'When you are done,' Nether said, 'come back.'
Then she set off. Bottle stared after her, a dumbfounded expression on his face.
Fiddler turned away. Lucky bastard.
Or not.
He ascended to the forecastle. Stared across at Malaz City. Fires here and there, smoke and the reek of death.
Kalam Mekhar, my friend.
Farewell.
****
Blood loss, ironically, had kept him alive this far. Blood and poison, streaming out from his wounds as he staggered along, almost blind with the agony exploding in his muscles, the hammering of his heart deafening in his skull.
And he continued fighting his way. One step, then another, doubling over as the pain clenched suddenly, excruciating in its intensity before easing a fraction — enough to let him draw breath, and force one foot forward yet again. Then another.
He reached a corner, struggled to lift his head. But fire consumed his eyes, he could make out nothing of the world beyond. This far... on instinct, following a map in his head, a map now torn into ribbons by the pain.
He was close. He could feel it.
Kalam Mekhar reached out to steady himself on a wall, but there was no wall, and he toppled, thudded hard onto the cobbles, where, unable to prevent it, his limbs drew inward and he curled up round the seething, lashing agony.
Lost. There should have been a wall, a corner, right there. His map had failed him. And now it was too late. He could feel his legs dying. His arms, his spine a spear of molten fire.
He felt one temple resting on the hard, damp stone.
Well, dying was dying. The assassin's art ever turns on its wielder. Nothing in the world could be more just, more proper—
****
Ten paces away, Shadowthrone bared his teeth. 'Get up, you fool. You're very nearly there. Get up!' But the body did not stir.
Hissing in fury, the god slipped forward. A gesture and the three shadow-wraiths in his wake rushed forward, gathered round the motionless form of Kalam Mekhar. One rasped, 'He's dead.'
Shadowthrone snarled, pushed his servants aside and crouched down. 'Not yet,' he said after a moment. 'But oh so very close.' He lurched back a step. 'Pick him up, you damned idiots! We're going to drag him!'
'We?' one asked.
'Careful,' the god murmured. Then watched as the wraiths reached down, grasped limbs, and lifted the assassin. 'Good, now follow me, and quickly.'
To the gate, the barrier squealing as Shadowthrone pushed it aside.
Onto the rough path, its tilted stones and snarls of dead grass.
Mounds to either side, the humps beginning to steam. Dawn's arrival? Hardly. No, the ones within... sensed him. The god allowed himself a small, dry laugh. Then ducked as it came out louder than he had intended.
Approaching the front door.
Shadowthrone halted, edged as close as he could to one side of the path, then waved the wraiths forward. 'Quickly! Drop him there, at the threshold! Oh, and here, you, take his long-knives. Back in the sheaths, yes. Now, all of you, get out of here — and stay on the path, you brainless worms! Who are you trying to awaken?'
Another step, closer to that dark, dew-beaded door. Lifting the cane. A single rap with the silver head.
Then the god turned about and hurried down the path.
Reaching the gate, then spinning round as that door groaned open.
A huge armoured figure filled the portal, looking down.
Shadowthrone whispered, 'Take him, you oaf! Take him!'
Then, with infuriating slowness, the enormous guardian of the Deadhouse reached down, collected the assassin by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him across the threshold.
The god, crouched at the gate, watched as Kalam's feet vanished into the gloom.
Then the door slammed shut.
In time? 'No way of knowing. Not for a while... my, Shadowthrone's collection is most impressive, yes?' And he turned away, to see his wraiths fleeing down the street, even as a nearby tavern door thundered open.
And the god winced, ducking still lower. 'Uh oh, time to leave, I think.'
A swirl of shadows.
And then Shadowthrone was gone.
****
Master Sergeant Braven Tooth neared the entrance to Coop's. Not yet dawn. And the damned night was now quiet as a tomb. He shivered, as if he had just crossed the path of some hoary ghost, passing invisible yet pausing to give him a hungry glance.
Coop's door opened and closed, hard, the object of some anger, and Braven Tooth slowed.
An armoured monstrosity ascended into view.
Braven Tooth blinked, then grunted under his breath and approached.
