Page 115 of A Drop of Corruption

“For this reason, some in the Iudex doubted my selection of you as assistant,” Ana continued. “They did not feel that you possessed this conviction, and could not succeed. Thus far, they have been proven wrong. We shall see if that trend continues! Personally, I believe that at the end of this, you will still gladly don the blues of the Iudex, rather than the blacks of the Legion.”

“Do you expect me to be harmed, and filled with this vindictive passion you describe?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” she said. “I think no such thing. Rather, I think you are clever and decent, more than most. You shall learn it all in the end.”

“Learn what, precisely?”

She sighed. “Do you wish me to make a prophecy, like a fortune-teller in a canton fair? Fine. If that will please you, I shall do so.” She thought about it for a moment, and a sly, rather evil grin crossed herface. Then she pressed her thumb to her forehead, assumed a theatrical pose, and said, “You shall soon receive two revelations, Dinios Kol! One very obvious, and one very secret. Together, they shall change the course of your life.”

“Even now, ma’am,” I said, “you make a joke of everything.”

“Oh? Was I joking?” She stood and turned to the approaching gaggle of Apoths. “Ah! Good afternoon. Would one of you be able to assist this poor woman to see Thelenai?”

One officer helped her away. Another placed a small pot within the slot at the bottom of the glass wall and murmured, “For sleep, sir. You shall need it.”

I drank, lay back, and slept.

V

The Pale King Ascendant

Chapter 43

I woke in the dark,and the day proceeded like a dream.

The Apoths came and dressed me, sliding an algaeoil suit over my limbs. I felt none of it, but simply watched my own flesh being maneuvered about like it belonged to someone else. Then they placed the warding helm upon me, fastened it tight, and spoke to me, murmuring commands. Some core of my mind must have understood their words, for I followed them.

There was no word for my existence: the grafts within me were bubbling brightly, and in their froth, time and location lost meaning. Events continued, unrolled, unraveled. I was moving; I heard my own breath hissing in my helm, then the rattle of carriage wheels; I slept; then someone shook me, and I awoke once again.

I was at the shore. The sky was slate-gray and mutinous, the dawning sun a narrow blade of riotous red in the east. I clambered out of the carriage and stumbled along the jetty to the waiting cargo ship, trying to coordinate my arms and legs to move aright. I was lost inside my body, which was lost inside the suit, and the whole of me was lost on this wandering stripe of rocky coast.

There were figures toiling ahead of me, also bound in algaecloth and helms, loading goods and crates onto the cargo ship. I spied one person standing alone and identified him as Immunis Ghrelin by the bars and circle at his shoulder: even in such mad circumstances, the Empire scrupulously maintained rank.

Ghrelin did a double take as I stiffly approached. I saw that hisface was unpainted behind his warding helm, yet his eyes crinkled in a smile. Then I heard his voice, faint and wispy through the barriers of our helms: “Good morning, Kol. How goes it? Are you managing it all well?”

“I…am standing, sir,” I heard myself say.

“Are you.” He held up four fingers. “How many fingers do you see here now, Kol?”

“F-four, sir,” I said numbly.

“Oh, good. That was a reasonably fast response, given the katapra in you. And at least you got the answer right.”

I stood limply beside him, watching the workers load their goods. There seemed to be a great number of folk, but I no longer had the faculties to count them.

“So…you are truly no closer to catching him, then?” asked Ghrelin suddenly. There was a desperate note to his voice. “He evades you still?”

“We are closer, sir,” I stammered. “But not close enough.”

“I see…” he said faintly. “Well. I hope this shall help. We will be embarking shortly, and will sail for the northeastern portion of the Shroud, pass through the veil, and dock. You must follow me carefully then, Kol. Do not deviate from my path—is that clear? Some wished to blindfold you for this, but…given that so many preparations for the marrow now take place there, the Shroud is very busy, and the wrong stumble would be disastrous. Is this all clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I am told you also wished to review our preparations for transporting the marrow to the inner Empire. We shall do this first, then proceed to the…interview.”

“Yes, sir.”

There was an awkward silence. He turned to face inland. “If you wish to see something of import, however, this pier is most certainly such a place!”