Thread Slivers (Golden Threads Trilogy) (24 page)

“During that time we came to know one another very well. We shared stories of our lives, families and dreams. We became as close as family. It was just before the Traitor left that Faltla revealed that his great-grandfather had summoned him just before the war started. Faltla’s great-grandfather showed him proofs that they were of the Duianna line shared with Damega, and with a family history going long past something called ‘the Migration’ some fifteen thousand years ago. He charged Faltla to take up the care of these when he died. Faltla swore to do this, and I assume he has.

“The Traitor recovered completely in only six weeks and left to end the war. Faltla had to retire. I was assigned to the general’s personal guard unit which had been placed under the command of Siddur, who had also been recruiting new Daggers. When the war ended I’d had my fill of adventure and came here, dedicating myself to our Lady.

“When I noticed Ticca carried Faltla’s dagger I asked about it, and Ticca herself told me that she was the niece of Faltla, and said he had trained her in tracking since childhood; after Ticca’s father died she told Faltla she desired to follow in his footsteps instead of in her father’s. Faltla trained her as a Dagger from the age of ten, and when she surpassed his abilities, the traitor arrived and assisted in training her.”

Sula, for the first time in either woman’s experience, looked completely lost.

“I hired an unknown Hunter-Dagger who was blessed by my Mother, just to deal with placing the hooks. I had no intention of her getting involved any further. Now the progeny of Chaos itself, trained by Death Incarnate, is intimately involved. Oh Mother, can this be? How can this lead to deliverance?”

Boadua spoke up. “Well, that isn’t all of it.”

Sula and Sayscia looked at her in askance.

“I believe that Ticca is a Duianna, and trained by the Traitor. I recall hearing that the Duianna line breeds true. These things I now believe fully because I know this day she killed a Nhia-Samri one-on-one.”

Sula leaned back. “Are you sure he wasn’t just a very skilled Knife?”

“I cannot personally authenticate my proofs; however, I was required to use The Lady’s Sight to keep track of the one who followed us from the Temple. I caught him as he was forced to move through a crowded section; but I lost him again a moment later. Being alerted, I forced him to expose himself momentarily and then I used the Sight to track him to the hospice. Further, the stories I have of the fight all describe intense nonstop blurring speed with ringing of steel on steel. I am sure the fight lasted at least a quarter of a mark as it took me just over twenty minutes to see Lebuin safely off and return. My own eyes as well as the acolytes’ testimony proved I arrived only five minutes after the fight ended. Ticca managed to prevent Lebuin’s would-be attacker from maneuvering in any direction but backwards until the wall stopped him, and she gave him a chance to surrender. He might have tried to use the feint death throw on her, but she was faster and killed him instead.” Boadua slipped on her leather gloves and pulled two knives from the bag she’d brought. She carefully placed them on the table and pulled one out of its sheath, laying it on the table next to the first, with its maker’s mark in full view.

The knives were well-made: straight, single-edged with a diamond-shaped blade with white bone and black cotton cross-wrapped hilts. Boadua indicated the knives with her gloved hands for emphasis. “These were his knives. While I know there are many imitations available, some remarkably good, these are far lighter than they look and there is power in the maker’s mark.”

Sayscia looked at them with horror. “Those are Nhia-Samri odassi blades.”

Sula thought out loud, “Are they here to help or hinder?”

Sayscia looked at her in disbelief. “Help? Why would they help? What could possibly bring them here? Why are they trying to kill Lebuin? Could they know anything of these events?”

Sula’s eyes burned with rage, staring at the odassi on the table. “We can answer none of these questions yet, but we will start to look for answers. I can’t believe I am saying this, but hopefully Lebuin will keep Ticca’s services. With his powers crippled for a time we cannot track him from a distance and I don’t want to be close enough that Ticca will detect us. Given her nature, we cannot even trust an experienced Dagger to shadow her effectively. We must be extremely careful, especially with the Nhia-Samri involved.”

Boadua smiled. “Sula, I can help with that, too.” Producing a silver clasp tastefully decorated with blue and green gems, she placed it on the table. “This is an artifact made by Lebuin.”

Sula looked from the clasp to Boadua’s smiling face and back. Then she stood, offering her hands to Boadua. “Boadua, your service honors me, my Mother, and your name.”

Blushing, she stood and took Sula’s arms in hers. “Thank you, Holy One. It is my wish to serve.”

Sula picked up the clasp. “Sayscia, please ask Magus Cune to come here as soon as possible. We need his aid again.” Gesturing at the knives on the table, she added, “Boadua, please see that those are destroyed completely and as soon as possible. I am sure you know to not take them beyond the Temple walls again.”

Sayscia stood, giving Boadua a meaningful glance, which she understood immediately, and they spoke together, “Your will, Holy One.”

Sula sighed and rolled her eyes. She walked out of the inner door behind the head chair, mumbling just loud enough to be clearly heard, “I put up with much, Mother.” The priestesses chuckled together as they separated for their tasks.

