The Blade Itself tfl-1

by Joe Abercrombie

  “A touch!” shouted Marshal Varuz.

  There was a ripple of laughter as the Major sprawled on his face. “A touch on the arse!” guffawed the Crown Prince, his plume waving back and forth with merriment. “One to Captain Luthar!” West didn’t look half so intimidating with his face in the dirt. Jezal gave a little bow to the audience, risked a smile in Ardee’s direction as he rose. He was disappointed to see she wasn’t even looking at him. She was watching her brother struggle in the dust with a faint, cruel grin.

  West got slowly to his feet. “A good touch,” he muttered through gritted teeth as he stepped back into the circle. Jezal took his own mark, barely able to suppress his smile.

  “Begin!” shouted Varuz.

  West came on strongly again, but Jezal was warming to his task now. The sounds of the audience muttered and swelled as he danced this way and that. He began to work the odd flourish into his movements, and the onlookers responded, “oohs” and “aahs” floating up as he flicked West’s efforts away. He had never fenced so well, never moved so smoothly. The bigger man was starting to tire a little, the snap was going out of his cuts. Their long steels clashed together, scraped. Jezal twisted his right wrist and tore West’s blade from his fingers, stepped in and slashed at him with his left.

  “Gah!” West winced and dropped his short steel, hopping away and grabbing his forearm. A few drops of blood pattered across the ground.

  “Two to nothing!” shouted Varuz.

  The Crown Prince jumped up, his hat tumbling off, delighted by the sight of blood. “Excellent!” he squawked, “capital!” Others joined him on their feet, clapping loudly. Jezal basked in their approval, smiling wide, every muscle tingling with happiness. He understood now what he had been training for.

  “Well fought, Jezal,” muttered West, a trickle of blood running down his forearm. “You’ve got too good for me.”

  “Sorry about the cut.” Jezal grinned. He wasn’t sorry in the least.

  “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.” West strode away, frowning and holding his wrist. Nobody paid much attention to his exit, Jezal least of all. Sporting events are all about the winners.

  Lord Marovia was the first to get up from the benches and offer his congratulations. “What a promising young man,” he said, smiling warmly at Jezal, “but do you think he can beat Bremer dan Gorst?”

  Varuz gave Jezal a fatherly clap on the shoulder. “I’m sure he can beat anyone, on the right day.”

  “Hmm. Have you seen Gorst fence?”

  “No, though I hear he is most impressive.”

  “Oh, indeed—he is a devil.” The High Justice raised his bushy eyebrows. “I look forward to seeing them meet. Have you ever considered a career in the law, Captain Luthar?”

  Jezal was taken by surprise. “Er, no, your Worship, that is… I am a soldier.”

  “Of course you are. But battles and so forth can play hell with the nerves. If you should ever change your mind, perhaps I might have a place for you. I can always find a use for promising men.”

  “Er, thank you.”

  “Until the Contest then. Good luck, Captain,” he threw over his shoulder as he shuffled away. The implication was that he thought Jezal would need a great deal of it. His Highness Prince Ladisla was more optimistic.

  “You’re my man, Luthar!” he shouted, poking the air with his fingers as though they were fencing steels. “I’m going to double my bet on you!”

  Jezal bowed obsequiously. “Your Highness is too kind.”

  “You’re my man! A soldier! A fencing man should fight for his country, eh, Varuz? Why isn’t this Gorst a soldier?”

  “I believe he is, your Highness,” said the Lord Marshal gently. “He is a kinsman of Lord Brock, and serves with his personal guard.”

  “Oh.” The Prince seemed confused for a moment, but soon perked up. “But you’re my man!” he shouted at Jezal, poking once more with his fingers, the feather on his hat waving this way and that. “You’re the man for me!” He danced off towards the archway, decorative chain-mail gleaming.

  “Very impressive.” Jezal whipped round, took an ungainly step back. Glokta, leering at him from his blind side. For a cripple, he had an uncanny knack of sneaking up on a man. “What a happy chance for everyone that you didn’t give it up after all.”

  “I never had any intention of doing so,” snapped Jezal frostily.

  Glokta sucked at his gums. “If you say so, Captain.”

