Free Into the Labyrinth by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman

you where he would trust no one else. And he will be loath to harm you—the mother of his child.”
    “Does he know about the child?” Marit asked, astonished.
    “He knows,” said Xar.
    “How could he? I left him without telling him. I never told anyone.”
    “Someone found out.” Xar asked the next question, frowning. “Where is the child, by the way?”
    Again Marit had the sense that she was being tested. But she could make only one answer, and that was the truth. She shrugged. “I have no idea. I gave the baby to a tribe of Squatters.” 2
    Xar’s frown eased. “Most wise, Wife.” He disengaged himself from her grasp, rose to his feet. “It is time for you to depart for Arianus. We will communicate through the rune-joining. You will report to me what you find. Most particularly, you will keep your arrival on Arianus secret. You will not let Haplo know he is under observation. If I deem he must die, you must take him by surprise.”
    “Yes, Lord.”
    “ ‘Husband,’ Marit,” he said, chiding her gently. “You must call me ‘Husband.’ ”
    “That is far too great an honor for me, Lor—Hus—Husband,” she stammered, alarmed that the word should come to her lips with such difficulty.
    He brushed his hand across her forehead.
    “Cover the sigil of rune-joining. If he saw it, he would recognize my mark and know at once that you and I have become one. He would suspect you.”
    “Yes, Lor—Husband.”
    “Farewell, then, Wife. Report to me from Arianus at your earliest opportunity.”
    Xar turned from her, went to his desk. Sitting down without another look, he began to flip through the pages of a book, his brow furrowed in concentration.
    Marit was not surprised at this cold and abrupt dismissal by her new husband. She was shrewd enough to know that the rune-joining had been one of convenience, made in order to facilitate her reporting to him from a far distant world. Still, she was pleased. It was a mark of his faith in her. They were bound for life and, through theexchange of magic, could now communicate with each other through the combined circle of their beings. Such closeness had its advantages, but its disadvantages as well—particularly to the Patryns, who tended to be loners, keep to themselves, refuse to permit even those closest to them to intrude on their inner thoughts and feelings.
    Few Patryns ever formally rune-joined. Most settled for simply joining the circle of their beings. 3 Xar had conferred on Marit a great honor. He had set his mark 4 on her, and anyone who saw it would know they had joined. His taking her to wife would increase her standing among the Patryns. On his death, she might well assume leadership of her people.
    To Marit’s credit, she was not thinking of that. She was touched, honored, dazzled, and overwhelmed, unable to feel anything but her boundless love for her lord. She wished that he would live forever so that she could serve him forever. Her one thought was to please him.
    The skin on her forehead burned and stung. She could feel the touch of his hand on her naked breast. The memory of that blessed pain and the memory of his touch would remain with her forever.
    She left Abarrach, sailing her ship into Death’s Gate. It never occurred to her to report to Xar the conversation she’d overheard between the two lazar. She had, in her excitement, forgotten all about it.
    Back in Necropolis, in his study, Xar settled down at his desk, took up again one of the Sartan texts on necromancy. He was in a good humor. It is a pleasant thing to be worshipped, adored, and he’d seen worship and adoration in Marit’s eyes.
    She had been his to command before, but she was doubly his now, bound to him body and mind. She would open herself to him completely, as had so many others before her. Unwritten law prohibits a Patryn from joining with more than one person, so long as the rune-mate is still alive. But Xar
was
the law, as far as he was concerned. He had discovered