Vlad Taltos - Phoenix Part 9

"About that group of Easterners and your relations.h.i.+p with them."

"Kelly's people?"

"Yeah. Someone's afraid that you're involved with them."

"Can you find out-what was that? Did you just hear something?"

"I think so."

"Melestav, what's going on?"

"Commotion of some sort downstairs, boss. Should I check it out?"

"No, hang tight for now."

"Okay. I'll let you know if-" He broke the connection, or it was broken for him. I caught a quick flash of pain, as if he'd been hit.

I took a dagger into my right hand and held it out of sight below the desk. Then came a rumble, and Loiosh yelled into my mind, and the door blew down. There were six Jhereg standing in the doorway, all of them armed. Melestav hung limp between two of them. There was blood on his forehead. His eyes flickered open like a candle uncertain if it should ignite, but then they focused. He caught my eye, turned his head to the enforcers supporting him, taking a good hard look at each one, then he looked back at me. He made a weak attempt at a smile and said, "Someone here to see you, boss."

I kept my hands under the desk as I studied the intruders. They had to a.s.sume I was armed, but there were more of them than there was of me. I was puzzled. I knew that they had not come in here specifically to kill me, because there were too many of them for that. On the other hand, I doubted their intentions were friendly.

One of them, a relatively short Jhereg with curly red hair and puffy eyes, said, "Bring your hands up where we can see them."

I let another dagger fall into my left hand and said, "I'd just as soon not, thanks."

He looked significantly at Melestav. I made a significant shrug. He said, "There's someone who wants to see you."

I said, "Tell him I don't appreciate how he sends his invitations."

Puff-eyes looked at me for a moment, then said, "We haven't killed any of your people-yet. And the gentleman who wants to see you is in a hurry. It's probably in your best interest to let me see your hands."

He sounded like he had something caught in his throat.

"All right," I said, and brought my hands up. I was still holding the daggers. I think they hadn't expected that.

Puff-eyes cleared his throat, which didn't help. He said, "You want to put those down, or should we settle things right now?"

Six of them, one of me. All right. I deliberately turned and threw the daggers, one at a time, into the center of the wall target. Then I turned back to them, folded my hands, and said, "Now what?"

"Come with us," he said, and nodded to a bony Jhereg who looked like he was made out of knotted rope. The latter made a few economical gestures with his hands, and I felt the teleport begin to take effect. I clenched my jaws against the nausea and wondered who could afford to casually hire a sorcerer who could teleport seven at once. Or maybe it wasn't as casual as it seemed. Maybe-but it was too late for that kind of speculation.

Body and mind went through the sieve and emerged, more or less unchanged, in a part of town I knew, in front of a lapidary's shop that I also knew. I said, "Toronnan."

They didn't bother to answer, but then I hadn't really phrased it as a question.

We made a parade into the shop where a fellow with the looks and in the dress of the House of the Chreotha did long-fingered things with thin silvery wire and a pair of curved pliers. I had it on good authority that this "Chreotha" had at least three kills on his record; he played his role, however, and didn't give us a glance as we went by.

My stomach, which always flops around when I teleport, was settling down enough for me to be annoyed that Loiosh had been too far away when the teleport went into effect. On the other hand, what could he do? We came to a door at the end of a hallway of tan-colored wood paneling, and one of my escort clapped.

"Come ahead," came the m.u.f.fled sound from inside, and he opened the door. Toronnan was my boss, if you will. That is, my area was inside of his, and he got a cut of everything I made. In exchange for this, I was rarely bothered by anyone trying to push his way into my area, and I got the benefits of the Jhereg connection inside the Imperial Palace. His office was neither terribly impressive nor revealing. He didn't have a knife target like I did, he didn't have any psiprints of his family or scenes of gently sloping hillsides with happy Teckla working the fields. Just a bookcase with a few folders neatly tucked into it, a wooden desk with a smooth top and a neat array of quill pens on one side, blotter, paper, and well on the other, a tray of sweetmeats on the right corner, a pitcher of water with a half-full gla.s.s next to it, a brandy decanter with six gla.s.ses near the pitcher.

