Water Sleeps

by Glen Cook

  It seemed like a thousand pairs of eyes were staring at me, waiting for me to volunteer. I told them, “I’m not doing it. I’m going to bed.”

  All those eyes kept right on staring. I had put myself in charge. This was something nobody but the guy in charge ought to handle.

  “All right. Uncle. Tobo. Goblin. You back me up on this. That child has talents we can’t guess at yet.” I had been warned that she still tried to walk away from her flesh at night, despite all the constraints surrounding her. She was both her mothers’ daughter and there was no telling what might happen when she had to suffer too much stress.

  Tobo protested. “I don’t like to be around her. She gives me the creeps.”

  Goblin beat me to it. “Kid, she gives everybody the creeps. She’s the creepiest thing I’ve run into in a hundred fifty years. Get used to it. Deal with it. It’s part of the job. Which they say you were born to do and which you did ask for.”

  Curious. Goblin the mentor and instructor seemed much more articulate than Goblin the want-to-be-layabout and slacker.

  The little wizard suggested, “You carry the Key. You’re young and strong.”

  The Daughter of Night did not look up when we entered the tent. Perhaps she was not aware of us. She seemed to be meditating. Possibly communing with the Dark Mother. Goblin kicked the bars of her cage, which rattled nicely and shed a shower of rust. “Well, look at her. Cute.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “She’s been working some kind of spell on the iron. It’s rusting away a thousand times faster than it ought to. Clever girl. Only —”

  The clever girl looked up. Our eyes met. Something behind hers chilled me to the bone. “Only what?” I asked.

  “Only every spell holding her and controlling her has that cage for an anchor. Anything that happens to it will happen to her. Look at her skin.”

  I saw what he meant. The Daughter of Night was not exactly rusty herself but did look spotty and frayed at the surface.

  Her gaze shifted to Uncle, Goblin, Tobo... and she gasped, like she was seeing the boy for the first time. She rose slowly, drifted toward the bars, gaze locked with his. Then a little frown danced across her brow. Her gaze darted down to Tobo’s burden.

  Her mouth opened and, I swear, a sound like the angry bellow of an elephant rolled out. Her eyes grew huge. She lunged forward. Her shackles gave way. The bars of the cage creaked and let fall another shower of rust. They bent but did not give. She thrust an arm through in a desperate effort to reach the Key. Little bits of skin blackened and fell off her. And still she was beautiful.

  I observed, “I guess we can safely say the thing does hold some significance for the Deceivers.”

  “You could say so,” Goblin admitted. The girl’s whole arm had begun to look like it had been badly burned.

  “So let’s take it away and see what else we can find out. And get the cage reinforced and her shackles replaced. Tobo!” The boy kept staring at the girl like he was seeing her for the first time. “Don’t tell me he just fell in love. I couldn’t handle it if we had to worry about that in addition to everything else.”

  “No,” Uncle Doj reassured me. “Not love, I think. But the future, just maybe.”

  Although I tried to insist, he would not expand upon that remark. He was still Uncle Doj, the mystery priest of the Nyueng Bao.

  67

  Things came together nicely after the defeat of the relief column. Murgen said nobody else was likely to challenge us without help from beyond the mountains. Which help, unfortunately, was on the way already. Soulcatcher was airborne and lurching southward in small, erratic leaps that, nevertheless, were bringing her closer faster than any animal could do — even one of those magical stallions from the Tower at Charm — but still definitely very feebly for a flying carpet. Once upon a time the Howler could conquer the miles between Overlook and Taglios in a single night.

  Soulcatcher had to rest several hours for every hour she spent aloft. Even so, she was on her way. And the impact of the news on the troops was electric. With only days left, or possibly only hours, everyone buckled down and put their back into it. I saw very little slacking, little wasted effort, and some very serious concentration when it came to honing military skills.

  Suvrin was right in there with the troops, drilling his behind off. Literally. Though he had been with us only a short time, he had begun to lose weight and show signs of shaping up. He approached me soon after Murgen and Goblin began issuing regular reports about Soulcatcher’s progress. “I want to stay with you, ma’am,” he told me.

