The Book of Athyra

  It took longer than it should have, but he knew when he was there—floating apart from the world, able to move at will, everywhere and nowhere.

  He imagined the cave, imagined the Easterner lying there, his eyes closed, the two jhereg around him, unaware of what was happening. Or maybe Vlad was awake, but unable to do anything about it.

  He got a picture of the larger of the two jhereg, and concentrated on it, trying to talk. Did it understand? How could he communicate to such a beast; how would he know if he was succeeding?

  He tried to imagine what its mind might feel like, but couldn’t conceive of it. He imagined it, and imagined himself, calling to it, and imagined it answering him, but as far as he could tell, nothing happened. In desperation, he shouted his message to it, but it was as if he shouted to the air.

  After some time—he didn’t know how much—he came to himself, feeling shaky and exhausted. He opened his eyes, but was still in darkness, and now the darkness began to terrify him. He forced himself to stand slowly, and reached out with his hands. But wait, which way had he come in? He had sat down without turning, so he should turn now. He did so, reached out again, and again felt nothing.

  Don’t panic. Don’t panic. It can’t be far.

  He tried taking a step, didn’t run into anything, and reached out once more. Still nothing. He risked one more step, and this time he felt the cool, damp stone of a wall. He wanted to kiss it.

  He slid forward until he was practically hugging the wall, and reached out in both directions, and so found the door. Now the darkness was becoming even more threatening, so it was with great relief he found that the door opened easily on its leather hinges. Very little light came through it, and as he stuck his head out, he saw that what there was came from a single lantern placed at the top of the stairs. He wondered how often these lanterns were checked, and who filled them, and how long it would be before someone missed it, and, for that matter, how much more kerosene it contained.

  But there was no time for that. He went back up the stairs, fetched the lantern down, and went through the door once more. The room turned out to be big, and, except for several wooden tables, empty. He looked at the floor, and was unsurprised to find the remains of faint markings on it—this had been one of the places His Lordship had been accustomed to practice his wizardous work. But, while he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for, he knew that wasn’t it.

  One wall, the one furthest from the door, looked odd. He crossed over to it, being careful to walk around the markings on the floor, and held up the lamp. There were several—four, in fact—odd, door-like depressions in the wall, each one about ten feet high and perhaps five feet wide at the bottom, curving at the top. And carved into the floor in front of each was a small, straight gutter that ran the length of the room and ended, as he followed them, in what looked to be a dry, shallow well.

  He returned to the far wall and looked at the doors again. They looked almost like—

  Almost like tunnels.

  Or waterways.

  Yes, there they were, just where they ought to be. He stared at them until the lamp flickered, which broke his reverie and reminded him that if he was going to do something, now would be a good time. He looked around the room, hoping to see some tool with which to open the gates, but the room was empty. He remembered Vlad saying something about traps and alarms, but there was no point in worrying about setting those off if he couldn’t figure out a way to get the waterways open in the first place.

  He approached one, and struck it with the side of his fist, and it did, indeed, sound hollow. He studied the wall around it, the floor below it, the ceiling above it.

  And there it was, a chain, hanging down from the ceiling, as if there were a sign on it saying, “Pull me.” And, in case it wasn’t obvious enough, there were three more, one in front of each door. Well, on reflection, why should His Lordship have made it difficult for himself in his own work area?

  So, Savn asked himself, what now? If he pulled the chain, the waterway would open, and all sorts of alarms would go off, and, no doubt, His Lordship would appear as fast as he could teleport. Then what? Could Savn escape, maybe swimming underwater for all he knew, before His Lordship caught him?

  Not a chance.

  He thought about trying once more to reach one of the jhereg, but at that moment he was startled almost out of his wits by a soft tap tap that came from somewhere he couldn’t place.

  He looked around, wildly, and it came again.

  Could he have reached the jhereg after all?

  Tap tap . . . tap tap.

  He followed the sound, and discovered that, without doubt, it came from behind one of the waterways.

