A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 1

congealed on the surface, scraping it into an intestine to be later twisted and tied off into sausages.
    The old woman noticed the historian and held up the wooden blade – as she would if offering it to a toddler to lick clean. Flecks of sage were visible in the fat – a herb Duiker had once loved but had come to despise, since it was one of the few native to the Odhan. He smiled and shook his head.
    As he caught up with Lull, the captain said, 'You're known, old man. They say you walk in the spirit world. That old horsewife wouldn't offer food to just anybody – not me, that's for certain.'
    The spirit world. Yes, I walked there. Once. Never again. 'See an old man in crusty rags...'
    'And he's gods-touched, aye. Don't mock out loud – it might save your skin one day.'
    Nil's hearth was unique among the others in sight in that it held no cooking pot, nor was it framed in drying racks bedecked with curing strips of meat. The burning dung within the small ring of stones was almost smokeless, revealing a naked, blue-tinged flame. The young warlock sat to one side of the hearth, his hands deftly pleating strips of leather into something like a whip.
    Four of Lull's marines squatted nearby, each running through a last check of their weapons and armour. Their assault crossbows had been freshly blackened, then smeared in greasy dust to remove the gleam.
    One glance told Duiker that these were hard soldiers, veterans, their movements economical, their preparations professional. Neither the man nor the three women were under thirty, and none spoke or looked up as their captain joined them.
    Nil nodded to Duiker as the historian crouched down opposite him. 'It promises to be a cold night,' the boy said.
    'Have you found the location of this warleader?'
    'Not precisely. A general area. He may possess some minor wards against detection – once we get closer they will not avail him.'
    'How do you hunt down someone distinguished only by his or her competence, Nil?'
    The young warlock shrugged. 'He's left... other signs. We shall find him, that is certain. And then it is up to them—' He jerked his head towards the marines. 'I have come to a realization, Historian, over these past months on this plain.'
    'And that is?'
    'The Malazan professional soldier is the deadliest weapon I know. Had Coltaine three armies instead of only three-fifths of one, he would end this rebellion before year's end. And with such finality that Seven Cities would never rise again. We could shatter Kamist Reloe now – if not for the refugees whom we are sworn to protect.'
    Duiker nodded. There was truth enough in that.
    The sounds of the camp were a muffled illusion of normality, an embrace from all sides that the historian found unsettling. He was losing the ability to relax, he bleakly realized. He picked up a small twig and tossed it towards the fire.
    Nil's hand snapped it out of the air. 'Not this one,' he said.
    Another young warlock arrived, his thin, bony arms ridged in hatch-marked scars from wrist to shoulder. He squatted down beside Nil and spat once into the fire.
    There was no answering sizzle.
    Nil straightened, tossing aside the cord of leather, and glanced over at Lull and his soldiers. They stood ready.
    'Time?' Duiker asked.
    'Yes.'
    Nil and his fellow warlock led the group through the camp. Few of their clan kin looked their way, and it was a few minutes before Duiker realized that their seemingly casual indifference was deliberate, possibly some kind of culturally prescribed display of respect. Or something else entirely. To look is to ghost-touch, after all.
    They reached the encampment's north edge. Fog wafted on the plain beyond the wicker barriers. Duiker frowned. 'They'll know it isn't natural,' he muttered.
    Lull grunted. 'We've a diversion planned, of course. Three squads of sappers are out there right now with sacks full of fun—'
    He was interrupted by a detonation off to the northeast, followed by a pause in which faint screams wailed in the shrouded darkness. Then a rapid succession of explosions shattered the night air.
    The fog swallowed the flashes, but Duiker recognized the distinctive crack of sharpers and thumping whoosh of flamers. More screams, then the swift thudding of horse hooves converging to the northeast.
    'Now we let things settle,' Lull said.
    Minutes passed, the distant screams fading. 'Has Bult finally managed to track down that captain of the sappers?' the historian eventually asked.
    'Ain't seen