‘Tanal, our guest is being most insistent with respect to his suspicions. Sufficient to convince me that we must devote considerable attention to finding the source of the threat.’
‘Invigilator, is the intent sedition or treason, or are we dealing with a thief?’
‘A thief, I should think,’ Karos replied, glancing over at Rautos Hivanar.
The man’s cheeks bulged, before he released a slow sigh. ‘I am not so sure. On the surface, we appear to be facing an obsessive individual, consumed by greed and, accordingly, hoarding wealth. But only as actual coin, and this is why it IS proving so difficult to find a trail. No properties, no “Mentation, no flouting of privilege. Now, as subtle consequence, the shortage of coin is finally noticeable, true, no actual damage to the empire’s financial structure has occurred. Yet. But, if the depletion continues,’ he shook his head, ‘we will begin to feel the strain.’
Tinal cleared his throat, then asked, ‘Master, have you assigned agents of your own to investigate the situation?’
Rautos frowned. ‘The Liberty Consign thrives precisely because its members hold to the conviction of being the most powerful players in an unassailable system. Confidence is a most fragile quality, Tanal Yathvanar. Granted, a few who deal specifically in finances have brought to me their concerns. Druz Thennict, Barrakta Ilk, for example. But there is nothing as yet formalized-no true suspicion that something is awry. Neither man is a fool, however.’ He glanced out of the window behind Karos Invictad. ‘The investigation must be conducted by the Patriotists, in utmost secrecy.’ The heavy-lidded eyes lowered, settling on the Invigilator. ‘I understand that you have been targeting academics and scholars of late.’
A modest shrug and lift of the brows from Karos Invictad. ‘The many paths of treason.’
‘Some are members of established and respected families in Lether.’
‘No, Rautos, not the ones we have arrested.’
‘True, but those unfortunate victims have friends, Invigilator, who have in turn appealed to me.’
‘Well, my friend, this is delicate indeed. You tread now on the thinnest skin of ground, with naught but mud beneath.’ He sat forward, folding his hands on the desk. ‘But I shall look into it nonetheless. Perhaps the recent spate of arrests has succeeded in quelling the disenchantment among the learned, or at least culled the most egregious of their lot.’
‘Thank you, Invigilator… Now, who will conduct you investigation?’
‘Why, I will attend to this personally.’
‘Venitt Sathad, my assistant who awaits in the courtyarc below, can serve as liaison between your organization and myself for this week; thereafter, I will assign someone else.’
‘Very good. Weekly reports should suffice, at least to start.’
‘Agreed.’
Rautos Hivanar rose, and after a moment Karos Invictad followed suit.
The office was suddenly very cramped, and Tanal edged back, angry at the intimidation he felt instinctively rising within him. I have nothing to fear from Rautos Hivanar. Nor Karos. I am their confidant, the both of them. They trust me.
Karos Invictad was a step behind Rautos, one hand on the man’s back as the Master opened the door. As soon as Rautos stepped into the hallway, Karos smiled and said a few last words to the man, who grunted in reply, and then the Invigilator closed the door and turned to face Tanal.
‘One of those well-respected academics is now staining your sheets, Yathvanar.’
Tanal blinked. ‘Sir, she was sentenced to the Drowning-’
‘Revoke the punishment. Get her cleaned up.’
‘Sir, it may well be that she will recall-’
‘A certain measure of restraint,’ Karos Invictad said in a Cold tone, ‘is required from you, Tanal Yathvanar. Arrest some daughters of-those already in chains, damn you, and have your fun with them. Am I understood?’
‘Y-yes sir. If she remembers-’
‘Then restitution will be necessary, won’t it? I trust you keep your own finances in order, Yathvanar. Now, begone horn my sight.’
As Tanal closed the door behind him, he struggled to draw breath. The bastard. There was no warning off her, was there! Whose mistake was all this? Yet, you think to make me pay /or it. All of it. Blade and Axe take you, Invictad, I won’t suffer alone.
I won’t.
‘I depravity holds a certain fascination, don’t you think?’
‘No.’
‘After all, the sicker the soul, the sweeter its comeuppance.’
‘Assuming there is one.’
‘There’s a centre point, I’m sure of it. And it should b dead centre, by my calculations. Perhaps the fulcrum itself is flawed.’
‘What calculations?’
‘Well, the ones I asked you to do for me, of course. Where are they?’
‘They’re on my list.’
‘And how do you calculate the order of your list?’
‘That’s not the calculation you asked for.’
‘Good point. Anyway, if he’d just hold all his legs still, we could properly test my hypothesis.’
‘He doesn’t want to, and I can see why. You’re trying to balance him at the mid-point of his body, but he’s designed to hold that part up, with all those legs.’
‘Are those formal observations? If so, make a note.’
‘On what? We had the wax slab for lunch.’
‘No wonder I feel I could swallow a cow with nary hiccough. Look! Hah! He’s perched! Perfectly perched!’
Both men leaned in to examine Ezgara, the insect with a head at each end. Not unique, of course, there were plenty around these days, filling some arcane niche in the compli-cated miasma of nature, a niche that had been vacant for countless millennia. The creature’s broken-twig legs kicked out helplessly.
‘You’re torturing him,’ said Bugg, ‘with clear depravity Tehol.’
‘It only seems that way’
‘No, it is that way.’
‘All right, then.’ Tehol reached down and plucked the hapless insect from the fulcrum. Its heads swivelled about, Anyway,’ he said as he peered closely at the creature, ‘that wasn’t the depravity I was talking about. How goes the construction business, by the way?’
‘Sinking fast.’
‘Ah. Is that an affirmation or decried destitution?’
‘We’re running out of buyers. No hard coin, and I’m done with credit, especially when it turns out the developers can’t sell the properties. So I’ve had to lay everyone off, including myself.’
‘When did all this happen?’
‘Tomorrow.’
‘Typical. I’m always the last to hear. Is Ezgara hungry, do you think?’
He ate more wax than you did-where do you think all the waste goes?’
‘His or mine?’
‘Master, I already know where yours goes, and if Biri ever finds out-’
‘Not another word, Bugg. Now, by my observations, and according to the notations you failed to make, Ezgara has consumed food equivalent in weight to a drowned cat. Yet he remains tiny, spry, fit, and thanks to our wax lunch today his heads no longer squeak when they swivel, which I take to be a good sign, since now we won’t be woken up a hundred times a night.’
‘Master.’
‘Yes?’
‘I low do you know how much a drowned cat weighs?’
‘Selush, of course.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘You must remember. Three years ago. That feral cat netted in the Rinnesict Estate, the one raping a flightless