  “You what?” I was surprised.

  “I’m not sure I want to be part of the Black Company but I do know for sure that I don’t want to be here when the Protector shows up. She has a reputation for seldom letting herself be swayed by the facts. The futility of me having resisted you won’t impress her.”

  “You’re right about that. If you shirked because you would’ve gotten killed doing what she expected, she’ll arrange it so you get dead anyway. In a less pleasant way, if possible. All right, Suvrin. You’ve kept your word and you’ve been a good worker.”

  He winced. “You understand what ‘Suvrin’ actually means?”

  “Junior, essentially. But you’re stuck with it now. Most people in the Company don’t go by their birth names. Even most of the men who go by regular names don’t go by their real ones. They’re all getting away from their past. And you will be, too.”

  He grimaced.

  “Report to Master Santaraksita. Until I find something else for you, your job will be to assist him. Old Baladitya is no use at all. He’s worse than Santaraksita, who keeps getting farther and farther behind in his packing because he keeps getting distracted by his books.” Santaraksita had managed to acquire several antique volumes locally that had, miraculously, survived the countless disasters that had beset the region these past several decades.

  Suvrin bowed. “Thank you.” There was a fresh bounce in his step as he walked away.

  I suspected he and Master Santaraksita might have a lot in common. Heck, Suvrin could even read.

  Tobo materialized. “My father says to tell you that Soulcatcher has reached Charandaprash. And that she’s decided to rest there before she crosses the Dandha Presh.”

  “A few more hours’ grace. Excellent. Means there’s a good chance there won’t be anything left here for her to find but our tracks. How are you getting along with your mother? Did you make any effort at all?”

  “Dad also says he wants you to post somebody with a warning horn that can be sounded once the Protector gets dangerously close. And he says you should pull in the pickets watching the pass now, just in case Soulcatcher changes her mind about taking some time off.”

  That was a good idea.

  Runmust and Riverwalker made the mistake of being close enough to be seen. I sent them to go bring the scouts home. “Tobo, you can’t ignore your mother. You’ll end up getting along with her worse than she gets along with your grandmother.”

  “Sleepy... why can’t she just let me grow up?”

  “Because you’re her baby, you idiot! Don’t you understand that? When you’re twice as old as One-Eye you’ll still be her baby. The only baby that cruel fate hasn’t gobbled down. You do remember that your mother had other children and she lost them?”

  “Uh... yeah.”

  “I’ve never had children. I never want to have children. In part because I can see how horrible it would be to see my own flesh and blood die and not be able to do anything to prevent it. Family is supposed to be extremely important to you Nyueng Bao. I want you to drop whatever you’re doing. Right now. Go over and sit on that boulder. Spend two hours not thinking about anything but what it must have meant to your mother to see your brother and sister die. Think about how badly she must not want to go through that again. Think about what it must be like to be her after everything else she’s had to go through. You’re a smart kid. You can figure it out.”


  When you are around people long enough you get a feel for how they react. I could see his first petulant inclination was to remind me that I had been younger than he was now when I attached myself to Bucket and the Company, which had little to do with the argument at hand but which was the sort of tool you grab when you are that age.

  “If you intend to say something, make sure it makes sense before you do. Because if you can’t think logically and argue logically, then there isn’t much hope that you’ll have any success with the sorcery, no matter how talented you are. I know. I know. From everything you’ve seen, the bigger the wizards are, the crazier they are. But within the boundaries of their insanity, every one of them is rigorously, mathematically rational. The entire power of their minds serves their insanity. When they stumble it’s because they let emotions or wishful thinking get in the way.”

  “All right. I surrender. I’ll sit on the damned rock until it hatches. Oh, Dad also said to tell you that Narayan Singh is somewhere close by. He can sense the Deceiver but he can’t pinpoint him. Kina is protecting him with her dreams. Dad says you should ask the white crow to look for him. If you can find it and get it to sit still long enough.”

