boulevard, on top of a hill, with a view straight up to the plateau and Imperial Citadel, and a rear vista of the lower city and the Overn Deep.
Tal sat in the middle of what must have been the grand hall where the merchant had entertained his guests, for instead of a wall, behind Tal stood columns of carved marble forming a colonnade that provided a panorama of the beautifully maintained gardens and the city below. The weather in Kesh was either hot or really hot, so the night air rarely invited a chill. Tal’s immediate concern, however, was not for the décor, but for his safety, as his back was exposed to the garden, and lately people had been dying at inopportune times.
Tal had used his celebrity to gain admission to several galas, receptions, and parties, as well as gambling establishments, and since arriving in Kesh he had wasted hours listening to idle gossip. But he had finally heard something that had led him to this place, and now he waited.
If what he had overheard two nights earlier was true, an imperial prince would be present in the hall tonight—incognito—ostensibly to relax and enjoy a night on the town. From what Chezarul’s agents had heard, there was a fair chance there would be an attempt on this prince’s life soon. Tal was there to ensure that did not happen tonight.
Earlier, Amafi had noticed that a pair of young nobles had been using a fairly obvious set of signals to communicate their respective hands, and that whoever was the weaker bid upped the pot and helped the other win more money.
It wasn’t a foolproof system, because the better hand still needed to beat everyone else at the table, but they won more often than not, and the pots here were much higher than average, so by the end of the evening, they usually found themselves ahead. Tal would have liked to teach them a lesson, but he had other concerns this night.
The son of a tribal leader, thrown into the intrigues of the Conclave of Shadows at a young age, Tal had learned many useful things while growing up, one of which was how to cheat at cards. His skills had been both tested and sharpened playing four- handed poker with Nakor, Kaspar, and Amafi—all skilled cheaters. One game had dis-2 2 5
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integrated into a cheating contest, with each hand becoming more outrageous than the last as large quantities of wine had been consumed, and ending only when three extra kings and two extra sevens appeared in the deck.
Tal played indifferently tonight, winning just enough to break even, but losing enough to keep attention away from himself. He excused himself from the table, saying, “I need a bit of air,” and motioned for his servant to join him.
They went to the gardens, ostensibly to stretch their legs, but Tal wanted another quick inspection of their surroundings. When they were alone, Amafi said, “Something troubles you, Magnifi cence?”
He spoke Roldemish, to lessen the likelihood of being overheard.
“Many things trouble me, Amafi .”
“Not those two boys, certainly?”
“No. Someone will teach them a lesson, but I’m afraid it won’t be me.” Tal looked around the garden. “So far we’ve learned that our enemies are taking great care in deciding who they kill and where. But why are we now seeing them”—he looked around the garden, and with a wave of his hand included the building behind them—“here, in this palace?” He stared at the city below them, and said, “There must be twenty or more private rooms upstairs, so we don’t even know where the prince is going to be.” He looked at Amafi. “This used to be your stock - in - trade. Would you attempt to kill a royal here?”
Amafi said, “No, but then I always preferred shadows to confusion.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” said Tal.
The former assassin took his master by the elbow and slowly turned him around to face the building. Tal saw a tableau that looked like a theatre stage, for from the garden, the entire ground fl oor of the house could be seen. Save for the entrances to kitchens and garderobes, it was simply one vast enclosure.
Amafi said, “Everyone is in plain sight, and that is good. Should someone wish to go upstairs, they must enter there.” He pointed to the main entrance. “There is but one access to the upper rooms, that stairway against the right wall. I have not surveyed this monument to conspicuous greed completely, Magnificence, but I see no other exits.
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There may be a bolt - hole to the street from a basement, but that’s im-material, for anyone wishing to use it would first have to go through this room.”
“So it is a good choice?”
Amafi shrugged. “When you kill, you must leave immediately.
There can be no hesitation or you will stand a good chance of being caught. I prefer shadows. I prefer to be far from my victims before they are cold, let alone found. Others prefer chaos to cover their tracks.” Amafi looked around the garden. “Were I forced to kill a man in there, I would be hiding somewhere . . . here, in the garden.
In the confusion that followed upon the death of someone in there, I would be leaving from out here.”
Tal tried not to look obvious as he again turned to take in their surroundings. The garden was rectangular in shape, with a single rectangular pool at its center. Low hedges lined the sides of the garden, and narrow paths took amblers to where they could look out over the city and down to the shores of the Overn Deep. A few benches and torch holders were also scattered around.
“Crossbow?”
“Too inaccurate,” said Amafi. “But if no other alternative presented itself, perhaps. You, of course, could use a bow with great efficiency. I, on the other hand, would choose a dart.”
“Dart?”