  He hesitated no more. He stood in front of it, straddling the small gutter, then reached up and took the chain. It felt grimy with old rust, but he was able to get a good grip. He pulled.

  At first it didn’t move, as if rusted from long disuse, but he put his whole weight on it, and all of a sudden it gave.

  In the dim light of the lantern, it looked for a moment as if the wall was moving backward, but then the reality of it became clear. The door in front of him creaked open noisily and admitted a small stream of water; a pair of jhereg; Polyi, dripping wet and looking frightened; and one very wet, very pale, very shaken-looking Easterner who stumbled forward and collapsed onto the floor at Savn’s feet.

  At that moment, as if Vlad’s weight were enough to shake the entire manor, the floor began to vibrate. Savn looked around, but, for a moment, nothing happened. And then there was the sudden pop of displaced air, and Savn was looking at His Lordship and the Jhereg assassin, standing not ten feet away from him. His Lordship seemed very tall, with his hands out in front of him as if to touch the air, while the Jhereg crouched on the balls of his feet, holding a long, gleaming knife before him.

  And there was a feeling Savn had never had, but could not possibly mistake for anything else: the knife in the Jhereg’s hand was certainly Morganti.

  17

  I’m gonna marry me a bandit,

  I’m gonna marry me a bandit,

  Rich and free is how I’ve planned it.

  Hi-dee hi-dee ho-la!

  Step on out . . .

  SAVN GRABBED POLYI WITH his free hand and pulled her back against the wall. Vlad remained where he was, on his hands and knees, looking up at His Lordship and the Jhereg assassin, who stood about ten feet away, motionless. The pair of jhereg took positions on either side of Vlad, and everyone waited.

  Then Vlad slowly rose to his feet. He seemed to have some trouble standing, but managed. The jhereg flew up to land on either shoulder. Savn noticed that Vlad held a flask in his right hand.

  “Careful,” said His Lordship. “He’s probably not hurt as badly as—”

  “Shut up,” said the Jhereg.

  “Tsk,” said Vlad. “No squabbling, now. It’s unseemly. I have something for you, Loraan.” He started forward, and there was a flash. Polyi screamed, but the knife didn’t strike Vlad; it struck the flask in his hand.

  Vlad chuckled and dropped it. “Well, it was a good idea. Nice throw, Ishtvan.”

  “Thanks, Taltos,” said the assassin. “I try to keep my hand in.”

  “I know,” said Vlad. “That’s why I hired you.”

  His Lordship said, “Keep your mouth shut, East—”

  “You’re right,” said the Jhereg. “Pardon us.” Then he turned to His Lordship and said, “Immobilize him, and let’s get this over with.”

  There was a tinkling sound from around Vlad’s knees, and Savn noticed that Vlad now held in his left hand something that looked like a length of gold chain. His Lordship evidently saw it too, because he cried, “That’s mine!”

  “Yes,” said Vlad. “Come and take it.” But his strength wasn’t the equal of his words; even as he spoke, his knees seemed to buckle and he stumbled forward. His Lordship took a step toward him and lifted his hands.

  Without thinking about it, Savn ripped the top
off the lantern and splashed the burning kerosene against the wall behind him. The room became very bright for a moment, then was plunged into total darkness.

  Polyi screeched. Savn pulled her away, thinking that no matter what happened, they ought to be somewhere other than where they’d been standing when he put out the light. He took a few steps, found that he was standing in running water, and decided that was just as well with kerosene splashed everywhere. “Are you all right?” he asked in a whisper that sounded much too loud.

  “You burned me,” she whispered back.

  “Sorry.”

  Why didn’t someone make a light? Whole seconds had passed since he’d plunged the room into darkness; you’d think someone would want to see what was going on. And no one was moving, either.

  Well, that might not be true; Vlad might still be able to move silently, and the Jhereg almost certainly could. And His Lordship was a sorcerer; for all Savn knew, there was a spell that would allow him to move silently. So maybe they were all moving all over the place, with Savn and Polyi the only ones fooled.

