Thread Slivers (Golden Threads Trilogy) (27 page)

Ditani grabbed his shoulder length hair. “Um, well, I never fancied being bald. If you think it will help, I suppose it will grow back in time.”

She nodded. “The wig can be glued in place if you do, which will help should things require prompt actions.” Handing him some of the supplies, she told him, “Here, I’ll take you to my room, where there is a private sink and toilet. I’ll help you to apply this paste for a bit and then wash it off; we must be even and not miss anyplace visible. It should lighten your skin tone closer to Risy’s. M’lord, when you have finished those letters you should eat more; once we leave it might be a long time before we get another good meal. We should check on what Magus Vestul brought and maybe take it with us.”

“Ticca, Magus Vestul traveled very light, he only had his pack and that pouch you wear.”

Ticca thought about it for a minute. “Really. Well then, once we are finished with the main work we’ll get Magus Vestul’s pack from his chamber and take it with us. I’ll be back, and don’t open this door for anyone but the four of us.”

With that she left, towing Ditani along. Lebuin dutifully finished the notes, then pulled out some extra papers and for the first time in his life he voluntarily recorded a journal of everything that happened so far. Eating as much as he could while writing, he spent a considerable time trying to record all he had observed and felt when almost dead. When he was done he added some sketches of the daggers he had seen so far, then he added a drawing of his mother as he remembered her in the astral plain: pregnant, happy, and weaving her cloth.

Ladro sat patiently in the corner of the room. He had risen early, being unable to sleep well because of nightmares of Duke ripping people apart, and other thoughts brought on by what he had understood of Duke’s litany of tortures. He sipped quietly from the now-cooling cup of arit as he watched his master sleep. Duke whimpered from time to time and a soft yowl came from him as he too obviously dreamed. His tail and paws twitched and his jaws ripped into another pillow. Duke had been chewing on a few pillows all night; there were feathers and lint all over his piled pillow bed.
I wonder if he is having nightmares too. Probably not, he has lived far too long to have those. Most likely he is dreaming of what he is going to do to the responsible people.
A shudder ran through his body at that.
I have never feared him before — sure, there were stories he told at his card house, and my parents, long in his service, had told some too. He is a good creature with his own sense of justice. Never have I heard of him harming innocent people. He lives by his military code of honor, courage, and commitment as if it were the only thing that can be counted on in the whole world. His code of conduct has always been to do right by everyone. Still, I never expected to be involved with one of his stories. I hope we get past this fast. I love him and he is good to me and my family, but he truly scared me last night.

The sun had just dawned, with its first rays coming through the window, when Duke rolled off the pile of pillows that served as his bed. He laid there, his back to Ladro, on the floor chewing and licking the air. He tried to clean his eyes with his front paws and kept loudly chewing the air, spitting on the floor as best as he could. Looking at the mess around him he sat up. “Damn it. I hate it when I get so mad I chew in my sleep.” He stood and shook violently, sending a shower of feathers and lint into the air.

His ears perked up and rotated to the window. “Excellent, glad to see they haven’t gotten lazy down here since I left.” Chewing the air some more, he added, “I need something wet, and bacon. I want bacon.” Ladro smiled at that. Duke sounded more like himself. “Guards! I’m up — get my grooms, three bowls of water, breakfast with bacon, and Ladro. And tell the Daggers I’ll see them one team at a time, in the order they arrived.”

Heavy boots ran from the door as it was opened by the remaining guard. Duke smiled. “Good boys.”

Ladro stood. “Yes, M’lord.”

Duke growled and spun around, bringing his head low defensively, ears flat back and baring his teeth. His eyes widened, taking in Ladro. Shaking his head, he straightened up, sat down heavily, and huffed. His ears straightened up and swiveled to target Ladro. “How long have you been there?”

“I am not really sure, M’lord. At least a full mark.”

Duke sniffed at the air and shook his head.
Probably upset because he didn’t smell my presence.

