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“The south and north entrances are blocked.” Lion set the chest down, drew his sword and begun to hack at the hedge. “But Damari didn’t say that the entire maze was surrounded. If we can hack our way through this hedge, we have a chance to slip away into the shrubbery that skirts the gate.”

Marco drew his sword and joined Lion, slicing away at the branches. “The gate has to be guarded now.”

“We’ll worry about that when we get out of the maze. Dio , it’s like cutting through stone.”

Sanchia stood watching as the two men attempted to cleave their way through the living wall. It was taking so long and she could hear Damari’s taunting voice. He was closer.

“Take the lantern and go to the end of the passage, Sanchia.” Lion didn’t look at her as he gave the hedge another mighty blow. “If you see or hear any sign of Damari run back to us and we’ll forget about getting through this wall and try the east hedge.”

“Yes, my lord.” She snatched up the lantern and ran the several yards to the end of the passage, desperately glad to be able to do something to help.

The whacking of the swords against the hedge branches was ominously loud to her ears. Surely Damari would be able to hear if he drew closer.

And he was very close! Damari’s voice carried faintly to her from a distance that could not be farther than two passages over. “Are you lost yet, Lion? Are you beginning to choke on your fear?”

Sanchia’s throat tightened in response to the taunt. She was the one choking with fear. She cast a frantic glance over her shoulder at Lion and Marco. She was too far away to determine how near they were to penetrating the hedge.

“We’re almost through,” Lion called softly as if in answer to her unspoken question. “Damari?”

She realized he hadn’t heard Damari’s voice over the sound of the chopping. “He’s drawing near.”

Lion muttered a curse and assaulted the hedge with even more force.

“Your precious Wind Dancer must be a burden to you as you run from me,” Damari called mockingly. “Soon you’ll be glad to abandon it just to gain a little more strength for the chase.”

He couldn’t be more than one hedge away, Sancha decided. She would have to warn Lion and Marco.

But they were almost through the hedge and, if they abandoned the attempt, who was to say Damari would not discover the mutilated border and realize they would now be trying the same ploy on the opposite side of the maze. There had to be some other way.

If she could draw Damari and his men away through the maze and then double back…

She closed her eyes and tried to visualize the passages leading away from the western border.

Two right turns would put her on the same path they had traveled previously to reach the storehouse.

Then she could circle the small building and come straight down the western border passage and rejoin Lion and Marco.

She could give Damari only a glimpse of her skirt going around the corner, or a gleam of the lantern disappearing down the passage and he would think all three of them were still together.

She could hear the clank of armor in the passage diagonally across from the one in which she was standing.

If she was going to do it, it must be done now.

Her grasp tightened on the handle of the lantern and she drew a shaky breath.

An instant later she was flying across the path intersecting the passage Damari’s men were traveling.

She heard a shout as one of the guards caught sight of her and then Damari’s low, pleased laugh.

The jagged opening in the hedge was scarcely three feet long and two feet wide, but it would have to suffice.

Lion sheathed his sword, picked up the chest containing the Wind Dancer and pushed it through the opening before calling softly over his shoulder, “Sanchia!” He started to crawl through the hedge as he said to Marco, “Watch over Sanchia. I’ll go through first and make sure the way is clear and get rid of any guards at the gate.

” He was already halfway through as he added, “be quick!”

He heard Marco’s assent as he wriggled the last two feet, sharp broken twigs and thorny leaves tearing at his jerkin and flesh like daggers.

Then he was through the hedge and on his feet.

He paused, swiftly looking over the area.

They were in luck. As he had hoped, Damari had concentrated his forces at the two entrances and, though he could hear the sound of voices issuing from the far side of the maze, this side of the labyrinth was deserted.

He picked up the Wind Dancer’s box and moved quickly into the cover of the bushes bordering the fence, then ran at full speed toward the gate.

He slowed as he neared the end of the shrubbery, moving cautiously forward.

If the gate had been refortified, then there should be signs of the guards soon.

“Do remind me to teach you the rudiments of stalking through a grove without sounding like a pregnant ass.” Lorenzo emerged from the bushes beside Lion.

“The guards?” Lion whispered.

“Dead. Behind me in the bushes. I thought there might be something amiss when three of Damari’s men appeared and started to search the woods. After I got rid of them I decided to come and see if I could be of assistance. Where are the others?”