'Evening, Temper.'
The helmed head turned to him, as if distracted by the Master Sergeant's sudden presence.
'Braven Tooth.'
'What brings you out?'
Temper seemed to sniff the air, then glanced across at the old Deadhouse. A softly clattering shrug as he said, 'Thought I'd take a walk.'
Braven Tooth nodded. 'I see you dressed appropriately.'
Both men stepped back as a woman emerged from a nearby alley and came right past them, descended the steps and vanished into the maw of Coop's.
'Now that was some swaying walk,' the Master Sergeant muttered in appreciation. But Temper's attention was on the cobbles, and Braven Tooth looked down.
She'd left footprints. Dark red.
'So, Temper. I suppose we can't hope that's mud, now can we?'
'I think not, Brav.'
'Well, think I'll plant myself in Coop's. You done with your walk?'
A final glance across at the Deadhouse, then the huge man nodded. 'So it seems.'
The two went down into the murky confines of the Hanged Man.
****
An auspicious guest had holed up in Coop's this night. Fist Aragan, who'd taken the cramped booth farthest from the door, in the darkest corner, where he sat alone, nursing a tankard of ale as bell after bell tolled outside, amidst a distant and sometimes not-so-distant chorus of riotous mayhem.
He was not alone in looking up, then holding his gaze fixed in admiration for the unknown black-haired Kanese woman who walked in moments before dawn. He watched from beneath hooded brows, as she headed to the bar and ordered Kanese rice wine, forcing Coop to scramble in desperate search before coming up with a dusty amber-hued glass bottle — in itself worth a small fortune.
Moments later Temper — weighed down in a heap of archaic armour — entered the tavern, followed by Master Sergeant Braven Tooth. And Aragan hunched down deep in his seat, averting his gaze.
No company for him this night.
He'd been battling a headache since dusk, and he'd thought it beaten — but suddenly the pounding in his skull returned, redoubled in intensity, and a small groan escaped him.
Braven Tooth tried talking to the woman, but got a knife-point pressed beneath his eye for the effort, and the woman then paid for the entire bottle, claimed a room upstairs, and headed up. Entirely on her own. And no-one followed.
The Master Sergeant, swearing, wiped sweat from his face, then roared for ale.
Strange goings-on at Coop's, but, as always, ale and wine soon muddied the waters, and as for dawn stealing into life outside, well, that belonged to another world, didn't it?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Draw a breath,
a deep breath,
now hold it, my friends,
hold it long
for the world
the world drowns.
Wu
There were many faces to chaos, to the realm between the realms, and this path they had taken, Taralack Veed reflected, was truly horrific. Defoliated trees rose here and there, broken-fingered branches slowly spinning in the chill, desultory wind, wreaths of smoke drifting across the blasted landscape of mud and, everywhere, corpses. Sheathed in clay, limbs jutting from the ground, huddled forms caked and half-submerged.
In the distance
was the flash of sorcery, signs of a battle still underway, but the place where they walked was lifeless, silence like a shroud on all sides, the only sounds tremulously close by — the sob of boots pulling free of the grey slime, the rustle of weapons and armour, and the occasional soft-voiced curse in both Letherii and Edur.
Days of this madness, this brutal reminder of what was possible, the way things could slide down, ever down, until warriors fought without meaning and lives rushed away to fill muddy pools, cold flesh giving way underfoot.
And we march to our own battle, pretending indifference to all that surrounds us. He was no fool. He had been born to a tribe that most called primitive, backward. Warrior castes, cults of blood and ceaseless vendetta. The Gral were without sophistication, driven by shallow desires and baseless convictions. Worshippers of violence. Yet, was there not wisdom in imposing rules to keep madness in check, to never go too far in the bloodletting?
Taralack Veed realized now that he had absorbed something of civilized ways; like fever from bad water, his thoughts had been twisted with dreams of annihilation — an entire clan, he'd wanted every person in it killed, preferably by his own hand. Man, woman, child, babe. And then, in a measure of modest tempering, he had imagined a lesser whirlwind of slaughter, one that would give him enough kin over which he could rule, unopposed, free to do with them as he pleased. He would be the male wolf in its prime, commanding with a look in its eye, proving with a simple gesture its absolute domination.
