A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 4

victim – a fool who, consumed by delusions of domination
and tyranny no doubt, had chosen to stalk her all the
way from Up Markets. It had become a simple enough
thing, a lone, seemingly lost woman of high birth, wandering
through crowds unaware of the hooded looks and
expressions of avarice tracking her. She was like the bait
the fisher folk used to snare brainless fish in the river. True,
while she remained hooded, her arms covered in shimmering
silk the hue of raw ox-heart, wearing elegant
calf-leather gloves, as well as close-wrapped leggings of
black linen, there was no way anyone could see the cast of
her skin, nor her unusual features. And, despite the Tiste
Edur blood coursing diluted in her veins, she was not
uncommonly tall, which well suited her apparent vulnerability,
for it was clear that these Edur occupiers in this city
were far too dangerous to be hunted by the common
Letherii rapist.
    She had led him into an alley, whereupon she drove one
hand into his chest, tearing out his heart. But it was the
lungs she enjoyed the most, the pulpy meat rich with
oxygen and not yet soured by the rank juices of violent
death.
    The mortal realm was a delightful place. She had forgotten
that.
    But now, her feeding had been interrupted. Someone
had come to the Azath grounds. Someone had probed her
rituals, which had been dissolving the binding wards set by
Silchas Ruin. There could be trouble there, and she was not
inclined to suffer interference in her plans.
    Probably the Errant, that meddling bastard. Or, even
more alarming, that Elder God, Mael. A miserably crowded
city, this Letheras – she had no intention of tarrying overlong
here, lest her presence be discovered, her schemes
knocked awry.
    Wiping her mouth and chin with the back of one sleeved
forearm, she straightened from her feast, then set off.
    Rautos Hivanar, head of the Liberty Consign, squatted on
the muddy bank of the river, the work crews finishing the
day's excavation directly behind him, the pump crews
already washing down, the sounds from the estate's back
kitchen rising with the approaching demands of supper. He
was making a point of feeding his diggers well, as much to
ease their bemusement as to keep them working. They were
now excavating way below the river level, after all, and if
not for the constantly manned pumps, they would be working
chest-deep in muddy water. As it was, the shoring on
the walls needed continual attention, prone as they were to
sag inward.
    Eyes tracking a half-dozen vinik nests rafting down the
river, Rautos Hivanar was lost in thought. There had been
more mysterious objects, buried deep and disconnected,
but he had begun to suspect that they all belonged
together; that in an as yet inconceivable way they could
be assembled into a kind of mechanism. Some central
piece remained undiscovered, he believed. Perhaps
tomorrow . . .
    He heard slippered feet on the plank walkway leading
down to the river, and a moment later came Venitt Sathad's
voice. 'Master.'
    'Venitt, you have allotted yourself two house guards for
the journey. Take two more. And, accordingly, two more
packhorses. You will travel without a supply wagon, as
agreed, but that need not be a reason to reduce your level
of comfort.'
    'Very well, Master.'
    'And remember, Venitt. Letur Anict is in every way the de
facto ruler of Drene, regardless of the Edur governor's official
status. I am informed that you will find Orbyn Truthfinder,
the Invigilator's agent, a reliable ally. As to Letur Anict
. . . the evidence points to the Factor's having lost . . . perspective.
His ambition seems without restraint, no longer
harnessed to reason or, for that matter, common sense.'
    'I shall be diligent in my investigation, Master.'
    Rautos Hivanar rose and faced his servant. 'If needs must,
Venitt, err on the side of caution. I would not lose you.'
    A flicker of something like surprise in the Indebted's
lined face, then the man bowed. 'I will remain circumspect,
Master.'
    'One last thing,' Rautos said as he moved past Venitt on
his way up to the estate. 'Do not embarrass me.'
    The Indebted's eyes tracked his master for a moment, his
expression once more closed.
    Unseen behind them on the river, a huge shape lifted
beneath one vinik nest, and breaking the water as the nest
overturned was the prow ridge of an enormous shell, and
below that a sinewy neck and a vast, gaping beak.
Swallowing the nest entire.
    The currents then carried the disturbance away, until no
sign of it