“Following. I think I hear them now.” Lion looked over his shoulder.

Lorenzo grimaced. “How could you not? They’re making even more noise than you did. Still, I think we’ll make sure it’s not one of Damari’s guards.” He receded into the bushes.

Seconds later Marco pushed back the screen of branches and bolted into sight. He pulled up at the sight of Lion. “Dio, Lion, she wasn’t there.” He panted. “She was gone. I tried to—”

“What do you mean? Sanchia was only a few yards away from us.” His hand closed on Marco’s arm with bone crushing force. “What the hell do you mean?”

“They’ve got her.”

“You don’t know that.” Lion whirled and started back toward the maze. “You left her, God damn you.”

Lorenzo stepped in front of Lion. “Listen to him, Lion.”

“He left her in that maze alone.” Lion’s voice was trembling with rage. “You whoreson coward, why didn’t you look for her?”

“She screamed,” Marco said simply. “I was going to try to search for her when I heard her scream. Damari has her, Lion. Should I have stayed and let Damari capture me too? It would have been of no help to her to have me in the same cage.”

“And you won’t help Sanchia if you let Damari get his hands on you, Lion,” Lorenzo said. “You can’t do anything at this moment to free her.”

Lion glared at him, his eyes wild in his white face. “I promised nothing would happen to her. You’re telling me to abandon her?”

“I’m telling you that you’ll have to wait until later to help her,” Lorenzo said. “Think, Lion. You’re not reasoning clearly.”

He wasn’t reasoning at all, he was only feeling. She screamed . “I promised her.”

“Then keep your promise,” Lorenzo said. “But you won’t keep it by letting Damari toss you into his dungeon.”

Lion knew he was right. He couldn’t help Sanchia, and he was endangering Marco and Lorenzo by lingering. But, Jesus, she needed him and he couldn’t help her. The guilt was his, not Marco’s.

“Damari won’t kill her at once. We both know that’s not his way,” Lorenzo said. “We have time. You can ride to Mandara and get more men.”

No, Lion thought in rage, Damari wouldn’t deprive himself by killing her immediately.

He would want to go slowly with her, very slowly, and wrench every vile pleasure for himself that he could from Sanchia’s torture.

Frustration—acid hot, bile bitter—tore through Lion.

He whirled and strode toward the gates. “Mandara’s too far away. We’ll ride for Pisa. Let’s go.”

Sanchia screamed .

Damari’s hand cracked against Sanchia’s cheek with such force that she fell to the ground.

“You mustn’t scream again. Were you trying to warn your master?” Damari smiled down at her in the moonlight. “But that’s not how the game is played. Now, tell me where he is.”

“I don’t know.” Sanchia struggled to raise her head. “We became separated.”

“I don’t think so,” Damari said slowly. “Now that I think back on it, you were a little too slow in getting away from us. We caught far too many glimpses of you before I managed to intercept you. You were leading us away from him, weren’t you?

” His pitted cheeks creased as his smile widened.

“Such inspiring loyalty. Did he tell you to distract us? How unkind of him when he must have known we’d catch you eventually. ”

Sanchia shook her head, trying to clear it of fear as well as the ringing pain of Damari’s blow. “No, we were separated,” she repeated hoarsely.

He bent down and effortlessly lifted her to her feet.

“You mustn’t lie to me.” His voice was seductively gentle.

“I’ll find them anyway, you know. It’s amazing that I haven’t located them already.

It’s never taken me this long before.” His smiled faded.

“But fortune has always been on the side of that bastard. Tell me where you left him.”

“I don’t know. We were separated and I became lost—”

Agony rocked her when Damari struck her other cheek.

“Tell me.” His voice was even more gentle, almost tender. “Was he going toward the north entrance?”

The maze was whirling, blurring around Sanchia. “I don’t know.”

He struck her again.

She swayed. “We became separated and I lost my way. I don’t know where—”

Pain exploded again and she hurtled down into a welcome darkness.

“Come now, wake up. I’m becoming very impatient. You’ve been unconscious the better part of the night.”

Sanchia slowly opened her eyes to see Damari gazing down at her.

“Very good. I was afraid I had done you some grievous physical damage.” He waved a hand. “No matter. I had to send for Fra Luis anyway and would not have been able to start.”