  “Crowhunter. Maybe I’ll call myself that. It sounds more glamorous than Sleepy.”

  “Tobo sounds more glamorous than Sleepy.” Tobo headed for the boulder and settled in an approved attitude. I hoped I had planted seeds that would take root and sprout while he was trying to think of everything else but.

  “At least you get to change your name when you grow up...” Stupid. Anytime I feel like it I can tell everyone to call me whatever strikes my fancy.

  Crowhunter gave up her name. She was a failure. The white monster was nowhere to be found. So I went and spent some time with Sahra even though she did not welcome me right away. We recalled old days, hard times, her husband’s lack of perfection, till I thought she was relaxed enough to actually listen to what I had to say about Tobo.

  The villain himself scored a coup by showing up with an olive branch at the perfect time. I elected to remove myself while things were going well. I hoped the peace would last but did not count on forever.

  I would settle for one halcyon week. In a week we would know if it was possible to resurrect the Captured. In a week we would either be dead on the glittering plain or ready to return as a force of ultimate destruction. Or maybe...

  68

  The warning horn sounded deep in the night, when even those who were stuck with guard duty were at their most sluggish. But the man on horn duty was married to his job. He kept blowing and blowing. In minutes our entire encampment was seething. And I was out there with my heart in my throat, striding along, making sure the chaos was only apparent, not real. Everyone remained calm and focused. There was no panic. I was pleased. Even a little training and discipline are better than none.

  I ducked into Goblin’s tent. Sahra and Tobo were there already and not at one another’s throats. I must have gotten through to the kid. I should keep after them both. In my copious free time. I bent close to the mist projector. “What’s the word?”

  Murgen whispered, “Soulcatcher is airborne and moving south. She plans to arrive shortly after sunrise. She has a good idea where you are. During her rest time she sent a shadow down to scout your position. She didn’t learn a lot more. The shadow didn’t dare get close enough to eavesdrop. She plans to don one of her disguises and infiltrate your camp so she can find out what you’re really up to. From the beginning, she’s operated under the assumption that we’re dead out here. Even though she didn’t kill us directly when she trapped us. She flew out of there believing we’d be dead in just a few days. I expect learning that Croaker and Lady are still alive is going to be the kind of shock that ruins her whole century.”

  “How fast is she moving? Strike that. You said she’d get here just after sunrise. Is Mogaba with her?” That would make a big difference in how fresh she would be when when she arrived. Which would determine the shape of what I started doing now.

  “No. If she manages to get in among you and unearths all the answers to the questions she has, she’ll smash you, scatter you, grab the Key, then go back for the Great General.” Murgen sneered when he used Mogaba’s title. The fact that we never beat him once, heads up, during the Kiaulune wars, did nothing to ease our contempt for him as a deserter and traitor.

  “Warn me if she does anything unexpected. Sahra, have you checked on your mother?”

  “Briefly. Doj and JoJo are helping her and One-Eye. I think she was a little delirious. She kept muttering about a noose and a land of unknown shadows and calling the heaven and earth and the day and the night.”

  “All evil dies there an endless death.”

  “That, too. What is it?”

  “I don’t know. A phrase I picked up somewhere. It has to do with the plain but I don’t know what. Doj might be able to tell you. He promised to be cooperative and forthcoming but since I passed on his offer to make me his apprentice, that hasn’t materialized. My fault as much as his, probably. I haven’t taken time to press him. I have work to do.” I ducked out.

  The excitement had become more rigorously organized. There were torches and lanterns to light the road to the Shadowgate. A band of our bravest were up near the gate already, arranging more lighting and fine-tuning the colored powders used as road marks. Loaded animals were beginning to line up. Likewise a train of carts. Babies cried, children whined, a dog barked without pause. Sounds of men slipping through the darkness beyond the light came from all around. Prisoners who had been sure we meant to drag them onto the plain to become human sacrifices were being chivied toward the New Town. Some of the harder men had wanted to use them as bearers instead of the animals, disposing of them as their usefulness ended. I had demurred. They would become obstinate and obstreperous after the first few died and we would not be able to eat them after we ate up the consumables they carried. Not that the majority of us would eat flesh anyway. But those who could would from the beginning.

