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wizard than any other in Central Asia. “But you didn't find anything?”
    “Not even the most vagrant and fleeting fragrance,” Prester John said, chagrined. “While we have searched with magic, though, I have assembled a force often thousand men and a dozen wizards, though it has taken two more days to equip them and see them ready to march. Tashih shall lead them through the length and the breadth of the land, wherever the wizards find the slightest hint of Balkis' presence!”
    Again Matt bit back the urge to ask if the wizards were any more apt to trace Balkis on the road than here, where she had been cat-napped. However, he did say with as much delicacy as possible, “I am sure Prince Tashih is quite skilled at leadership, Your Majesty, but perhaps it is less than wise to put him in charge of the princess' recovery.”
    Prester John frowned, storm clouds gathering around him almost visibly, the sheer power of his personality suddenly visible. “He must have an opportunity to prove his loyalty and his willingness to reconcile with her, Lord Wizard!”
    “If you say so,” Matt sighed. “However, I can't help but wonder if that is the wisest idea, since Sikander seems to have thought Prince Tashih intended the kidnapping. Certainly he stood to gain by Balkis' absence, at least in his own mind.”
    “In Sikander's, you mean! My apologies, Lord Wizard, but an accusation is not a verdict. I cannot suspect a man who reported the abduction to me as soon as he learned of it.”
    “I hope you're right,” Matt said wearily.
    “I trust my son implicitly.”
    Matt reflected that Caesar would have said the same about Brutus, but also realized the wisdom of keeping his mouth shut. “Still, I might point out that ten thousand men marching down a highway isn't exactly the most subtle of approaches.Anyone who does know anything about Balkis would be apt to run for cover as soon as he saw them coming.”
    “There is something in that,” Prester John said with a frown, “but surely that is the minimum number necessary to guard a prince.”
    “He won't find out much, with that kind of ruckus announcing his presence. I must admit, though, that if Prince Tashih is leading a couple of armies through the northern provinces, anyone hiding her in the south is apt to breathe a sigh of relief and stop trying so hard to be invisible—and might not notice a lone traveler nosing around.”
    Prester John's frown turned meditative. “There is some merit in what you say. You, I assume, would be that lone traveler?”
    “Well, almost alone.” Matt could see Prester John's over-protective instincts swelling and hastened to reassure him. “I'll take my dragon friend along, of course. He'll stay hidden but near at hand, except when I need to travel from one city to another.”
    “There could be fewer guards who would be more effective,” Prester John admitted.
    “Except my own magic spells,” Matt reminded him. “I've gotten rather good at crafting passive defenses—they don't hurt anybody unless I'm attacked.”
    “Then how much pain do they inflict?”
    Matt shrugged. “As much as my attacker is trying to inflict on me. Sometimes more, if I'm feeling nasty. Depends on what I set 'em for.”
    Prester John managed a smile—faltering, but a smile. “Well thought, Lord Wizard. Very well, we will try your style of investigation for a few days. But where will you search, and where shall Prince Tashih march with his army?”
    “Give me a few minutes alone with Sikander, then with Corundel,” Matt told him. “Then I'll need a quick trip to the apothecary's shop. After that I should have some idea of direction.”
    The world whirled, a myriad of colors that swirled around her. Balkis had been through this before when Matthew had taken them magically from one place to another, but had neverbeen suffering from being drugged at the time. Nausea churned within her, clambering up farther and farther. She held it down by a frantic