Steven Brust - Athyra

Savn noticed that the room was gradually emptying, and he heard several people say they were going to talk to either Speaker or Bless, neither of whom was present, and “see that something was done about this.”

He was trying to figure out what “this” was when Mae and Pae tost, coWttVed ?otyv and approached him. Mae said, “Come along, Savn, it’s time for us to be going home.”

“Is it all right if I stay here for a while? I want to keep talking to my friends.”

His parents looked at each other, and perhaps couldn’t think of how to phrase a refusal, so they grunted permission. Polyi must have received some sort of rejection from one of the boys, perhaps On, because she made no objection to being made to leave, but in fact hurried out to the wagon while Savn was still saying goodbye to his parents and being told to be certain he was home by midnight.

In less than five minutes, the room was empty except for Tern, Savn, Coral, a couple of their friends, and a few old women who practically lived at Tern’s house.

“Well,” said Coral. “Isn’t he the cheeky one?”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? The Easterner.”

“Oh. Cheeky?” said Savn.

“Did you see how he looked at us?” said Coral.

“Yeah,” said Lan, a large fellow who was soon to be officially apprenticed to Piper. “Like we were all grass and he was deciding if he ought to mow us.”

“More like we were weeds, and not worth the trouble,” said Tuk, who was Lan’s older brother and was in his tenth year as Hider’s apprentice. They were proud of the fact that both of them had “filled the bucket” and been apprenticed to trade.

“That’s what I thought,” said Coral.

“I don’t know,” said Savn. “I was just thinking, I sure wouldn’t like to walk into a place and have everybody staring at me like that. It’d scare the blood out of my skin.”

“Well, it didn’t seem to disturb him any,” said Lan.

“No,” said Savn. “It didn’t.”

Tuk said, “We shouldn’t talk about him. They say Easterners can hear anything you say about them.”

“Do you believe that?” said Savn.

“It’s what I’ve heard.”

Lan nodded. “And they can turn your food bad when they want, even after you’ve eaten it.”

“Why would he want to do that?”

“Why would he want to kill Reins?” said Coral.

“I don’t think he did,” said Savn.

“Why not?” said Tuk.

“Because he couldn’t have,” said Savn. “There weren’t any marks on him.”

“Maybe he’s a wizard,” said Lan.

“Easterners aren’t wizards.”

Coral frowned. “You can say what you want, I think he killed him.”

“But why would he?” said Savn.

“How should I—” Coral broke off, looking around the room. “What was that?’

“It was on the roof, I think. Birds, probably.”

“Yeah? Pretty big ones, then.”

As if by unspoken agreement they ran to the window. Coral got there first, stuck his head out, and jerked it back in again just as fast.

“What is it?” said the others.

“A jhereg,” said Coral, his eyes wide. “A big one.”

“What was it doing?” said Savn.

“Just standing on the edge of the roof looking down at me.”

“Huh?” said Savn. “Let me see.”

“Welcome.”

“Don’t let its tongue touch you,” said Tuk. “It’s poisonous.”

Savn looked out hesitantly, while Coral said, “Stand under it, but don’t let it lick you.”

“The gods!” said Savn, pulling his head in. “It is big. A female, I think. Who else wants to see?”

The others declined the honor, in spite of much urging by Savn and Coral, who, having already proven themselves, felt they wouldn’t have to again. “Huh-uh,” said Tuk. “They bite.”

“And they spit poison,” added Lan.

“They do not,” said Savn. “They bite, but they don’t spit, and they can’t hurt you just by licking you.” He was beginning to feel a bit proprietary toward them, having seen so many recently.

Meanwhile, Tern had noticed the disturbance. He came up behind them and said, “What’s going on over here?”

“A jhereg,” said Coral. “A big one.”

“A jhereg? Where?”

“On your roof,” said Savn.

“Right above the window,” said Coral.

Tern glanced out, then pulled his head back in slowly, filling the boys with equal measures of admiration and envy. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s a bad omen.”

“It is?” said Coral.

Tem nodded. He seemed about to speak further, but at that moment, preceded by a heavy thumping of boots, Vlad appeared once more.

“Good evening,” he said. Savn decided that what was remarkable about his voice was that it was so normal, and it ought not to be. It should be either deep and husky to match his build, or high and fluty to match his size, yet he sounded completely human.

He sat down near where Savn and his friends had been seated and said, “I’d like a glass of wine, please.”

Tem clenched his teeth like Master Wag, then said, “What sort of wine?”

“Any color, any district, any characteristics, just so long as it is wet.”

The old women, who had been studiously ignoring the antics of Savn and his friends, arose as one and, with imperious glares first at the Easterner, then at Tem, stalked out. Vlad continued, “I like it better here with fewer people. The wine, if you please?”

Tem fetched him a cup of wine, which Vlad paid for. He drank some, then set the mug down and stared at it, turning it in a slow circle on the table. He appeared oblivious to the fact that Savn and his friends were staring at him. After a short time, Coral, followed by the others, made his way back to the table. It seemed to Savn that Coral was walking gingerly, as if afraid to disturb the Easterner. When they were all seated, Vlad looked at them with an expression that was a mockery of innocence. He said, “So tell me, gentlemen, of this land. What is it like?”

The four boys looked at each other. How could one answer such a question?

Vlad said, “I mean, do bodies always show up out of nowhere, or is this a special occasion?”

Coral twitched as if stung; Savn almost smiled but caught himself in time. Tuk and Lan muttered something inaudible; then, with a look at Coral and Savn, they got up and left. Coral hesitated, stood up, looked at Savn, started to say something, then followed his friends out the door.

Vlad shook his head. “I seem to be driving away business today. I really don’t mean to. I hope Goodman Tem isn’t unhappy with me.”

“Are you a wizard?” said Savn.

Vlad laughed. “What do you know about wizards?”

“Well, they live forever, and you can’t hurt them because they keep their souls in magic boxes without any way inside, and they can make you do things you don’t want to do, and—”

Vlad laughed again. “Well, then I’m certainly not a wizard.”

Savn started to ask what was funny; then he caught sight of Vlad’s maimed hand, and it occurred to him that a wizard wouldn’t have allowed that to happen.

After an uncomfortable silence, Savn said, “Why did you say that?”

“Say what?”

“About ... bodies.”

“Oh. I wanted to know.”

“It was cruel.”

“Was it? In fact, I meant the question. It surprises me to walk into a place like this and find that a body has followed me in. It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me curious.”

“There have been others who noticed it, too.”

“I’m not surprised. And whispers about me, no doubt.”

“Well, yes.”

“What exactly killed him?”

“No one knows.”

“Oh?”

“There was no mark on him, at any rate, and my friends told me that Master Wag was puzzled.”