Realm of Shadow — and then set out to travel the warrens, and indeed the Holds. Seeking knowledge. Seeking the truth of things. What they eventually discovered did not please them. And in the boldness of their … youth, they decided that something must be done.’
‘Two new gods,’ Shurq Elalle murmured. ‘They came to you?’
‘Not at first. Instead, they sought out loyal allies among the mortals they had once commanded. Well, perhaps “mortals” is not quite accurate in some instances. No matter. Let us call it a wondrous conflagration of circumstance and character, a kind of audacity which made anything possible. Before long, they found the need to gather additional allies. Shall I list them for you?’
‘Why not?’
‘The Son of Darkness, who understood the true burden of a surrendered future, the fatality of empty faith. The Warlord of the Sleeping Goddess, who would defy the eternal patience of the earth itself, and Stonewielder, the One who stood facing Caladan Brood, ensuring the world’s balance. These two are destined to walk disparate paths, but what they seek is much the same. The Queen of Dreams, whose pool had grown still as death itself. The Lord of Tragedy — and, well, a host of others, all drawn into the fold.’
‘Those you have named — are they gods?’
Hood shrugged. ‘Ascendants. The complexity of this beggars belief, to be honest. The sheer scale of contingencies … well, for all his peculiarities, let no one accuse Shadowthrone of failings in the matter of intelligence. The same can be said for Cotillion, for the patron of assassins well comprehended that just as certain individuals deserve a knife through the heart, so too do certain … ideas.’
‘Yet mortals are part of this plan, too.’
‘Indeed.’
‘The Adjunct Tavore Paran?’
Hood was silent for a moment. ‘This congress, Captain, is not above cruel use of mortals.’
‘That is … unfair.’
‘But consider what may be won here, Shurq Elalle.’
‘I have — I am, Hood. But … no.
‘The storm, Captain-’
‘Why does that surprise you?’ she retorted. ‘Try telling me something that doesn’t break my heart, then. Try telling me something that doesn’t make me furious — at your arrogance. Your contempt.’
‘We do not hold the Adjunct Tavore Paran in contempt.’
‘Really?’ she asked, the word dripping with derision.
‘Captain, she takes our arrogance and humbles us.’
‘And what’s her reward?’ Shurq demanded.
Hood looked away, and then shook his head. ‘For her, there is none.’
‘Tell me,’ Shurq said in a rasp, ‘tell me she did not agree to this.’
‘To that, Captain, I shall say nothing.’ He stepped past her then and raised his hands. ‘We cannot survive the violence your thoughts have conjured, Captain. Thus, I have no recourse but to intervene. Fortunately,’ he turned to eye her briefly, ‘Mael concurs.’
‘Push it away, then,’ Shurq Elalle snapped. ‘But I will bring it back, I swear it. To so use an innocent woman …’
‘You begin to try me, Captain Elalle. If you intend to fight me for the rest of this voyage, I must find us another captain.’
‘Please do, Hood. I barely knew the Adjunct, but-’
He twisted round. ‘Indeed, you barely know her. I will tell you this, then. I looked out through her sister’s eyes, through a helm’s visor — in the moment that she died — and I stared up at my slayer, the Adjunct Tavore Paran. And the blood dripping from her sword was mine. You will speak to me of innocence? There is no such thing.’
Shurq Elalle stared at Hood. ‘So, in using her now … is this punishment?’
‘Consider it so, if it eases your conscience.’
‘She murdered her sister?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it guilt that drives her now, Hood? Does she seek redemption?’
‘I imagine she does.’
‘Will she find it?’
Hood shrugged.
The Jaghut did not reply.
Shurq stepped closer. ‘Does Tavore even know she killed her own sister?’
‘Irrelevant, Captain Elalle. It is the ignorant who yearn most for redemption.’
After a moment, she stepped back, went to the side rail, stared out over the rolling grey swells, what Skorgen called swollen waters. ‘If we had met in your realm, Hood,’ she said, ‘I would not have refused my state. I would not have sought to escape. Instead, I would have tried to kill you.’
‘Many have, Captain.’
‘Good for them.’
‘Do you imagine that knowledge would be a gift?’
‘I … don’t know.’
‘The truth may hide at your feet. The truth may lie coiled in high grasses. But it still has claws, it still has fangs. Be careful, Captain, where you step.’
‘Food reserves are dwindling,’ Felash said, and then sighed and looked up at her handmaiden. ‘Straits are dire for dear Mother.’ She sat straighter, arched her back and groaned. ‘Do you advise rest? These journeys through troubled realms, by Jaghut’s cold breath or not, do take their toll upon my delicate self. But I must refuse your concerns, my dear. Necessity demands — is that wine you’re pouring? Excellent. I’d thought that long gone.’
‘I made a request, Highness.’
‘Indeed? Of whom?’
‘It seems,’ the woman said, passing over a cup, ‘libations in the name of death continue unabated, and if the once-god of that dread underworld is not above trespassing in his old … er, haunts, well, far be it from us to complain.’
‘Just so. Nonetheless, sweetie, I dislike the notion of you consorting with that hoary creature. Best keep a respectful distance, matching my own wise caution in this matter.’
‘As you wish.’
‘But I must say, superb wine, given its provenance — I trust you have acquired a decent supply.’
‘Luckily, yes, Highness.’
‘The other news is almost as dire, I’m afraid. We have cause now to mistrust the motivations of the Perish Grey Helms. Most disturbing.’
The handmaid’s eyes narrowed as she set to filling a bowl of rustleaf. ‘Are we not at this moment sailing to a rendezvous with the Perish fleet, Highness?’
‘Assuming no calamity had struck, yes. But what is their disposition? The answer to that question is now paramount.’
‘Perhaps I could scry-’
‘No, we cannot risk that. The warren of the Forkrul Assail waxes full — hmm, was I being poetic there, or succumbing to cliche?’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ murmured the handmaiden, concentrating on lighting the pipe.
‘We have been careless in your education. Never mind. Too late now, for it is well known that a person’s brain ossifies at a certain age, becoming incapable of new acquisition, barring simple matters such as languages, martial skills and so on. There is a moment when true genius is within the reach of any and every child, and the gauge of that moment’s duration is in fact the only means of defining intelligence. Thus, while you are naturally bright, and therefore it is probable that the time of your receptivity could have been measured in months, if not
