A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 2

might well prove decisive should it be necessary to effect Dujek's withdrawal from an unwinnable engagement.'
    Kallor laughed. 'The lovers rejoined, and we are asked to bow before false objectivity—'
    Orfantal took a step towards Kallor. 'That was the last insult you will deliver to the Tiste Andii,' he said quietly.
    'Stop!' bellowed Caladan Brood. 'Kallor, know this: I hold to my trust in the Tiste Andii. Nothing you can say will shake that faith, for it was earned centuries ago, a hundredfold, and not once betrayed. Your loyalty, on the other hand, I begin to doubt more and more ...'
    'Beware your fears, Warlord,' Kallor growled, 'lest you make them true.'
    Brood's response was so low Korlat barely heard it. 'You now taunt me, Kallor?'
    The warrior slowly paled. 'What would be the value of that?' he asked quietly, tonelessly.
    'Indeed.'
    Korlat turned to her brother. 'Call our kin, Orfantal. We shall accompany the commander and warchief.'
    'As you say, sister.' The Tiste Andii pivoted, then paused and studied Kallor for a long moment, before saying, 'I think, old man, when all this is done ...'
    Kallor bared his teeth. 'You think what?'
    'That I will come for you.'
    Kallor held his smile in answer, but the strain of the effort was betrayed by a twitch along one lined cheek.
    Orfantal set off towards the waiting horses.
    Humbrall Taur's deep laugh broke the tense silence. 'And here we'd thought you'd be bickering when we arrived.'
    Korlat faced the barge – and met Whiskeyjack's gaze. He managed a drawn smile, revealing to her the pressure he had been feeling. But it was what she saw in his eyes that quickened her heart. Love and relief, tenderness ... and raw anticipation.
    Mother Dark, but these mortals live!
     
    Riding side by side at a gentle canter, Gruntle and Itkovian reached the causeway and approached the platform. The sky was paling to the east, the air cool and clear. A score of Rhivi herders were guiding the last of the first three hundred bhederin onto the railed ramp.
    A few hundred paces behind the two men, the second three hundred were being driven towards the causeway. There were at least two thousand bhederin to follow, and it was clear to Gruntle and Itkovian that, if they wished to lead their companies across the river any time soon, they would have to cut in.
    The Malazans had built well, each barge carrying broad, solid ramps that neatly joined bow to bow, while the sterns had been designed to fit flush once the backwash guards had been removed. The bridge they formed when linked was both flexible where required, and secure everywhere else, and it was surprisingly wide – capable of allowing two wagons to travel side by side.
    Commander Whiskeyjack and his companies of the Host had crossed the river more than fifteen bells ago, followed by Humbrall Taur's three clans of Barghast. Gruntle knew that Itkovian had hoped to see and meet with both men once again, in particular Whiskeyjack, but by the time they'd come within sight of the river, Malazan and Barghast were both long gone.
    Caladan Brood had encamped his forces for the night on this side of River Maurik, rousing his troops three bells before dawn. They had just completed their crossing. Gruntle wondered at the disparity of pace between the two allied armies.
    They reined in among the Rhivi herders. A tall, awkward-looking man who was not Rhivi stood off to one side, watching the bhederin thump their way across the first barge to hoots and whistles from the drivers.
    Gruntle dismounted and approached the lone man. 'Mott Irregulars?' he asked.
    'High Marshal Sty,' the man replied with a lopsided, toothy grin. 'I'm glad you're here – I can't understand these little guys at all. I've been trying real hard, too. I guess they're speaking a different language.'
    Gruntle glanced back at Itkovian, expressionless, then faced the High Marshal once more. 'So they are. Have you been standing here long?'
    'Since last night. Lots of people have crossed. Lots. I watched them put the barges together. They were fast. The Malazans know wood, all right. Did you know Whiskeyjack was apprenticed as a mason, before he became a soldier?'
    'No, I didn't. What has that got to do with carpentry, High Marshal?'
    'Nothing. I was just saying.'
    'Are you waiting for the rest of your company?' Gruntle asked.
    'Not really, though I suppose they'll show up sooner or later. They'll come after the bhederin, of course, so they can collect the dung. These little guys