Urio-Larne read the report carefully for the second time.
This doesn’t make any sense. What would pull him from his gaming houses to travel half-way across the world? He hates hot climates. What was so important? We must complete the assignment.
Shifting a little, he allowed himself to relax in the padded wing chair; there were perks to long service, after all. Looking up, he enjoyed the way the fire cast a glowing pattern on the richly-furnished library. Two large lamps on each corner provided ample light to see all the papers, charts, and tools spread in a neat pattern over the large oak desk. Putting the note down on a small stack of such papers, he considered the implications. Across from him his senior lieutenant sat straight-backed in the plain hardwood chair. “I don’t think I have ever seen such a mess, Ossa-Ulla. Keelun killed Vestul before his meeting with Duke, which was reasonable, but only if information was obtained. However, we cannot locate Keelun and therefore we don’t know if he learned what Vestul was going to meet with Duke about. Now Duke is alerted and stepping on our toes trying to locate Vestul. We had to eliminate three of his agents who discovered our involvement, three more than any such operation should require. Finally, you claim both Dalpha’s and Argos’s agents have become alerted to all this activity and in the same breath assert that they are totally inexperienced or inept to the point of being no real threat.” Extracting a paper from the middle of a stack, he continued, “Yet this detailed report shows Argos’s agent effectively stopping us, becoming angry at being attacked as though it were only an inconvenience, destroying a device I thought indestructible, and generally depicts a slaying of our agent with so much emphasis on destruction that it should be seen as nothing less than the warning and challenge it is.”

Ossa-Ulla remained motionlessly rigid in the chair, his eyes burning with anger, but his voice was calm and respectful. “Sir, Palkni was indeed a good warrior, and he did manage to mortally wound Lebuin. I stand by all the profiles. Our information on Lebuin is extremely accurate. Lebuin is a tremendous dandy, more interested in his own comforts than anything external to the walls of the Guild. Lebuin was allowed to completely ignore all practical training. Ticca has no combat or intelligence experience in any military and comes from a fur-trapper background with dreams of glory. She is just a show-off out for personal glory, spinning her dagger as if it is impressive, when really it impresses no one but the other children.”

Allowing a small frown of reproach to show, Urio-Larne responded, “Lebuin could not have been mortally wounded; he walked to the Blue Dolphin while avoiding your observers. If we were not already monitoring the Blue Dolphin internally we would never have known he arrived there.”

Ossa-Ulla was showing some color at his neck.
Good, maybe you’ll pay closer attention if you finally have a bad mark on your record. I cannot see how you managed a career of such perfection, but you have grown overconfident. At least this isn’t a major operation; and little embarrassment will make you a better officer.
A soft knock came from the open door and both of them looked at the corporal standing at attention. He waved at the corporal to enter. “Report, Corporal.”

The corporal stepped in and saluted crisply as he summed up his news. “Sirs, Dalpha’s agent has retired for the evening. It has been confirmed she was wounded, with impaired movements.” His voice took on a bitter and angry tone. “We have confirmed she killed Maru-Hue.”

Ossa-Ulla snapped, “She caught him in a trap? That is not very likely, sir…”

He held up a hand to stop the lieutenant and nodded for the corporal to continue.

The corporal shook his head. “No sir, not a trap, she bested him one-to-one with odassi.”

Ossa-Ulla stood up, shocked, his neck flushing a deep red. “She did
what
?!”

The commander picked two papers from one of the stacks. The tops read ‘Ticca of Rhini Wood’ and ‘Lebuin of House Caerni.’ Holding them out to Ossa-Ulla, he said, “I recommend you correct these profiles and put these fictions’ authors on report.”

Ossa-Ulla looked a little worried, taking the profiles. “Sir, I signed off on these, and I assure you she has only six cycles’ Dagger experience on minor work. She is completely inexperienced. Lebuin is even more useless.”

Looking calmly at his lieutenant, he pulled out another paper with a recent report. “She has taken a permanent table, she is under coin to Argos’s agent, survived the confrontation, took out trained observers, and her sigil coin is not new. The Blue Dolphin in its five-hundred-year history as a Dagger Home has
never
let junior Daggers take a permanent table. Now we learn she has killed our third best warrior in a face-to-face fight. She is
not
what she appeared to be. Lebuin is the same; you have been fooled. I suspect Duke had a hand in this. I suggest you deal with this personally. We cannot be exposed. With Duke in town it becomes more than just a standing order. I believe you understand.”

Ossa-Ulla snapped to attention and saluted. “Yes, sir! Personally, sir!”

“You are both dismissed.” As the men did an about-face and marched out of the library, he wrote an order to recover Maru-Hue’s odassi, placing it unsigned, like all his orders, in the tray for new orders; then he picked up his wine and drank. “What are you about, Duke?” he asked the empty room thoughtfully.

“Damn it, Ladro, find my friend!” He bit down hard on the leg of mutton in front of him, breaking the bone with an audible snap.

Having been Duke’s long-time personal secretary meant he was entirely used to and unruffled by abusive language or violent displays of power. Having served Duke since a boy, Ladro was in tune with his master’s moods, tactics, and most importantly, likely targets for his teeth. “M’Llord, we have been unable to locate Magus Vestul. By all accounts he simply disappeared between the tobacconist and the Blue Dolphin. What we need to discover is why so many competent agents have also disappeared.”