Duke looked at the floor, continuing to chewing the air for a bit. Then he looked at Ladro almost guiltily. “Ladro, about last night, you saw some things that only your ancestors have seen. Sorry I lost control for a bit.”

“M’lord, it is OK. I have been thinking about it all morning.”

Duke’s ears perked up sharply and he cocked his head a little.
I hate when he does that look. It is so comical on him and he knows it.
“So what conclusions have you come to, Ladro?”

“M’lord, you did lose control and were madder than anyone I have ever witnessed. Yet where many I have heard of, or witnessed, would lash out and break something, or hurt a loved one, or rampage down the street, you planned what you would do to the responsible parties. I admit, your rant and the tortures you may have selected as appropriate terrify me to the core, and I beg you allow me to not be present should you act on those plans. Nonetheless, you did not touch any of your men or even damage something that was not within your own right to do so. I look forward to returning to your Tun Tavern, but now and forever, sir,” Ladro stood straight-backed and squared his shoulders towards Duke, “
Semper Fi
.”

Duke straightened to his equivalent of attention, held it for a moment then nodded curtly at Ladro. “Well-reasoned and well said.
Semper Fi,
indeed. Vestul was one of us, and we will extract our justice for his murder. But right now I am more interested in the water I ordered. My mouth feels awful. Come on and let’s get the day started, we have much to do.”

Duke stepped out into the hall and indicated his bath to the guard, who moved fast enough to open it so Duke did not have to break stride. In a few moments a small group arrived with water bowls, and four women set to cleaning Duke’s fur of the feathers with animal combs. Duke stuck his whole head into one bowl with his mouth open and just shook it back and forth, splashing water everywhere in the tiled room. With the second bowl he did nearly the same. The third he stuck his snout in and chewed the water for a time. In the meantime, the grooms had efficiently cleaned his fur and were applying some special oils he enjoyed. It took only a quarter of a mark and Duke looked ready to greet the Princes.

“Ladro, I’ll have breakfast in the formal dining room, and I seriously want bacon, so send someone out to get more — I think I’m going to empty the kitchens of it. I’ll meet the Daggers as I eat. Have the staff offer them anything they please to drink. If any take up the offer for anything with alcohol in it have the staff give them a cross and dismiss them. Set yourself up in the study next to the dining room and see each team one at a time, with the outer door closed. Check their daggers carefully; I will want a full recording. Also, refresh your knowledge from my book of Nhia-Samri weapons, but do not let any Dagger see that book. Check all of their weapons, if you see anything listed in that book, bow to me when you present them. If a majority of their equipment looks new, motion them in with your right hand. Otherwise just open the adjoining door and announce them to me. Then I want you to leave the adjoining door open and as we talk, take notes. When done you will proceed as I say. Make sure the guards keep them in proper order. Clear?”

Ladro filed all the instructions instantly, as he had done his whole life. “Of course, M’lord.” He opened the door and passed some instructions to one of the pages that stood there. Closing the door, he turned back to Duke. “Do you expect a Nhia-Samri to attempt to hire on with you?”

Standing and shaking, he ruffled some of his combed fur, which caused frowns on the grooms’ faces. Duke smiled at them. “I have a reputation to maintain. Thank you, I truly love you all.” Looking at Ladro, he replied, “Someone was smoking carmine-laced tobac in the Dolphin. There was no foreign merchant there that dealt with the Rhonian Empire, where that tasty herb comes from. Carmine is only used to flavor fish or poultry in cooking... There is no reason in the world to stuff it into a pipe except to burn out someone’s ability to smell. Which by the way, I fucking discovered one night by getting so drunk we passed out, burning our dinners. I regret telling anyone about that, so unless someone was trying to slip some pungent-smelling poison into some else’s food, in the main room of the Dolphin, filled with Daggers, I was expected. It was a deliberate trap designed to impede my tracking.”

