A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

stairs, beyond the sight
of everyone now, down into his own private world. Where
his love awaited him.
    The Invigilator could not reach everywhere – as Tanal
was about to prove.
    Down through darkness, all so familiar now he no longer
needed a lantern. Where he ruled, not Karos Invictad, no,
not here. This was why the Invigilator attacked him again
and again, with ever the same weapon, the implicit threat
of exposure, of defamation of Tanal Yathvanar's good name.
But all these crimes, they belonged to Karos Invictad.
Imagine the counter-charges Tanal could level against him,
if he needed to – he had copies of records; he knew where
every secret was buried. The accounts of the bloodstained
wealth the Invigilator had amassed from the estates of his
victims – Tanal knew where those records were kept. And
as for the corpses of the ones who had disappeared . . .
    Reaching the barred door to the torture chamber, he
drew down the lantern he had left on a ledge and, after a
few efforts, struck the wick alight. He lifted clear the heavy
bar and pushed open the heavy door with one hand.
    'Back so soon?' The voice was a raw croak.
    Tanal stepped into the chamber. 'You have fouled
yourself again. No matter – this is the last time, Janath
Anar.'
    'Come to kill me, then. So be it. You should have done
that long ago. I look forward to leaving this broken flesh.
You cannot chain a ghost. And so, with my death, you shall
become the prisoner. You shall be the one who is
tormented. For as long as you live, and I do hope it is long,
I shall whisper in your ear—' She broke into a fit of
coughing.
    He walked closer, feeling emptied inside, his every determination
stripped away by the vehemence in her words.
    The manacles seemed to weep blood – she had been
struggling against her fetters again. Dreaming of haunting me, of destroying me. How is she any different? How could I have expected her to be any different? 'Look at you,' he said in
a low voice. 'Not even human any more – do you not care
about your appearance, about how you want me to see you
when I come here?'
    'You're right,' she said in a grating voice, 'I should have
waited until you arrived, until you came close. Then voided
all over you. I'm sorry. I'm afraid my bowels are in bad shape
right now – the muscles are weakening, inevitably.'
    'You'll not haunt me, woman, your soul is too useless –
the Abyss will sweep it away, I'm sure. Besides, I won't kill
you for a long while yet—'
'I don't think it's up to you any more, Tanal Yathvanar.'
    'It's all up to me!' he shrieked. 'All of it!'
    He stalked over to her and began unshackling her arms,
then her legs. She lost consciousness before he had freed
her second wrist, and slid into a heap that almost snapped
both her legs before he managed to work the manacles from
her battered, torn ankles.
    She weighed almost nothing, and he was able to move
quickly, up twenty or so stairs, until he reached a side
passage. The slimy cobble floor underfoot gradually sloped
downward as he shambled along, the woman over one
shoulder, the lantern swinging from his free hand. Rats
scurried from his path, out to the sides where deep, narrow
gutters had been cut by an almost constant flow of runoff.
    Eventually, the drip of dark water from the curved
ceiling overhead became a veritable rain. The droplets
revived Janath momentarily, enough for her to moan, then
cough for a half-dozen strides – he was thankful when she
swooned once more, and the feeble clawing on his back
ceased.
    And now came the stench. Disappeared? Oh no, they are here. All of them. All the ones Karos Invictad didn't like, didn't need, wanted out of the way.
    Into the first of the huge domed chambers with its stone
walkway encircling a deep well, in which white-shelled
crabs clambered amidst bones. This well was entirely filled,
which is what had forced the opening of another, then
another and another – there were so many of them, down
here beneath the river.
    Arriving at the last of the chambers, Tanal set her down,
where he shackled one of her legs to the wall. On either
side of her, she had company, although neither victim was
alive. He stepped back as she stirred once more.
    'This is temporary,' he said. 'You won't be joining your
friends beside you. When I return – and it won't be long –
I will move you again. To a new cell, known to no-one but
me. Where I will teach you to love me. You'll see, Janath
Anar. I am not the monster you believe me to be.