‘Big fat war, Tavos Pond. That’s what we got ourselves here.’

‘They weren’t so hard, Sergeant.’

‘Wasn’t expecting nothing either, were they? You think we can just ambush our way all the way to Letheras? Think again.’ She drank a couple more mouthfuls, then sighed and glowered over at Urb. ‘How soon before they’re the ones doing the ambushin’? That’s why I mean for us to ride-we’re gonna stay ahead of the bad news ‘s long as we can. That way we can be the bad news, right? The way it’s s’posed t’be.’

Corporal Reem walked up to Urb. ‘Sergeant, we got us twelve horses.’

‘So we get one each,’ Hellian said. ‘Perfect.’

‘By my count,’ said Reem with narrowed eyes, ‘someone’s going to have to ride double.’

‘If you say so. Now, let’s get these bodies dragged away-they got any coin? Anybody checked?’

‘Some,’ said Maybe. ‘But mostly just polished stones.’

‘Polished stones?’

‘First I thought slingstones, but none of them’s carrying slings. So, aye, Sergeant. Polished stones.’

Hellian turned away as the soldiers set off to dispose of the Edur corpses. Oponn’s pull, finding this keep, and finding nobody in it but one freshly dead Letherii in the hallway. Place had been cleaned out, although there’d been some foodstocks in the cold-rooms. Not a drop of wine or ale, the final proof, as far as she was concerned, that this foreign empire was a mess and useless besides and pretty much worth destroying down to its very last brick.

Too bad they weren’t going to get a chance to do so.

But then, it does a body good to misunderstand orders on occasion. So, let’s go hunting Edur heads, Hellian faced the courtyard again. Damn this darkness. Easy enough for the mages, maybe. And these grey-shins. ‘Urb,’ she said in a low voice.

He edged closer, warily. ‘Hellian?’

‘We need us to arrange our ambushes for dusk and dawn.’

‘Aye. You’re right. You know, I’m glad our squads were paired up.’

‘Of course you are. You unnerstand me, Urb. You’re the only one who does, you know.’ She wiped her nose with the back of one hand. ‘It’s a sad thing, Urb. A sad thing.’

‘What? Killing these Tiste Edur?’

She blinked at him. ‘No, you oaf. The fact that nobody else unnerstands me.’

‘Aye, Hellian. Tragic’

‘That’s what Banaschar always said to me, no matter what I was talking about. He’d just look at me, like you did there, and say tragic. So what’s all that about?’ She shook the flask-still half full, but another mouthful means I’m running it down, so’s I’ll need to top it up. Gotta be measured about these things, in case something terrible happens and I can’t get a fast refill. ‘Come on, it’s time to ride.’

And if we run into a troop of Letherii?’

Hellian frowned. ‘Then we do as Keneb told us. We talk to ‘em.’

And if they don’t like what we say?’

‘Then we kill ‘em, of course.’

And we’re riding for Letheras?’

She smiled at Urb. Then tapped the side of her slightly numb head with one finger. ‘I memmored th’map-ized, memmized the map. There’s towns, Urb. An’ the closer we get t’Letheras, the more of them. Wha’s in towns, Urb? Taverns. Bars. So, we’re not takin’ a straight, pre-dic-table route.’

‘We’re invading Lether from tavern to tavern?’

Aye/

‘Hellian, I hate to say this, but that’s kind of clever.’

Aye. And that way we can eat real cooked food, too. It’s the civilized way of conductin’ war. Hellian’s way.’

The bodies joined the lone Letherii in the latrine pit. Half naked, stripped of valuables, they were dumped down into the thick, turgid slop, which proved deeper than anyone had expected, as it swallowed up those corpses, leaving not a trace.

The Malazans threw the polished stones after them.

Then rode off down the dark road.

‘That has the look of a way station,’ the captain said under her breath.

Beak squinted, then said, ‘I smell horses, sir. That long building over there.’

‘Stables,’ Faradan Sort said, nodding. ‘Any Tiste Edur here?’

Beak shook his head. ‘Deepest blue of Rashan-that’s their candle, mostly. Not as deep as Kurald Galain. They call it Kurald Emurlahn, but these ones here, well, there’s skuzzy foam on that blue, like what sits on waves outside a harbour. That’s chaotic power. Sick power. Power like pain if pain was good, maybe even strong. I don’t know. I don’t like these Edur here.’

‘They’re here?’

‘No. I meant this continent, sir. There’s just Letherii in there. Four. In that small house beside the road.’

‘No magic?’

‘Just some charms.’

‘I want to steal four horses, Beak. Can you cast a glamour on those Letherii?’

‘The Grey Candle, yes. But they’ll find out after we’ve gone.’

‘True. Any suggestions?’

Beak was happy. He had never been so happy. This captain was asking him things. Asking for suggestions. Advice. And it wasn’t just for show neither. I’m in love with her. To her question he nodded, then tilted up his skullcap helm to scratch in his hair, and said, ‘Not the usual glamour, sir. Something lots more complicated. Finishing with the Orange Candle-’

‘Which is?’

‘Tellann.’

‘Is this going to be messy?’

‘Not if we take all the horses, Captain.’

He watched her studying him, wondered what she saw. She wasn’t much for expressions on that hard but beautiful face. Not even her eyes showed much. He loved her, true, but he was also a little frightened of Faradan Sort.

‘All right, Beak, where do you want me?’

‘In the stables with all the horses ready to leave, and maybe two saddled. Oh, and feed for us to take along.’

‘And I can do all that without an alarm’s being raised?’

‘They won’t hear a thing, sir. In fact, you could go up right now and knock on their door and they won’t hear it.’

Still she hesitated. ‘So I can just walk over to the stables, right out in the open, right now?’

Beak nodded with a broad smile.

‘Gods below,’ she muttered, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this.’

‘Mockra has their minds, sir. They’ve got no defences. They’ve never been glamoured before, I don’t think.’

She set out in a half-crouch, moving quickly, although none of that was necessary, and moments later was inside the stables.

It would take some time, Beak knew, for her to do all that he’d asked-I just told a captain what to do! And she’s doing it! Does that mean she loves me right back? He shook himself. Not a good idea, letting his mind wander just now. He edged out from the cover of the trees lining this side of the stony road. Crouched to pick up a small rock, which he then spat on and set back down-to hold the Mockra in place-as he closed his eyes and sought out the White Candle.

Hood. Death, a cold, cold place. Even the air was dead. In his mind he looked in on that realm as if peering through a window, the wooden sill thick with melted candle wax, the white candle itself flickering to one side. Beyond, ash-heaped ground strewn with bones of all sorts. He reached through, closed a hand on the shaft of a heavy longbone, and drew it back. Working quickly, Beak pulled as many bones as would fit through the wandering window, always choosing big ones. He had no idea what the beasts had been to which all these bones belonged, but they would do.

When he was satisfied with the white, dusty pile heaped on the road, Beak closed the window and opened his eyes. Glancing across he saw the captain standing at the stables, gesturing at him.

Beak waved back, then turned and showed the bones the Purple Candle. They lifted from the road like feathers on an updraught, and as the mage hurried over to join Faradan Sort the bones followed in his wake, floating waist-high above the ground.

The captain disappeared back inside the stables before Beak arrived, then emerged, leading the horses, just as he padded up to the broad doors.