Haplo shook his head."They know we're not going anywhere." His mouth twistedin a grim smile."Besides, they're probably trying to figure out what to dowith us."Hugh the Hand gave him a puzzled look."You see," Haplo explained, "they're not used to taking another Patrynprisoner.There's never been any need." He looked around at the gray sky, thedark trees.When he spoke, it was softly, to himself."This was always aterrible place, dangerous, deadly.But at least we were united one against it.Now, what have I done.?"The Patryns, led by a stoic Kari, surrounded the three."Serious charges have been leveled against you, Brother," she said to Haplo.Her gaze went to Alfred, who flushed clear up his bald scalp and managed tolook extremely guilty.Kari frowned, glanced back at Haplo.Probably she wasexpecting him to deny everything.Haplo shrugged his shoulders, said nothing.He began walking.Alfred, Hugh theHand, and the dog followed.The Patryns closed ranks behind them.Marit was not among them.The group moved silently through the forest, the Patryns ill at ease,uncomfortable.When Alfred fell as he did repeatedly, circumstances and hissurroundings combining to make him clumsier than usual the Patryns waitedgrimly for him to regain his feet.They did not offer help, nor would theypermit Haplo or Hugh to go near the Sartan.At first they'd regarded him with grim-faced enmity.But now, after he'dtumbled headlong over a tree root, walked into a bog, and nearly brainedhimself on an overhanging limb, they began exchanging questioning glancesamong themselves, even as they redoubled their watchfulness.It could, ofcourse, all be an act, designed to lull them into complacency.Haplo recalled thinking exactly the same thing himself the first time he'd metAlfred,Boy, did they have a lot to learn.As for the human assassin, the Patrynstreated him with disdain.Most likely they had never heard of mensch; Haplohimself had not learned of the existence of these "lesser races" until Xarinformed him.* But Marit would have told them that Hugh the Hand lacked therune-magic, was therefore harmless.Haplo wondered if she had thought to tellthem that this man could not be killed.*Xar learned of the existence of the mensch in the Nexus, reading theliterature left behind by the Sartan.When his fellow Patryns looked at Haplo at all, which was rarely, they wereshadow-eyed and angry.Again he wondered uneasily what Marit had told them.And why.The trees began to thin out.The hunting party was nearing the edge of theforest, and at this point, Kari called a halt.Before them stretched a vastopen field of short-cropped waving grass.Haplo was astonished to see signsthat some animal had been grazing in the area.If these were mensch, he would have guessed they were raising sheep or goats
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