There was one other chair, although there would have been room for several. There were no windows, but that was hardly surprising.

Jhereg custom forbids a.s.sa.s.sination in or around one's home; it says nothing about one's workplace.

Toronnan himself was a small, nervous-looking man, with almost invisible eyebrows and thin lips. His demeanor might make one think of him as weak and harmless, which he wasn't. As I walked in he stood up and put a folder into the bookshelf next to him and motioned me to sit. I did, he did, and he nodded to my escort. They closed the door behind them. I liked it that he put whatever he was working on away; sometimes people like to show how powerful they are by ignoring you for a while. I said, "You know, you could have wheels installed on that chair, so you could scoot over to the bookcase and not have to stand up. That's how I do it. Saves time, you know."

He said, "No, this is about the only exercise I get these days." His voice was smooth, like a minstrel's, and deep. It always made me want to hear him sing.

"I understand," I said.

He kept his eyes fastened on mine. I was uncomfortably aware that my back was to the door. Normally this doesn't bother me because most of the time Loiosh is there.

After a moment he shook his head. "How long has it been, Baronet?

Three years that you've been working for me?"

"About that," I said.

He nodded. "You've been earning pretty good, and keeping your b.u.t.tons polished, and not spilling anyone's wine. There were people in the Organization who were nervous about an Easterner trying to run a territory, but I told them, 'Give the lad a chance, see what he does,' and you've done all right."

This didn't seem to call for a response, so I waited.

"Of course," he continued, "there's been a bit of trouble from time to time, but as near as I can tell you haven't started it. You haven't been too greedy, and you haven't let anyone push you around. The money's been coming in, and your books have been balancing. I like that."

He paused again; I waited again.

"But now," he said, "I'm hearing things I don't like so much. Any idea what I've been hearing?"

"You've heard that I use paper flowers on my dining table? It's not true, boss. I-"

"Don't try to be funny, all right? I've heard that you've been a.s.sociating with a group of Easterners who want to bring about the next Teckla reign early, or who maybe want to just throw the whole Cycle out, or something on this order. I don't care what the particulars are. But these people, their interests don't coincide with ours. Do you understand this?"

I stared at the ceiling, trying to sort things out. The fact was, I didn't really have anything to do with those people, except that my wife happened to be one of them. But, on the other hand, I didn't feel like explaining myself. I said, "To tell you the truth, I think these people are harmless nuts."

"The Empire doesn't think so," he said. "And there are some people above me in the Organization who don't think so, either. And there are some who want to know what you're doing with them."

I said, "I've just taken over Herth's interest in South Adrilankha. Why don't you relax for a while, see what the profits look like, and then decide?"

He shook his head. "We can't do that. Word's come down from our Imperial contacts that, well, you don't need to know the details. We have to make sure that no one in our organization is involved with those people."

"I see."

"Can I have your a.s.surance that you won't be involved with them in the future?"

He was staring at me hard. I almost felt threatened. I said, "Tell me something: Why is that every time I talk to someone who's high up in the Organization, you always sound the same? Do you go to some special school or something?"

"I wouldn't say I'm high up," he said.

"Now you're just being modest. No, I take it back. The Demon doesn't sound like the rest of you."

"How do we sound?"

"Oh, you know. The same sort of short sentences, like you want to get in all the facts and nothing more."

"Does it work?"

"I guess so."

"Well, there you are."

"But if I ever get that high, am I going to sound like that, too? It worries me. I may have to change all my plans for the future."

"Baronet, I know you're a real funny guy, okay? You don't have to prove it to me. And I know you're tough, too, so you don't have to prove that, either. But the people I'm dealing with on this aren't interested in a jongleur, and they're a lot tougher than you are. Are we clear on that?"

I nodded.

"Good. Now, can you give me any a.s.surances about these Easterners?"

"I can tell you they don't like me. I don't like them, either. I don't have any plans to have anything to do with them. But I control that area now, and I'm going to run it as I see fit. If that brings me into contact with them, I can't tell you how I'll handle it until it comes up. That's the best I can do."

