A Flame in Hali by Marion Zimmer Bradley Page A

not place his life and health at risk the way drink had, but he was no less chained to it. Sooner or later, the compulsion within his own mind returned, the scorpion roused to spread its poison in his mind and drove him to beg another song. Eduin grew to resent his dependence. Only his quick thinking in representing himself as Naotalba’s messenger prevented him from deteriorating into Saravio’s abject slave, willing to do anything for yet another ecstatic moment.
    At least, there were times, however brief, when his thoughts were clear. There must be a way to free himself of both the enslavement of his father’s command and the numbing addiction of either drink or Saravio’s euphoric touch. He walked the outskirts of the city, to and from his days of casual labor, and considered his situation.
    Gradually, Eduin’s awareness shifted. He needed a permanent solution, not a temporary respite that exacted an even higher toll. Perhaps the answer was not to dampen the compulsion but to fulfill it. For so long now, he had regarded it as an impossible task. How could he possibly attack Carolin Hastur while he was reduced to skulking in the shadows, hardly able to earn his bread for fear of revealing himself? He had never succeeded before, when he was the Prince’s companion, and Zandru knew, he had had enough opportunities.
    Carolin Hastur seemed to lead a charmed life. He had survived every attempt on his life, not only by Eduin and his brother, but by his own cousin, Rakhal, who had seized the throne and sent Carolin into exile. How had the man done it?
    In a strange, transcendent clarity, Eduin understood. It was not his fault he had not been able to defeat Carolin Hastur so many years ago. Something had always gotten in the way.
    Not something. Someone.
    A voice whispered through the hollows of his mind, not the brutal command Eduin knew so well, but nonetheless familiar, subtle and cunning: Varzil Ridenow is the power behind the Hasturs. Without his counsel . . . Carolin will fall . . .
    Eduin would not be a penniless outcast if it were not for Varzil Ridenow. He would be secure in his position as Keeper, hailed as the savior of the siege of Hestral, and Carolin would long since have been in his grave.
    Varzil! At every turning in Eduin’s life, Varzil Ridenow had managed to thwart him. It was Varzil who kept Carolin safe from Eduin’s careful plans, Varzil who had tried to prevent Eduin’s first romance with his younger sister, Dyannis, Varzil who foiled Gwynn’s assassination attempt, Varzil who secretly aided Carolin during the Prince’s long exile, Varzil who unmasked Eduin’s role in the murder of Queen Taniquel’s daughter, and betrayed Eduin during the battle to save Hestral Tower.
    In order to fulfill his father’s command, he must kill Carolin Hastur, whom he once loved, but in order to do that, he must first eliminate Varzil Ridenow, whom he hated still.
    As the thoughts roiled in Eduin’s mind, the knot of ice in his belly loosened. Triumph shivered through him. For the first time, he need no longer fight the compulsion. Instead, he would use it to fire his own thirst for justice.
    Justice . . . and the end of Varzil Ridenow. He would have to go carefully. He had no direct access to any Tower, let alone the most famous Keeper on Darkover. A Keeper of Narzil’s ability could not be taken by surprise or killed by ordinary means. Varzil might have the resources of rank and Tower behind him, but even the most mighty tenerézu was mortal flesh and blood. Eduin needed a way to bring Varzil down from Neskaya, place him within reach . . . distract him . . .
    And in this pursuit, Saravio would be his ally, his helper, his tool.

    Traders arrived with the opening of the roads, and a party of rich Comyn lords walked the broad avenues in their fur-trimmed cloaks, their heads raised to the spring sunshine. The laughter of the women rose above the music. A bevy of jugglers and street minstrels accompanied them. Two