Steven Brust - Dzur

“How long did you say you’d been Mario’s contact?”

“About ninety years, and I prefer the term ‘business agent.’”

“You mean, messenger.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

I shook my head.

“So, what’s the plan, Vlad?”

I studied him for a little. He frowned. “Vlad, are you wondering if you can trust me?”

“Actually, no.”

“Good.”

“I know I can trust you. I’m having real doubts about getting you killed.”

“Why? You never did before.”

“This is different and you know it.”

“What’s so different about it?”

“Well, it’s Morganti. And it’s the whole damned Jhereg. And the Left Hand is involved. I’m gone. I’m out of here. If you’re known to be in this with me, and you live through it, then you’ll have to be gone, too. You can’t come back from this and go on with business.”

“Isn’t that my decision?”

“It isn’t that simple.”

“Yes it is.”

“Not to me.”

“That’s because you complicate everything.”

“Oh. So that’s my problem?”

“One of them.”

“Going to give the whole list?”

He grinned. “Not unless you ask for it.”

I sighed. “I’ve put things into motion that I can’t control. Things have started. I—”

“Just now? With my errand?”

“A little before that, actually. It all centers around South Adrilankha.”

“Yeah, I knew that part.”

“Do you know why?”

He smiled happily. “Not even a guess.”

“For one thing, Terion,” I said.

“What about him?”

“He’s pushing for the number-one spot on the Council.”

“Okay. And?”

“He’s enlisted the help of the Left Hand.”

“How did he do that?”

“His mistress is one of them.”

“Ah.”

“How is—”

“By gaining control of South Adrilankha.”

“Why there?”

“It’s the most lucrative area that’s up for grabs. They’re already fighting for it. I mean, the Jhereg. I mean, the Right Hand.”

“Bodies turning up?”

“No,” I said. “But one of the parties tried to start up a little en­terprise among the Easterners. Small stuff, but if it had worked, it could have eventually put the heat on the Left Hand, and maybe interfered with their business there.”

“Could have?”

“I sort of squelched it.”

“Okay, that leaves Terion.”

“As far as I know. And I’m pretty sure I know the whole way.”

“And Terion’s connection to the Left Hand is his mistress. Who is—wait. Crithnak.”

“Yeah.”

“Terion won’t be happy.”

“With any luck, Terion won’t be alive.”

“You going after him?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“The usual.”

“Vlad, the usual doesn’t involve protection by the Left Hand.”

“They aren’t protecting him, Kragar. They’re just helping him take South Adrilankha.”

“How do you know that?”

I frowned.

Crap.

“Damn you, Kragar.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Before you said that, I thought I had a plan.”

“Uh huh. Like the guy who found his walls were hollow when he saw a chipmunk making a home in them, and said, ‘Damn that chipmunk, I thought I had a nice place until he came along.”

“Yeah. Just like that. I thought I had a plan.”

“Damn good one, too. What exactly is the problem you just discovered?”

“I’m in disguise.”

“So?”

“So the fellow I just tried to smoke out won’t be able to find me.”

“Can you explain that?”

“I’m not sure.”

“All right. So, what’s your next plan?”

“There’s a house in South Adrilankha, on Stranger’s Road. The Left Hand runs their operations from it. I’ve been thinking of walking in there and just seeing how many throats I can cut before they take me down.”

“Hmmm. Been feeling frustrated, have we?”

“A little.”

“How about a backup plan, in case you come to your senses before trying that one.”

“You have something in mind?”

“Nope. Plans are your department. Blowing them up is mine.”

“Okay. Glad to know we have the division of labor figured

He nodded.

Except for him sitting on my side of the desk, it felt a lot like old times. I’d have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been so busy trying to figure a way out of the mess I’d gotten myself into.

After a few minutes of contemplation, I said, “Things are already in motion. I have to take out Terion. Once his mistress gets shined, then the Left Hand will be after me in addition to everyone else.” I sighed. “It’s sad. “They all want me dead.”

“That’s true.”

“And yet, I’m such a great guy.”

“You are. Everyone says so. Can you tell me why you got in­volved in this in the first place?”

“Cawti,” I said.

“Oh.”

There were things Kragar and I didn’t talk about it, and Cawti was most of them. He cleared his throat into the moderately un­comfortable silence, and said, “Okay. So, you need a new plan.”

“Actually, maybe just a couple of small modifications to the old one.”

“All right. I can accept that. What do you have in mind?”

“You’ve sold me on one thing: I have to ask you for help.”

He smiled. He looked pleased. Sometimes I wondered about him.

“You want me to find out who on the Council has just gotten upset that his scheme in South Adrilankha has just been broken up.”

“Yes. Can you do it without anyone finding out that you’re working for me?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I cursed under my breath.

“Anything else?” said Kragar.

“Maybe one other thing.”

“Hmmm?”

“Can you find Terion?”

“I imagine so. It might take a little time.”

“Okay. Just make sure no one knows you’re looking.”

“Just how do you imagine I’ll be able to do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never known how you do anything you do. But just be sure.”

He shrugged.

“Dammit, Kragar, don’t you get it? Don’t you have any idea just how big this is? If they know you’re helping me, they will kill you.

“Well—”

“They will kill you, Kragar. I don’t know how they’ll find you, but they’ll manage, and they’ll kill you. I will not wander around with that on my conscience. If you can’t figure a way to find him without it being known that you’re looking, then don’t find him.”

“And you’ll do what, then?”

“I’ll think of something.”

“Right.”

“That isn’t an answer,” I said. “I want your agreement.”

“I don’t work for you anymore,” he said, smirking. “You can’t give me orders.”

I found a use for several of the more creative curses I’d learned from some Orca I’d briefly traveled with. Kragar waited. I said, “I suppose threatening to kill you would be counterproductive.”

He nodded. “And carrying out the threat would be entirely out of line.”

“Yeah.” I drummed my fingers on the arm of my chair.

I leaned back. “Okay. Let’s go back to the beginning and take another look at it.”

He nodded and waited.

“What happens if I kill Terion?”

“He doesn’t get the Council seat. There are rules about dead people—”

“Yeah, yeah. What else?”

“I don’t know who does get it. Probably the Demon. Maybe not.

“What about South Adrilankha?”

“What about it?”

“Who takes it?”

“Without Terion getting the Left Hand involved, then I guess they get out of it. Probably goes as a prize to whoever gets the seat. Or else maybe he gives it to someone else who supported him.”