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Toc felt his heart pounding hard against his chest. He'd just witnessed an execution. The woman named Lorn had risen from the turgid mists of the past, risen to right A wrong, to find justice and in that last act reclaim its life-and she had been denied. Not by the words of Dujek or Tayschre
«Of course,» she said, removing her hand from her sword. «Please enter, Sorceress Tattersail, and dine with us.»
The flat tone of her voice told Toc that her invitation had not cost anything-and this horrified him, shook him to his very core. A quick glance showed a similar response from Tayschre
Tattersail looked positively ill, but she nodded shakily in answer to the Adjunct's invitation.
Toc found the decanter and a spare crystal goblet. He walked up to the sorceress. «I am Toc: the Younger,» he said, smiling, «and you need a drink.» He poured the glass full and handed it to her. «Often, when we camped on the march, I'd see you lugging that travelling wardrobe of yours around. Now I finally see what was in it. Sorceress, you're a sight for a sore eye.»
A look of gratitude entered Tattersail's gaze. She raised an eyebrow. «I hadn't realized my travelling wardrobe garnered such attention.»
Toc gri
Anything surprising, be it an ambush or an unpla
Dujek guffawed behind him. «I've often wondered where that phrase came from, and damn, I heard it a lot-even from my officers.»
The atmosphere in the room relaxed somewhat; though undercurrents of tension still swirled, they seemed to be between Tattersail and High Mage Tayschre
Then again, Toc considered, Dujek's steady presence may have been providing the levelling influence. His father had spoken much of Dujek, of a man who never lost his touch with the powerless or the less powerful. In dealing with the former, he always made his own failings an easy recognition; and with the latter he had an unerring eye that cut away personal ambition with the precision of a surgeon removing septic flesh, leaving in its place someone who treated trust and honesty as givens.
Studying Dujek's easy, relaxed rapport with the others in attendance, including himself, and then with the servants who filed in bearing trays of food, it struck Toc that the man had not changed perceptibly from the one Toc the Elder had called friend. And that impressed Toc deeply, knowing as he did the pressures that burdened the High Fist.
As soon as everyone was seated and the first course presented, it was Adjunct Lorn who took command, however. Dujek relinquished it without a word or a gesture, evidently confident that the earlier incident was now over as far as the Adjunct was concerned.
Lorn addressed Tattersail in that unca
Tattersail set down her goblet and regarded her plate briefly before meeting the Adjunct's steady gaze. «As the High Mage may have explained, it's now clear that the gods have entered the fray. Specifically, they've become involved with the Empire's plans for Darujhistan-»
Toc rose quickly. «I believe,» he said, «I should excuse myself now, as what will be discussed here exceeds-»
«Be seated, Toc the Younger,» Lorn commanded. «You are the Claw representative here, and as such you are responsible for speaking on its behalf.»
«I am?»
«You are.»
Slowly, Toc sat.
«Please continue, Sorceress.»
Tattersail nodded. «Opo
«Shadowthrone,» Lorn said. She looked to Tayschre
The High Mage concurred. «One could expect such a thing. I, however, have sensed nothing of Shadowthrone's attention upon us, even though I pursued that possibility vigorously after the Hound's attack.»
Lorn exhaled slowly. «Sorceress, please go on.»
«The Hound's presence was triggered entirely by accident,» Tattersail said, flicking a glance at Tayschre
«Then why,» Tayschre
Tattersail smiled. «I can speculate.»
«Please do,» the Adjunct said.
«I have wards about my room,» Tattersail said. «The i
Tayschre
«Such wards,» Tattersail continued, «create a flux, a tide of power that surges and ebbs like a pulsing heart, one that is beating very fast. I suspect that these wards were sufficient to bounce the Hound away from my immediate area, since in its transitional state-half-way between its realm and ours-the Hound could not fully express its powers. Once it had arrived, however, it could, and it did.»
«How did you manage to fend off a Hound of Shadow?» Tayschre
«Luck,» Tattersail replied, without hesitation. Her answer hung in the air, and it seemed to Toc that everyone had forgotten their meal.
«In other words,» Lorn said slowly, «you believe that Opo
«I do.»
«Why?»
Tattersail barked a laugh. «If I could work that out, Adjunct, I'd be a happy woman. As it is,» her humour fell away, «it seems we're being used. The Empire itself has become a pawn.»
«Is there a way out?» Dujek asked, his words a growl that startled everyone.
Tattersail shrugged. «If there is, it lies in Darujhistan, since that's where Opo
Toc sat back, absently scratching his wound. There was more to it, he suspected, though he could find no discernible source for his suspicion.
He scratched harder. Tattersail could be glib when she wanted to be; her story had a straightforwardness to it. The best lies were the simple ones.
Still, nobody else seemed unduly suspicious. The sorceress had shifted attention from her story to its implications for future action. She had everyone thinking past her, and the faster their thoughts raced, the further behind they left their doubts about her.
He watched her watching the others, and was the only one to notice the flash of triumph and relief in her eyes when Lorn spoke.
«Opo