  He thought about screaming, but was afraid it would upset his sister.

  He heard a very faint whsk whsk that had to be the sound of jhereg wings. Shortly thereafter there was a very, very bright flash, but it showed him nothing; it only hurt his eyes and left blue spots in them. Polyi clung to him tightly; she was trembling, or he was, or maybe they both were—he couldn’t tell.

  He heard the flapping again, this time closer—he flinched even though he knew what it was. There was more movement, and another flash. This one wasn’t as bright and lasted longer; he caught a quick glimpse of the Jhereg, crouched over holding the dagger out in front of him, and Vlad, on his feet once more, leaning against a wall, his sword in one hand, the gold chain swinging steadily in the other.

  The flapping came again, even closer, and it seemed the jhereg hovered for a moment next to Savn’s ear. He held his breath, half expecting what would come next, and it did—there was a touch on his shoulder, and then a gentle weight settled there. Savn, who had been standing motionless, froze—a difference hard to define but impossible to miss. Water soaked through his boots, but he was afraid to move.

  “Savn? What happened?”

  “Hush, Polyi.”

  Why had it landed on his shoulder? There must be a reason. Did it want him to do something? What? What could he do? He could panic—in fact, it was hard not to. What else could he do? He could get himself and Polyi out of there, if he had a light. Was the jhereg trying to tell him something?

  He felt its head against his neck; then suddenly it jumped down to his right hand, which still held the empty lantern. He almost dropped it, but held on, and the jhereg hopped back up to his shoulder.

  How had Vlad known to escape the searchers by entering the manor house through the cave? Was it desperation and lack of any other way, or had he, Savn, actually managed to get through to Vlad? If he had, then . . .

  He tried to recapture the feeling he’d had before, of emptiness, of reaching out. He discovered that standing frozen in place with unknown but murderous actions going on all around was not conducive to the frame of mind he associated with witchcraft.

  He had just reached this conclusion when Vlad began speaking. “I have to thank you for the loan of your device, Loraan. It’s proven useful over the years. Have you missed it?”

  “Don’t speak,” said the Jhereg. “He’s trying to distract you. Ignore him.”

  “He’s right,” said Vlad. “Ignore me. But, just for something to think about, consider that your partner has a Morganti weapon, one of the few things that can destroy you, and consider that he’s an assassin, and that assassins are very uncomfortable leaving witnesses alive. Any witnesses. Think about it. How have you two been getting along, by the way? Just curious—you don’t have to answer.”

  Savn heard a chuckle from the vicinity of the Jhereg. “Give it up, Taltos. We have a deal.”

  “I’m certain he knows what a deal with you is worth.”

  “What’s your game, Taltos?”

  “Use your imagination, assassin.”

  Polyi whispered, “Savn, when he said witnesses, could that mean us?”

  Savn swallowed. He hadn’t thought of that.

  If he had light, he’d be able to sneak out through the manor house, or maybe even the caves. Putting out the light, it seemed, hadn’t helped anyone.

  The jhereg bumped Savn’s neck with its head again, and, once more, landed on the hand that held the lantern. It stayed there for a moment, flapping its wings for balance, then returned to Savn’s shoulder.

  It was, without doubt, trying to tell him something—something about the lantern, maybe. That he should light it? If so, it was too late, the oil was gone, although perhaps that was too complex an idea for a jhereg.

  He started to say, “Are you trying to tell me something?” but stopped himself, realizing that it could be very dangerous to speak aloud. The jhereg bumped his neck again, as if in answer to his unspoken question.

  He formed the sentence, “Was that an answer?” but didn’t speak it.

  Bump. At the same time, he imagined he heard a very tiny voice, located somewhere inside the very base of his head, voicelessly saying, “Yes, idiot.”

  “Who are you?” he thought back.

  “Vlad, idiot,” it told him.

