Baruk felt sick inside. Matters had grown far too complicated in this city. Oh, he had known that they were walking a most narrow bridge, with the yawning abyss below whispering soft invitations of surrender. But it seemed the far end was ever dwindling, stretching away, almost lost in the mists. And every step he took seemed more tenuous than the last, as if at any moment the span beneath him might simply crumble into dust.
He could understand those others in the Cabal and the sudden, perfect escape that Vorcan represented. And he recalled that flat promise in her eyes on that night long ago now — it still haunted him, the ease of her betrayal, as if the con shy;tract offered by the Malazan Empire had simply provided her with an excuse for doing something she had always wanted to do: murder every other mage in the Cabal.
He might ask her why, but Vorcan was a woman who kept her own counsel. She owed him nothing and that had not changed.
‘You had better go now,’ Hinter said, cutting into his thoughts.
He blinked. ’Why?’
‘Because your silence is boring me, High Alchemist.’
‘My apologies, Hinter,’ Baruk replied. ‘One last thing, and then I will indeed leave. The risk of your enslavement is very real, and is not dependent on the ac shy;tual return of the Tyrant — after all, there are agents in the city even now working towards that fell resurrection. They might well decide-’
‘And you imagine they might succeed, High Alchemist?’
‘It is a possibility, Hinter.’
The ghost was silent for a time, and then said, ‘Your solution?’
‘I would set one of my watchers on your tower, Hinter. To voice the alarm should an attempt be made on you.’
‘You offer to intercede on my behalf, High Alchemist?’
‘I do.’
‘I accept, on condition that this does not indebt me to you.’
‘Of course.’
‘You would rather I remain. . neutral, and this I understand. Better this than me as an enemy.’
‘You were once a most formidable sorceror-’
‘Rubbish. I was passable, and fatally careless. Still, neither of us would have me serving a most miserable cause. Send your watcher, then, but give me its name, lest I invite in the wrong servant.’
‘Chillbais.’
‘Oh,’ said Hinter, ‘
As he made his way back to his estate, Baruk recalled his lone meeting with Vor shy;can, only a few nights after her awakening. She had entered the chamber with her usual feline grace. The wounds she had borne were long healed and she had found a new set of clothes, loose and elegant, that seemed at complete odds with her chosen profession.
He had stood before the fireplace, and offered her a slight bow to hide a sudden tremble along his nerves. ‘Vorcan.’
‘I will not apologize,’ she said.
‘I did not ask you to.’
‘We have a problem, Baruk,’ she said, walking over to pour herself some wine, then facing him once more. ‘It is not a question of seeking prevention — we can shy;not stop what is coming. The issue is how we will position ourselves for that time.’
‘You mean, to ensure our continued survival.’
A faint smile as she regarded him. ‘Survival is not in question. We three left in the Cabal will be needed. As we were once, as we will be again. I am speaking more of our, shall we say,
Anger flared within Baruk then. ‘Comfort? What value that when we have ceased to be free?’
She snorted. ‘Freedom is ever the loudest postulation among the indolent. And let’s face it, Baruk, we
‘As Mistress of the Assassins’ Guild? Vorcan, there will be no need for such a Guild, no room for it.’
‘Never mind the Guild. I am not interested in the Guild. It served, a function of the city, a bureaucratic mechanism. Its days are fast dwindling in number.’
‘Is that why you sent your daughter away?’
A flicker of true annoyance in her eyes, and she looked away. ‘My reasons are not of your concern in that matter, High Alchemist.’ Her tone added,
‘What role, then,’ Baruk asked, ‘do you envision for yourself in this new Daru shy;jhistan?’
‘A quiet one,’ she replied.
She drained her wine and set down the goblet. ‘We are understood, then.’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I suppose we are.’
‘Do inform Derudan.’
‘I shall.’
And she left.
