‘They are at that,’ Errastas agreed. ‘But this blood — see it flow down the path? See how it swallows gems, diamonds and gold, all of our stolen loot? There is power in this.’
‘But not Azathanai power.’
Errastas snorted, and then wiped blood from his nose. ‘We are not the only elemental forces in creation, Setch. I sense, however, that the power we spilled out here comes as much from outrage as anything else. No matter. It is puissant.’
‘I feel,’ said Sechul Lath, looking round, ‘that this place is not for us.’
‘Mother Dark dares to claim it,’ Errastas said, sneering. ‘Darkness — as if she could claim the domain as entirely her own! What arrogance! Look below, Setch — what do you see?’
‘I see Chaos, Errastas. An endless storm.’
‘We make this place a trap. Let its Tiste name stand. Spar of Andii it shall remain — it hardly confers a right to ownership. By our deeds we undermine its purity. K’rul is not the only one who understands the efficacy of blood.’
‘So you keep saying, but I wonder if we truly know what we’re doing.’
‘Perhaps you don’t, though Abyss take me I’ve tried explaining it to you often enough. I know, Setch, and so you’ll just have to trust me. K’rul would simply give power away, freely, to any who might want it. By this, he undermines its value. He dislodges the proper order of things. We will best him, Setch. I will best him.’ He pushed himself up against a boulder. ‘We haven’t long. They’re coming, that Jaghut and his Tiste hostage. Listen to me. Mother Dark understands the exclusivity of power, though she reaches too far, revealing outrageous greed. We must draw her into this fray. We must awaken her to the threat these new Warrens pose — to us all. It’s important that she resist him, and so occupy all of K’rul’s attention. So distracted, he will not see us, and most certainly not comprehend our intentions, until it is too late.’ He looked up at Sechul Lath. ‘There, I have explained it yet again. Yet I see disappointment in your eyes — what now?’
‘It felt blunt. Crass, even, the way you said it. It lacked subtlety.’
‘I yield the meaningless secrets, Setch, to better hold hidden the important ones. Think of prod and pull, if you like. Explore the concepts in your mind, and muse on the pleasures of misdirection.’
Sechul Lath studied Errastas, lying there propped up against a boulder, beaten half to death. ‘Are you truly as clever as you think you are?’
Errastas laughed. ‘Oh, Setch, it hardly matters. The suspicion is enough, making fecund the soil of imagination. Let others fill the gaps in my cleverness, and make of me in their eyes a genius.’
‘I doubt the veracity of your words.’
‘Well you should. Now, help me up. We must leave here.’
‘Exploiting the very freedom K’rul offers us.’
‘I delight in the irony.’
Sechul Lath turned and looked down at the corpse of the Jaghut, lying so near the edge of the spar. It was a fell thing, to murder someone. Errastas was right: outrage swirled in the air, thick as smoke. It felt heady enough to make his head spin.
‘I never knew,’ said Errastas as Sechul, with only one working arm, awkwardly helped him to stand, ‘that killing could be so much fun.’
Sechul shuddered. ‘Errastas, look at what we have done. Invited her here under false pretences, and then set upon her like wild beasts. We have awakened the wrath of the Jaghut. Nothing good will come of that.’
‘Night comes to the Jaghut, Setch. Their fury is as nothing now.’
‘Too easy your dismissal, Errastas. We have just murdered his wife.’
‘And Hood will weep — what of it? Now, let us go, before they draw close enough to hear us. Besides, it is not Hood who approaches, is it?’
‘No,’ Sechul Lath muttered, ‘only his brother.’
Haut paused on the trail, squinting upward.
Behind him, Korya sagged down in exhaustion. Circling the top of a tower did not make for much exercise. Three strides from edge to edge; such was her realm, the span of faith for her godly aspirations. It seemed paltry, small, and she had begun to suspect that the world ever delivered lessons in humility, even to gods and goddesses.
‘It is not far now,’ said Haut. ‘I should have selected the sword; this axe grows heavy. Bold my pride; feeble my aged muscles.’ He glanced back at her. ‘Have you given more thought to this scattered treasure?’
‘Was I to have given it more thought?’
‘I await your wisdom.’
She shook her head. ‘Of wisdom I have little, master. But I see it as a deliberate mockery of worth.’
‘Yes, but why?’
‘Maybe we are being told that only what awaits us at the end of this trail holds true worth.’
‘Possibly. The Azathanai are curious creatures. They are not acquisitive. In fact, there is one among them who bears the title of Protector, yet protects nothing. The Jheleck came to their villages and stole all they could carry, and he but smiled.’
‘Perhaps he protects what cannot be seen.’
‘And what might that be?’
She considered, taking her time as it gave her further respite. ‘There are many virtues that cannot be measured in a material manner.’
‘Indeed? Name one.’
‘Love.’
‘Torcs and rings of gold, brooches and diadems; expensive gifts, a solid home and a roof that does not leak. A child.’
‘From all those love can be stripped away, yet still they remain.’
‘Excellent. Go on.’
‘Trust.’
‘Guard my wealth and I will pay you in return.’
‘That is a transaction.’
‘One that purchases trust.’
‘Such material exchanges as you describe are meant to symbolize the virtues I mentioned. They are not the virtues in and of themselves.’
‘But is this not the meaning of all wealth, hostage?’
‘I think not. After all, greed is not a virtue.’
‘Greed is the language of power, the hoarding of symbols.’
She shook her head. ‘Virtues cannot be claimed; they are but shown.’
‘Shown. How are they shown?’
Korya scowled. ‘By the gifts you describe.’
Haut nodded. ‘Listen well. You are right to not conflate the symbol with the meaning; but you are wrong in thinking that to do so is uncommon.’
‘Then I would say, the Protector defends the distinction, and so to make his point, he must stand aside when thieves take away the material symbols of the virtues whose sanctity and purity he defends.’
Haut grunted. ‘A fine theory. I will consider-’
His abrupt stop made her look up. Haut was staring down at his feet. After a long moment he drew free his axe and then faced upslope once more.
‘Master?’
‘By what measure then, Azathanai wealth?’
‘Master? What is-’ Faint motion caught her eye, something glittering, and she looked down on the path. A thin, crooked stream was wending its way down through the twisted rings and cut gems. In the strange, colourless light it looked black as ink.
Haut set out, climbing once more with the axe readied in his hands.
Pushing herself upright and taking care to avoid the rivulet, Korya followed.
Another half-dozen strides upward and it became impossible to step around the draining liquid. Is this blood I
