The Malazan Empire

by Steven Erikson

  Shand was glassy-eyed. ‘There’s more?’

  ‘A dozen or so.’

  ‘You want them killed?’ Hejun asked.

  ‘Errant no! I want you to begin purchasing shares in their enterprises. Under a variety of names, of course. Strive for forty-nine per cent. Once there, we’ll be poised to force a coup. The goal, of course, is controlling interest, but to gain that will only be achieved with sudden ambush, and for that the timing has to be perfect. In any case, once you have done all that—the purchasing, that is—make no further move, just get back to me.’

  ‘And how are we going to afford all that?’ Shand demanded.

  ‘Oh,’ Tehol waved a hand, ‘we’re flush. The coin I invested for you is making a sizeable return. Time’s come to make use of it.’

  ‘How much of a return?’

  ‘More than enough—’

  ‘How much?’

  ‘Well, I haven’t actually counted it—’

  Bugg spoke. ‘About a peak.’

  ‘Errant’s blessing!’ Shand stared at Tehol. ‘But I haven’t seen you do a thing!’

  ‘If you had, Shand, then I wouldn’t have been careful enough. Now, best we start with just the names I’ve given you. The next list can come later. Now, I have meetings scheduled this night—’

  ‘What kind of meetings?’

  ‘Oh, this and that. Now, please, I beg you—no more charging in through my front door. It’s bound to get noticed sooner or later, and that could be bad.’

  ‘What have you two been eating?’ Rissarh suddenly asked, her nose wrinkling.

  ‘This and that,’ Bugg replied.

  ‘Come on,’ Shand said to her companions, ‘let’s go home. Maybe Ublala will turn up.’

  ‘I’m sure he will,’ Tehol said, smiling as he escorted the three women to the doorway. ‘Now, get some sleep. You’ve busy times ahead.’

  Hejun half turned. ‘Cargo Olives—Horul who?’

  Shand reached out and dragged Hejun into the alley.

  Still smiling, Tehol adjusted the curtain until it once more covered the entrance. Then he spun round. ‘That went well.’

  ‘Rissarh had a knife,’ Bugg said, ‘tucked up along her wrist.’

  ‘She did? Tucked up?’

  ‘Yes, master.’

  Tehol walked to the ladder. ‘I trust you had your own knives close to hand.’

  ‘I don’t have any knives.’

  Tehol paused, one hand on the nearest rung. ‘What? Well, where are all our weapons?’

  ‘We don’t have any weapons, master.’

  ‘None? Did we ever?’

  ‘No. Some wooden spoons…’

  ‘And are you adept with them?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘Well, that’s all right, then. You coming?’

  ‘In a moment, master.’

  ‘Right, and be sure to clean up. This place is a dreadful mess.’

  ‘If I find the time.’

  Ublala Pung was lying face-down on the roof, near the bed.

  ‘Ublala,’ Tehol said, approaching, ‘is something wrong?’

  ‘No.’ The word was muffled.

  ‘What are you doing down there?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Well, we’re about to have a guest who wants to meet you.’

  ‘That’s fine.’

  ‘It might be worth your while to endeavour to make a good impression,’ Tehol said.

  ‘All right.’

  ‘That might prove a little difficult, Ublala, with you lying there like that. When I first came up, I admit to thinking that you were dead.’ He paused, then, considering, and brightened. ‘Mind you, that might be a good thing—’

  A scuff of boots to one side, then Shurq Elalle stepped from the shadows. ‘Is this him?’

  ‘You’re early,’ Tehol said.

  ‘I am? Oh. Well, are you waiting for a necromancer to animate him or something?’

  ‘I would be, were he dead. Ublala, if you will, stand up. I would like to introduce you to Shurq Elalle—’

  ‘Is she the dead one?’ he asked, not yet moving. ‘The thief who drowned?’

  ‘Already you’re holding something against me,’ Shurq replied, her tone despondent.

  ‘We haven’t got to that yet,’ Tehol said. ‘Ublala, get up. Shurq has needs. You can meet them, and in return you get Shand, Rissarh and Hejun to leave off—’

  ‘Why would they?’ Ublala demanded.

  ‘Because Shurq will tell them to.’

  ‘I will?’