“Tipped with poison.” Caught up in the plan, Amafi glanced around. “I would conceal a blowpipe under my cloak. Or, if the night was warm, secrete it beneath my tunic, or up a sleeve. It needn’t be a long one, no more than thus”—he held his hands about a foot apart—
“and the dart would be hidden in a tiny pouch, strong enough to prevent me from being pricked and killed by my own weapon.
“I would stalk my quarry until he made his intentions clear to me—he might sit at a gaming table here, go upstairs, or come into the garden. The skill lies in being ready in a moment; to have the blowpipe out and the dart inserted in seconds, then to strike the target and run before you see him fall to the fl oor.”
“How can you be certain?”
“There are several lethal venoms and plant extracts, Magnifi -
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cence, that merely have to prick the skin to cause quick and certain death. They are very dangerous to handle, but if you are trained—”
He shrugged. “Not my first choice, but I know the art.
“I would have already planned a way out of this garden,” said Amafi, pointing to the rear wall. “I would have tied a rope to a statue hidden in a hedge, and I would climb down into the rear garden of the house below this one while the women up here began to scream and call for the guards. In short, I would be hidden by chaos.”
“What would you use if not a blowpipe and poison?”
“An expertly thrown dagger could suffice, but that would increase the risk of being seen.”
“I should think so.”
“You would be amazed at what people do not see, Magnifi cence.
They watch the body fall, they see the blood, they hear the women scream and the men curse, then they glance around to see if they are in danger, and they do not notice the unremarkable man in unremarkable garb no longer standing at the edge of the crowd. It is better if there’s a lot of running and screaming.
“No, killing a man is fairly easy. It is killing him and not getting caught that makes it diffi cult.”
“So, assuming the prince appears tonight, how would you kill him?”
“Magnificence, I would never undertake such a contract. Killing rich merchants and even the minor nobility is one thing—there is a chance of retribution, but not a large one. Sooner or later the sons
inherit their fathers’ estates and whatever is being paid to the local constabulary to hunt down the murderer is seen as an unnecessary expense; after all, it will not bring back their departed, no matter how beloved and missed.”
“You are a cynical bastard, Amafi. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
“More than once, Magnificence, but then, consider my trade.”
He smiled and shrugged. “No, to kill royals you’d have to employ fanatics. Those willing to give up their lives to see a son of the imperial house dead. A professional would never undertake such a contract.”
“What about the Nighthawks?”
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Amafi took Tal by the elbow and steered him to the farthest corner of the garden. “Among my calling, they are legendary. Since they are legends, there are equal measures of truth and myth to their story.”
“Go on.”
“It is believed that they were once a family, a large family of men and women who took the occupation of killing to a higher level, making it an art form. For generations they plied their trade quietly and without notice, save by those in need of such skills. Then, a hundred years ago something happened to them; they became a cult and their numbers multiplied. Then they were nearly obliterated by the soldiers of the Kingdom.
“Since then, there have been rumors of their return.”
“More than rumors,” said Tal. He glanced around. “Find us a fast way out of here.”
Amafi nodded and Tal returned to the game. He played indifferently for another hour, waiting for some sign that royalty had arrived. He estimated it was roughly three hours past sunset and that by now anyone setting out for a night in the city would be arriving at their destination. Tal picked up his winnings and went looking for his servant.
Amafi stood quietly by a column on the left side of the room, just in front of the broad steps that led down into the garden. When Tal reached him, Amafi said, “It is done. I have discovered two possible exits that do not require using the front door.
“The first is a rope ladder used by the gardeners to assist in the trimming of the border hedges surrounding the garden. It is long enough to reach the rooftop of the villa directly below. On the other side of the garden lies a rocky path—it is steep, but it can be used to descend the hillside to a place where one may jump to a road below without fear of injury. Either would suffice as a quick departure.”
“You did well.”
“I serve at your whim, Magnifi cence.”
Tal resisted the temptation to point out that Amafi had also tried to kill him on at least two previous occasions when it had suited him, 2 2 9
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and said, “Now, tell me again. If you were to ambush a prince of the royal house of Kesh, how would you do it from here?”
“I would not,” said Amafi. “I would pick my spot and ensure someone brings him to me.”
“That would require an agent inside the royal party.”
Amafi shrugged. “And that is not possible?”
Tal considered. “Very possible.” He stood lost in thought for a while. Then he said, “But if a royal prince doesn’t appear tonight, it’s our information that’s at fault, and this has been a pointless exercise.
“We wait for another hour, and if no one has arrived, we shall return to our quarters.”
“Yes, Magnifi cence,” Amafi replied with an inclination of his head. “You will return to the cards?”
“No,” said Tal. “I’m not in the mood. I think I’ll stroll the fl oor for a while and see who’s come in since I left the table.”
Amafi took up an unobtrusive position near the closest escape route, and Tal walked the fl oor.
