A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 3

shallow opening of his flesh, then the
point struck more chain, and was suddenly snagged. In
the midst of this movement, and as the attacker seemed to
bounce back from the impact – Kalam far outweighing him,
or her – another dagger descended from overhead. An
upward stop-thrust impaled that arm. The dagger spilled
from a spasming hand. Leaving his long-knife there, Kalam
slashed down against the other arm, severing tendons
below the elbow. He then dropped that weapon as well, left
hand inverting as it snapped up to grasp the front of the
Claw's jerkin; his other hand closing on a handful down at
the killer's crotch – male – and Kalam heaved the figure
upward, over his left shoulder, then, spinning round, he
hammered the Claw headfirst onto the pavestones.
    Skull and entire head seemed to vanish within folds of
hood and cloak. White matter spattered out.
    Releasing the flopping body, Kalam collected both longknives,
then turned to face the last two of the Hand.
    Both were already down. The Adjunct stood above one,
her sword out and slick with blood. T'amber appeared to
have closed to hand-to-hand with the other Claw, somehow
breaking the man's neck even as he plunged both
daggers into her. Kalam stared as she tugged the weapons
free – lower right shoulder, just beneath a clavicle, and her
right waist – and flung them aside as if they were mere
slivers.
    He met the young woman's eyes, and it seemed the gold
flared for a moment, before she casually turned away. 'Stuff
those holes,' Kalam said, 'or you'll bleed out.'
    'Never mind me,' she replied. 'Where to, now?'
    There was anguish on the Adjunct's face as she looked
upon her lover, and it seemed she was struggling not to
reach out.
    Kalam collected his other long-knife. 'Where to now,
T'amber? Ambushes set for every direct approach to Centre
Docks. Let's force them to pull up and move to intercept us.
West, Adjunct, deeper into the city. We then swing south
and keep going, right through Centre District, then take
one of the inland bridges across to the Mouse – I know that
area well – and, if we get that far, we head to the shoreline
and back up north again. If necessary we can steal a fisher
boat and scull our way over to the Froth Wolf.'
    'Presumably we are being observed right now,' the
Adjunct said.
    Kalam nodded.
    'And they understand that their sorcery will fail them.'
    'Aye.'
    'Forcing them to be more ... direct.'
    'Before too long,' Kalam said, 'more than one Hand will
have to come at us at once. That's when we're in real
trouble.'
    A faint smile.
    Kalam faced T'amber again. 'We have to move fast—'
    'I can keep up.'
    'Why didn't you use your sword on that fool?'
    'He was too close to the Adjunct. I got him from behind
but he was skilled enough to strike anyway.'
    Damn, talk about a bad start. 'Well, neither wound looks
like much of a bleeder. We should get going.'
    As they set out, westward, the cliff-face of the promontory
to their right, the Adjunct said, 'Do most grown men bounce
off when they run into you, Kalam Mekhar?'
    'Quick always said I was the densest man he ever knew.'
    'A Hand has broken cover,' T'amber said. 'They're
moving parallel to us.'
    Kalam glanced to his left. Seeing nothing, no-one. How
does she know that? Do I doubt her? Not for a moment. 'Are
they converging on our path?'
    'Not yet.'
    More official buildings, and then the first of the major
estates of the Lightings District. No marauding riots up here.
Naurally. 'At least we've got the streets to ourselves,' he
muttered. More or less.
    'There are but three gates leading down to Old Upper
Estates,' the Adjunct said after a moment, 'and we are fast
coming opposite the last of them.'
    'Aye, any further west and it's all wall, an ever higher
drop the farther we go. But there's an old estate, abandoned
for years and hopefully still empty. There's a way down, and
if we're lucky the Claw don't know about it.'
    'Another Hand's just come up through the last gate,'
T'amber said. 'They're linking up with the other one.'
    'Just the two here in Lightings?'
    'So far.'
    'Are you sure?'
    She glanced across at him. 'I have a keen sense of smell,
Kalam Mekhar.'
    Smell? 'I didn't know Claw assassins have stopped
bathing.'
    'Not that kind of smell. Aggression, and fear.'
    'Fear? There's only the three of us, for Hood's sake!'
    'And one of them is you, Kalam. Even so, they all want
to be the Hand that takes you down. They will compete for
that honour.'
    'Idiots.' He gestured ahead. 'That