  ‘Look,’ Tehol said, exasperated, ‘neither of you are cooperating here. On your feet, Ublala.’

  ‘That won’t be necessary,’ Shurq cut in. ‘Just roll him over.’

  ‘Oh, fine, that’s very nice. Crass, but nice.’ Tehol crouched down alongside Ublala, pushed his hands beneath the huge man, then lifted. Tehol’s feet skidded. He grunted, gasped, heaved again and again, to little effect.

  ‘Stop it,’ Shurq said in a strange voice. ‘You’re going to make me laugh. And laughing right now would be expensive.’

  Sprawled across Ublala, Tehol stared up at her. ‘Expensive?’

  ‘All those spices, of course. Tell me, Ublala, what did you see when you walked across the bottom of the canal?’

  ‘Mud.’

  ‘What else?’

  ‘Junk.’

  ‘What else? What were you walking on?’

  ‘Bodies. Bones. Crayfish, crabs. Old nets. Broken pots, furniture—’

  ‘Furniture?’ Tehol asked. ‘Serviceable furniture?’

  ‘Well, there was a chair. But I didn’t sit in it.’

  ‘Bodies,’ Shurq said. ‘Yes. Lots of bodies. How deep was the canal originally?’

  Bugg had arrived, and with this question Tehol looked over at his manservant. ‘Well? You must know, being an engineer and all that.’

  ‘But I’m only pretending to be an engineer,’ Bugg pointed out.

  ‘So pretend to know the answer to Shurq’s question!’

  ‘It was said seven tall men could stand, foot to shoulder, and the last would be able to reach up with his hands and find the surface. Used to be big trader ships could make their way the entire length.’

  ‘I wasn’t far from the surface,’ Ublala said, rolling over, unmindful of Tehol who yelped as he was tumbled to one side with a thump. ‘I could almost reach,’ he added as he stood, brushing himself off.

  ‘That’s a lot of rubbish,’ Bugg commented.

  ‘I’m not lying,’ Ublala said.

  ‘I didn’t say you were,’ Bugg said.

  ‘So,’ Shurq asked, ‘who is killing all those people?’

  ‘Never mind all that,’ Tehol said as he clambered to his feet. ‘Shurq Elalle, permit me to introduce Ublala Pung. The canal walk is very lovely at night, yes? Not in it, I mean. Alongside it, just for a change. Perfect for a promenade—’

  ‘I intend to rob Gerun Eberict’s estate,’ Shurq said to Ublala. ‘But there are outlying watchers that need taking care of. Can you create a diversion, Ublala Pung?’

  The huge man scratched his jaw. ‘I don’t know. I got nothing against them—’

  ‘They don’t like you.’

  ‘They don’t? Why?’

  ‘No reason. They just don’t.’

  ‘Then I don’t like them either.’

  ‘So you say, but I haven’t seen any proof.’

  ‘You want proof? Good. Let’s go.’

  Shurq hooked one arm in Ublala’s and led him towards the far edge of the roof. ‘We have to jump to that other roof,’ she said. ‘I don’t think you can do it, Ublala. Not quietly, anyway.’

  ‘Yes I can. I’ll show you I can.’

  ‘We’ll see…’

  Tehol stared after them, then he swung to Bugg.

  The manservant shrugged. ‘It’s the complexities of the male mind, master.’

  The rain earlier that day had made the night air blessedly cool. Brys Beddict left the palace by a side postern and pro
ceeded on a circuitous route towards his brother’s residence. Although it was close to midnight, there were plenty of people on the streets.

  He had never felt entirely comfortable in the crowded, sordid maze that was Letheras. The face of wealth stayed mostly hidden, leaving only the ravaged mien of poverty, and that was at times almost overwhelming. Beyond the Indebted were the lost, those who had given up entirely, and among them could be seen not just refugees from annexed tribes, but Letherii as well—more than he would have imagined. For all the explosive growth driving the kingdom, it seemed an ever greater proportion of the population was being left behind, and that was troubling.

  At what point in the history of Letheras, he wondered, did rampant greed become a virtue? The level of self-justification required was staggering in its tautological complexity, and it seemed language itself was its greatest armour against common sense.

