A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 2

whatever command that might be. A reasonable resolu—'
    Silverfox swung to face him. 'Please,' she grated. 'No advice. This is my Gathering, Kruppe. Leave me to it.'
    'Of course, my dear. Humblest apologies. Please do resume your hesitation.'
    She made a sour face. 'Impudent bastard.'
    Kruppe smiled.
    Silverfox turned back to the awaiting T'lan Imass. 'Pran Chole, please forgive my earlier words.'
    He raised his head. 'Summoner, it is I who must ask for forgiveness.'
    'No. Okral Lorn was right in condemning my anger. I feel as if I have awaited this meeting for a thousand lifetimes – the expectation, the pressure ...'
    Kruppe cleared his throat. 'A thousand lifetimes, Silverfox? Scry more closely those who stand before you—'
    'Thank you, that's enough, Kruppe. Believe me, I am quite capable of castigating myself without any help from you.'
    'Of course,' the Daru murmured.
    Silverfox settled her gaze on Pran Chole once more. 'I would ask of you and your kin a question.'
    'We await, Summoner.'
    'Are there any Jaghut left?'
    'Of pure blood, we know of but one who remains in this realm. One, who hides not in the service of a god, or in service to the Houses of the Azath.'
    'And he will be found at the heart of the Pannion Domin, won't he?'
    'Yes.'
    'Commanding K'Chain Che'Malle undead. How can that be?'
    Kruppe noted the hesitation in Pran Chole as the Bonecaster replied. 'We do not know, Summoner.'
    'And when he is destroyed, Pran Chole, what then?'
    The Bonecaster seemed taken aback by the question. 'Summoner, this is your Gathering. You are flesh and blood – our flesh and blood, reborn. When the last Jaghut is slain—'
    'A moment, if you please!' Kruppe said, edging another step forward. Silverfox hissed in exasperation but the Daru continued. 'Pran Chole, do you recall worthy Kruppe?'
    'I do.'
    'Worthy, clever Kruppe, yes? You said you know of but one Jaghut. No doubt accurate enough. None the less, saying such is not quite the same as saying there is but one left, is it? Thus, you are not certain, are you?'
    Olar Ethil replied. 'Mortal, other Jaghut remain. Isolated. Hidden – they have learned to hide very well indeed. We believe they exist, but we cannot find them.'
    'Yet you seek an official end to the war, do you not?'
    A susurration of motion rippled through the undead ranks.
    Silverfox wheeled on him. 'How did you know, damn you?'
    Kruppe shrugged. 'Sorrow unsurpassed and unsurpassing. They in truth seek to become dust. Had they eyes, Kruppe would see the truth no plainer writ. The T'lan Imass wish oblivion.'
    'Which I would only grant if all the Jaghut on this world had ceased to exist,' Silverfox said. 'For that is the burden laid upon me. My intended purpose. The threat of tyranny removed, finally, once and for all time. Only then could I grant the T'lan Imass the oblivion they seek – so the Ritual demands of me, for that is a linkage that cannot be broken.'
    'You must make the pronouncement, Summoner,' Okral Lorn said.
    'Yes,' she replied, still glaring at Kruppe.
    'Your words,' Pran Chole added, 'can shatter the Ritual's bindings.'
    Her head snapped round. 'So easily? Yet-' She faced the Daru once more, and scowled. 'Kruppe, you force into the open an unpleasant truth—'
    'Aye, Silverfox, but not the same truth as that which you seem to see. No, Kruppe has unveiled a deeper one, far more poignant.'
    She crossed her arms. 'And that is?'
    Kruppe studied the sea of undead figures, narrowed his gaze on the shadowed sockets of countless eyes. After a long moment, he sighed, and it was a sigh ragged with emotion. 'Ah, my dear, look again, please. It was a pathetic deceit, not worth condemnation. Understand, if you will, the very beginning. The First Gathering. There was but one enemy, then. One people, from whom tyrants emerged. But time passes, aye? And now, dominators and tyrants abound on all sides – yet are they Jaghut? They are not. They are human, for the most part, yes?
    'The truth in all its layers? Very well. Silverfox, the T'lan Imass have won their war. Should a new tyrant emerge from among the few hidden Jaghut, he or she will not find the world so simple to conquer as it once was. There are gods to oppose the effort; nay, there are mere ascendants! Men such as Anomander Rake, women such as Korlat – have you forgotten the fate of the last Jaghut Tyrant?
    'The time has passed, Silverfox. For the Jaghut, and thus, for the T'lan Imass.' Kruppe rested a hand on her shoulder and looked up