
of a knucklebone sat in a web of tarnished silver wire. Its surface flashed with red
and orange fires.
The Portal Cube! What else could it be? Mouse reached for the bauble gently and
found it came away easily. Warm to the touch, the Cube glimmered in her palm like a
dying glowstone. For a moment, Mouse felt like a robber bird, raiding a spring nest
of its prize. Then she tucked the thought away with the Cube in her pouch, wrapped
in the piece of vellum that had first decreed this crime. Mouse wanted to dance with
glee.
I've done it, she thought. By the dreams of Sacred Bas, I've stolen the fabled Portal
Cube.
She hurried to the balcony railing and waved down at her partner.
"I've got it," Mouse said. Her voice shook with excitement. "At least, I think I've
got it. It's not very big."
Ciaran peered up at her. His light hair fell back from his face. "If you think you've
got the Portal Cube, that's good enough for me. It's late. We should start ..."
Mouse lost the rest of his whisper in the clatter of shoes upon stone. There were
many feet, and they were getting louder, coming toward her. Five hooded heads
peered through a window of the gallery. Just as quickly, they disappeared, and a
door in the wall began to open.
Heart pounding, Mouse pivoted, pulled out the Cube, and tossed it in a long arc
down to Ciaran.
"Quick," she cried. "The Cators are back. But we can still win. Take the second
doorway out of the plaza. Find Gray Tom to record our time. Hurry!"
Rough hands grabbed her and she couldn't see Ciaran anymore. Mouse kicked the
nearest Cator full in the stomach. He dropped his hold on her, doubled over with
pain. Furiously, clawing and scratching, she fought toward freedom. But there were
too many of them, and her strength began to give out. A hard blow to her jaw drove
the last bit of fight from her. Panting, she sagged in her captors' arms.
Well, she thought, whatever they do to me now, at least I've won The Race.
The Cators' faces remained hidden behind their deep black hoods. Fiercely, they
whispered curses at her from unseen mouths. Thief, they called her. Cheat. Whore.
Right only the first time, Mouse thought. She was dragged across the balcony into a
deep stone alcove and down a steep, narrow staircase into the room of benches. In
the corner, a brazier she hadn't noticed before glowed red. Mouse's captors cast her
onto the stone slab, spread-eagled.
The stone was cold against her back. Again, she struggled, but they were stronger,
and cruel hands held her arms, her legs, her head.
Behind her, several Cators scrabbled in a cupboard. A metallic sound set Mouse's
teeth on edge, followed by a wicked hissing. In horror, she watched a hooded one
approach her holding a long metal rod. The end of the skewer formed a circle that
glowed deep red. Mouse knew what it was. A thief's brand.
"No!" she screamed. "Please!"
She tried to kick out at them. Her legs were clamped tight by remorseless fingers.
The wicked red circle grew larger, blotting out the light, the room, the world.
"Thief!" the hooded one cried. "Wear our brand!"
His face was in shadow. Mouse tried to find his eyes, to entreat mercy through