  “How can we be talking like this?”

  “I’ve removed the amulet, and that’s really what’s important right now, isn’t it?”

  “Sorry. What should I do?”

  “Take your sister and get out of here. Loiosh will guide you.”

  “I—”

  “Damn it!”

  “What?”

  “Loiosh says he won’t guide you. I’ll—”

  “It doesn’t matter, Vlad. I want to help you.”

  “You’ve already helped me. From here on out—”

  There was another bright flash of light. This time, Savn got a glimpse of His Lordship, both hands stretched out in front of him, just a few feet from the Jhereg.

  “Almost got me, that time,” said Vlad. “Look, I can’t hold them off much longer, and I’m finished anyway. Take your sister and—”

  “What’s going on?”

  “About as much sorcery as I’ve seen in one place at one time. They’ve got some sort of spell that keeps the jhereg from getting to them, and Loraan keeps shooting things at me, and the assassin is trying to maneuver into a position to nail me—the idiot thinks I’m faking or he’d just move in and have done with it—and Loraan’s personal cutthroats are going to be here any minute. So, would you please—”

  There was more scuffling, then Vlad said, “That was close.”

  Then he spoke aloud, “Careful, Loraan. You’re getting too near our assassin friend. He’s quick.”

  “Shut up,” growled His Lordship.

  “Oh, you’re safe until he’s gotten me, I’m sure. But you’d better think about what happens after that. Or have you? Maybe I’ve got it backwards. Maybe you’re already planning to do him. I’m sorry I won’t be around to watch it.”

  “It’s not working, Easterner,” said His Lordship. “Ishtvan, he’s getting desperate. Maybe he really is hurt. Why don’t you just finish him? I’ve got all the protections up; I don’t think he can do anything about it.”

  “Yes,” said Vlad. “Why don’t you, Ishtvan? Finish me, then he’ll finish you. Why don’t you ask him to finish me? Afraid you will lose the wages, my lord? Of course not, because you’ve already been paid, and you know very well you’re going to have to kill him any—”

  There was still another flash, and Savn saw His Lordship, hands now raised high above his head. At the same time, Vlad gasped.

  “Vlad, are you all right?”

  “Barely.”

  “Isn’t there something you can do?”

  “I don’t carry poison darts anymore, and I don’t have the strength to throw a knife. You have any ideas?”
r />   Another flash of light illuminated the scene. The assassin had moved around to Vlad’s right, but was still keeping his distance. Vlad had moved a foot or so to his left, and was still swinging the gold chain. Loiosh gripped Savn’s shoulder, and occasionally squeezed with his talons. Savn wished he knew what Loiosh was trying to tell him. It would almost be funny if some brilliant idea for escaping were locked up in that reptilian brain but the poor thing couldn’t communicate it. But of course that couldn’t be the case, or Loiosh would have told Vlad. Unless, perhaps, it was something Vlad wouldn’t approve of. But what wouldn’t Vlad approve of if it would get him out of this?

  Well, Vlad apparently wouldn’t approve of Savn doing anything risky, whereas Loiosh probably wouldn’t care. But what could he, Savn, do, anyway? He could hardly attack an assassin, barehanded, in the dark. And to do anything to His Lordship was both impossible and unthinkable.

  You’re so convinced that your Baron Smallcliff is invincible and perfect that you’d stand there and let him kill you rather than raising a finger to defend yourself.

  Vlad had been right about that, just as he’d been right about the assassin, and the Morganti weapon, and even about His Lordship being . . .

  He could imagine the jhereg saying, “You’ve finally figured it out, fool.” Because he had figured it out, only now he didn’t know if he had the courage to do anything about it.

  You’re so convinced that your Baron Smallcliff is invincible and perfect that you’d stand there and let him kill you rather than raising a finger to defend yourself.

  It had rankled because it was true, and now, when he thought he knew what he could do about it, it rankled even more.

  “Savn, don’t,” said Vlad. “Just get out of here.”