Safety is an illusion, Costis. A Thief might fall at any time, and eventually the day must come when the god will let him. Whether I am on a rafter three stories up or on a staircase three steps up, I am in my god's hands. He will keep me safe, or he will not, here or on the stairs.

He lies to himself. If Eugenides talked in his sleep, he'd lie then, too.

Being six feet off the ground does give one a sense of superiority.

Where are my guards, Teleus?" He was still speaking softly. Three men dead and he wasn't even breathing hard, Costis noted.

Staring at the wall opposite him he presented the queen with a view of his ear and awaited her orders.

Discretion prevented me from saying that I thought she was a fiend from the underworld and that mountain lions couldn't force me to enter her service.

What he brought out was a wooden gag they put in someone's mouth before doing something drastic, like cutting off a leg.