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Michael Sullivan: Avempartha

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Michael Sullivan Avempartha

Avempartha: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

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“You realize he’ll never be able to pay us the hundred?” Hadrian asked.

“I just didn’t want him to think he was getting off easy.”

“You didn’t want him to think Royce Melborn went soft at the sight of a little girl’s tears.”

“She wasn’t just any girl and besides, he saved her from Ambrose Moor. For that alone he earned one life.”

“That’s something that has always puzzled me. How is it Ambrose is still alive?”

“I’ve been side-tracked, I suppose,” Royce said in his let us not talk about this tone, and Hadrian dropped it.

Of the city’s three main bridges, the Langdon was the most ornate. Made from cut stone, it was lined every few feet by large lampposts fashioned in the shapes of swans that when lit, gave the bridge a festive look. Now, however, with the lights out, the stone was wet and appeared oily and dangerous.

“Well, at least we didn’t spend the last month looking for DeWitt for nothing,” Hadrian said sarcastically as they crossed the bridge. “I would have thought-”

Royce stopped walking and abruptly raised his hand. Both men looked around, and without a word drew their weapons as they moved back to back. Nothing seemed amiss. The only sound was the roar of the tumultuous waters that rushed and churned below them.

“Impressive, Duster,” a man addressed Royce as he stepped out from behind one of the bridge lampposts. His skin was pale and his body so slender and boney that he swam in his loose britches and shirt. He looked like a corpse someone forgot to bury.

Behind them, Hadrian noted three more men crawling onto the span. They all had similar appearances, thin and muscular, each in dark colored clothes. They circled like wolves.

“What tipped you off we were here?” the thin man asked.

“I’m guessing it was your breath, but body odor really can’t be ruled out,” Hadrian replied with a grin while noting their positions, movements, and the direction of their eyes.

“Mind ’yer mouth bub,” the tallest of the four threatened.

“To what do we owe this visit, Price?” Royce asked.

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same,” the thin man replied. “This is our city after all, not yours-not anymore.”

“Black Diamond?” Hadrian asked.

Royce nodded.

“And you would be Hadrian Blackwater,” Price noted. “I always thought you’d be bigger.”

“And you’re a Black Diamond. I always thought there were more of you.”

Price smiled, held his gaze long enough to suggest a threat, and returned his attention to Royce. “So what are you doing here, Duster?”

“Just passing through.”

“Really? No business?”

“Nothing that would interest you.”

“Well now, you see that’s where you’re wrong.” Price stepped away from the swan lamppost and began slowly circling them as he talked. The wind blowing down the river whipped his loose shirt like a flag at mast. “The Black Diamond is interested in everything that happens in Colnora, most particularly when it involves you, Duster.”

Hadrian leaned over and asked, “Why does he keep calling you, Duster?”

“That was my guild name,” Royce replied.

“He was a Black Diamond?” asked the youngest looking of the four. He had round, chubby cheeks blown red and blotchy, a narrow mouth wreathed by a thin mustache and goatee.

“Oh yes, that’s right, Etcher, you’ve never heard of Duster before, have you? Etcher is new to the guild, only been with us what-six months? Well, you see not only was Duster a Diamond, he was an officer, bucketman, and one of the most notorious members in the guild’s history.”

“Bucketman?” Hadrian asked.

“Assassin,” Royce explained.

“He’s a legend, this one is,” Price went on, pacing around the stone bridge, carefully avoiding the puddles. “Wonder-boy of his day, he rose through the ranks so fast it unnerved people.”

“Funny,” Royce said, “I only remember one.”

“Well, when the First Officer of the guild is nervous, so is everyone else. You see back then the Jewel had a man named Hoyte running the show. He was an ass to most of us-a good thief and administrator-but an ass just the same. Duster here had a lot of support from the lower ranks and Hoyte was concerned Duster might replace him. He began ordering Duster on the most dangerous jobs-jobs that went suspiciously bad. Still, Duster always escaped unscathed, making him even more a hero. Rumors began circulating we might have a traitor in the guild. Rather than being concerned, Hoyte saw this as an opportunity.”

Price paused in his orator’s trek around the bridge and stopped in front of Royce. “You see at that time there were three bucketmen in the guild and all of them good friends. Jade, the guild’s only female assassin, was a beauty who-”

“Is this going somewhere, Price?” Royce snapped.

“Just giving Etcher a little background, Duster. You wouldn’t begrudge me the chance to educate my boys, would you?” Price smiled and returned to his casual pacing, slipping his thumbs into the loose waistline of his pants. “Where was I? Oh yes, Jade. It happened right over there.” He pointed back across the bridge. “That empty warehouse with the clover symbol on its side. That’s where Hoyte set them up, pitting one against the other. Then, like now, bucketmen wore masks to prevent being marked.” Price paused and looked at Royce in feigned sympathy. “You had no idea who she was until it was over did you, Duster? Or did you know and kill her anyway?”

Royce said nothing but glared at Price with a dangerous look.

“The last of the three bucketmen was Cutter, who was understandably upset to learn Duster murdered Jade since Cutter and Jade were lovers. The fact that his friend was responsible made it personal, and Hoyte was happy to let Cutter settle the score.

“But Cutter didn’t want Duster dead. He wanted him to suffer and insisted on something more elaborate, more painful. The man is a strategic mastermind-our best heist planner and arranged for Duster to be apprehended by the city guard. Cutter traded a few favors and with some money, bought a trial that resulted in Duster going to the Manzant Prison and Salt Mine. The hole no one ever comes back from. Escape was thought to be impossible-only somehow Duster managed it. You know we still don’t know how you got out,” he paused, giving Royce a chance to reply.

Again, Royce remained silent.

Price shrugged. “When Duster escaped he returned to Colnora. First, the magistrate who presided over his trial was found dead in his bed. Then the false witnesses-all three on the same night-and finally the lawyer. Soon, one by one, members of the Black Diamond started disappearing. They turned up in the strangest places: the river, the city square, even the steeple of the church.

“After losing more than a dozen members, the Jewel made a deal. He gave Hoyte to Duster who forced him to confess publicly. Then Duster killed Hoyte and left his body in the Hill Square Fountain-it was pure artistry. It stopped the war, but the wounds were too deep to forgive. Duster left only to reemerge years later working out of Crimson Hand territory up north. But you’re not a member, are you?”

“I don’t have much use for guilds anymore,” Royce replied coldly.

“And who’s that?” Etcher asked pointing at Hadrian. “Duster’s servant? He’s carrying enough weapons for the both of them.”

Price smiled at Etcher. “That’s Hadrian Blackwater, and I wouldn’t point at him; you’re likely to lose that arm.”

Etcher looked at Hadrian skeptically. “What? He’s some kind of killer swordsman? Is that it?”

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