Read Online Dzur by Steven Brust - Free Book Online Page B

sheath?"
    "The Jenoine gave me the knife in the sheath." She considered. "The most obvious explanation . . . would you mind removing your amulet for a moment?"
    "Uh, sure." I did so. "What are you doing?" What she was doing was making small, subtle gestures in my direction. Then she shook her head.
    "No," she said. "So far as I can tell, you've had no illusion cast on you."
    "Well, that's good." I replaced the amulet.
    "I don't know what to tell you, Vlad."
    "Okay."
    "Well, I can tell you one thing, as a piece of advice."
    "Oh?"
    "Keep that amulet on."
    "Uh, I do."
    "During those few seconds you just had it off, someone at-tempted a sighting."
    "Oh, good. Did it succeed?"
    "I can't be sure, but I think so."
    "Great. So they know where I am.
    "They'll not find it easy to get to you while you're here, you know."
    "That's something, anyway."
    "But-"
    "Yes?"
    "Vlad, consider what it means that, just in those few seconds, they found you. They are very, very determined."
    "Yeah. Well, that just brightens the hell out of my life." She let a smile flick over her lips, probably for form's sake. "What could you tell about the sighting?"
    "It was sorcerous." She shrugged. "Fairly straight-forward."
    "Dzur Mountain has no protections against that sort of thing?"
    "I've never needed any."
    "Uh. I suppose not."
    "I've never seen you do that before, Vlad."
    "What?"
    "Chew on your thumb."
    "Oh. I must have picked up the habit from my friend Kiera. She does that when she's thinking."
    "Ah," said Sethra. "I see."
    That was utterly untrue, and Sethra knew it, but she couldn't admit she knew it.
    "You're a real bastard, Boss."
    "Uh huh."
    "Speaking of the amulet ..."
    "Yes?"
    "How strong is it?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "How much protection does it give me? I mean, could you blast through it, with sheer strength?"
    She frowned. "I'm not sure. Shall I try?"
    "Uh, no thanks."
    "All right."
    I cleared my throat. "We were discussing Lady Teldra."
    "We were?"
    "I was. Or, rather, Great Weapons in general. It's slowly dawning on me that I have one."
    "Yes, you do indeed."
    "Ummm . . . what can they do?"
    She frowned. "They are different, of course."
    "Yes, but they have certain things in common." She nodded. "They can all kill Jenoine. Also, gods."
    "Right. Well, killing gods and Jenoine is not a big priority in my life. What else?"
    "They will act to preserve your soul, and possibly your life."
    "Possibly?"
    "Possibly. But, in your position, with what the Jhereg wants to do to you, a weapon that will preserve your soul should be of some comfort."
    "True enough. You said àct to preserve.' There's an implication there it will try."
    "Yes."
    "How reliable is that? I mean, can I count on it?"
    "Well, if you know it's coming, and the weapon has time to prepare, it's more likely. You remember the incident with Aliera in Castle Black."
    "It would be hard to forget."
    "But don't bet your life on it. I know of at least three times when the wielder of a Great Weapon had his soul taken by a Morganti weapon."
    "All right."
    "Also . . . I'm not certain exactly how to say this." She chewed on her lower lip. I keep forgetting how sharp her teeth are. "Also, by possessing a Great Weapon, you have a connection, if you will, to something that goes beyond this world. Does that make any sense?"
    "I'm not sure. You mean, another world in the sense that the Necromancer means it?"
    "Do you understand how the Necromancer means it?"
    "Well, no."
    "I mean something that you might term `fate.' "
    "I hate that word," I said.
    "I'll try to find another, if you like. It refers-"
    "I hate the whole concept behind it, so another word won't help. It implies that I'm not free to do as I wish."
    "It isn't that simple," said Sethra.
    "Nothing ever is." I sighed. "I really just want to know what I can expect from Lady Teldra. What she might do, what I can try with her that I couldn't before, what chances it might be reason-able to take with her that I wouldn't have taken before."
    "Oh? Are