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"I don't understand what you want."
Ghort demonstrated his characteristic flexibility by shrugging, saying,
"Guess I lose. I thought I could get you to give me j something. Hey. Guess
who or what turned up? That nasty \ little sword swallower that used to polish
Bishop Serifs's knob.'
Startled, Else blurted, "Osa Stile? The catamite?"
"I thought his name was Armand."
"You're right Stile. Where did I get that? He's h^re? How did that happen?"
"He's hooked up with one of them Collegium characters. One of the really
quiet, spooky, shadowy old ones." Meaning one of the more powerful Principates
when it came to working the Instrumentalities of the Night. One of those men
for whom the Night was a place of romance and adventure, not a realm of
terror. Which suited Osa's spy role perfectly.
The Collegium was the stoutest bulwark that Sublime could place between
himself and the ambitions of Johannes Black-boots. But his party held only
that narrowest of edges there. Ferris Renfrew would want to keep a close eye
on the Collegium.
"Watch him, Pinkus. There's more to that boy than meets
the eye." I
"Yeah. Any chance we'll do anything but sit here?!'
Back to that. "Not if I can help it. If you're feeling suicidal, though,
I'll give you a note introducing you to Starkden and Masant al-Seyhan."
"Bored is the word. Not suicidal."
"Bored? You don't have enough work to keep you busy?"
"I've got plenty. Don't go getting no silly-ass ideas about piling on. But I
am a man of action."
"Pinkus, I ve never seen you make the least effort to put yourself in harm's
way."
"Yeah. But a guy does get antsy when all he does is sit."
"Sitting pays exactly the same as getting pieces chopped off."
"When you put it that way ..."
"Bottom line, Pinkus. Final sums. Getting out of all this alive. Staggering
under the weight of all the treasure. That's what I want."
"In that order, old buddy. Alive first, then rich."
"And after we're done here?"
"I go back to Brothe and be Doneto's number-one guy. You go be the
Collegium's best boy. Maybe in charge of some permanent Patriarchal regiment.
We're in, Pipe. Long as we don't fuck up."
"That's true. That is true." He had Drocker as his mentor and champion.
"You sigh, Pipe."
"I sigh. Because we're good soldiers. And nobody will remember that."
THE WEATHER SOFTENED. THE PATRIARCHAL TROOPS LEFT their shelters to resume
work on raising a palisade just outside the reach of Praman artillery. Else
wanted the circumvallation extended in both directions. King Peter appeared
disinclined to come within sight of al-Khazen on his end.
Grade Drocker preferred to ignore the Direcian-Connecten army. Those people
had done their part. And then they had snapped up way more than their share of
the spoils. "If I had my way, we'd make the Connectens storm al-Khazen so they
get used up."
Else did not venture an opinion. Later he enjoyed a tense discussion with
Titus Consent. Consent had begun to understand his own value. And that had
begun to go to his head.
"This isn't a threat," Else told him. "I don't do that. But the man in
charge here does. And he has no love for anything Devedian. And isn't just
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hard and smart, but deep. He's watching you."
Not humbled, Consent said, "Your leaders have been com-
plaining about us wasting food on the people who got driven out of die city."
"Ignore die whining. Those Deves helped us. A lot"
"As you command, Colonel."
"You don't like me way dungs are, take it up vkrtth me Brotherhood."
Titus Consent went away because Sublime's devoted Princi-pat6s had found me
commander of me city regiment.
Divino Bruglioni isolated Else. "There's something I've wanted to ask for
some time, Hecht."
"Sir?"
"It's about the reward purse Paludan was supposed to give you before you
came to the Collegium."
"Yes?" This would be about the ring.
"You know I gave him mat to give to you?"
"Thank you, men. A man needs affirmation of his work
even if the only measure is coin." i
'True. But... How do I phrase this? Straightforward is the only way. Did you
find a ring in that purse? It would be plain gold, well worn, rather old.
Nothing special. But of sentimental value to me. It came to me from my [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]