by Glen Cook
"Sort of. I thought you were going to crap out. What's up?"
"I just heard something I thought you should know. They found that guy Courter Slauce in an alley a couple streets from here. Somebody busted the back of his head in for him."
"What?" I tried to shake the groggies. "He's dead?"
"Like the proverbial wedge."
"Who did it?"
"How should I know?"
"This don't make sense. I have to get some tea or something. Wash the cobwebs out."
"For that you'll need the high water of the decade. Sometimes I think the only substance inside your head is the dust on the cobwebs."
"Ain't nothing will perk you up like a vote of confidence from your friends. Dean. Tea."
Dean had water on. He always does. He favors tea the way I favor beer. He brewed me a mug thick enough to slice. In the meantime, I asked Morley, "Did you keep anyone watching the Stormwarden's place?"
"For all the good it did. Till today."
"And?"
"There's no way to do a decent job when you spend eighty percent of your time dodging security patrols."
"They got nothing?"
"Zippo. Zilch. Zero. Armies could have marched in and out and they would have missed them."
"It was a long shot anyway. What about Pokey?"
"What about him? Why keep on him?"
"He might have trotted off to somebody interesting."
"You're grasping, Garrett. Pokey Pigotta? You're kidding."
"There's always a chance."
"There's a chance the world will end tomorrow. I'll give you fifty-to-one odds it does before Pokey Pigotta does something unprofessional."
"I don't want to hear bet or odds from you."
He gave me a narrow-eyed look. "I laid off you and your poisonous diet, Garrett. I laid off your self-destructive knight errantry. You lay off me. I'll go to hell in my own way."
"I don't care how you go to hell, Morley. That's your business. But every time you head out you throw a rope on me and try to drag me along."
"You feel that way about it, quit pulling me into your quests."
"I pay you to do a job. That's all I want done."
"Somebody ought to profit. If you're so damned lily pure, you're willing to get paid off in self-satisfaction for righting deadly wrongs—"
Dean interjected, "You kids want to whoop and holler and call each other names, why don't you take it out in the alley? Or at least get it out of my kitchen."
I was about to patiently explain again who owned that kitchen and who just worked there, when someone else came pounding on my door and hollering for me. "Saucerhead," I said, and headed that way. Morley followed me. I asked, "Who killed Slauce?"
"I told you I don't know. I heard he was dead. I came to tell you. I didn't go turn out his pockets to see if he left a note naming his killer."
I peeked through the peephole, just in case. I was in one of those moods.
Saucerhead, all right. And Amber. And several of the Stormwarden's men, including a couple who had been around before. I let Morley peek. "You want to be here for this?"
"No. I'm done. With you, with them, with the whole damned mess."
"Have it your way." I opened the door as Saucerhead wound up to start pounding again. Morley shoved out, grumbled a greeting. I said, "You two can come inside. The army stays where it is."
______XLII______
"whats A matter with Morley?" Saucerhead asked. He had a glazed look, but I suppose even a statue would be numb after an exposure to the Storm warden Raver Styx.
"He tried to take a bite out of something that bit him back. Or maybe it was the other way around. What're you two up to, with your private army out there?"
"Mother wants you," Amber said. "You should have seen Mr. Tharpe stand up to Domina and Mother. He was magnificent."
"I've heard him called a lot of things but magnificent was never on the list."
"I didn't do nothing but stand there and pretend I was deaf except when they absolutely had to have me say something. Then I just sounded stupid and said they had to talk to her on account of I was working for her."
"And what was it all about?" I asked Amber.
"They wanted him out. They really got mad because he wouldn't go and I wouldn't tell him to go."
"It'll do them good. So your mother wants me to come running."
"Yes."
"Why did she send you?"
"Because she sent Courter and he didn't even come back. Then she sent Dawson and you wouldn't open the door."
Courter? She sent him to gel me?
"Dean! Come here a minute." He came in. "Did anybody come to the door today? Before I told you I would answer it myself?"
"No. Just the boy who brought the letter."