He nodded slowly, looking at me. Then he said, "I'm not sure that's good enough."

I matched his gaze. I was armed and he knew it, but I was in his office, in the one chair he had. If he had done half the things in his office that I'd done in mine, he could kill me without moving a muscle. But sometimes it's safer not to back down. I said, "It's the best I can do."

A moment later he said, "All right. We'll leave it at that and see what happens. Leave the door open when you leave." He stood up as I did and gave me a bow of courtesy. As I was leaving the building, the sorcerer who'd brought me there offered to teleport me back. I declined. It was only a couple of miles.

"But my feet are already sore," said Kragar.

The sorcerer jumped about twenty feet straight up. I managed not to, though it was close.

"How long have you been here?" he said.

Kragar looked puzzled and said, "You teleported me yourself; you should know."

I said, "Sorry, it looks like a walk today," and we left before the sorcerer could decide if he ought to do anything. When we were safely away, we let ourselves laugh good and hard.

It was well past midnight when Cawti returned. Rocza flew from her shoulder and greeted Loiosh, while Cawti threw her gloves at the hall stand, flopped onto an end of the couch, pulled her boots off, wriggled her toes, stretched like a cat, and said, "You're up late."

"Reading," I said, holding up the heavy volume as evidence.

"What is it?"

"A collection of essays by survivors of Adron's Disaster and the early years of the Interregnum."

"Any good?"

"Some of them are. Most of them don't have anything to do with the Adron's Disaster or the Interregnum, though."

"Dragaerans are like that."

"Yes," I said. "Mostly they want to talk about the inevitability of cataclysm after a Great Cycle, or the Real True Ultimate Meaning of the rebirth of the Phoenix."

"Sounds dull."

"Is, for the most part. There are a few good ones. There's an Athyra named Broinn who says that it was the effort to use sorcery during the Interregnum, when it was almost impossible, that forced sorcerers to develop the skill that makes sorcery so powerful now."

"Interesting. So he doesn't think the Orb was changed by going to the Halls of Judgment?"

I nodded. "It's sort of an attractive theory."

"Yes, it is. Funny that it never crossed my mind."

"Nor mine," I said. "Seen our houseguest?"

"Not lately. He's probably all right."

"I guess. He's not the type to get himself into trouble. I still wonder if he's a spy."

"Do you care?"

"I care if he made a dupe of me. Other than that, no. I don't feel any special loyalty to the Empire, if that's what you're asking."

She nodded and stretched again, arms over her head. Her hair, long and dark brown and curling just a bit at the end, was pleasantly disarrayed over her narrow face. Her warm eyes always seemed big for her face, and her dark complexion made it seem as if she was always half in shadow. I ached for her, but I was getting used to that.

Maybe I'd get used to not seeing the little tic of her lip before she made an ironic remark, or the way she'd stare at the ceiling with her head tilted, her brow creased, and her wrists crossed on her lap when she was really thinking hard about something. Maybe I'd get used to that. Then again, maybe not.

She was looking at me, eyes big and inquiring, and I wondered if she guessed what I'd been thinking. I said, "Are your people up to anything that you can tell me about?"

Her expression didn't change. "Why?"

"I got called in today. The back room wants me to a.s.sure them I'm not cooperating with Kelly. I think something's going on with the Empire, and the Organization thinks something's going on in South Adrilankha."

Her gaze didn't leave mine. "There's nothing going on that I can tell you about."

"So you people are up to something."

She stared at me vacantly, a look that meant she was pondering something, probably how much to tell me, and didn't want the reflections of her thoughts careening across her face. At last she said, "Not the way you mean it. Yes, we're organizing. We're building.

You've probably seen things in your own area."

"A few," I said. "But I can't tell how serious it is, and I need to know."

"We think things are going to break soon. I can't give you details of-"

"How soon?"

"How soon what? An uprising? No, nothing like that. Vlad, do you realize how easy it is for the Empire to find out what we're doing?"