admit that some of the decor was tasteful, if a little garish, with bold, gold-rimmed portraits of figures that seemed to hail from another world. One painting in particular was central to the room, depicting a figure with its back to a waterfront, holding its head in both hands, its mouth wide open in a scream, with textures of colour swirling all around into a deep orange sky. As if representing a state of existential angst, this painting seemed to come from another age entirely.
Once upstairs, Malum was directed into yet another room. Dannan was seated by the window, slumped, as if drunk, in a chair that was more of a throne, and the same shade of red was everywhere, in the fabrics, the paintings, the lantern-shades. In his hand was a silver comb that he raked assiduously through his long hair. The smell of musk and something sweeter peeled away in smoky wafts from the incense burning on a metal plate in one corner. The men who escorted Malum dropped back to the edge of the room, in a manner that suggested they weren't at all comfortable being here. Malum was beginning to feel that way himself.
Hunched, with her knees drawn up to her chin, a young woman was sipping cautiously from a bottle. She regarded him with a distant look in her eyes, then laughed to herself. She wore a dark outfit, with unfashionable ruffs and frills of lace, and her face held so much makeup that her skin was practically white like an albino's. Whether or not she was the current girl in Dannan's favour, he couldn't tell, but Malum entertained vague thoughts about what it would be like sleeping with her. And then he realized it would be the same with any woman these days. Frustrating.
Dannan groaned, catching Malum's attention. He was clothed minimally in black breeches and what appeared to be a suede jacket with a hood pulled up from underneath. The angles of his face were prominent, and now and then his eyes would close as if he was in pain.
'You all right?' Malum enquired, more wanting to say something than a question posed out of politeness. He raised an eyebrow at this strange performance.
Again a groan, and Dannan lurched forward suddenly, in a posture that suggested he was going to vomit, but nothing came out of his open mouth. The silver comb skidded across towards the visitor. The banHe tried to cough, and strangely there ensued an intense silence, as if the room itself had become mute. Only then did Malum notice how sharp the banHe's teeth appeared, and his second realization was that there was almost a smile on the other's face, as if he was enjoying his pain.
'Fine… thank you.' Dannan almost coughed the words.
Malum turned to the other men. 'Does he need water?'
'I'm fine.' Dannan's posture became a little more refined, and he leaned over towards the window, peered out left and right across the harbour. Then back at Malum, tiny red veins crisscrossing his eyes. 'Someone's dead, is all.'
'What do you mean?' Malum said.
'Out there.' He flicked his head in a gesture towards the window. 'Someone just died.'
'The fuck do you know this? Is that why you weren't at the strike?'
Dannan glared at him violently. His eyes never seemed to maintain any consistency in colour, and the more you looked at them the less you could define them. 'I just fucking know, OK. You got my men for the strike – you never asked for me.'
'That's true.' Malum didn't actually know whether or not the banHe had been there – they were all wearing masks, and he was just guessing now – but the man's weird response to death certainly made Malum doubt his commitment to normal gang activities.
'You haven't got any arum weed on you, have you? I'm all out.'
'No.' Malum bent down to pick up the comb, noting its meticulous craftsmanship. He tossed it back casually. 'I came to see you about the albino commander, and that meeting we had. When he was wanting our gangs to help him.'
'What of it?' Dannan again ran the comb once through a clump of hair by his ear then laid it on the windowsill delicately with his long, spindly fingers.
'The commander is gay – he likes to fuck other men,' Malum revealed. 'I don't know about you, but I'm not going to have my lot working on the side of someone like that, if you know what I mean. My men fight for real men.'
'Gay, you say?' Dannan replied, slowly regaining his composure. 'What d'you think we should do? More to the point, what's in it for my lot? My tastes ain't exactly mainstream.'
'Dignity, honour, doing the right thing is what matters,' Malum suggested. To him it was totally unnatural for a man to perform those acts with another man. Malum felt he had something to convey to the commander. 'Look, I need to know if you've made a decision yet – if you lot were thinking of helping him out. When this war comes to the city, I mean.'
'We was thinking about it. Maybe we'll need to fight just to keep what turf we've got here already. I mean, war's nothing more than a big fucking turf fight, ain't that right?'
Malum grunted a laugh. 'Well, I guess so, yes. Look, we get on, our lot, you and me. We're similar – we're both not natural. We work together from time to time, dealing with the unions and shit. I want to teach this commander a lesson. I want to go back in there, tell him to shove his war, and I reckon I should get him set on. Fucking hate soldiers anyway, so I mean… you know, get him beaten up – made an example of. And, what's more, we need to put on another display like this, cos I've got traders moaning at me all the time, wanting relief from paying their protection taxes, the precious little darlings. No, I think one of these exhibitions of force can serve us well.'
'And how're you going to get the commander into our hands?'
'Oh, I don't know. But people in this city need to know that he sleeps with men.'
'Maybe we could get some cash out of him?' Dannan suggested. 'Blackmail. Some of my good men for backup and then we go halves.'
'That's a good idea. We can get a lot of cash out of someone that high up in the military. We can just pick a stupid number, and he'll do his best to keep his secrets safe. But then we should beat him to death on the streets once we take his money.'
Dannan ogled the girl in the corner for a moment, who seemed to be heading further towards uncharted territory inside her own head. 'Sure. You take control of this one, and let me know when you need my help.'
'And are your lot intending to fight in the war?'
Dannan paused thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on the girl transforming into something predatory. 'Not for the likes of him, no. If shit happens on a large scale, I'll ship out down south, maybe try another island. Getting too damn cold up this way, anyway.'
*
Satisfied that he had the banHe's street gang on his side, or at least not against him, Malum strode towards the barracks, through the streets, past the drunks and the whores and the addicts, then past the partygoers and the couples walking arm-in-arm, onwards through the nondescript streets of the city. It had snowed, then that stopped, and the evening now had a sense of calm about it, despite the hubbub audible from some of the more lively districts.
He approached two soldiers standing at the entrance arch framing a massive quercus wood door set into one of the older stone walls surviving in Villiren. The men were wearing crimson uniforms under their dull metal body armour, and massive sheathed sabres hung from their hips. They chatted idly, unprofessionally, rubbing their hands and shifting their weight from foot to foot to stamp out the chill.
He declared, 'I would like to see your commander.'
The guards laughed. 'Yeah, right,' one said, a chubby man with deep-set eyes and bad skin. 'He don't just see anyone unarranged.'
Bugger. Malum should have realized he couldn't just walk in there, not at this time of night. 'I'm Malum, of the Bloods,' he explained.
'Don't care who you are, mate,' the other stated. 'We need to be expecting you.'
'Fucksake, I've already met him before. Look, can you at least pass a message to him?'
The guards conferred. 'Go on then.'
Malum continued. 'Tell him that Malum of the Bloods has come to a decision about helping the commander out with the impending war. And tell him that his preferences as to men has been noted, and frowned upon. Make sure you get that men bit, though. I'll be waiting outside the Victory Hole tavern at sunset tomorrow. He can meet
