A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

your peace of mind that the two do not prove
conflicting.'
    'I should imagine not,' she said tightly.
    'Are you confident of that, Atri-Preda?'
    'I am, sir.'
    'Good.'
    'Overseer, a number of the settlers killed originated from
within the Factor's own household.'
    Brohl's brows lifted. 'The desire for a most bloody
vengeance must be overwhelming, then, for poor Letur
Anict.'
    'At that meeting, sir, I simply reiterated my intent to
exact the necessary punishment against the murderers. The
Factor sought reassurance, which I was pleased to give him
under the circumstances.'
    'In other words, Letur Anict was somewhat alarmed that
his control over the management of the expedition had
been taken away, for such a decision was unprecedented.
One must assume he is intelligent enough to recognize –
once he has calmed down somewhat – that the move
indicates disapproval of his recent excesses.'
    'I would not know, sir.'
    'I shall be interested to gauge his humility upon our
triumphant return, Atri-Preda.'
    She said nothing.
    Of course, he added to himself, there would probably be
much more to Letur Anict's response at that time, given
that there was, in fact, nothing truly official in any of this.
The Factor's cronies in the palace – the Letherii servants
of, it was likely, the Chancellor – would be outraged upon
discovering this circumvention; but this time it was the
Edur who had organized this minor usurpation, a working
of the tribes, the linkage established via the K'risnan and
the Edur staffs of various overseers. There was vast risk in
all this – the Emperor himself knew nothing of it, after all.
    Letur Anict needed to be reined in. No, more than that,
the man needed hobbling. Permanently. If Brohl had his
way, there would be a new Factor of Drene within a year,
and as for Letur Anict's holdings, well, the crime for high
treason and corruption at the scale he had managed would
without doubt result in their confiscation, with all familial
rights stripped away, and restitution at such high level that
the Anict line would be Indebted for generations to come.
    He is corrupt. And he has spun a deadly web here, from Drene out into every bordering nation. He seeks war with all of our neighbours. Unnecessary war. Pointless beyond the covetous greed of one man. Such corruption needed excision,
for there were plenty of Letur Anicts in this empire,
thriving under the protection of the Liberty Consign and,
quite possibly, the Patriotists. This man here would be the
example and the warning.
    You Letherii think us fools. You laugh behind our backs. Mock us in our ignorance of your sophisticated deceptions. Well, there is more than one kind of sophistication, as you shall discover.
    Finally, Brohl Handar no longer felt helpless.
    Atri-Preda Bivatt fumed in silence. The damned fool at her
side was going to get himself killed, and she would be made
responsible for that failure to protect him. K'risnan and
Arapay bodyguards would achieve nothing. The Factor's
agents infected every Letherii legion on this march, and
among those agents . . . Errant-damned assassins. Masters of the Poison.
    She liked this warrior at her side, dour as he was – which
seemed a trait of the Tiste Edur in any case. And though
clearly intelligent, he was also . . . naive.
    It was clear that Letur Anict had penetrated the pathetic
unofficial efforts of Brohl Handar and a half-dozen other
overseers, and the Factor intended to eliminate this
nascent threat here and now. On this very expedition.
    ' We have a problem with Brohl Handar ,' the Factor had
said, his pale round face looking like dusty stone in the
habitual gloom of his inner sanctum.
    'Sir?'
    'Unsanctioned, he seeks to exceed his responsibilities,
and in so doing undermine the traditional functions of a
factor in a border province. His ambitions have drawn
others into his web, which could, alas, have fatal
repercussions.'
    'Fatal? How?'
    'Atri-Preda, I must tell you. No longer are the Patriotists
focusing exclusively on the Letherii in the empire. There
has come to light evidence of an emerging conspiracy
among the Tiste Edur – against the state, possibly against
the Emperor himself.'
    Absurd. Do you truly take me for such a fool, Anict? Against the state and against the Emperor are two different things. The state is you and people like you. The state is the Liberty Consign and the Patriotists. The state is the Chancellor and his cronies. Against them, the notion of a conspiracy among the