"What letter?"
"I put it on your desk. I assumed you'd seen it."
"Excuse me for a minute." I went to the office. The letter was there, all right. I gave it a read. It was from my friend Tinnie. Out of sight, she had slipped out of mind.
"Anything important?" Saucerhead asked when I returned.
"Nah. Red's headed for TunFaire."
He looked at Amber sidelong, smirked. "That ought to put some life back in this town."
"Amber, does your mother think I'll just hike out there because she crooked her finger?"
"She's the Stormwarden Raver Styx, Garrett. She's used to getting what she wants."
"She isn't getting it this time. I'm tired and I've been playing with thugs so much lately another one isn't going to bother me none. Tell her if she wants to see me, she knows where to find me. During normal business hours. If she comes down now, I won't answer the door."
Amber said, "I'm not going to tell her anything, Garrett. I'm not going back. I forgot how bad it could get till she came storming in. As far as I'm concerned, she can take it out on Father and Domina from now on. She's seen the last of her unbeloved daughter... . You did mean it when you let me have that gold, didn't you?"
I was tempted to say no just to see how quick she could turn in her tracks, but forbore. "Yes."
"Then I'm going upstairs. You can go home, Mr. Tharpe."
"Just a minute, girl. You're going to declare your independence, you're going to declare your independence. You can stay tonight because it's too late to do it now but tomorrow you go shopping for a place of your own."
For a moment she was stunned. Then she looked hurt.
I tried to soften it. "This is a dangerous place and I'm in a dangerous line."
"And I have a dangerous family."
"That, too. When you relay my message to the troops out there, tell them to tell your mother that Courter didn't run away after all. Somebody lured him into an alley and smashed his head in. She can sleep on that."
Amber gawked. She opened and closed her mouth several times.
"You look like a goldfish."
"Really? Courter was murdered too?"
"Yes."
"Why would anyone do that?"
"I assume because he was coming to see me."
"Damn them!"
As I hoped, the anger I'd aroused now became a white righteous fury. She stomped to the door.
I raised a hand, delaying Saucerhead. "Chodo had me out to his place today. He still has that character that killed Amiranda. He offered him to me. I told him you had more claim. He said if you're interested, get your butt out there because tomorrow he's going to turn him loose."
Saucerhead pursed his lips and touched himself a couple of places where he still hurt. He grunted.
"I'd also like you to come back tomorrow. I'm figuring on taking a trip and I want you to keep on keeping an eye on Amber."
He nodded. "Yeah. They ain't getting this one, Garrett."
"Fine. I'll see you when you get—"
Amber's yell sent us hustling out front, me unlimbering my skull buster. Saucerhead picked up a couple of the Stormwarden's men and cracked their heads together. I thumped two behind the e
ars. That left three and two of those had all they could handle with Amber. Saucerhead peeled them off while I held their leader at bay. "What the hell you trying to do, shithead?"
"Take her home."
"I'm not going to argue. I'm just going to tell you she said she don't want to go. She's old enough to make up her own mind. Pick up your buddies and leave."
He looked at me like he wanted to tell me what it meant to get into the Stormwarden's way, then just shrugged. Saucerhead let go of the two he had. The bunch began getting themselves together. Amber started to say something. I told her to go inside. We would talk after the crowd thinned out. She went, and Raver Styx's thugs did the same, leaving me with a flock of promising black looks.
"You're starting to catch on, Garrett. Talk after you kick ass. They're more inclined to hear what you have to say."
That was Morley Dotes talking from a perch on the stoop next door. He got up and came down, stood with us watching the Stormwarden's boys stumble off. I said nothing, not knowing what might set him off. He offered me a folded piece of paper. I looked him in the eye for a moment. His expression remained bland.
There was nothing on that paper but a name: Lyman Gameleon.
"I've heard of him. Big bear on the Hill, and so forth. What's the significance?"