Ladro considered it, and, remembering the smell and smoke flavor of burned herbs, had to agree. No one would want to taste that herb smoke on purpose. Opening the door, two guards stepping smartly out of the way, two pages stayed against the far wall.
Everyone is on edge, no surprise, considering the tales of last night were probably already told to all the staff. Thank the Gods Duke long ago decided to only employ loyal families for life, or as long as they want. Otherwise this would have been a very bad day indeed, and we wouldn’t be able to talk in our own home.
As they moved down the hall, a question occurred to him. “When did you realize you had been trapped, M’lord?”

“Right after I sneezed, trying to clear my nose after walking
into
the bloody trap.”

Ladro looked at Duke, surprised. “You didn’t even hesitate, you just walked in, and it seemed you did as you planned.”

Duke smiled as he approached the dining room and the guard, anticipating his path, opened the door. “Never let the enemy know his plan is working.”

“Because of this you believe Nhia-Samri might be here?”

Duke stopped, and gave him a look that said he should really keep up. “Ladro, you have lost three good agents completely. Vestul is dead and Night’s Fire was used to hide this, and my tracking ability was taken away in a trap that could have only been for me specifically. Yes, the Nhia-Samri are here. Now the only questions are: What are they after? How can I kill more of them? And can I do anything at all to embarrass them in front of that little runt bastard, their Grand Lord Commander?”

With that he turned and entered the extravagantly decorated room with its massive oval table, large enough to seat forty guests. At the head of the table was a huge, eighteen-foot-tall throne that had no legs or arm rests; the beautiful gold and amber cushioned seat sat directly on the floor. The table was actually six hands higher than normal dining tables and all the elegant chairs arrayed around the table had longer legs, locking coaster wheels on each leg, adjustable height foot rests, and serving steps between each chair to compensate. The table held a huge serving platter on which were two dozen lightly roasted birds, arranged artfully around the edges of a pile of lightly crisped bacon that stood at least four feet high. The smell of it made Ladro’s mouth water.

Duke looked at the pile and smiled. He breathed deeply and then growled. “Damn it, I want to smell it too. These three days are going to be painful.” Duke arranged himself comfortably on the floor-throne. Looking at Ladro, he asked, “Would you care to join me?”

Ladro looked at the pile and his stomach was already begging for some. “M’lord, thank you, I’ll have a bacon and egg sandwich in the study as I review the book you mentioned.”

Duke smiled at his announcement of meal choice. “Very well. Give me a half mark to make a dent in this, then send in the first Dagger team as you complete your duty with them. There is no rush today. What is done is done, now it is time to find out what really is going on, and to insure real justice is served, with minimal losses. Our enemies here will be made to pay dearly, hiding in shadows or not.”

Ladro closed the door, ordering the breakfast he was now ready for. He made a quick trip to the vault storage room to get the book on Nhia-Samri weapons. Taking the book, he went back to the study and slowly flipped through it, examining the engineering-quality diagrams and detailed technical description of each weapon, herb, and tool employed by the Nhia-Samri. After a half-mark, he locked the book into the desk drawer and motioned for the page to let in the first Dagger team.

A pair of Daggers came in, dressed and ready for work. They looked fresh and crisp, but according to their introduction, they had arrived here a full three marks before any other Daggers. One, called Elades of Stegea, had the silver hair and sun-darkened skin of a true veteran. The other, called Idanas of Stegea, had brown hair that was starting to go to grey, with a crisp tan that also spoke of years out in the sun. Both, however, had tight skin, strong muscles, and they walked with the fluid grace of highly trained warriors.

Ladro requested they place all their weapons and gear on the large desk for inspection. They didn’t question the request, and promptly filled the desk with more weapons than Ladro thought possible, considering what little they were wearing. He inspected everything closely; their gear was heavily used but well-maintained. He drew quick sketches of their daggers, key weapons, and more unusual items. Ladro also took note of their names, homes, and Dagger training pedigree. These were long-experienced and highly capable Daggers with a prime table at the Dolphin, indicating that Genne, too, judged them very worthy of high ranking.

He then opened the door to the dining room and announced them to Duke. Duke was mid-bite and looked up, chewing a mouthful of bacon. Most of the birds had been eaten and the platter was down to about half of its original bacon load.