and

Far Edge of

Far Edge of Darkness
by Linda Evans

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 1996 by Linda Evans

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original

Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, 車買取 NY 10471

ISBN: 0-671-87735-6

Cover art by Ken Tunnell

First printing, August 1996



Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020


Typeset by Windhaven Press: Editorial Services, Auburn, NH
Printed in the United States of America
For Diana Hulsey, David Fletcher, and Dr. David C. Young for their incalculable help with ancient Rome (Dr. Young's knowledge of Roman circuses was priceless for this and previous novels); also for Dr. Lenny Land, for her support and encouragement; for Alan Hagan and Sandon Flowers for encouragement and willingness to share their libraries; and—as always—for Bob and Susan, for putting up with everything.
Baen Books by Linda Evans
Sleipnir
Far Edge of Darkness

Time Scout (with Robert Asprin)
Wagers of Sin (with Robert Asprin)
Chapter One
Sibyl Johnson didn't own a rifle.
She wouldn't have known how to shoot one, if she had. And Tony Bartlett had vanished, apparently right off the edge of the world.
None of which stopped Sibyl from wanting to center his face in the sights of an honest-to-God, high-powered varmint gun. Sibyl had spent her formative years increasingly disgusted with small-town drunken quarrels that led to knifings and shootings on Saturday