  You can’t leave all these people behind. They’re outside the endless excitement and lust, the frenzied accumulation. They’re outside and can only look on with growing despair and envy. What happens when rage supplants helplessness?

  Increasingly, the ranks of the military were filling with the lowest classes. Training, acceptable income and a full belly provided the incentives, yet these soldiers were not enamoured of the civilization they were sworn to defend. True, many of them joined with dreams of booty, of wealth stolen and glory gained. But such riches came only with aggression, and successful aggression at that. What would happen if the military found itself on the defensive? They’ll fight to defend their homes, their loved ones. Of course they will. There’s no cause for worry, is there?

  He swung into the alley leading to Tehol’s home, and heard, somewhere beyond the squalid tenement, the sounds of a fierce argument. Things came crashing down in a cacophony that ended with a shriek.

  Brys hesitated. He could not reach the source of the sounds from this alley, but Tehol’s rooftop might permit him a view down on the opposite street. He went on.

  With the pommel of his knife Brys tapped on the doorframe. There was no reply. He pulled aside the curtain and peered in. A single wavering oil lamp, the faint glow from the hearth, and voices coming down from above.

  Brys entered and climbed the rickety ladder.

  He emerged onto the roof to see Tehol and his manservant standing at the far edge, looking down—presumably on the argument that was still under way.

  ‘Tehol,’ Brys called, approaching. ‘Is this a matter for the city guard?’

  His brother swung about, then shook his head. ‘I don’t think so, brother. A resolution is but moments away. Wouldn’t you agree, Bugg?’

  ‘I think so, since he’s almost out and that old woman’s run out of things to throw.’

  Brys came alongside and looked down. A huge man was busy extricating himself from a pile of dusty rubble, ducking when objects were flung at him by a old woman in the tenement doorway.

  ‘What happened?’ Brys asked.

  ‘An associate of mine,’ Tehol said, ‘jumped onto the roof over there from this one. He landed quietly enough, I suppose. Then the roof gave out, alas. As you can see, he’s a big man.’

  The hapless associate had climbed free at last. It appeared that he had taken most of the wall with him in his descent. It was a miracle that he seemed uninjured. ‘Why was he jumping from your roof, Tehol?’

  ‘It was a dare.’

  ‘Yours?’

  ‘Oh no, I’d never do that.’

  ‘Then who? Surely not your manservant?’

  Bugg sputtered, ‘Me? Most assuredly not, Finadd!’

  ‘Another guest,’ Tehol explained. ‘Who has since gone, although not far, I imagine. Somewhere in the shadows, waiting for dear Ublala.’

  ‘Ublala? Ublala Pung? Oh, yes, I recognize him now. An associate? Tehol, the man’s a criminal—’

  ‘Who proved his innocence in the canal—’

  ‘That’s not innocence,’ Brys retorted, ‘that’s stubborn will.’

  ‘A will that the Errant would surely have weakened were Ublala truly guilty of the crimes of which he had been accused.’

  ‘Tehol, really—’

  His brother faced him, brows raised. ‘Are you, a soldier of the king, casting aspersions on our justice system?’

  ‘Tehol, the king casts aspersions on the justice system!’

  ‘None the less, Brys—oh, what are you doing here, by the way?’

  ‘I have come seeking your advice.’

  ‘Oh. Well, shall we retire to a more private section of my rooftop? Here, follow me—that far corner is ideal.’

  ‘Wouldn’t down below be better?’

  ‘Well, it would, if Bugg had bothered cleaning up. As it is, my abode is an unacceptable mess. I can’t concentrate down there, not for a moment. My stomach turns at the thought—’

  ‘That would be supper,’ Bugg said behind them.

  The brothers turned to look back at him.

  Bugg gave a sheepish wave. ‘I’ll be down below, then.’

  They watched him leave.

  Brys cleared his throat. ‘There are factions in the palace. Intrigues. And it seems certain people would force me into involvement, when all I wish is to remain loyal to my king.’

  ‘Ah, and some of those factions are less than loyal to the king?’

  ‘Not in any manner that could be proved. Rather, it’s simply a matter of reinterpretation of what would best serve the king and the kingdom’s interests.’

  ‘Ah, but those are two entirely different things. The king’s interests versus the kingdom’s interests. At least, I assume that’s how they see it, and who knows, they might be right.’