  I spied Willow Swan strolling through the mob. He spun off orders like a drill instructor. I approached him. “Gone nostalgic for the good old days when you were the boss Grey?”

  “A true genius, whose name we won’t bring up in present company, sent all the master sergeants to make preparations at the Shadowgate. She didn’t detail anybody to keep things moving down here.”

  The unnamed genius had to admit that he was right. River, Runmust, Spiff, all the men I had known the longest and trusted the most, were up there or somewhere out in the darkness. I guess I just assumed Sahra and I could handle everything else. Forgetting that I would be sprinting around making decisions for everyone who could not make up their minds for themselves. “Thanks. If I don’t get a better offer by my fortieth birthday, I’ll marry you yet.”

  Swan made a halfhearted effort to click his heels. “So. How old are you today?”

  “Seventeen.”

  “That’s about what I guessed. With maybe another twenty years of experience, plus wear and tear.”

  “It’s tough being a teenager today. Just ask Tobo. Nobody’s ever had it as awful as he does.”

  He chuckled. “Speaking of kids, who’s handling the Daughter of Night? Which I don’t want to be me.”

  “Darn! I figured Goblin and Doj for that. But Goblin’s tied up helping keep track of Soulcatcher, and Doj has Gota and One-Eye to worry about. Thanks for reminding me.” I headed back toward Goblin’s tent. “Hey, Short Wart! Leave it to Tobo and Sahra a while. We got to get the Daughter of Night loaded up.”

  Goblin came out muttering, surveyed the excitement, grumbled, “All right. Let’s get at it. Only, how come the fuck we never gave her a name? So what if she don’t want one. She don’t want to live in no cage, either. Even Booboo would be easier than calling her Daughter of Night all the time. Whoa! What the fuck is that?” He stared past me, downhill.

  I turned, saw a pair of red eyes bobbing in the darkness, coming closer fast.
I grabbed for my sword. Then I frowned as I heard the hoofbeats. Then I said, “Hey, buddy! Is that you? What the heck are you doing here? I thought you had yourself a job working for the traitor.”

  The old black stallion stepped close, lowered its head to nuzzle the hair beside my right ear. I hugged it around the neck. We had been friends once upon a time but I had not thought we were so close that it would desert Mogaba and track me down over hundreds of miles once it discovered that I was still alive. The creatures had been created to serve the Lady of the Tower but were supposed to be used to passing from one secondary master to another. This one had been Murgen’s before it had become mine, then I had lost it.

  “You ought to get out of here,” I told it. “Your timing’s really lousy. Soulcatcher is going to be all over us in just a few hours. If we’re not already up there on that plain.”

  The horse surveyed my companions and what it could see of the Company, shuddered. Then, turning its gaze on Swan, the stallion managed a very human snort.

  I patted its neck. “I’m not sure I don’t agree with you, but Willow does have his redeeming qualities. He just keeps them well hidden. Go ahead and tag along if you want. I’m not riding. Not without a saddle.”

  Swan chuckled. “So much for the conquering Vehdna horsemen whose pride disdained both saddles and stirrups.”

  “Admitting no shortcomings of my own, I still have to observe that most of those proud horsemen were over six feet tall.”

  “I’ll find you a ladder. And promise never to say a word about how those proud conquerors fared as soon as they ran into cavalry who did favor saddles and stirrups.”

  “Bite him, buddy.”

  To my amazement, the stallion snorted and nipped at Willow’s shoulder. Swan leaped back. “You always did have a temper and bad manners, half-ass.”

  “Might be the company.”

  “Far be it from me to interfere with your sparking, Crowhunter,” Goblin said, “but I thought you had a notion to do something with Booboo.”