  “I do.” Jezal turned rudely away, hoping that he never had occasion to speak to the loathsome man again. He found himself staring straight into Ardee’s face, no more than a foot away.

  “Gah,” he stammered, stepping back again.

  “Jezal,” she said, “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “Er…” He glanced nervously around. Glokta was shambling away. West was long gone. Varuz was busy holding forth to Lord Isher and a few others still remaining in the courtyard. They were unobserved. He had to speak to her. He ought to tell her straight out that he could not see her anymore. He owed her that much. “Er…”

  “Nothing to say to me?”

  “Er…” He turned swiftly on his heel and walked away, his shoulders prickling with shame.

  The tedium of guard duty at the south gate seemed, after all that unexpected excitement, almost a mercy. Jezal was quite looking forward to standing idly by, watching people file in and out of the Agriont, listening to Lieutenant Kaspa’s mindless babble. At least, he was until he got there.

  Kaspa and the usual complement of armoured soldiers were clustered around the outer gates, where the old bridge across the moat passed between the two massive, white rendered towers of the gatehouse. As Jezal marched down to the end of the long tunnel he saw that there was someone with them. A small, harassed-looking fellow wearing spectacles. Jezal recognised him vaguely. Morrow he was called, some crony of the Lord Chamberlain. He had no reason to be here.

  “Captain Luthar, what a happy chance!” Jezal jumped. It was that lunatic, Sulfur, sitting cross-legged on the ground behind him, his back against the sheer wall of the gatehouse.

  “What the hell’s he doing here?” snapped Jezal. Kaspa opened his mouth to speak, but Sulfur got in first.

  “Don’t mind me, Captain, I’m simply waiting for my master.”

  “Your master?” He dreaded to think what manner of an idiot this idiot might serve.

  “Indeed. He should be here very shortly.” Sulfur frowned up at the sun. “He is already somewhat tardy, if the truth be told.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” The madman broke into a friendly smile once more. “But he’ll be along, Jezal, you can depend on it.”

  First-name terms was too much to take. He hardly knew the man, and what he knew he didn’t like. He opened his mouth to give him a piece of his mind, but Sulfur suddenly jumped up, grabbing his stick from the wall and brushing himself down.

  “Here they are!” he said, looking out across the moat. Jezal followed the idiot’s eyes with his own.

  A magnificent old man was striding purposefully across the bridge, bald head held high, a fabulous gown of shimmering red and silver flowing about him in the breeze. At his heels came a sickly-looking youth, head a little bowed as if in awe of the older man, holding a long staff out before him in upturned palms. A great brute of a man in a heavy fur cloak followed behind them, a good half head taller than the other two.

  “What the…” Jezal trailed off. He seemed to recognise the old man from somewhere. Some lord perhaps, from the Open Council? Some foreign ambassador? Certainly he had an air of majesty. Jezal racked his brains as they approached, but could not place him.

  The old man stopped before the gatehouse, swept Jezal, Kaspa, Morrow and the guards imperiously with glittering green eyes. “Yoru,” he said.

  Sulfur stepped forward, bowing low. “Master Bayaz,” he murmured, in hushed tones of deep respect.

  And that was it. That was why Jezal knew the man. He bore a de
finite resemblance to the statue of Bayaz in the Kingsway. The statue Jezal had run past so many times. A little fatter perhaps, but that expression: stern, wise, effortlessly commanding, was just the same. Jezal frowned. For the old man to be called by that name? He didn’t like it. He didn’t like the look of the lanky young man with the staff either. He liked the look of the old man’s other companion even less.

  West had often told Jezal that the Northmen found in Adua, usually skulking dishevelled by the docks or dirty drunk in gutters, were by no means typical of their people. Those that lived free in the far North, fighting, feuding, feasting, and doing whatever Northmen did, were of quite a different kind. A tall, fierce, handsome people, Jezal had always imagined, with a touch of romance about them. Strong, yet graceful. Wild, yet noble. Savage, yet cunning. The kind of men whose eyes are fixed always on the far horizon.

  This was not one of those.

