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Scheming and planning is supposedly her long suit. Long enough for her to have
outwitted the Radisha and my sister-in-law.
"Not a clue. I knew more about what was going on when I was a ghost."
"You don't go out of body anymore?"
"I'm cured. At least in this world."
Not good, I feared. His loose attachment to his flesh had been the Company's
most potent weapon for years. What would we do if we could no longer see what
was happening in places we were not at?
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You do get spoiled fast.
Something chittered in the darkness. For a moment I thought it was mocking me.
But then a huge fireball rolled up into the night across the valley. The
unseen thing's amusement was at the expense of the soldiers over there.
"This jar's gone empty," I grumbled, leaning back and shaking a last drop into
the back of my mouth. "I'm going to go see if I can't make another one turn up
where we found this one."
Chapter 19
Glittering Stone: Sneak Away
Doj nodded slightly as Lady and I rode past his place. When I glanced back a
minute later he was in the street with several Nyueng Bao henchmen. He was
wearing his sword, Ash Wand. Up ahead, Thai Dei, Murgen's brother-in-law and
bodyguard, strolled along the street. He was armed, too. If he was moving,
Murgen would be, too.
I kept a wary watch behind. This had to be done before Sleepy caught on.
Before she could issue orders forbidding it. I would not defy direct orders.
She and Sahra were down in the valley. Tran Huu Nhang had come out under a
flag of truce. I had a feeling he would announce that the File of Nine had
decided to accept reality. They would never admit it but their army had been
defeated without stepping onto the field of battle. It was evaporating. The
private soldiers were unwilling to endure the persistent attentions of the
Unknown Shadows.
It was all pretty amusing--unless you were one of the Nine determined to make
a reputation for the File, or you were a crow with hopes of getting fat.
Amusing but handy. I was tired of waiting for a chance to slip away. My need
to settle with the Bowalk monster had grown pretty powerful, though I hid it
well. I have a number of obsessions that I do not let show.
Officially, the Eleventh Battalion was rotating up to guard the shadowgate. In
reality, the Eleventh would be started through to the fortress at the heart of
the plain, after nightfall. My gang would be up there much earlier, swiftly
moving beyond any hope of Sleepy turning us around. Tobo would cover our
backtrail.
I made a sign I hoped would be seen and passed along. We needed to move
faster. Sleepy is a resourceful little witch. If there was any way to beat me
out of this she might have it figured out already.
It did seem like she was out there by herself on the Bowalk question. One-Eye
had a lot more friends dead than he had had while he was alive.
Tobo was at the shadowgate. But he was supposed to be keeping an eye on his
mother and the Captain. Before I could say anything, though, he told me,
"They're safe. The meet is a face-saving scheme by the Nine. They've realized
what they did was stupid. There'll be a lot of ceremony but no admission of
anything, like even that they've got an army over there that wanted to do us
evil, and before they're done they'll give Mom a bull that grants the Company
permission to find and use the shadowgate secrets." He grinned, a kid excited.
"I don't think they've been getting enough sleep."
"And why are you here?"
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"I have family going through. Don't I?"
Of course he did. I was on edge. "Let's keep moving, people." With Nyueng Bao,
old Company hands, my wife and whatnot, I would have just over forty people
joining my hunt. For a while. If it dragged on I might not be able to hold
them together.
Tobo told me, "Make camp at the first circle. Even if it seems like you can
cover a lot more ground before it gets dark." He told Lady, "It's important.
Keep him in check. The first circle. So I can catch up when I get away."
Willow Swan called, "Hey, Croaker. If you stand right here and look just right
out of the side of your eye, you can see the Nef. In broad daylight."
Swan was on the other side of the Hsien shadowgate. His voice had a dampened,
distant quality.
I gave him my best scowl. "Don't forget plain discipline." Shivetya might be
our ally and the soul of the plain but there were perils up there even he
could not master. The Unforgiven Dead were as hungry for life as ever. Only
the roads and circles were safe. Extreme care had to be taken to avoid [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]