  ‘They might, Tehol, but I have doubts.’

  Tehol folded his arms and stared out on the city. ‘So,’ he said, ‘there’s the queen’s faction, which includes Prince Quillas, Chancellor Triban Gnol, and the First Consort, Turudal Brizad. Have I missed anyone?’

  Brys was staring at his brother. He shook his head. ‘Officers and guards, various spies.’

  ‘And the king’s own faction. Ceda Kuru Qan, First Eunuch Nifadas, Preda Unnutal Hebaz and perhaps First Concubine Nisall. And, of course, you.’

  ‘But I have no desire to be in any faction—’

  ‘You’re the King’s Champion, brother. As I see it, you have little choice.’

  ‘Tehol, I am hopeless at such games of intrigue.’

  ‘So say nothing. Ever.’

  ‘What good will that do?’

  ‘You’ll convince them you’re smarter than they are. Even scarier, that you know everything. You can see through all their façades—’

  ‘But I can’t see through all that, Tehol. Therefore, I’m not smarter.’

  ‘Of course you are. You just need to treat it like a duel. In fact, treat everything like a duel. Feint, parry, disengage, all that complicated stuff.’

  ‘Easy for you to say,’ Brys muttered.

  They fell silent, staring out over the dark city. Oil lamps lit the canal walks, but the water itself was black as ink, winding like ribbons of oblivion between the squat, hulking buildings. Other lights swung in motion down the streets, carried by people going about their tasks. For all that, darkness dominated the scene.

  Brys stared up at the nearest tier, watched a few lanterns slide along the span like minuscule moons. ‘I have been thinking about Hull,’ he said after a time.

  ‘I would hold out little hope,’ Tehol said. ‘Our brother’s desires have nothing to do with self-preservation. It is in his mind, I believe, that he is going to die soon.’

  Brys nodded.

  ‘And,’ Tehol continued, ‘if he can, in so doing he will also take down as much of Lether as possible. For that reason alone, someone will stop him. With finality.’

  ‘And vengeance against those murderers will be expected of me,’ Brys said.

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Tehol said. ‘After all, your foremost loyalty is to your king.’

  ‘Supersedi
ng even that to my family?’

  ‘Well, yes.’

  ‘To do nothing would be seen as cowardice. Worse yet, I do not think I could face Hull’s killers without reaching for my sword.’

  ‘You may have to, Brys. Of course,’ Tehol added, ‘I am not so bound by such prohibitions.’

  Brys studied his brother for a long moment. ‘You would avenge Hull?’

  ‘Count on it.’

  Eventually, Brys smiled.

  Tehol glanced over and nodded. ‘That’s perfect, brother. When you come face to face with them, show that smile. It will put terror in their hearts.’

  Brys sighed and returned his gaze to the city. ‘Outwardly, we seem so different, the three of us.’

  ‘And so we are,’ Tehol replied. ‘It comes down to methods, and we each walk unique paths. At the same time, alas, we must all live with an identical legacy, a particularly unpleasant inheritance.’ He shrugged, then pulled up his sagging trousers. ‘Three stones in a stream. All subjected to the same rushing water, yet each shaped differently, depending upon its nature.’

  ‘And which of us is sandstone?’

  ‘Hull. He’s been worn down the most, brother, by far. You, you’re basalt.’

  ‘And you, Tehol?’

  ‘Maybe a mix of the two, yielding a sadly misshapen result. But I can live with it.’

  ‘Perhaps you can,’ Brys observed, ‘but what about the rest of us?’

  ‘There’s a matter on which you can help me, brother.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Presumably, there are recorders of obscure information in the palace. People who tally various events, trends and such.’

  ‘A veritable army of them, Tehol.’

  ‘Indeed. Now, might you make some discreet inquiries for me?’

  ‘Regarding what?’

  ‘People going missing in Letheras. Annual numbers, that sort of thing.’

  ‘If you like. Why?’

  ‘At the moment, I’m just curious.’

  ‘What are you up to, Tehol?’

  ‘This and that.’

  Brys grimaced. ‘Be careful.’

  ‘I shall. Do you smell that? Bugg is brewing tea.’