"I suspect you are not yet aware of the significance of
"But any person can serve, however indifferently, in
the office of Death. This particular situation requires your
"You're not making much sense to me!" Zane said. "It
re-entered the room. She was clothed now—she was ev-
idently efficient about getting dressed—and wore makeup
and had let down her hair—and it did make a difference.
Her tresses were shoulder-length, chestnut brown, and
shone with such a rich luster that Zane was sure an en-
chantment of enhancement had been applied. Her eyes,
and beautiful, their color a deep gray like the hide of a
fine racing horse, or the Deathsteed himself. Her cheeks
had warmed and her lips were bright and sensual, the
teeth showing white and even. She wore two Satum-stone
earrings that projected little colored rings and illuminated
But she had hardly finished her makeover there. She
wore an off-shoulder gray blouse that clung lightly to
the contours of her arms and bosom, making what had
seemed modest before come to life now as a fully re-
spectable endowment. Her belt was wide and heavy and
set with colored stones; probably it was a flying belt.
Her brown skirt, matching the shade of her hair, caressed
a configuration of hip and leg that was elegant in its
artistry of form. Zane had not before realized how strik-
ing a slender woman could be. Even her feet were pretty,