A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

King? After Fear
Sengar?'
    Hannan Mosag started, then shook his head. 'No. But I
dare not speak the name of the one you must find. Here, in
this realm, the Crippled God courses in my veins – where I
travelled a few moments ago, I was free then. To understand.
To . . . pray.'
    'How will I know where to look? How will I know when
I find the one you seek?'
    The Warlock King hesitated. He licked his lips, then
said, 'He is dead. But not dead. Distant, yet is summoned.
His tomb lies empty, yet was never occupied. He is never
spoken of, though his touch haunts us all again and again.'
    Bruthen Trana raised a hand – not surprised to see that
it trembled. 'No more. Where shall I find the beginning of
the path?'
    'Where the sun dies. I think.'
    The warrior scowled. 'West? But you are not sure?'
    'I am not. I dare not.'
    'Am I to travel alone?'
    'For you to decide, Bruthen Trana. But before all else,
you must get something – an item – from the Letherii slave.
Feather Witch – she hides beneath the Old Palace—'
    'I know those tunnels, Warlock King. What is this item?'
    Hannan Mosag told him.
    He studied the twisted warlock for a moment longer –
the avid gleam in Hannan Mosag's eyes bright as fever
– then spun round and strode from the chamber.
    Bearing lanterns, the squad of guards formed a pool of lurid
yellow light that glimmered along the waters of Quillas
Canal as they trudged, amidst clanking weapons and
desultory muttering, across the bridge. Once on the other
side, the squad turned right to follow the main avenue
towards the Creeper district.
    As soon as the glow trundled away, Tehol nudged Ublala
and they hurried onto the bridge. Glancing back at the
half-blood, Tehol scowled, then hissed, 'Watch me, you
fool! See? I'm skulking. No – hunch down, look about
suspiciously, skitter this way and that. Duck down, Ublala!'
    'But then I can't see.'
    ' Quiet! '
    'Sorry. Can we get off this bridge?'
    'First, let me see you skulk. Go on, you need to practise.'
    Grumbling, Ublala Pung hunched low, his beetled brow
rippling as he looked first one way, then the other.
    'Nice,' Tehol said. 'Now, hurry up and skulk after
me.'
    'All right, Tehol. It's just that there's the curfew, and I
don't want trouble.'
    They reached the other side and Tehol led the way,
thirty paces into the wake of the guards, then an abrupt cut
to the left, coming within sight of the Tolls Repository. Into
an alley, where he crouched, then gestured frantically for
Ublala to do the same.
    'All right,' he whispered, 'do you know which wing?'
    Ublala blinked in the gloom. 'What?'
    'Do you know where this Tarthenal is quartered?'
    'Yes. With all the other champions.'
    'Good. Where is that?'
    'Well, it must be somewhere.'
    'Good thinking, Ublala. Now, stay close to me. I am,
after all, a master of this thieving skulduggery.'
    'Really? But Bugg said—'
    'What? What did my miserable manservant say? About
me? Behind my back?'
    Ublala shrugged. 'Lots of things. I mean, nothing. Oh,
you misheard me, Tehol. I didn't say anything. You're not a
clumsy oaf with a head full of grander delusions, or anything.
Like that.' He brightened. 'You want me to box him
about the ears again?'
    'Later. Here's what I think. Near the Imperial Barracks,
but a wing of the Eternal Domicile. Or between the Eternal
Domicile and the Old Palace.'
    Ublala was nodding.
    'So,' Tehol continued, 'shall we get going?'
    'Where?'
    'Somehow I don't think this night is going to go well.
Never mind, just stay with me.'
    A quick peek into the street, up one way, down the
other, then Tehol moved out, keeping low against the near
wall. As they drew closer to the Eternal Domicile, the
shadows diminished – lantern poles at intersections,
broader streets, and there soldiers positioned at postern
gates, outside corner blockhouses, soldiers, in fact,
everywhere.
    Tehol tugged Ublala into the last usable alley, where they
crouched once more in gloom. 'This looks bad,' he
whispered. 'There's people, Ublala. Well, listen, it was a
good try. But we've been bested by superior security and
that's that.'
    'They're all standing in their own light,' Ublala said.
'They can't see nothing, Tehol. Besides, I got in mind a
diversion.'
    'A diversion like your usual diversions, Ublala? Forget it.
Shurq Elalle's told me about that last time—'
    'Yes, like that. It worked, didn't it?'
    'But that was to get her inside the Gerrun Estate – her,
not you. Aren't you the one who wants to talk to