Vargussel felt as if his blood had frozen solid. His veins and arteries were like a second skeleton, propping him up for all to see in his perfect, crystalline humiliation. He felt as if, at the slightest touch, he would shatter into a million shards of stupidity, ignorance, and self-loathing, and that every one of those million shards would be coated in the greasy stench of an abandoned slaughterhouse, his new family home, the final resting place of the tiny shred of human dignity that remained to his miserable—

"Are you all right, sir?" a voice asked, sending a shiver up Vargussel's back.

The wizard blinked, shook his head, and his eyes fell on the face of the guard. Where he was, what he was doing, and more than that who he was, flooded back into Vargussel. His blood flowed once more, his mind raced anew, and his skin tingled with anticipation.

"I am fine," he said, smiling at the sound of his own voice. The words came out steadily, in a tone deep and strong.

The guard nodded and gestured to the door.

"The duke awaits," he said.

Vargussel grinned at the man and said, "Indeed he does, son."

The duke awaits, Vargussel thought. The Duke of Koratia, one of the most powerful men in world, awaits me. He cannot function without me. The city, the duchy, the world itself would crumble without me. I am the man the duke needs most, and it will be the duke who convinces his daughter that—

"Sir?" the guard said, again breaking into Vargussel's reverie.

The wizard took a deep breath, nodded, and followed the guard through the door.

As they passed through the short hall to the duke's private office, Vargussel adjusted his clothing, shook his shoulders, and finished gathering his wits about him. When the guard opened the door to the office Vargussel was fully himself again, prepared to once more make himself indispensable to his duke.

"Vargussel," the duke said," there you are, old man."

Once, Vargussel would have been delighted to hear the duke refer to him as "old man." For a man like the duke, that was a sign of acceptance. After his utter failure with Maelani, however, the greeting made Vargussel feel like...an old man.

"Are you all right?" the duke asked.

Vargussel cleared his throat, found his mouth as dry as dust, and croaked out, "Certainly, Your Highness."

"You look like a cavalryman who forgot his codpiece," the duke joked. "Come in."

Vargussel shuffled into the office in his ridiculous shoes, and just then became aware of the thin sheen of sweat that coated his entire body. He looked up at the duke and forced a smile. The duke looked back at him with narrowed eyes, sincere concern on his face.

"Your Highness," Vargussel said, "sent for me?"

The duke nodded and motioned to a chair. Vargussel, knees shaking, all but staggered to a seat—then jumped when someone touched his back and said, "Excuse me, sir."

Vargussel turned and realized he'd almost sat in another man's lap. The duke was chuckling and the man, who Vargussel didn't recognize, looked embarrassed. Vargussel shuffled to the other chair, made a conscious effort to see that it was empty, and sat. One of his knees cracked painlessly but loudly on the way down. Vargussel closed his eyes and sighed.

His eyes still closed, Vargussel heard the duke snap his fingers and there were hurried footsteps, the sound of water being poured into a glass, and the guard's voice again, saying, "Sir?"

Vargussel opened his eyes, took the glass of water from the guard, and drank it down with shaking hands in one, unsatisfying gulp.

"Thank you," he said to neither the guard nor the duke in particular.

The guard took the glass and left the room in an embarrassed hurry.

"Vargussel?" the duke said, his voice heavy with concern.

Vargussel breathed deeply and looked at the duke, who was sitting behind his impressive desk, eyeing him.

"Your Highness," Vargussel said, "please accept my most sincere apologies. My experiments are reaching a critical phase, and I have to admit that lost sleep has been the price of my success in the laboratory. I hope you will forgive my state, as I hope you will believe that I am as able as I am willing to serve the duchy in whatever manner Your Highness desires."

"Good," the duke replied, glancing at the other man. "For a moment I thought something had happened in the anteroom. I trust you saw Lady Maelani on her way out."

Vargussel felt the blood drain from his face, but he said, "Yes, Your Highness."

"And you're certain all is well?"

"I am, Your Highness," Vargussel replied, "most assuredly."

