Well, what else could he do?
Rhulad Sengar came and went, more insane with each time. Shrieks, laughter, screams and wails. How many times could a man die?
‘That storm,’ Sandalath said, ‘it wants to get through, doesn’t it?’
He nodded. He could feel its wrath, and its impotence.
‘It’s waiting for something,’ she continued. ‘Waiting for someone… to do something.’
He repressed the urge to hit her – she’d kill him if he did – wait.
‘A miracle!’ she shouted, throwing up her hands. ‘Oh, I know!
And now he saw it, on the very edge of the thrashing waves beyond the reef. Saw it, and pointed. ‘There! A boat, you black-hearted witch! A boat!’
‘So what? So what? Why don’t you
He spun round, startling the Nachts, and began running.
There was anger, plenty of anger, giving strength to his strides. Oh, so much anger. Deliverers of suffering deserved what was coming to them, didn’t they? Oh yes, they surely did. The Nachts had been showing him. Over and over again, the mad grinning apes. Over and over.
Build a nest.
Kick it down.
Build a nest.
He saw the hut, that squalid, insipid hovel crouched there on the dead plain. Sensed the Crippled God’s sudden awareness, sudden probings into his mind. But oh no, he laughed silently, it couldn’t work it out. Couldn’t fathom the endless refrain filling his skull.
He reached the hut, not where the doorway made its slash in the wall, but from a blind side. And, with all his weight, the swordsmith flung himself into that flimsy structure.
It collapsed inward, Withal on top, landing upon a squawking figure beneath. Spitting, hissing with rage and indignation.
Withal grasped handfuls of rotten canvas, heaved himself back upright, and dragged the tent away. Pegs snapping, ties breaking. Dragged it away from that horrid little bastard god.
It shrieked, the brazier tumbling, coals spilling out, sparks lodging in the god’s ratty robes, where they smouldered-
Withal stumbled back, laughing.
And, from behind, the wind suddenly arrived.
Almost knocking him down.
He turned into it, facing the beach once more, and saw the storm-clouds billowing, rushing in, growing ever higher, towering, spreading their shadow upon the island.
Leaning into the gale, Withal ran back to the beach.
Thrashing, foaming waves on all sides, but there, before him, a stretch of calm. A stretch opposite Sandalath and the capering, dancing Nachts.
Along which the boat slid gracefully through the reef, its lone sail luffing lightly as it glided to shore, grating to a halt five paces from the waterline.
Withal reached the sand in time to see a squat, nondescript man clamber down from the side and wade ashore.
‘This,’ he said to Withal in the Letherii trader’s tongue, ‘is for you. Take your friends and make sail.’
‘Who are you?’ Sandalath demanded.
‘Oh, be quiet!’ Withal snarled. ‘Climb in, woman!’
The Nachts had already done so, and were scrambling about the rigging.
Scowling, the Tiste Andii woman hurried towards the boat.
Withal stared at the man.
Who grimaced, then said, ‘Aye, Withal of Meckros, you pray hard enough…’
‘I knew it.’
‘Now, get going. You’ll find a way of calm through.’
‘And you, Mael?’
‘I’ll drop in later. I’ve things for you to do, Withal. But for now,’ he faced inland, ‘I am going to beat a god senseless.’
GLOSSARY
Letherii Titles
Acquitor: a sanctioned position as guide/factor when dealing with non-Letherii peoples
Atri-Preda: military commander who governs a city or town
Ceda: title of King’s own mage
Finadd: equivalent of captain in the military
Preda: equivalent of commander or general in the military
Sentinel: the King’s Voice in establishing first contact with non-Letherii peoples
The King’s Leave: a title relieving the holder of all criminal convictions
Lether Place Names
Burl Square: a square in Letheras
Cedance: the dominant set of Tiles (see the Holds)
Cul Street: a street in Letheras
Down Markets: a district in Letheras
Errant’s Heel: an alley in Letheras
Eternal Domicile: the new palace under construction in Letheras
Huldo’s: a restaurant in Letheras
Katter Bight: a stretch of water outside Old Katter
Kraig’s Landing: upriver from the city of Trate
Lether: the kingdom and its protectorates
Letheras: the capital city of Lether
Merchants’ Tolls: equivalent of a stock market in Lether
Purser’s District: a district in Letheras
Quillas Canal: one of the main canals in Letheras
Rat Catchers’ Guild: a mysterious guild active throughout Lether
Red Lane: a lane in Letheras
Rild’s: a restaurant in Letheras
Scale House: headquarters of the Rat Catcher’s Guild, Letheras
Sherp’s Last Lane: a bridge in Letheras
Stinking House: abode of Selush the Dresser of the Dead
Tarancede Tower: a watchtower overlooking Trate Harbour
Temple School: an educational establishment in Letheras
The Temple: a high-end brothel in Letheras
