atted himself on the back.

"Monster of arrogance," Mikah bellowed.

"Oh, shut up."

"Pride goeth before a fall! You are a maledicent and idolatrous
antipietist...."

"Very good."

"... And I grieve that I could have considered aiding you for even a
second, or of standing by while you sin, and fear for the weakness of
my own soul that I have not been able to resist temptation as I
should. It grieves me, but I must do my duty." He banged loudly on the
door. "Guard! Guard!"

Jason dropped his bowl and started to scramble to his feet, but
slipped in the spilled soup and fell. As he stood again the locks
rattled on the door and it opened. If he could reach Mikah before the
idiot opened his mouth he would close it forever, or at least knock
him out before it was too late.

It was too late. Narsisi poked his head in and blinked sleepily; Mikah
struck his most dramatic pose and pointed to Jason. "Seize and arrest
that man, I denounce him for attempted revolution, for planning red
murder!"

Jason skidded to a halt and back-tracked, diving into a bag of his
personal belongings that lay against the wall. He scrabbled in it,
then kicked the contents about and finally came up with a
metal-forming hammer that had a weighty solid lead head.

"More traitor you," Jason shouted at Mikah as he ran at Narsisi who
had been dumbly watching the performance and mulling over Mikah's
words. Slow as he appeared, there was nothing wrong with his reflexes
and his shield snapped up and took Jason's blow while his club spun
over neatly and rapped Jason on the back of the hand: the numbed
fingers opened and the hammer dropped to the floor.

"I think you two better come with me, my father will know what to do,"
he said, pushing Jason and Mikah ahead of him out the door. He locked
it and called for one of his brothers to stand guard, then poked his
captives down the hall. They shuffled along in their leg-irons, Mikah
nobly as a martyr and Jason seething and grinding his teeth.

Edipon was not at all stupid when it came to slave rebellions, and
sized up the situation even faster than Narsisi could relate it.

"I have been expecting this, so it comes as no surprise." His eyes
held a mean little glitter when he leveled them at Jason. "I knew the
time would come when you would try to overthrow me, which was why I
permitted this other to assist you and to learn your skills. As I
expected he has betrayed you to gain your position, which I awa