A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 2

as it plunged among the three brothers. The Seguleh were faster. Senu and Thurule had already moved past the creature, throwing savage, unerring blows behind them without turning, sliding effortlessly like snakes to avoid the hunter's whipping tail.
    Mok, standing directly in front of the creature, had not backed up a step.
    The beast's huge arms flew past to either side of the Third – both severed at the shoulder joint by the flanking brothers in their single pass. Mok's swords darted upward, stabbed, cut, twisted, hooked then withdrew with the hunter's massive head balanced on the tips for the briefest of moments before the Third flung its blade-bending weight aside and leapt to the right, barely avoiding the decapitated body's forward pitch.
    The K'Chain Che'Malle thundered as it struck the ground, legs kicking and tail thrashing. Then its movements ceased.
    'Well,' Toc said after he'd regained his breath, 'that wasn't so hard. Those beasts look tougher than they are, obviously. Good thing, too. We'll just stroll into the Domin, now, right? Gawking at Bastion's wonder, then beyond—'
    'You're babbling,' Lady Envy said. 'Very unattractive, Toc the Younger. Please stop, now.'
    Mouth clamped shut, Toc managed a nod.
    'Now, let us go and examine the K'Chain Che'Malle. I, for one, am curious.'
    He watched her walk ahead, then followed at a stumble. As he passed Tool, he offered the T'lan Imass a sickly grin. 'I think you can relax, now, right?'
    The deathless face turned to him. 'The Third's dismantling, Toc the Younger ...'
    'Yes?'
    'I could not have done that. I have never seen such ... skill.'
    Toc paused, his eye narrowing. 'Tool, that was glorified dissection – are you not his match in speed?'
    'Perhaps.'
    'And could he have done that without his brothers slicing those arms off? What if the beast had attacked with its feet instead of its jaws? Tool, that K'Chain Che'Malle was trying for all three of them at once. Stupid. Arrogant.'
    The T'lan Imass cocked his head. 'Arrogance. A vice of being undead, Toc the Younger.'
    The Malazan's grin broadened. 'And yours has just been shaken, Tool?'
    'An unfamiliar sensation.'
    Toc shrugged, about to turn and rejoin Lady Envy.
    The stone sword was in Tool's hands. 'I must challenge him.'
    Grin falling away, Toc stepped closer. 'Hold on, friend – you don't—'
    'I must challenge him. Now.'
    'Why?'
    'The First Sword of the T'lan Imass must be without equal, Aral Fayle.'
    'Gods, not you too!'
    The T'lan Imass set off towards the Seguleh.
    'Wait! Tool—'
    The First Sword glanced back. 'You share my shaken faith, mortal, despite your earlier words.'
    'Damn it, Tool, now's not the time for this! Think! We need all of you – each in one piece. Intact—'
    'Enough words, Aral Fayle.'
    The brothers stood around the fallen K'Chain Che'Malle. Lady Envy had joined them and was now crouched, examining the creature's corpse.
    Filled with dread, Toc matched Tool's steady, determined pace as they approached.
    Senu was the first of the Seguleh to notice them. He slowly sheathed his swords, stepped back. A moment later Thurule did the same. Mok slowly faced the T'lan Imass.
    'By the Abyss!' Lady Envy snapped, straightening, her expression darkening. 'Not now.' She waved a hand.
    Mok collapsed.
    Tool staggered to a halt. 'Awaken him, Lady,' he rasped.
    'I shall not. Senu, you and Thurule, rig up a travois for your sleeping brother. You two can pull it.'
    'Lady—'
    'I'm not talking to you, T'lan Imass.' And to reinforce her announcement, she crossed her arms and turned her back on Tool.
    After a long moment in which neither moved, the First Sword finally sheathed his blade. 'He cannot remain asleep for ever, Lady Envy,' he said. 'You do naught but prolong the inevitable.'
    She made no reply.
    Toc drew a deep breath. 'What a lovely woman,' he softly sighed.
    She heard, and turned with a heart-stopping smile. 'Why, thank you!'
    'That's not—' He stopped.
    Her brow knitted. 'Excuse me?'
    'Nothing.' Gods, nothing!
     
    Fashioned of straps, leather webbing and two spear-shafts that Lady Envy conjured from somewhere, the travois carrying the Third was pulled by Senu and Thurule from rigged shoulder slings. The two brothers were clearly agitated by the turn of events but, as was evident to Toc – and doubtless the T'lan Imass too – there would be no challenging the Lady's will.
    They ascended the ridge as the afternoon waned. Rain clouds approached from the north, obscuring the mountains