None of it made sense any more.
Up ahead, the Edur warrior Ahlrada Ahn called out a rest, and Taralack Veed sank down against the sloped, sodden wall of a trench, stared down at his legs, which seemed to end just beneath his knees, the rest invisible beneath an opaque pool of water reflecting the grey sludge of sky.
The dark-skinned Tiste Edur made his way back along the line, halted before the Gral and the Jhag warrior behind him. 'Sathbaro Rangar says we are close,' he said. 'He will open the gate soon — we have outstayed our welcome in this realm in any case.'
'What do you mean?' Taralack asked.
'It would not do to be seen here, by its inhabitants. True, we would be as apparitions to them, ghostly, simply one more trudging line of soldiers. Even so, such witnessing could create... ripples.'
'Ripples?'
Ahlrada Ahn shook his head. 'I myself am unclear, but our warlock is insistent. This realm is like the Nascent — to open the way is to invite devastation.' He paused, then said, 'I have seen the Nascent.'
Taralack Veed watched the Edur walk on, halting to speak every now and then with an Edur or Letherii.
'He commands with honour,' Icarium said.
'He is a fool,' the Gral said under his breath.
'You are harsh in your judgement, Taralack Veed.'
'He plays at deceit, Slayer, and they are all taken in, but I am not. Can you not see it? He is different from the others.'
'I am sorry,' Icarium said, 'but I do not see as you do. Different — how?'
Taralack Veed shrugged. 'He fades his skin. I can smell the compound he uses, it reminds me of gothar flowers, which my people use to whiten deer hide.'
'Fades...' Icarium slowly straightened and looked back down the line. Then he sighed. 'Yes, now I see. I have been careless—'
'You have been lost inside yourself, my friend.'
'Yes.'
'It is not good. You must ready yourself, you must remain mindful, Slayer—'
'Do not call me that.'
'This too is inside yourself, this resistance to the truth. Yes, it is a harsh truth, but only a coward would not face it, would turn away and pretend to a more comforting falsehood. Such cowardice is beneath you.'
'Perhaps not, Taralack Veed. I believe I am indeed a coward. And yet, this is the least of my crimes, if all that you say of me is true—'
'Do you doubt me?'
'There is no hunger within me,' the Jhag said. 'No lust to kill. And all that you set at my feet, all that you say I have done — I recall nothing of it.'
'So is the nature of your curse, my friend. Would that I could confess, here and now, that I have deceived you. There have been changes in my soul, and now I feel as if we are trapped, doomed to our fate. I have come to know you better than I ever have before, and I grieve for you, Icarium.'
The pale grey eyes regarded him. 'You have told me that we have travelled together a long time, that we have made these journeys of the spirit before. And you have been fierce in your zeal, your desire to see me... unleashed. Taralack Veed, if we have been together for many years... what you now say makes no sense.'
Sweat prickled beneath the Gral's clothes and he looked away.
'You claim Ahlrada Ahn is the deceiver among us. Perhaps it takes a deceiver to know his kin.'
'Unkind words from you, my friend—'
'I no longer believe we are friends. I now suspect you are my keeper, and that I am little more than your weapon. And now you voice words of doubt as to its sharpness, as if through mutual uncertainty we may step closer to one another. But I will take no such step, Taralack Veed, except back — away from you.'
Bastard. He has pretended to be oblivious. But all the while, he has listened, he has observed. And now closes upon the truth. The weapon is clever — I have been careless, invited into being dismissive, and if my words were themselves weapons, I forgot that this Jhag knows how to defend himself, that he possesses centuries of armour.
He looked up as Ahlrada Ahn strode past them again, heading for the front of the column. 'Soon,' the warrior reminded them.
The journey resumed.