  Never in his life had Jezal seen a more brutish-looking man. Even Fenris the Feared had seemed civilised by comparison. His face was like a whipped back, criss-crossed with ragged scars.

  His nose was bent, pointing off a little sideways. One ear had a big notch out of it, one eye seemed a touch higher than the other, surrounded by a crescent-shaped wound. His whole face, in fact, was slightly beaten, broken, lop-sided, like that of a prize fighter who has fought a few bouts too many. His expression too, was that of one punch-drunk. He gawped up at the gatehouse, forehead furrowed, mouth hanging open, staring about him with a look of near animal stupidity.

  He wore a long fur cloak, and a leather tunic set with gold, but this height of barbaric splendour only made him look more savage, and there was no missing the long, heavy sword at his belt. The Northman scratched at a big pink scar through the stubble on his cheek as he peered up at the sheer walls above, and Jezal noticed one of his fingers was missing. As though any further evidence of a life of violence and savagery was necessary.

  To let this hulking primitive into the Agriont? While they were at war with the Northmen? It was unthinkable! But Morrow was already sidling forward. “The Lord Chamberlain is expecting you, gentlemen,” he gushed as he bowed and scraped his way towards the old man, “if you would care to follow me—”

  “One moment.” Jezal grabbed the under-secretary by the elbow and pulled him aside. “Him too?” he asked incredulously, nodding over at the primitive in the cloak. “We are at war, you know!”

  “Lord Hoff was most specific!” Morrow shook his arm free, spectacles flashing. “Keep him here if you wish, but you can explain it to the Lord Chamberlain!”

  Jezal swallowed. That idea was not at all appealing. He glanced up at the old man, but could not look him in the eye for long. He had a mysterious air, an air of knowing something no one else could guess, and it was most unsettling.

  “You… must… leave… your… weapons… here!” he shouted, speaking as slowly and clearly as possible.

  “Happy to.” The Northman pulled the sword from his belt and held it out. It weighed heavily in Jezal’s hands: a big, plain, brutal-looking weapon. He followed it with a long knife, then knelt and pulled another from his boot. He took a third from the small of his back, and then produced a thin blade from inside his sleeve, heaping them into Jezal’s outstretched arms. The Northman smiled broadly. It was truly a hideous sight, the ragged scars twisting and puckering, making his face more lopsided than ever.

  “You can never have too many knives,” he growled in a deep, grinding voice. Nobody laughed, but he did not seem to care.

  “Shall we go?” asked the old man.

  “Without delay,” said Morrow, turning to leave.

  “I’ll come with you.” Jezal dumped his armload of weapons into Kaspa’s hands.

  “That really isn’t necessary, Captain,” whined Morrow.

  “I insist.” Once he was delivered to the Lord Chamberlain, the Northman could murder whomever he pleased: it would be someone else’s problem. But until he got there Jezal might be blamed for whatever mischief he got up to, and he was damned if he was going to let that happen.

  The guards stood aside, the strange procession passed through the gate. Morrow was first, whispering obsequious nothings over his shoulder to the old man in the splendid robe. The pale youth was next, followed by Sulfur. The nine-fingered Northman lumbered along at the back.

  Jezal followed with his thumb in his belt, close to the hilt of his sword so he could get to it quickly, watching the savage intently for any sudden moves. After following him for a short while though, Jezal had to admit, the man gave no appearance of having murder in mind. If anything he looked curious, bemused, and somewhat embarrassed. He kept slowing, staring up at the buildings around him, shaking his head, scratching his face, muttering under his breath. He would occasionally horrify passers-by by smiling at them, but he seemed to present no greater threat and Jezal began to relax, at least until they reached the Square of Marshals.

  The Northman stopped suddenly. Jezal fumbled for his sword, but the primitive’s eyes were locked ahead, gazing at a fountain nearby. He moved slowly towards it, then cautiously raised a thick finger and poked at the glittering jet. Water splashed into his face and he blundered away, almost knocking Jezal down. “A spring?” he whispered. “But how?”

  Mercy. The man was like a child. A six and a half foot child with a face like a butcher’s block. “There are pipes!” Jezal stamped on the paving. “Beneath… the… ground!”

  “Pipes,” echoed the primitive quietly, staring at the frothing water.

