He thought about trying once more to reach one of the jhereg, but at that moment he was startled almost out of his wits by a soft tap tap that came from somewhere he couldn’t place.
He looked around, wildly, and it came again.
Could he have reached the jhereg after all?
Tap tap ... tap tap.
He followed the sound, and discovered that, without doubt, it came from behind one of the waterways.
He hesitated no more. He stood in front of it, straddling the small gutter, then reached up and took the chain. It felt grimy with old rust, but he was able to get a good grip. He pulled.
At first it didn’t move, as if rusted from long disuse, but he put his whole weight on it, and all of a sudden it gave.
In the dim light of the lantern, it looked for a moment as if the wall was moving backward, but then the reality of it became clear. The door in front of him creaked open noisily and admitted a small stream of water; a pair of jhereg; Polyi, dripping wet and looking frightened; and one very wet, very pale, very shaken-looking Easterner who stumbled forward and collapsed onto the floor at Savn’s feet.
At that moment, as if Vlad’s weight were enough to shake the entire manor, the floor began to vibrate. Savn looked around, but, for a moment, nothing happened. And then there was the sudden pop of displaced air, and Savn was looking at His Lordship and the Jhereg assassin, standing not ten feet away from him. His Lordship seemed very tall, with his hands out in front of him as if to touch the air, while the Jhereg crouched on the balls of his feet, holding a long, gleaming knife before him.
And there was a feeling Savn had never had, but could not possibly mistake for anything else: the knife in the Jhereg’s hand was certainly Morganti.
I’m gonna marry me a bandit,
I’m gonna marry me a bandit,
Rich and free is how I’ve planned it.
Hi-dee hi-dee ho-la!
Step on out ...
Savn grabbed Polyi with his free hand and pulled her back against the wall. Vlad remained where he was, on his hands and knees, looking up at His Lordship and the Jhereg assassin, who stood about ten feet away, motionless. The pair of jhereg took positions on either side of Vlad, and everyone waited.
Then Vlad slowly rose to his feet. He seemed to have some trouble standing, but managed. The jhereg flew up to land on either shoulder. Savn noticed that Vlad held a flask in his right hand.
“Careful,” said His Lordship. “He’s probably not hurt as badly as—”
“Shut up,” said the Jhereg.
“Tsk,” said Vlad. “No squabbling, now. It’s unseemly. I have something for you, Loraan.” He started forward, and there was a flash. Polyi screamed, but the knife didn’t strike Vlad; it struck the flask in his hand.
Vlad chuckled and dropped it. “Well, it was a good idea. Nice throw, Ishtvan.”
“Thanks, Taltos,” said the assassin. “I try to keep my hand in.”
“I know,” said Vlad. “That’s why I hired you.”
His Lordship said, “Keep your mouth shut, East—”
“You’re right,” said the Jhereg. “Pardon us.” Then he turned to His Lordship and said, “Immobilize him, and let’s get this over with.”
There was a tinkling sound from around Vlad’s knees, and Savn noticed that Vlad now held in his left hand something that looked like a length of gold chain. His Lordship evidently saw it too, because he cried, ‘That’s mine!”
“Yes,” said Vlad. “Come and take it.” But his strength wasn’t the equal of his words; even as he spoke, his knees seemed to buckle and he stumbled forward. His Lordship took a step toward him and lifted his hands.
Without thinking about it, Savn ripped the top off the lantern and splashed the burning kerosene against the wall behind him. The room became very bright for a moment, then was plunged into total darkness.
Polyi screeched. Savn pulled her away, thinking that no matter what happened, they ought to be somewhere other than where they’d been standing when he put out the light. He took a few steps, found that he was standing in running water, and decided that was just as well with kerosene splashed everywhere. “Are you all right?” he asked in a whisper that sounded much too loud.
“You burned me,” she whispered back.
“Sorry.”
Why didn’t someone make a light? Whole seconds had passed since he’d plunged the room into darkness; you’d think someone would want to see what was going on. And no one was moving, either.
Well, that might not be true; Vlad might still be able to move silently, and the Jhereg almost certainly could. And His Lordship was a sorcerer; for all Savn knew, there was a spell that would allow him to move silently. So maybe they were all moving all over the place, with Savn and Polyi the only ones fooled.
He thought about screaming, but was afraid it would upset his sister.
He heard a very faint whsk whsk that had to be the sound of jhereg wings. Shortly thereafter there was a very, very bright flash, but it showed him nothing; it only hurt his eyes and left blue spots in them. Polyi clung to him tightly; she was trembling, or he was, or maybe they both were—he couldn’t tell.
He heard the flapping again, this time closer—he flinched even though he knew what it was. There was more movement, and another flash. This one wasn’t as bright and lasted longer; he caught a quick glimpse of the Jhereg, crouched over holding the dagger out in front of him, and Vlad, on his feet once more, leaning against a wall, his sword in one hand, the gold chain swinging steadily in the other.
The flapping came again, even closer, and it seemed the jhereg hovered for a moment next to Savn’s ear. He held his breath, half expecting what would come next, and it did—there was a touch on his shoulder, and then a gentle weight settled there. Savn, who had been standing motionless, froze—a difference hard to define but impossible to miss. Water soaked through his boots, but he was afraid to move.
“Savn? What happened?”
“Hush, Polyi.”
Why had it landed on his shoulder? There must be a reason. Did it want him to do something? What? What could he do? He could panic—in fact, it was hard not to. What else could he do? He could get himself and Polyi out of there, if he had a light. Was the jhereg trying to tell him something?
He felt its head against his neck; then suddenly it jumped down to his right hand, which still held the empty lantern. He almost dropped it, but held on, and the jhereg hopped back up to his shoulder.
How had Vlad known to escape the searchers by entering the manor house through the cave? Was it desperation and lack of any other way, or had he, Savn, actually managed to get through to Vlad? If he had, then ...
He tried to recapture the feeling he’d had before, of emptiness, of reaching out. He discovered that standing frozen in place with unknown but murderous actions going on all around was not conducive to the frame of mind he associated with witchcraft.
He had just reached this conclusion when Vlad began speaking. “I have to thank you for the loan of your device, Loraan. It’s proven useful over the years. Have you missed it?”
“Don’t speak,” said the Jhereg. “He’s trying to distract you. Ignore him.”
“He’s right,” said Vlad. “Ignore me. But, just for something to think about, consider that your partner has a Morganti weapon, one of the few things that can destroy you, and consider that he’s an assassin, and that assassins are very uncomfortable leaving witnesses alive. Any witnesses. Think about it. How have you two been getting along, by the way? Just curious—you don’t have to answer.”
Savn heard a chuckle from the vicinity of the Jhereg. “Give it up, Taltos. We have a deal.”
“I’m certain he knows what a deal with you is worth.”
“What’s your game, Taltos?”