"Just thought I'd save you some trouble, Garrett. That's the man who sent the soldiers into Ogre Town. A man who, coincidentally, happens to be your Stormwarden's next-door neighbor—and bitterest enemy, politically and personally. Not to mention being her husband's older half-brother."
"Hey! Very interesting. Thanks, Morley."
"No big deal, Garrett." He waved one hand as he marched away.
The tidbit was Morley's way of extending the olive branch.
Saucerhead said, "It's time I was going, too, Garrett. Take care of Miss daPena."
I considered his broad back as he went. Had he said more than he had said? With Saucerhead it's hard to tell if he's just being a dumb goof or a mild cynic. I went inside and locked up. I looked around for Amber, didn't see her. "Amber?"
"In your office."
I went in. She had parked herself in my chair and seemed to be sulking.
"Cheer up. You were marvelous."
"You manipulated me."
"Of course I did. Would you have stood up to those thugs if you weren't mad?"
"Probably not."
I settled on a corner of the desk. "One piece of news that might perk you up. I think there's a small chance we can lay hands on some of the gold."
"You're stringing me along again, aren't you?"
"No. It's a long shot but a real chance. I didn't think there was one before. It depends on how distracted your mother is by the emotional side of what's happened. I think I know what happened to some of the gold, but finding it is going to be like scratching through the proverbial haystack. We'll need time."
"You mean it, don't you?"
"Yes. Though I admit I'm riding a hunch." Dean brought beer and wine. We thanked him. I told Amber, "I can't stay awake much longer. I'm going to turn in. I'll see you in the morning." She flashed me a wicked smile.
I understood the smile soon enough. I didn't latch my door. Who does, inside his own house? Amber took that as an invitation. Not only did I see her sooner than I expected, I got less sleep than I hoped. Repeated clamors at the front door, ignored by the entire household, also interrupted my rest.
______ XLIII ______
I staggered out when the smell of breakfast overpowered my laziness. As I descended the stairs another hurrah broke out at the front door. I slipped over and peered through the peephole. An ugly face, bloated and red, bobbed outside. A mouth filled with bad teeth gaped and bellowed. I closed the peephole and went to breakfast. I leaned back and patted my belly. "Dean, of all the several geniuses infesting this place, I think you're the most valuable. Where the hell did you find strawberries?"
"My niece May brought them. They've been in the cold well for three days."
Nieces again? At that rate of regression the Dead Man would soon be interested in Glory Mooncalled again. "I'd better see if his nibs is awake." Sooner or later that front door was going to have to open. "Amber, your mother is bound to come. You going to want to be scarce?"
"I can face her as long as I've got a place to run when it gets gruesome."
"You're all right, then. Dean, I'll take a mug of tea while I rattle Old Bones."
Dean scowled and grumbled, not at all inclined to let me take matters into my own hands. He prepared the tea with such care and deliberation I was ready to do without before he finished. Tea is tea. Making a religious ceremony of fixing it doesn't improve it a bit. There are those who would consider me a barbarian— the same ones who aren't civilized enough to appreciate good beer. The Dead Man was awake. He wasn't in a mood to be interrupted. He knew we'd have company soon and was working himself up for it. I believe he had visions of using the Stormwarden—who had been in the Cantard for months—as a chamois to buff up his Glory Mooncalled theory.
I followed Amber's example and went to my room to groom myself for the hours ahead.
That done, I settled at a window and watched the street. It wasn't quiet out there. The Stormwarden's men remained at their posts but weren't watching the house. Their carrying on had drawn a crowd. The lords of the Hill can get away with a lot. They usually remain above the laws that keep the rest of us from preying on each other. But the invasion of a home without the prior approval of the judges is something people won't tolerate. Had the Stormwarden's men tried to break in during the night, they might have gotten away with something— had the Dead Man allowed it. Now it was too late. If they tried, the crowd would tear them apart. Our overlords have to exercise a delicate touch when they violate the sanctity of the home. I hoped the uptown boys didn't get stupid. I had worked myself into a tight enough place already.