"Very well," said the duke, sitting back in his chair and motioning to the strange man. "This is Regdar, who just moments ago accepted the position of Lord Constable of New Koratia. Lord Constable, may I introduce Vargussel, a most capable wizard and a loyal friend to the duchy."

Regdar tipped his head at Vargussel and said, "Vargussel. It is my pleasure."

"Lord Constable?" Vargussel said.

"Yes," replied the duke. "Regdar is one of my most trusted soldiers, and he has agreed to serve the duchy in the investigation of these murders."

Vargussel swallowed, his mouth and throat still dry. He dabbed the sweat from his brow with his fingertips, which served only to send the perspiration dripping into his eyes.

Blinking madly, he said, "He has? I mean...has he indeed?"

"Are you quite certain you're not ill, old man?" asked the duke.

"I am, Your Highness," Vargussel replied. He shifted in his seat to sit up straighter and he turned to face the new lord constable. "My apologies, Lord Constable. Please feel free to assume that, unless his highness should say otherwise, my services are at your disposal, such as they may be."

"Precisely what I hoped to hear," the duke said.

Regdar said, "Thank you, Vargussel."

"Yes," the old wizard said, putting his hands on the arms of the chair to signal that he was intending to stand, "well, there we are."

The duke put out a hand and the wizard sat back, clenching his teeth so they wouldn't chatter.

"Easy there, Vargussel," the duke said. "Why don't we sit a moment and let you rest. If you're to be of any help to the lord constable, to me, or to anyone—including yourself—you should rest, and perhaps eat."

"I will," Vargussel replied, "thank you, sir."

Well, the old wizard thought, he feels sorry for me. I am a pitiful old man.

He cleared his throat again and once more sat up straight. He turned his attention to Regdar and looked the man up and down. He was huge, a behemoth.

A soldier, indeed.

Vargussel smiled as he took stock of the man's too-small head, and he made up his mind all at once that the new Lord Constable would be as easy to manipulate as the duke and as unlikely to appear at Vargussel's door.

"Lord Constable," Vargussel said, "were you acquainted with any of the young victims?"

"No," Regdar replied.

Vargussel waited patiently for more, but soon realized that the new lord constable had finished speaking with that one word.

"Have you a plan, then," the wizard asked, "for your investigation? A strategy for driving this madman—whoever he may be—to the cold light of the duke's justice?"

Regdar glanced at the duke, then said, "No."

Vargussel opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Regdar added, "Not yet."

"Not yet, indeed," the wizard replied. "Well, all in due time, I'm sure."

"Regdar has only held the post for five minutes, Vargussel," the duke said. "I'm sure he'll make us all proud."

"You were born a common man, then?" Vargussel asked Regdar, not intentionally ignoring the duke. "Not from the aristocracy, are you?"

"No," Regdar replied.

"A common foot soldier, then?" Vargussel pressed. "A man with arms like maces, tempered in the blood of the enemies of the duchy, is that it?"

"Vargussel..." the duke started to say.

"I suppose so," Regdar replied.

"Good for you," the wizard said. "I'm certain your family has never been more thrilled."

"I have no family," Regdar replied.

"Not yet," added the duke—all too quickly for Vargussel's tastes.

"Well...I...uh..." Regdar stammered.

"Oh, he'll have a family all right," the duke said.

"A young lady, is there, Lord Constable?" Vargussel teased.

"Actually...the lord constable started, but it was the duke who finished for him.

"Let's just say that my daughter has a way of getting what she wants."

Vargussel's heart seemed to stop in his chest. Tingling fingers of cold death worried about his shoulders and spine. His legs trembled, and sweat broke out on his forearms.

"Your daughter?" he managed to say.

The duke chuckled and winked at him, and Vargussel found it difficult to breathe.

"Yes...well..." Vargussel said. "Yes...why not?"

"Why not indeed," said the duke.

Because I'm going to kill him, Vargussel said only to himself. Because my shield guardian will hold a rod to his head that will blast his soul into shreds. Because he is now on my list. Because she will not have what she wants, but what she needs. Because...

"Yes," he said aloud, "why not indeed, Your Highness...Lord Constable...why not, indeed."