  The others had moved some way ahead, close to the grand building in which Hoff had his offices. Jezal began to step away from the fountain, hoping to draw the witless savage with him. To Jezal’s relief he followed, shaking his head and muttering “pipes” to himself, over and over.

  They entered the cool darkness of the Lord Chamberlain’s ante-room. There were people seated on the benches around the walls, some of them giving the impression of having been waiting a very long time. They all stared as Morrow ushered the peculiar group straight into Hoffs offices. The spectacled secretary opened the heavy double doors and stood by while first the old bald man, then his crony with the stick, then the madman Sulfur, and finally the nine-fingered primitive walked in past him.

  Jezal made to follow them, but Morrow stood in the doorway and blocked his path. “Thank you so much for your help, Captain,” he said with a thin smile. “You may return to the gate.” Jezal peered over his shoulder into the room beyond. He saw the Lord Chamberlain frowning behind a long table. Arch Lector Sult was beside him, grim and suspicious. High Justice Marovia was there too, a smile on his wrinkled face. Three members of the Closed Council.

  Then Morrow shut the door in his face.

  Next

  “I notice you have a new secretary,” said Glokta, as though just in passing.

  The Arch Lector smiled. “Of course. The old one was not to my liking. He had a loose tongue, you know.” Glokta paused, his wine glass halfway to his mouth. “He had been passing our secrets on to the Mercers,” continued Sult carelessly, as if it was common knowledge. “I had been aware of it for some time. You needn’t worry though, he never learned anything I didn’t want him to know.”

  Then… you knew who our traitor was. You knew all along. Glokta’s mind turned the events of the last few weeks around, pulled them apart and put them back together in this new light, trying them different ways until they fit, all the while struggling to conceal his surprise. You left Rews confession where you knew your secretary would see it. You knew the Mercers would find out who was on the list, and you guessed what they would do, knowing it would only play into your hands and give you the shovel with which to bury them. Meanwhile, you steered my suspicions towards Kalyne when you knew who the leak was all along. The whole business unfolded precisely according to your plan. The Arch Lector was looking back at him with a knowing smile. And I bet you guess what I’m thinking right now. I have been almost as much a piece in this game as that sniv
elling worm of a secretary. Glokta stifled a giggle. How fortunate for me that I was a piece on the right side. I never suspected a thing.

  “He betrayed us for a disappointingly small sum of money,” continued Sult, his lip curling with distaste. “I daresay Kault would have given him ten times as much, if he had only had the wit to ask. The younger generation really have no ambition. They think they are a great deal cleverer than they are.” He studied Glokta with his cool blue eyes. I am part of the younger generation, more or less. I am justly humbled.

  “Your secretary has been disciplined?”

  The Arch Lector placed his glass carefully down on the table top, the base barely making a sound on the wood. “Oh yes. Most severely. It really isn’t necessary to spare him any further thought.” I bet it isn’t. Body found floating by the docks… “I must say, I was greatly surprised when you fixed on Superior Kalyne as the source of our leak. The man was from the old guard. A few indulgences to look the other way over trifling matters, of course, but to betray the Inquisition? To sell our secrets to the Mercers?” Sult snorted. “Never. You allowed your personal dislike for the man to cloud your judgement.”

  “He seemed the only possibility,” muttered Glokta, but immediately regretted it. Foolish, foolish. The mistake is made. Better just to keep your mouth shut.

  “Seemed?” The Arch Lector clicked his tongue in profound disapproval. “No, no, no, Inquisitor. Seemed is not good enough for us. In future, we’ll have just the facts, if you please. But don’t feel too badly about it—I allowed you to follow your instincts and, as things have turned out, your blunder has left our position much the stronger. Kalyne has been removed from office,” Body found floating… “and Superior Goyle is on his way from Angland to assume the role of Superior of Adua.”

  Goyle? Coming here? That bastard, the new Superior of Adua? Glokta could not prevent his lip from curling.

  “The two of you are not the greatest of friends, eh, Glokta?”

  “He is a jailer, not an investigator. He is not interested in guilt or innocence. He is not interested in truth. He tortures for the thrill of it.”