They kept me there. And company, when it came, did so from an unexpected quarter. From the corner of my eye I caught a stir coming from downtown. What to my wondering eye should appear but Saucerhead Tharpe in convoy with Sadler and Crask. The bunch looked like they had breakfasted on bitterbark soup at Morley's place.
I sighed. "I knew things were shaping up too damned well."
I ran into Amber in the hallway. She asked, "Is she here?"
"Not yet. It's Saucerhead and a couple guys you don't even want to know by sight. And I'm not going to be able to find out what they want if you don't let me get to the stairs."
"Oh." She stepped aside. "Grouch."
"You're probably right. You might warn Dean so he can get something ready. They look like they'll need it."
I was three steps from the door when Saucerhead knocked. 1 glanced through the peephole and opened up. As my guests entered I gave the Stormwarden's red-faced boy a glare and said, "Don't even think about it." He got redder, but I didn't have to watch. I shut the door on him.
I seated them in the small front room next to my office. Dean appeared with tea and sweetcakes just as though they were expected. I said, "Well? What is it? How bad is it?"
Saucerhead glanced at the other two. They were willing to let him do the talking. I couldn't quite tell what the threesome were up to. There was no tension between them, just a commonality of undirected disgust. Tharpe said, "Skredli got away."
"Skredli? Got? Away? What did he do? Sprout wings and fly? Was he some kind of werebuzzard?" I'd never heard of such a beast, but nothing in this world surprises me anymore. If a man can turn into a wolf, why not an ogre into a buzzard? Both transformations seem singularly fitting. Perhaps even symbolic.
Prejudiced? Who? Me?
The gods forefend.
"No, he didn't fly, Garrett. He just took off running."
I started to express my incredulity, but it struck me that I might learn a little more a lot faster with my mouth shut. I admit I don't often have these epiphanies. Saucerhead explained. "It was just getting light when I went out there. They took me up to
the front porch and told me to wait. Then they went in and brought Skredli out. And all of a sudden, like that was all he was waiting for, he took off like a bat out of hell."
Crask said, "It was chilly up there last night. The lizards get sluggish when their blood cools down."
Sadler added, "Dogs won't run an ogre 'less they're specially trained. Anyway, Chodo's mutts are supposed to keep people from getting in, not from getting out."
And Saucerhead, "It happened so sudden, and he was gone so fast, nobody had time to do nothing but gawk."
No point in whining. It wasn't my problem, anyway. Or was it? "You didn't come down here just to let me in on that, did you?"
Saucerhead hit me with the news. "Chodo thinks you're going to stick on what you're after till you find Donni Pell. He figures that when you find her, you'll find Skredli again, too."
"That sounds plausible."
"He wants Sadler and Crask to be there when you find them."
"I see." I can't say I was disappointed. I foresaw any number of potentialities right down the path. Those three guys would be handy if the fur began to fly. "All right. I'm expecting heavyweight company sometime today. Raver Styx."
"We know the game and the stakes, Garrett."
"Indeed?" Had Amber been running her mouth? No. Saucerhead just thought he knew the stakes.
Which alerted me to the fact that there would be no gold hunting until Skredli and Donni Pell turned up. Unless I decided I didn't mind Chodo's thugs hanging around when I turned it up.
"Go about your routine," Sadler told me. "We'll stay out of your way."
Sure they would. As long as it wasn't in their interest to do otherwise.
______ XLIV________
We killed time playing cards. Dean was in and out, laying scowls on me. I knew what he was thinking: I ought to whip all these bodies into a rehabilitation frenzy and get some work done on the house. He doesn't understand that characters like Saucerhead, Sadler, and Crask get no thrill out of domestic triumphs. Amber popped in once, decided she couldn't handle all the joviality, and retreated upstairs. The Dead Man remained alert in his quarters. My neck prickled each time his touch passed through the room. He would never admit he was nervous, though. Amber came back awhile later. "She's coming, Garrett. I thought she'd at least send Domina once first." She hesitated for a split second. "I think I'll stay upstairs."
