"What's to tell?"
"You knew where he was all along, didn't you? He wasn't dead or nothing. You got around the commands Croaker laid on Smoke and found the worthless little shit."
I did not say anything. Goblin was still out there on his own somewhere, presumably continuing his mission. Presumably still needing secrecy.
"Ha! I was right. You never could lie for shit. Where is he, Kid? I got a right to know."
I started to back away. It might be time to take my act elsewhere. "You're wrong. I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's even still alive." Which was true.
"What you mean, you don't know?"
"I got a speech impediment? You've had Smoke all month, remember? You. The short shit who was loafing around up there in those hills while I was down here dodging shadows and Shadowlander ambushes."
"Now I know you're shitting me. There ain't been one shadow seen since the night we broke them at... Bullshit! You're feeding me bullshit."
"Yeah. I guess I forgot the first rule."
"Huh? What's that?"
"Never confuse you with facts."
"You smartass. I hung on in this world two hundred years so I could put up with this shit." He jumped up on the tongue of his wagon and leaned inside. I began to put a little more distance between us. He dug around in some rags behind his driver's seat. He glanced over his shoulder, saw me moving. "You just hang on right there, you peckerhead."
He jumped down, started waving his arms around while he went to squeaking and squealing in one of those languages wizards use so the rest of us will think there is something terribly strange and mystical about what they do, kind of like lawyers. One-Eye sometimes flew off into unprovoked fits of lawyer-ism, too.
Blue sparks began to crackle between the tips of his fingers. His lips stretched into an evil grin. I would not give him Goblin so I would have to take Goblin's place.
Damn, I wished Goblin would come back.
"What's this?"
I whirled. The Captain had followed us. One-Eye gulped air. I scooted a few fast steps, which brought the Old Man into the field of fire, too.
One-Eye shoved his hands into his pockets to hide them.
"Ouch!" he said with sudden, quiet fervor. The sparks had not stopped.
Croaker asked me, "He been drinking again?"
"I don't know when. Unless it was before he got me up. But he's acting like it."
"Who? Me?" One-Eye squeaked. "Not me. No way. I don't touch the stuff anymore."
I observed, "He hasn't had time to get set up."
"That means jack shit. There's any to be stolen, he'll find that. You know anyone else who'd suddenly start a fight for no good reason?"
"Ain't nobody in this outfit like that," One-Eye insisted. "Unless you count Goblin. Sometimes he... He in this outfit anymore, Captain?"
Croaker ignored him. He asked me, "You planning to take Smoke back out now?"
"No." That had not occurred to me. Food had.
Croaker grunted. "I need to talk to my staff wizard, here. One-Eye?"
I moved out. What now?
That food.
I ate till the cooks began to grumble about some folks thinking they were special.
After I finished I strolled across the snowy slopes trying to calm the storm inside me. The sky promised more snow. We had been lucky so far, I suspected. None of the snows had been heavy and none had stuck long. I spied Thai Dei and his mother, the latter offering a piece of her mind. Still.
It kept them at a distance.
I glimpsed Swan and Blade, far off, trotting somewhere in a big hurry. That meant Lady had come in, or at least would arrive soon. Her advance force had a camp under construction.
South, beyond Kiaulune, a spear of sunlight broke through the overcast, struck Overlook. The whole vast fortress gleamed like some religions' notion of heaven. I needed to take Smoke over there and get caught up. But not right away. One-Eye and the Old Man still had their heads together. Maybe talking about me.
I strolled downhill toward where Lady's soldiers were building their camp.
I wondered how Lady and Blade were getting along. He had been her main helper before his defection. He had not let her know what was happening when he did that. I could not see her forgiving him the deceit, however successful its end result.
Crows fluttered over the camp. Maybe Lady was there.
Croaker was right. We had to be paranoid. All the time. If it was not the Shadowmaster spying it would be Soulcatcher or the Deceivers or the Howler. Or Kina herself. Or the Nyueng Bao. Or the Radisha's agents. Or spies for the priests, or...
42
Lady had come in without me being told. I had no trouble getting in to see her. That made me wonder if it was going to be easy to get out.
She had questions of her own. "What are we doing now, Murgen? What's his game this time?"
I halted one step into the presence, mouth open. There had been changes since last I saw her. This was not the Lady with whom I had ridden south. This was not the woman who had seemed so haunted in front of the Dandha Presh. This creature was the Lady of olden times resurrected, a being of such terrible power it had trouble constraining itself in a presentable form.
"What the hell happened?"
"Murgen."
"What?" I squeaked. I reminded myself that I was the Annalist. The Annalist is fearless. He stands aside from squabbles within the Company. He is not intimidated by his brothers. He records the truth.
She scared me anyway.
"I want to know—"
"Anything you want to know, you'd better ask the Old Man. I couldn't tell you even if I was as goofy as Willow Swan. He don't tell me anything, either. He's still keeping it all inside his head. You seen that place over there? Worse than the Tower at Charm. He hasn't paid any attention to it since we got here. I haven't seen him do much of anything. Longshadow and Howler haven't done much, either, though."
"It's frustrating."
"Yeah. And maybe not even very smart considering what shape we'd be in if the Stranglers got him."
"Less likely than you think."
"Because of Soulcatcher?"
"Yes."
"She can't be everywhere any more than you can. And they call them the Deceivers for a reason." I hoped my voice was not squeaking. I was trying to play the fearless man.
"None of that is why you wanted to see me."
"No. I've got a problem. My dreams are getting worse! They're really bad now. I want to know how to shut them out."
"I haven't found a way. You have to learn to remember what they are. Has Kina been calling you?"
"I don't think so. It's more like she's passing through my dreams and doesn't notice me if I lie real still. Or maybe I'm eavesdropping on someone else's nightmares."
"Tell me about them."
I told her.
"Those are pretty much the dreams I've always had. Mostly I'm on the plain anymore."
"Are there crows there?"
"Crows? No. There isn't anything alive there."
I considered. "Actually, what I said before isn't quite true. She does seem to be aware of me specifically. The other night I got led through a version of the plain dream where I saw my wife. I talked to Sarie. The implication was there that I could get her back."
"That's new. For me the horrors just get worse. I think they're supposed to overwhelm me eventually."
I had a feeling she was not telling the whole truth, either. I said, "I find it hard to believe that she could feed me anything worse than what I've seen in real life. Knowing what she's trying to do—"