'You certainly took your time,' Kallist said as he stepped across the bleeding, supine form, dropping his gag on the fellow's face, a cheap and contemptuous shroud. 'We've been free for over an hour.'
'I had to be sure Semner wasn't coming back, didn't I?'
'Ah. Smart thinking.'
'And don't forget it.'
Kallist couldn't help but smile. He stepped beside the woman he loved-even if he'd also felt, over the past evening, that he could learn to hate her-and reached out to embrace her. His heart fell to his toes when she retreated before him, until he remembered the state of his clothes.
'New pants, I think,' he suggested with a rueful grin.
'I'd surely appreciate it.'
Kallist moved to the bed, stopping long enough to stick a hand through the shutters, collecting a handful of rainwater with which he removed the worst of the blood from his face. 'Are you all right?' he asked as he knelt, wincing, to dig through the lower half of the wardrobe. 'They didn't hurt you, did they?'
'Only what you saw, Kallist.'
'I'm glad.' He staggered and hopped his way around the room, trying to yank a clean pair of trousers over his legs even as he went about collecting certain vital items. 'Who do you think hired Semner? Boricov? The Consortium itself? Or maybe that Kamigawa shaman's also a walker…'
'Does it matter?' Liliana bent down, wrapping the few remaining strands of solid rope around the splayed limbs of the unconscious thug. 'If we sat here listing everyone who might want Jace dead, he'd die of old age before we finished, and save them the trouble.'
'It matters,' Kallist said, teetering into the center of the room with an armload of traveling supplies, his scabbarded broadsword protruding from the heap. 'It's going to impact how we run.' 'Run?'
'If it's just the ratfolk looking for a bit of payback, there's no reason to think you and I are in any further danger. But if the Infinite Consortium's hunting us again, we've got to put at least a few hundred leagues between us and our next home. One of the larger districts, do you think? Glahia, maybe? Not Favarial, for obvious reasons. Or maybe we could-'
'Kallist,' Liliana said softly, laying a gentle hand across his arm, though he had no memory of her crossing the room, 'hush.'
He hushed.
'We can't run,' she told him seriously.
'I've got a pack of supplies and two fairly sturdy feet that say we can, actually. Why-'
'We have to warn Jace.'
Kallist's armload fell to the floor, the hilt of the sword landing hard enough on his foot that, had he not already put his boots back on, he might well have broken something.
'Semner must have hit me harder than I thought,' he told her.
'Oh?'
'I'm hallucinating. I actually imagined I heard you say we should go warn Jace.'
'Well, that's a mighty convenient hallucination, then, since I did say we should go warn Jace. But at least I won't have to repeat myself.'
'You're insane. There's no way-'
'Someone's got to, Kallist.'
'Liliana, Jace doesn't want to see us.'
'And we don't want to see him,' she agreed.
'Precisely. Why ruin such a mutually satisfying arrangement?' 'Kallist…'
'He's never forgiven you, Liliana. And he's certainly never going to forgive me.'
'And that, of course, is as good a reason as any to sentence the man to death.'
'He ruined my life!'
'Because he was trying to save it.'
A long pause, as Kallist glared at her-and then his shoulders drooped, the breath hissing through his teeth as it escaped. 'Damn it.'
'Yeah.'
Kallist slid down the wall to sit, arms on knees, beside the window. Liliana crouched next to him, two fingers running idly through his hair.
'When did we start worrying about the 'right thing?'' he asked hopelessly.
'I think about the time it started to involve someone who saved your life half a dozen times.'
A final deep sigh deflated Kallist from the waist on up, but finally he nodded. 'All right,' he said. And again, 'All right. Semner's got over an hour's head start. But it's pretty easy to get turned around in the streets and tunnels between here and Favarial. Even if not, if I hurry, I may still get there soon enough to find Jace before he does, assuming the bastard's even still in the district.'
'By which, of course, you mean 'we,'' Liliana corrected, just the slightest coating of frost on her voice.
'Ah…' Kallist hedged, realizing just how deep was the mire he was about to step in, 'no, that's not exactly what I meant.'
'Yes it is. You just haven't had that fact explained to you yet.'
'Liliana,' he said, pulling his head from beneath her hand and standing straight once more, 'You shouldn't come.'
She rose, smoothly, swiftly, until her feet were inches from the floor, her body surrounded by a flickering aura of black mist, the arcane symbols once more inked across her back and neck. She hovered, higher, until she had to look down to meet Kallist's gaze.
Even knowing that she wasn't about to hurt him, he couldn't help but shiver at the blood-chilling, vampiric cold emanating from the necromancer. From within the midnight-tinted aura, he swore he heard the whispers and moans of a score of souls.
Yet her tone, when she spoke, was calm, collected. She was, Kallist realized with something akin to awe, simply making a point, not trying to intimidate him.
'Do you really think,' she asked him, 'that waiting here in Avaric, to find out if you've succeeded, is the best use of my abilities? Do you really think you can convince me that it's a trip you can make, but that it's somehow too dangerous for me?'
It had, of course, nothing whatsoever to do with danger. Kallist just wasn't remotely certain he could stand spending three or four straight days with Liliana, so soon after the crushing conversation of the previous evening.
Kallist, not being a complete idiot, knew better than to say so. 'Yes. I think it's too dangerous to risk both of us.'
Liliana laughed and sank until her feet once more touched the wooden planks, allowing the necromantic aura to fade. 'So it's safer for one of us than both? I thought I was supposed to be the illogical one.'
'Liliana-'
'Besides,' she said lightly, flicking the tip of his nose with a finger, 'you'd be bored without me.'
Kallist knew when he was beat. It seemed to be happening a lot lately.
'Fine,' he grumbled with ill grace. 'Start packing up what you need. I've got one last thing to take care of.'
The humor instantly fell from Liliana's face. 'Would you rather I do it?' she asked gently.
'Not even a little bit.'
Kallist hefted his broadsword from the pile, allowing the scabbard to slide from the blade. Mechanically, he turned and strode across the room to stand above Errit.
The bound thug, who'd regained consciousness at some point during their discussion, began to thrash. 'Wait! Wait a minute!'
'Why?' Kallist's voice was as mechanical as his movements.
'I-there's no reason! Look, I'm no threat to you! I could even help you! I-'
'Should have asked Semner exactly who it was you were dealing with.' Kallist brought the heavy blade down with a crash. Then, without a word, he turned away to wash the weapon clean, leaving the body to drain itself dry into the crevice he'd cleaved through the floorboards beneath it.
