Steven Brust - Teckla

" Okay ."

" And I think I know what I have to do about it ."

He didn't say anything. I could feel him picking moods and random thoughts out of my brain. After a moment he said, " Do you really think you're going to die ?"

" Yes and no. I guess I don't really believe it. I mean, we've been in situations before that have seemed this bad or worse. Mellar was tougher and smarter than Herth and the situation was worse. But I don't see how to get out of this one. I haven't been operating very well lately; maybe that's part of it. "

" I know. So, what is it you're going to do ?"

" Save Cawti. I don V know about the rest, but I have to do that much ."

" Okay. How ?"

" I can only think of two ways: One is to wipe out Herth, and probably his whole organization, so no one else can pick up the pieces and carry on ."

" That doesn't seem too likely ."

" No. The other way is arrange things so that Herth has no reason to go after Cawti ."

" That sounds better. How do you plan to do it ?"

" By wiping out Kelly and his little band myself ."

Loiosh didn't say anything. From what I could pick up of his thoughts, he was too amazed to speak. I thought it a rather clever idea myself. After a while Loiosh said, " But Cawti— "

" I know. If you can think of a way for me to convince both Cawti and Herth that I've died, that might work too ."

" Nothing comes to mind, boss. But— "

" Then let's get to work ."

" I don't like this ."

" Protest noted. Let's get busy. I want to have it over with tonight ."

" Tonight ."

" Yeah ."

" Okay, boss. Whatever you say ."

I took out a piece of paper and started making a diagram of everything I remembered in Kelly's place, making notes where I wasn't sure of something, and trying to make guesses about back windows and so on. Then I stared at it and tried to decide how to handle things.

This could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called an assassination. It would be more like a slaughter. I was going to have to kill Kelly for certain, because if he survived I wouldn't have accomplished anything. Then Paresh, because he was a sorcerer; then as many of the others as possible. There was no point in even trying to plan this out in the kind of detail I usually use; not when trying to shine five or more at once.

The thought of a fire or explosion crossed my mind, but I rejected the idea; buildings were too closely packed there. I didn't want to burn down all of South Adrilankha.

I picked up the diagram and studied it. There was certainly going to be a back entrance to the building, and probably a back entrance to the flat. I'd been quite a ways into it and hadn't seen a kitchen, and Kelly's private office had two doorways, so I could probably start in back and work my way forward, to make sure no one was awake in that part of the house. Since everyone seemed to sleep in that front area, I would end there, cut Kelly's throat, then Paresh's. If everyone else was still sleeping by then, I would take them one at a time. I wouldn't have to worry about revivifications, since these were Easterners with no money, but if I could I'd go back and make sure anyway. Then I'd leave.

South Adrilankha would wake up tomorrow and these people would be gone. Cawti would be very upset, but she couldn't put the organization back together just by herself. At least, I hoped she couldn't. There were several other Easterners and Teckla involved in this, but the core would be gone and I didn't think those who remained would be able to do anything that could threaten Herth.

I studied the diagram then destroyed it. I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes, went over the details, making sure I hadn't left anything out.

I got to Kelly's building halfway between midnight and dawn. The front door was only a curtain. I went around to the back. There was something of a door there, but it had no lock. I carefully and thoroughly oiled the hinges, and entered. This put me at the back of the building in a narrow hallway outside of Kelly's flat. Rocza was nervous on my right shoulder. I asked Loiosh to keep her quiet and soon she settled down.

I looked down the hall but couldn't see the front door—or anything else, for that matter. I have pretty fair night vision, but there are those who see better than I do. " Is there anyone in the hall, Loiosh? "

" No one, boss ."

" Okay. Where's the back entrance to the flat ?"

" Right here. If you put your hand out to the right you'll touch it ."

" Oh ."

I slipped past the curtain and was inside. I smelled food, some of it probably edible. There was certainly the stink of rotting vegetables.

After waiting a moment to check for the sounds of breathing, I risked a small sorcerous light from the tip of my forefinger. Yes, I was in a kitchen, and a bigger one than I'd expected. There were a few cupboards, an ice-chest, a pump. I lowered the light just a bit, held my forefinger in front of me and headed toward the front room.

I passed through the room where I'd spoken with Kelly. It was pretty much as I remembered it, except for a few more boxes. On one of them I caught the glitter of steel. I looked closer and saw a long dagger, which I recognized as the murder weapon—or else one very much like it. I checked it closer. Yeah, that was it.

I was starting to go past it into the next room, the library, when I sensed someone behind me. Trying to remember this now, it seems to me that Rocza tightened her grip on my shoulder just at that moment, but Loiosh didn't notice anything. In any case, my reaction to such things is foreordained: I spun, twisting a bit to the side, and drew a dagger from inside my cloak.

At first I didn't see anything, yet I continued to feel that there was someone in the room with me. I let the light from my forefinger fail and moved to the side, thinking that if I couldn't see him, there was no reason to let him see me. Then I became aware of a faint outline, as if there were a transparent figure in front of me. I didn't know what this meant, but I knew it wasn't normal. I let Spellbreaker fall into my left hand.

The figure didn't move, but it gradually grew more substantial, and it occurred to me that the room was dark as Verra's hair and I shouldn't be able to see anything.

" Loiosh, what do you see ?"

" I'm not sure, boss ."

" But you do see something ."

" I think so ."

" Yeah. Me, too ." Rocza stirred uneasily. Well, I didn't blame her. Then I realized what I must be seeing and I blamed her even less.

It had been made pretty clear to me that I wasn't welcome, the time I walked the Paths of the Dead with Aliera and visited the Halls of Judgment. It was a place for the souls of Dragaerans, not the living bodies of Easterners. In order to arrive there, a body had to be sent over Deathgate Falls (which would certainly insure it was a corpse even it hadn't been before). Then it floated down the river, fetching up somewhere along a stretch of bank, from which the soul could travel—but never mind that now. If the soul handled things right, it would reach the Halls of Judgment, and unless some god especially liked or disliked the guy, he'd take his place as part of a thriving community of dead persons.

All right, fine.

What might happen to him if he isn't brought to Deathgate Falls? Well, if he was killed with a Morganti dagger, the issue was settled. Or, if he'd worked out some arrangement with his favorite god, then the god had the pleasure of doing anything he wanted with the soul. Other than that, he'd be reincarnated. You don't have to believe me, of course, but some recent experiences have convinced me that this is fact.