Steven Brust - Phoenix

I took a throwing knife into my left hand as Rocza flew out the door and past me to help Loiosh in case he was in trouble. Verra, my goddess, what a team we were that day! The tough one with the shortsword appeared in the door and took my knife directly in his chest. He didn't go down, which was ideal, since he blocked the door quite effectively. Loiosh gave me the all-clear for the next room, and I was through it and down the stairs.

I'm not much of a sorcerer, but it doesn't take much of a sorcerer to fuse a door shut, and the few seconds that gained me made all the difference.

"Two toughs in here waiting for you, boss. We're distracting them, but—yikes!"

"You all right, Loiosh?"

"Near miss, boss."

"Tell me when."

"Wait ... wait ..." I took Spellbreaker into my left hand, wishing I'd had a third hand to hold some darts. "Now!" and I charged through the door, point-first.

Loiosh and Rocza had, indeed, distracted them, and the point of my rapier through a throat distracted one of them more. The other, slashing desperately at Rocza, concentrated on me and gestured, but Spellbreaker, spinning wildly, handily stopped whatever it was. I slashed in his general direction just to give him something to think about, then I was through the door. Loiosh and Rocza beat him out of it, I shut it, did my little fusing thing again, and ran like hell down the stairs.

The leatherworker seemed to be just a leatherworker, because his only reaction to seeing me appear with a blooded sword was to squawk and cower, and then I was in the street, across the street, behind a building.

"We're teleporting, folks."

"What if they trace it?"

"Watch me." And I put forth my power and appeared in the courtyard of Castle Black, where a guest is always safe, as I've good reason to know. I didn't throw up, but the aftereffect of the teleport had me on my knees and the world spinning. Seeing the ground a mile below didn't help, either, but knowing I was safe, if only for a moment, more than made up for the discomfort.

After a time, I got to my feet and headed for the great double doors, my knees vibrating like Aibynn's drum.

Lesson Eleven

MATTERS OF STATE II

Lady Telda directed me to the third-floor study in the South Wing, where I found Morrolan closeted with Daymar, whom I mentioned earlier. Daymar was thin and angular, with the sharp nose, chin, and jawline of the House of the Hawk, softened by a broad forehead and wide-set eyes. Loiosh flew over to greet Morrolan. Rocza, oddly enough, flew over to Daymar, whom she had never met, and stayed on his shoulder for the entire conversation.

Morrolan and Daymar were hunched over a table. Between them was something that looked to be a large black jewel. They were poking at it and staring at it as if it were a small animal and they wanted to see if it was alive. I went over to the table myself, and it took them a few moments to notice me. Then Daymar looked up and said, "Oh, hello, Vlad."

"Good morning. What is that?"

"That," said Morrolan, "is black Phoenix stone."

"Never heard of it," I said.

"It is similar to gold Phoenix stone," said Daymar helpfully.

"Yes," I said- "Only black instead of gold."

"Right," said Daymar, not noticing my sarcasm.

"What is gold Phoenix stone?"

"Well," said Daymar, "once we discovered the black, we started digging around in Morrolan's library and found a few references to it."

"Morrolan," I said, "would you care to enlighten me?"

"Do you recall," said Morrolan, "the difficulty we had with psionic contact on the island?"

"Yes. Daymar was cut off, as I recall."

He looked up from scratching Rocza's chin. "Not cut off " he said. "I collapsed from the effort of maintaining contact.

I stared at him. "You?"

"I."

"My goodness."

"Yes."

Morrolan said, "The only place Phoenix stone occurs is on the eastern and southern coast of Greenaere. Essentially, no psychic activity can pass through the effect of the stone, and the concentration around the island is sufficient to make it unreachable."

"Then why could Loiosh and I communicate?"

"Exactly," said Morrolan. "That is, indeed, the question. The only idea I've been able to come up with is that the connection between witch and familiar is fundamentally different from psionic communication. But how it is different, I don't know. I'd been planning to reach you, but since you are here, perhaps you'd be willing to assist us in a few experiments to determine exactly that."

"I'm not sure I like this, boss."

"You and me both, Loiosh." To Morrolan I said, "This may not be the best time."

His eyebrows focused on me. "Why? Has something happened?"

'Oh, nothing. Another close brush with death, but what's one more of those?"

For a moment he looked puzzled, trying to work out where the irony was, then he said, "Would you like some wine?"

"Love some. I'll help myself." I did so.

Morrolan said, "Tell me about it, Vlad."

"Jhereg troubles."

"Again?"

"Still."

"I see."

Day mar said, "Can I help?"

"No. Thanks."

"Say, boss, doesn't Aibynn have one of those things hanging around his neck?"

"Come to think of it, yes."

"So that's why I could never spot him."

"Or anyone else on Greenaere, probably. Yeah. "

I turned back to Morrolan. "Where did you find this?"

A little Morrolan smile flitted across one side of his face. "Exploring," he said.

"Where?"

"In the Imperial Dungeons."

My heart started hammering. I said, "Cawti—"

"She's fine. We didn't actually speak much, but I saw her—"

"How did you—?"

"I was visiting the Palace, and I got lost, and about thirty Imperials got lost as well, and there I was."

My hands were getting tired where I was gripping the chair. I relaxed them. "Did you speak at all?"

"I said hello, she looked surprised and nodded to me, by which time my guide was too nervous about the whole thing to keep me there. But I kept noticing these crystals about the place, so I acquired one on my way out."

"But she seems well?"

"Yes. She seemed quite, um, spirited."

"Did—damn. Wait a moment." I grumbled, debated ignoring whoever it was, decided there was too much hap-

nins right now and let my mental barriers down. "Who is it?"

"Me, boss. Where are you? I can hardly maintain contact"

"Just a moment, Melestav." I moved to the far side of the room, well away from the crystal. "Is that better?"

"Some."

"Okay. What is it? Can it wait?"

"Another messenger, boss." There was something odd in his tone. I said, "Not from Toronnan this time?"

"No, boss. From the Empress. She wants to see you. Tomorrow. "

"The Empress?"

"Yeah."

"Tomorrow?"

"That's what I said."

"Tomorrow is New Year's day."

"I know.

"All right. I'll talk to you later. "I turned to Morrolan."Can you think of any reason why the Empress would want to see me on New Year's Day?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Do you sing?"

"No."

"In that case, it must be something important."

"Oh, grand," I said. "I can hardly wait."

"In the meantime," said Morrolan, "I just want to try a couple of things. I assure you there is no risk."

"What the hell, boss? The worst that can happen is that it'll kill us, and then we don't have to worry about what

the Empress is going to do. "

'A point, " I said, and told Morrolan to go ahead.

The next day was the first day of the Month of the Phoenix, in the Year of the Dzur, during the Phase of the Yendi in the Reign of the Phoenix, Cycle of the Phoenix, Cycle of the Dragon, which is why most of us say the year 244 after the Interregnum.