****
Captain Varat Taun, second to Atri-Preda Yan Tovis, Twilight, waved his Letherii archers forward. He spat in an effort to get the taste of mud from his mouth, but it was hopeless. The sorcery of the Holds had been let loose here, in coruscating waves of annihilation — the air stank of it, and in the wind he could hear the echoes of ten thousand soldiers dying, and the mud on his tongue was that of pulverized flesh, gritty with fragments of bone.
Yet perhaps there was a kind of gift in all of this, a measure providing perspective. For, grim as the Letherii Empire under the rule of the Tiste Edur had become, well, there were still green hills, farms, and blue sky overhead. Children were born to mothers and joyous tears flowed easy down warm, soft cheeks, the eyes brimming with love... ah, my darling wife, these memories of you are all that hold me together, all that keep me sane. You and our precious daughter. I will see you again. I promise that. Perhaps soon.
Ahlrada Ahn was, once more, at the head of the column. Poor man. His facial features gave him away quickly enough, to a soldier hailing from Bluerose, such as Varat Taun. An imposter — what were the reasons for such deception? Survival, maybe. That and nothing more. Yet he had heard from Letherii slaves serving the Tiste Edur there was an ancient enmity between the Edur and the Tiste Andii, and if the Edur knew of the hidden enclaves in Bluerose, of their hated dark-skinned kin, well...
And so Ahlrada Ahn was among them here. A spy. Varat Taun wished him success. The Onyx Order had been benign rulers, after all — of course, under the present circumstances, the past was an invitation to romantic idealism.
Even considering that, it could not have been worse that now.
Another pointless battle awaited them. More Letherii dead. He so wanted Twilight's respect, and this command could prove a true testing ground. Could Varat command well? Could he show that fine balance between ferocity and caution? Ah, but I have apprenticed myself to the best commander of the Letherii armies since Preda Unnutal Hebaz, have I not?
That thought alone seemed to redouble the pressure he felt.
The trench they had been trudging along debouched onto a muddy plain, the surface chewed by horse hoofs and cart wheels and the craters of sorcerous detonations. Here, the reek of rotting flesh hung like a mist. Gravestones were visible here and there, pitched askew or broken, and there was splintered wood — black with sodden decay — and thin
white bones amidst the dead still clothed in flesh.
Perhaps half a league away ran a ridge, possibly a raised road, and figures were visible there, in a ragged line, marching towards the distant battle, pikes on their backs.
'Quickly!' Sathbaro Rangar hissed, hobbling forward. 'Stay low, gather round — no, there! Crouch, you fools! We must leave!'
****
Steth and Aystar, brother and sister, who had shared memories of pain, hands and feet nailed to wood, ravens at their faces tearing at their eyes — terrible nightmares, the conjurings of creative imaginations, said their mother, Minala — crept forward through the gloom of the fissure, the rocky floor beneath them slick, sharp-edged, treacherous.
Neither had yet fought, although both voiced their zeal, for they were still too young, or so Mother had decided. But Steth was ten years of age, and Aystar his sister was nine; and they wore the armour of the Company of Shadow, weapons at their belts, and they had trained with the others, as hard and diligently as any of them. And somewhere ahead stood their favourite sentinel, guarding the passage. They were sneaking up on him, their favourite game of all.
Crouching, they drew closer to where he usually stood.
And then a grating voice spoke from their left. 'You two breathe too loud.'
Aystar squealed in frustration, jumping up. 'It's Steth! I don't breathe at all! I'm just like you!' She advanced on the hulking T'lan Imass who stood with his back to the crevasse wall. Then she flung herself at him, arms wrapping about his midsection.
Onrack's dark, empty gaze settled upon her. Then the withered hand not holding the sword reached up and gingerly patted her on the head. 'You are breathing now,' the warrior said.
'And you smell like dust and worse.'
Steth moved two paces past Onrack's position and perched himself atop a boulder, squinting into the gloom beyond. 'I saw a rat today,' he said. 'Shot two arrows at it. One came close. Really close.'
'Climb down from there,' the T'lan Imass said, prying Aystar's arms from his waist. 'You present a target in silhouette.'
'Nobody's coming any more, Onrack,' the boy said, twisting round as the undead warrior approached. 'They've given up — we were too nasty for them. Mother was talking about leaving—'