A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

the Jaghut.
    He shrugged. 'A Finnest must be prepared. To house, to
imprison, this Soletaken's soul.'
    'Very well, then make one.'
    'As a favour to you both? I think not, Elder Goddess. No,
alas, as with Mael here, you must acknowledge a debt. To
me.'
    'I have a better idea,' Kilmandaros said. 'I crush your
skull between a finger and thumb, then I push your carcass
down Scabandari's throat, so that he suffocates on your
pompous self. This seems a fitting demise for the both of
you.'
    'Goddess, you have grown bitter and crabby in your old
age,' Gothos said.
    'It is no surprise,' she replied. 'I made the mistake of
trying to save Kurald Emurlahn.'
    'Why bother?' Mael asked her.
    Kilmandaros bared jagged teeth. 'The precedent is . . .
unwelcome. You go bury your head in the sands again,
Mael, but I warn you, the death of one realm is a promise
to every other realm.'
    'As you say,' the Elder God said after a moment. 'And I
do concede that possibility. In any case, Gothos demands
recompense.'
    The fists unclenched, then clenched again. 'Very well.
Now, Jaghut, fashion a Finnest.'
    'This will do,' Gothos said, drawing an object into view
from a tear in his ragged shirt.
    The two Elders stared at it for a time, then Mael grunted.
'Yes, I see, now. Rather curious choice, Gothos.'
    'The only kind I make,' the Jaghut replied. 'Go on, then,
Kilmandaros, proceed with your subtle conclusion to the
Soletaken's pathetic existence.'
    The dragon hissed, screamed in rage and fear as the Elder
Goddess advanced.
    When she drove a fist into Scabandari's skull, centred on
the ridge between and above the draconic eyes, the crack
of the thick bone rang like a dirge down the length of the
crevasse, and with the impact blood spurted from
the Goddess's knuckles.
    The dragon's broken head thumped heavily onto
the broken bedrock, fluids spilling out from beneath the
sagging body.
    Kilmandaros wheeled to face Gothos.
    He nodded. 'I have the poor bastard.'
    Mael stepped towards the Jaghut, holding out a hand. 'I
will take the Finnest then—'
    'No.'
    Both Elders now faced Gothos, who smiled once more.
    'Repayment of the debt. For each of you. I claim the
Finnest, the soul of Scabandari, for myself. Nothing
remains between us, now. Are you not pleased?'
    'What do you intend to do with it?' Mael demanded.
    'I have not yet decided, but I assure you, it will be most
curiously unpleasant.'
    Kilmandaros made fists again with her hands and half
raised them. 'I am tempted, Jaghut, to send my children
after you.'
    'Too bad they've lost their way, then.'
    Neither Elder said another word as Gothos departed
from the fissure. It always pleased him, outwitting doddering
old wrecks and all their hoary, brutal power. Well, a
momentary pleasure, in any case.
    The best kind.
    * * *
    Upon her return to the rent, Kilmandaros found another
figure standing before it. Black-cloaked, white-haired. An
expression of arched contemplation, fixed upon the torn
fissure.
    About to enter the gate, or waiting for her? The Elder
Goddess scowled. 'You are not welcome in Kurald
Emurlahn,' she said.
    Anomandaris Purake settled cool eyes upon the
monstrous creature. 'Do you imagine I contemplate claiming
the throne for myself?'
    'You would not be the first.'
    He faced the rent again. 'You are besieged, Kilmandaros,
and Edgewalker is committed elsewhere. I offer you my
help.'
    'With you, Tiste Andii, my trust is not easily earned.'
    'Unjustified,' he replied. 'Unlike many others of my
kind, I accept that the rewards of betrayal are never
sufficient to overwhelm the cost. There are Soletaken now,
in addition to feral dragons, warring in Kurald Emurlahn.'
    'Where is Osserc?' the Elder Goddess asked. 'Mael
informed me that he—'
    'Was planning to get in my way again? Osserc imagined
I would take part in slaying Scabandari. Why should I? You
and Mael were more than enough.' He grunted then. 'I can
picture Osserc, circling round and round. Looking for me.
Idiot.'
    'And Scabandari's betrayal of your brother? You have no
desire to avenge that?'
    Anomandaris glanced at her, then gave her a faint smile.
'The rewards of betrayal. The cost to Scabandari proved
high, didn't it? As for Silchas, well, even the Azath do not
last for ever. I almost envy him his new-found isolation
from all that will afflict us in the millennia to come.'
    'Indeed. Do you wish to join him in a similar barrow?'
    'I think not.'
    'Then I imagine that Silchas Ruin will not be inclined to
forgive you your indifference, the