Read Online Jhereg by Steven Brust - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steven Brust
Tags: Fiction, General, Humorous, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction - General, Fiction - Science Fiction, Fantasy - General, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantastic fiction, Taltos; Vlad (Fictitious character), Taltos; Vlad (Fictitious character) - Fiction
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nonexistent event to provide an insufficient reason for a vanished Jhereg to do the impossible. I can't--"
"Sure you can. I have confidence in you."
"Go suck yendi eggs. How?"
"You'll think of something."
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"There are dangers in eyesight too keen."
The only significant thing that happened the rest of the day was the arrival of a courier from the Demon, along with a rather impressive escort and several large purses. The full sixty-five thousand Imperials. It was official now; I was committed. I gave Kragar the purses to put into safekeeping, and went home for the day. My wife, I'm sure, knew that something was up, but didn't ask about it. I had no good reason for not mentioning anything to her, but I didn't.
The next morning I found a small envelope on my desk. I slit it open and several human, or Dragaeran, hairs fell out. There was also a note which read, "From his pillow.
--K." I destroyed the note and reached out for psionic contact with my wife.
" Yes, Vlad? "
" Are you busy, sweetheart? "
" Not really. Just practicing a little knife-throwing. "
" Hey! I wish you wouldn't do that! "
" Why not? "
" Because you can already beat me seven out of ten times. "
" I'm going for eight out of ten. You've been getting uppity lately. What's up? Do you have some 'work' for me? "
" No such luck. Drop on by and I'll tell you about it. "
" Right away? "
" As soon as it's convenient. "
" Okay. I'll be over shortly. "
" Fine. Meet me in the lab. "
" Oh, " she said, understanding, and the link was broken. I left word with my receptionist that I wasn't going to be taking any messages for the next two hours and walked down a few flights of stairs. Loiosh rode complacently on my left shoulder, looking around as if he were conducting an inspection. I came to a small room in the basement and unlocked the door.
In this building, locks are next to useless as a means of actually keeping people out of places, but they are effective as a way of saying "Private." It was a smallish room, with a low table in the exact center and several mounted lamps along the wall. I kindled these. In a corner of the room was a small chest. The middle of the table held a brazier, with a few unburned coals in it. I dumped these out and got more from the chest.
I focused, briefly, on one of the candles and was rewarded by a flame. I used it to light the others, then put out the lamps.
I checked the time and found that I still had a little while before I could contact Daymar. I checked the placement of the candles and watched the flickering shadows for a moment.
Removing a few more items from the chest, including a piece of incense, I set them on the table next to the brazier, placing the incense among the coals. Next, I took a candle and held the flame next to a coal. A moment of concentration, and the fire spread evenly and quickly. The smell of incense began to introduce itself to the various nooks and corners of the room.
Soon Cawti arrived and greeted me with a sunshine smile. She was an Easterner, a small, pretty woman with dzur-black hair and fluid, graceful movements. If she'd been a Dragaeran, she might have been born into the House of the Issola, and taught them all something about "courtliness." And something about "surprise," as well. Her hands were small, but strong, and could produce knives out of nowhere. Her eyes burned--sometimes with the impish delight of a mischievous child, sometimes with the cold passion of a professional killer, sometimes with the rage of a Dragonlord going into battle.
Cawti was one of the deadliest assassins I had ever met.
She and her partner, then a defrocked Dragonlord, had made one of the most sought-after teams of killers in the Jhereg, going under the somewhat melodramatic names of "The Sword and the Dagger." I had deemed it a high honor when an enemy of mine had considered me worth the expense of hiring the team to take me out. I'd been quite
"Sure you can. I have confidence in you."
"Go suck yendi eggs. How?"
"You'll think of something."
TOC0006TOC0006
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
"There are dangers in eyesight too keen."
The only significant thing that happened the rest of the day was the arrival of a courier from the Demon, along with a rather impressive escort and several large purses. The full sixty-five thousand Imperials. It was official now; I was committed. I gave Kragar the purses to put into safekeeping, and went home for the day. My wife, I'm sure, knew that something was up, but didn't ask about it. I had no good reason for not mentioning anything to her, but I didn't.
The next morning I found a small envelope on my desk. I slit it open and several human, or Dragaeran, hairs fell out. There was also a note which read, "From his pillow.
--K." I destroyed the note and reached out for psionic contact with my wife.
" Yes, Vlad? "
" Are you busy, sweetheart? "
" Not really. Just practicing a little knife-throwing. "
" Hey! I wish you wouldn't do that! "
" Why not? "
" Because you can already beat me seven out of ten times. "
" I'm going for eight out of ten. You've been getting uppity lately. What's up? Do you have some 'work' for me? "
" No such luck. Drop on by and I'll tell you about it. "
" Right away? "
" As soon as it's convenient. "
" Okay. I'll be over shortly. "
" Fine. Meet me in the lab. "
" Oh, " she said, understanding, and the link was broken. I left word with my receptionist that I wasn't going to be taking any messages for the next two hours and walked down a few flights of stairs. Loiosh rode complacently on my left shoulder, looking around as if he were conducting an inspection. I came to a small room in the basement and unlocked the door.
In this building, locks are next to useless as a means of actually keeping people out of places, but they are effective as a way of saying "Private." It was a smallish room, with a low table in the exact center and several mounted lamps along the wall. I kindled these. In a corner of the room was a small chest. The middle of the table held a brazier, with a few unburned coals in it. I dumped these out and got more from the chest.
I focused, briefly, on one of the candles and was rewarded by a flame. I used it to light the others, then put out the lamps.
I checked the time and found that I still had a little while before I could contact Daymar. I checked the placement of the candles and watched the flickering shadows for a moment.
Removing a few more items from the chest, including a piece of incense, I set them on the table next to the brazier, placing the incense among the coals. Next, I took a candle and held the flame next to a coal. A moment of concentration, and the fire spread evenly and quickly. The smell of incense began to introduce itself to the various nooks and corners of the room.
Soon Cawti arrived and greeted me with a sunshine smile. She was an Easterner, a small, pretty woman with dzur-black hair and fluid, graceful movements. If she'd been a Dragaeran, she might have been born into the House of the Issola, and taught them all something about "courtliness." And something about "surprise," as well. Her hands were small, but strong, and could produce knives out of nowhere. Her eyes burned--sometimes with the impish delight of a mischievous child, sometimes with the cold passion of a professional killer, sometimes with the rage of a Dragonlord going into battle.
Cawti was one of the deadliest assassins I had ever met.
She and her partner, then a defrocked Dragonlord, had made one of the most sought-after teams of killers in the Jhereg, going under the somewhat melodramatic names of "The Sword and the Dagger." I had deemed it a high honor when an enemy of mine had considered me worth the expense of hiring the team to take me out. I'd been quite
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