Krondor: The Assassins. Raymond E. Feist

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СКАЧАТЬ gangs, and the urchins who ran the streets of Krondor.

      Limm continued. ‘The Nightmaster never showed. Word went out and we started looking for him. Just before dawn, we heard they found the Nightmaster floating in the sewers near the dock. His head was all bashed in.’

      Kat almost gasped. ‘No one would dare touch him.’

      Graves said, ‘No one in the know. But someone who didn’t care about the Mockers’ wrath would.’

      ‘Here’s the dicey part,’ said Limm. ‘The Daymaster says the Nightmaster was supposed to meet with the Upright Man. Now, as I understand things, if the Upright Man is supposed to meet with you, and you don’t show, he’s got ways of sending word to the Daymaster or Nightmaster. Well, no word was heard. So the Daymaster sends one of the boys, Timmy Bascolm, if you remember him—’ they nodded ‘—and Timmy turns up dead an hour later.

      ‘So the Daymaster heads out with a bunch of bashers and an hour later they come running back to Mother’s and hole up. Nobody’s saying anything, but word spreads: the Upright Man’s gone.’

      Graves was silent for a minute, then said, ‘He must be dead. There’s no other explanation for this.’

      ‘And there are bully boys to make a strong man faint chasing through the sewers, last night, so Jackie and I figure the hunt is on and our best bet is to lie low somewhere. We got run to ground last night near Five Points—’ both Kat and Graves knew the region of the city sewers by that name ‘—so after they killed Jackie, I figured my best bet was to get here, with you.’

      Graves said, ‘You want to leave Krondor?’

      The boy said, ‘If you’ll take me. There’s a war on, for truth, and I’m the last of my band alive. If the Upright Man is dead, all bets are off. You know the rules. If the Upright Man isn’t here, it’s every man for himself and make what deal you can.’

      Graves nodded. ‘I know the rules.’ His voice lacked the rough, commanding edge Limm had come to know as a boy in the Mockers, when Graves was first among the bashers. Still, Graves had saved Limm several times, from freebooting thugs and the Prince’s men alike. Limm would do whatever Graves said.

      After a moment of reflection, Graves spoke. ‘You stay here, boy. No one in the Guild knows you’ve helped Kat and me, and the truth is, I’m fond of you. You were always a good lad, as far as that goes. Too full of yourself, but what boy isn’t at times?’ He shook his head in regret. ‘Out there it’ll be every hand against us – Mockers, Prince’s men, or the Crawler’s. I’ve got a few friends left, but if the blood is running in the sewers, who knows how long I can count on them?’

      ‘But everyone else thinks you’ve escaped!’ objected Limm. ‘Just me and Jackie knew, ’cause you told us so we could fetch you food. Those notes you sent out, to the Temple, and some of your friends, to that magician you travelled with …’ He waved his hand as if trying to recall the name.

      ‘Owyn,’ Graves supplied.

      ‘Owyn,’ repeated Limm. ‘Word spread through the city you’d fled to Kesh. I know at least a dozen bashers were sent outside the walls to track you down.’

      Graves nodded. ‘And an equal number of monks from the Temple, too, I warrant.’ He sighed. ‘That was the plan. Lie low here while they looked for us out there.’

      Kat, who had remained silent throughout, said, ‘It was a good plan, Graves.’

      Limm nodded.

      Graves said, ‘I figured another week or ten days, and they’d come back, each thinking some other had just missed sight of us, then we’d walk down to the docks one night, get on a ship, and sail off to Durbin, just another merchant and his daughter.’

      ‘Wife!’ said Kat, angrily.

      Limm grinned.

      Graves shrugged and spread his hands in a sign of surrender. ‘Young wife,’ he said.

      She put her arms around his neck and said, ‘Wife,’ softly.

      Limm said, ‘Well, you play the parts well enough, but right now getting to the docks is no small order.’ He glanced around the cellar. ‘What about just going out the door, up there?’ He pointed to the ceiling.

      Graves said, ‘Sealed off. That’s why I built this place as a hideout. The building upstairs is abandoned, roof beams collapsed. The man who owned it died, so it belongs to the Prince for back taxes. Fixing up old buildings is not very high on the Prince’s list of things to do, it seems.’

      Limm nodded in approval of the scheme. ‘Well, how long do you think we should stay?’

      ‘You,’ said Graves, rising, ‘are staying in the Kingdom. You’re young enough to make something of yourself, boy. Get off the dodgy path and find a master. Apprentice in a craft or become a serving man.’

      ‘Honest work?’ said Limm, as he jumped to his feet. ‘When did a Mocker seek honest work?’

      Graves pointed a finger at him. ‘Jimmy did.’

      ‘Jimmy the Hand,’ agreed Kat. ‘He found honest work.’

      ‘He saved the Prince’s life!’ objected Limm. ‘He was made a member of the court. And there’s a death mark on his head! He couldn’t return to the Mockers if he begged.’

      Graves said, ‘If the Upright Man is dead, that mark is erased.’

      Softly Limm asked, ‘What should I do?’

      Graves said, ‘Lie low for a while, until things get quiet, then leave the city. There’s a man named Tuscobar, once a trader from Rodez. He has a shop in a town called Biscart, two days’ fast walk up the coast. He owes me a favour. He also has no sons, so there is no one to apprentice for him. Go there and ask him to take you to service. If he objects, just tell him “Graves clears all debts if you do this.” He’ll understand what it means.’

      ‘What does he do?’ asked Limm.

      ‘He sells cloth. He makes a good living, as he sells to nobles for their daughters.’

      Limm’s expression showed he was less than taken with the notion. ‘I’d rather go to Durbin and take my chances with you. What are you going to do there?’

      ‘Turn honest,’ said Graves. ‘I have some gold. Kat and I are going to open an inn.’

      ‘An inn,’ said Limm, his eyes alight. ‘I like inns.’ He got down on his knees in an overly dramatic pleading. ‘Let me come! Please! I can do many things in an inn. I can tend fires, and show customers to their rooms. I can haul water and I can mark the best purses for cutting.’

      ‘An honest inn,’ said Graves.

      Some of the enthusiasm left Limm’s expression. ‘In Durbin? Well, if you say so.’

      Kat said, ‘We’re going to have a baby. We want him to grow up honest.’

      Limm was speechless. He sat in wide-eyed astonishment. Finally, he said, ‘A baby? Are you daft?’

      Graves СКАЧАТЬ