‘What do you want, Silchas Ruin?’
‘We travelled together for a long time, Udinaas.’
‘Running in circles, yes. What of it?’
The Tiste Andii glanced away. ‘I was… misled. By all that I saw. An absence of sophistication. I imagined the rest of that world was no different from Lether… until that world arrived.’
‘The Letherii version of sophistication is rather narcissistic, granted. Comes with being the biggest lump of turd on the heap. Locally speaking.’
Ruin’s expression soured. ‘A turd thoroughly crushed under heel, now.’
Udinaas shrugged. ‘Comes to us all, sooner or later.’
‘Yes.’
Silence stretched between them, and still Ruin would not meet his gaze. Udinaas understood well enough, and knew too that it would be unseemly to show any pleasure at the White Crow’s humbling.
‘She will be Queen,’ Silchas Ruin said abruptly.
‘Who?’
The warrior blinked, as if startled by the question, and then fixed his unhuman attention once more upon Udinaas. ‘Your son is in grave danger.’
‘Is he now?’
‘I thought, in coming here, that I would speak to him. To offer what meagre advice of any worth I might possess.’ He gestured at the place where he stood. ‘This is as far as I could manage.’
‘What’s holding you back?’
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‘What do you want, Silchas Ruin?’
‘We travelled together for a long time, Udinaas.’
‘Running in circles, yes. What of it?’
The Tiste Andii glanced away. ‘I was… misled. By all that I saw. An absence of sophistication. I imagined the rest of that world was no different from Lether… until that world arrived.’
‘The Letherii version of sophistication is rather narcissistic, granted. Comes with being the biggest lump of turd on the heap. Locally speaking.’
Ruin’s expression soured. ‘A turd thoroughly crushed under heel, now.’
Udinaas shrugged. ‘Comes to us all, sooner or later.’
‘Yes.’
Silence stretched between them, and still Ruin would not meet his gaze. Udinaas understood well enough, and knew too that it would be unseemly to show any pleasure at the White Crow’s humbling.
‘She will be Queen,’ Silchas Ruin said abruptly.
‘Who?’
The warrior blinked, as if startled by the question, and then fixed his unhuman attention once more upon Udinaas. ‘Your son is in grave danger.’
‘Is he now?’
‘I thought, in coming here, that I would speak to him. To offer what meagre advice of any worth I might possess.’ He gestured at the place where he stood. ‘This is as far as I could manage.’
‘What’s holding you back?’
Ruin’s expression soured. ‘To the Blood of the Eleint, Udinaas, any notion of community is anathema. Or of alliance. If in spirit the Letherii possess an ascendant, it is the Eleint.’
‘Ah, I see. Which was why Quick Ben managed to defeat Sukul Ankhadu, Sheltatha Lore and Menandore.’
Silchas Ruin nodded. ‘Each intended to betray the others. It is the flaw in the blood. More often than not, a fatal one.’ He paused, and then said, ‘So it proved with me and my brother Anomander. Once the Draconic blood took hold of us, we were driven apart. Andarist stood between us, reaching with both hands, seeking to hold us close, but our newfound arrogance surpassed him. We ceased to be brothers. Is it any wonder that we-’
‘Silchas Ruin,’ Udinaas cut in, ‘why is my son in danger?’
The warrior’s eyes flashed. ‘My lesson in humility very nearly killed me. But I survived. When Rud Elalle’s own lesson arrives, he may not be so fortunate.’
‘Ever had a child, Silchas? I thought not. Giving advice to a child is like flinging sand at an obsidian wall. Nothing sticks. The brutal truth is that we each suffer our own lessons-they can’t be danced round. They can’t be slipped past. You cannot gift a child with your scars-they arrive like webs, constricting, suffocating, and that child will struggle and strain until they break. No matter how noble your intent, the only scars that teach them anything are the ones they earn themselves.’
‘Then I must ask you, as his father, for a boon.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘I am, Udinaas.’
Fear Sengar had tried to stab this Tiste Andii in the back, had tried to step into Scabandari Bloodeye’s shadow. Fear had been a difficult man, but Udinaas, for all his jibes and mockery, his bitter memories of slavery, had not truly disliked him. Nobility could be admired even when not met eye to eye. And he had seen Trull Sengar’s grief. ‘What would you ask of me, then?’
‘Give him to me.’
‘ What? ’
The Tiste Andii held up a hand. ‘Make no answer yet. I will explain the necessity. I will tell you what is coming, Udinaas, and when I am done, I believe you will understand.’
Udinaas found he was trembling. And as Silchas Ruin continued to speak, he felt the once-solid ground inexorably shifting beneath his feet.
The seemingly turgid pace of this world was proved an illusion, a quaint conceit.
The truth was, everything was pitching headlong, a hundred thousand boulders sliding down a mountainside. The truth was, quite simply, terrifying.
Onrack stood watching the two figures. The conversation had stretched on much longer than the Imass had anticipated, and his worry was burgeoning along with it. Little good was going to come of this, he was certain. He heard a coughing grunt behind him and turned to see the two emlava crossing his trail a hundred or so paces back. They swung their massive, fanged heads in his direction and eyed him warily, as if seeking permission-but he could see by their loping gait and ducked tail-stubs that they were setting out on a hunt. The guilt beneath their intent seemed instinctive, as did their wide-eyed belligerence. They might be gone a day, or weeks. In need of a major kill, with winter fast approaching.