As gambling halls went, this was the largest and most opulent he had encountered, but it was also odd by his standards. Every gambling house in the Kingdom of the Isles, Roldem, Olasko, and elsewhere in the north was choked with gaming tables to maximize the earnings of the entrepreneur, but here large stretches of the hall had been given over to piles of cushions strewn around low tables where the wealthy and noble relaxed, held conversations, or indulged in other vices. In one darker corner several young Trueblood men lounged, passing around a long pipe, and from the sickly - sweet aroma, Tal knew it wasn’t an exotic cut of tabac they were smoking.
Some extraordinarily attractive young women had appeared, and several smiled invitingly at Tal as they strolled by. Gambling, drugs, whores, and drink, Tal thought. One would never have to leave this place; it could satisfy any appetite.
An hour passed, while Tal played a few more hands. Then he rose, pocketed his modest winnings, and found Amafi. “No one is coming,” he said to the former assassin.
Amafi said, “That is strange, Magnificence. But it is not unusual for nobility—especially royalty—to change their mind.”
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“I don’t think so. I think we had bad information,” said Tal.
“To what end?”
“I don’t know, but tell me—what has changed in the room since we last spoke?”
Amafi may have been advancing in years, but his skill was not dulled. “A man sits alone near the foot of the stairs as if he is lost in thought while he drinks, but he has not refilled his cup in the past hour.
“Two courtesans meander through the hall, yet twice I’ve seen them rebuff men of means who have sought their companionship.”
He looked toward the second exit on the other side of the room.
“And someone also bars the way should anyone choose to leave by the narrow path at the back.”
“And if anyone suspected you had deployed the gardeners’ rope ladder, there would be someone guarding that, I think.”
“It’s a trap?”
“I think so,” said Tal.
“For us?”
“It would be foolish not to assume so.”
“So the rumor of the prince’s attendance and the possible attempt on his life was just bait?”
Tal nodded. “So, if I’m the target, and not the prince, what would you do?”
Amafi looked around, assessing the room with new eyes. “A direct attack in public is out of the question, Magnificence. Also, no one would be foolish enough to challenge a Champion of the Masters’ Court in Roldem with a blade. Should I send three swordsmen, you would likely prevail, unless they were very, very good.
“But I would not want three others knowing whom I intended to kill . . . unless those three others were family.”
“Nighthawks.”
Amafi nodded. He watched the two young women and said, “I suspect those two are not Nighthawks. I would simply employ them to lure you upstairs to a quiet room where a dagger waited for you behind a curtain. Or I would persuade them to keep you here until someone else arrived.” He shrugged. “As to the manner of your de-2 3 1
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mise, my preferred approach would be to wait outside the front door, concealed in shadow, and take my chance at striking from behind before you can draw your fabled sword.”
Tal smiled. “If memory serves, that’s how we met.”
“I was not attempting to kill you, Magnificence, only to join your service. Had I wanted you dead, I think I might have been able to be more circumspect.”
“Well enough, but what about tonight? Chaos or shadows?”
Amafi looked around again, laughing as though Tal had said something funny. “I do not know. If there were more people here tonight, chaos. But there are still too many for shadows.”
“So, you think I’m safe until we depart?”
“I suspect so, Magnificence, but I would keep your wits about you and be especially cautious if you must visit the garderobe.”
“Having one’s throat cut while relieving oneself would be a most undignifi ed death.”
“It has been done.”
“The man guarding the back path, is he a Nighthawk or hired help?”
&nb
sp; Amafi said, “It is difficult to say, Magnificence. They would not place someone to confront you there, rather someone to signal others that you have left by another route . . . I would wager hired help.”
“Signal who?”
Amafi said, “Certainly not those two girls.” He said, “Return to the tables and I will attempt to find out who his confederate might be.”
Tal nodded and returned to a different table than the last one, tired of watching the cheating brothers and pretending not to be annoyed by them. At this new table he found two merchants from the south and a minor palace functionary losing modest amounts of gold to two travelers from the Kingdom.
Even so, the gentlemen at the table were affable. When introductions had been made, the two travelers expressed some interest in Tal’s relationship to people that they might know in Yabon.
Tal deflected their questions by stating although he was a court baron in Yabon, he had spent most of his time traveling and living in 2 3 2
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the east, especially in the city of Roldem. This led to one of the men realizing that he was a past Champion of the Masters’ Court, which while no less tedious a conversation for Tal, it did at least free him from further scrutiny regarding his fictional Yabonese background.
The hours dragged by, then roughly two hours after midnight, a party of drunken young men entered the gambling hall. Two of them quickly found girls and headed upstairs, while three others found seats at a large table where a game of knucklebones was in progress.
One sat down and seemed to doze off quickly.
Amafi came to Tal’s side and said, “Magnificence, a word, please?”
Tal excused himself and they moved to a deserted corner of the room. “Someone has grown impatient. You see the man who appears to doze in the corner?”
“I see him.”
“He entered with the drunken youths, but he was not with them.