Read Online Dragon (Vlad Taltos) by Steven Brust - Free Book Online Page A

of your attention is focused in to have much to spare for the rest of the world. I made it to the office, and Melestav greeted me with the words “You okay, Boss?”
    “Yeah,” I said. “Anything new?”
    “A couple of requests for credit extensions, a request for a meeting from someone named Koth, nothing else.”
    I grunted. “Any idea what Koth wants?”
    “To hire you.”
    “Thank him and put him off. I’m busy for the next week, maybe two. I’ll look at the requests later.”
    “All right.”
    “And tell Kragar I want to see him.”
    I hung up my cloak and eased myself into my chair. Then I leaned back and closed my eyes, and Kragar said, “You all right, Boss?”
    “Fine,” I said. “All things considered.”
    “All right. What things need consideration?”
    “I got jumped.”
    I opened my eyes. I looked around the room for Kragar, then found him sitting in the chair opposite me. He was staring at me intently, suspecting, I suppose, that we were about to be involved in some affair within the Jhereg—like someone trying to make a move on my territory. I said, “I got jumped by three Dragonlords.”
    “Phoenix Guards?”
    “No. The business wasn’t connected with the Organization in any way. They were Dragonlords doing business as Dragonlords, and their business was jumping me.”
    He leaned back, and his expression altered from worry to surprise.
    “Really? My, my. Now, that isn’t something every Jhereg can say. Where did it happen?”
    “Right in my own Verra-be-damned flat.”
    “Hmmm,” he said. “Want to tell me about it?”
    I did. He said, “To a Dragon, it’s different—”
    “I know. I’m not a Dragon.”
    “Ah.” He studied me. “So now you’ve decided to go after Fornia?”
    “Yes.”
    “Has it occurred to you that you may have been attacked in order to get you to go after him?”
    “Yes. It has occurred to me. It is even possible. But do you think it likely?”
    “I have no idea. But when we were talking before, you were saying—”
    “I know. But it’s one thing to be aware of complex strategies and lies that might be going on around you. It’s another to let yourself become so worried about deception that you become paralyzed.”
    “ Profound, Boss .”
    “ Shut up, Loiosh. ”
    Kragar shrugged. “All right. If you write that down, I’ll save it for your epitaph.”
    “In the meantime, what do we do about Fornia?”
    Kragar caught my eye. “There’s always the obvious.”
    “Yes. I’d been thinking about that.”
    “And?”
    “What do you think?”
    “It’ll be tricky.”
    “I know. You can’t just put down a Dragonlord as if he were a nine-copper hustler. It’ll get ugly. People will talk. But I want to.”
    “I can start doing some checking.”
    “That would be good.”
    “But you should be aware that Morrolan will be, uh, pretty unhappy.”
    I said, “Not that I care all that much, but why?”
    “People will think he had it done.”
    “Oh. That isn’t my problem.”
    “Are you sure?”
    I considered. “Just how unhappy is Morrolan likely to be?”
    “Very,” said Kragar. “From everything I know, he’ll set out to make your life either miserable or short. You’ll probably have to fight him.”
    “Great,” I said. “Well, is there anything we can do to Fornia short of killing him that wouldn’t set Morrolan on my ass?”
    “Hmmmm. Maybe.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Well, I know what would really get to him: losing.”
    “Losing? Like, in battle?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Great. Well, Morrolan is going to attack him. I could always enlist in the army. But somehow I can’t imagine myself in uniform, marching off to battle.” I really said that. Funny, isn’t it?
    Kragar said, “There are other ways.”
    “Oh? Keep talking.”
    He studied his right thumb. “I’m not sure I have anything definite yet. We don’t know enough. But if Morrolan is really going to attack him—”
    “He is. He plans to sign Sethra Lavode on as his