Page 20 of The Tainted Cup

“Sir,” I said, “you will be able to review all that when I formally submit my report to the Iudex. But it is against Iudex policy to shareinvestigation information now.”

“Whatwas that, Signum?” he growled.

“It’s the policy, sir,” I said. “I cannot discuss it. It might endanger the investigation.”

“You little son of a bitch,” he said. “If I tell you to brief me on what you’ve done, you had damned well better do it!”

“But you are not my commanding officer, sir,” I said stoically. “Not anymore. The Apoths commanded me after my alteration, but that changed when I was assigned to Immunis Dolabra at the Iudex Iyalet. I am only permitted to discuss the death scene with her.”

Thalamis’s eyes went cold and dead. “You think,” he said, “that because you got to such a position with that…with thatlunatic,you can hide from me. But let me tell you a story, Kol.”

He started pacing around me in a tight circle. I was reminded of a wolf waiting out a treed squirrel.

“A student arrives at Daretana to be inducted as a Sublime,” he said. “And yet, though he pays his fee for the suffusions, and is granted them, this student remains abysmally, incrediblystupid. Reads slow, writes not at all. Applies to all the Iyalets—Legion, Engineering, Apothetikal, Treasury—but fails all his exams, and fails them miserably. It’s like a child took his tests for him. Soon it’s obvious to everyone that he is the most dunderheaded Sublime to have ever been evaluated, and possibly the dumbest fucking oaf in all of the canton.”

The beat of my blood rose. How wonderful it would be to drive a knife into one of Thalamis’s squinty little eyes.

“But then,” said Thalamis, “the Senate appoints anIudex Investigatorto Daretana. And she requests an engraver. A specialized role, requiring an unusually talented Sublime to fill the post. But then…why, suddenly out of nowhere, this young Sublime swans in and scores the top marks on his Iudex test. An absolutely phenomenal performance—so much so that he’s given another Iudex test, just to confirm it’s real. And again, he gets top marks. And so, this investigator picks him. I’d say it’s remarkable…but that’s the wrong word,isn’t it? I think a better one isunbelievable.Perhapsimpossible.”

I focused on my breath, on my posture, on anything but the face beforeme.

“Iwillfigure out how you cheated, Kol,” said Thalamis. “And when that happens, your time here is deader than a butchered hog. And all your dispensation, and any lands you might be rewarded at the end of your service term, are gone. But before you go, I’ll have you caned—again—just for wasting my time. Is that clear?”

I said nothing.

“Is thatclear,Signum?”

“I understand, sir,” I said grudgingly.

He stepped back. “But maybe I won’t need to wait that long, Signum,” he said. “Maybe you’ll piss off the Hazas so much that they’ll find a way to get your apprenticeship terminated.”

He walked away. I stood in the dark street, still standing at attention. I could feel my blood beating in my ears and my breath hot in my nostrils. I watched Thalamis go, wishing it had been he, and not Blas, who’d been torn to pieces by those trees.

Yet I remembered the hunger in his eyes, and his very specific questions.

It suddenly felt like Captain Thalamis was working for the Hazas. That seemed valuable to know.

Yet I wondered—how many other officers were friends of the Hazas? What exactly had I gotten myself into this morning? And what did Ana know?

I supposed I’d find out tomorrow. I turned and slinked off to bed.

CHAPTER 5

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THE NEXT MORNING Iled my three reluctant witnesses to Ana’s house, my practice sword swinging at my left side and my engraver’s bonds tinkling at my right. The sword was uncomfortable to carry, for the blade was made of lead and wood to build strength, so it was far heavier than a common sword. Gennadios moved the slowest of the three, her painted nose high in the air. Perhaps it was out of protest, but she also wore the platformed wooden sandals associated with high-gentry servants, forcing her to shuffle through the muddy streets. After her came Ephinas, the older servant girl, and then Uxos, the groundskeeper. Both of them seemed utterly terrified.

After what felt like a damned day of walking, we made it to Ana’s porch. “I’m going to need to confirm none of you have weapons,” I told them.

Gennadios’s tiny, glittering eyes widened. “You are not,” she said, “laying a finger on me. Or my people.”

“I’ll touch you only through your robes, ma’am,” I said.

“You willnot!” she said.

“I have to,” I said. “It’s my duty.” I wanted to tell her I certainly wouldn’t be enjoying it any, but that didn’t seem diplomatic at the moment.

She huffed for a moment. Then she said, “I will pull my robes tight about me, and Ephinas will do the same. Then you will see wehave no blades on us. Uxos can do as he pleases, of course.”