Page 117 of A Trade of Blood

“And they are very painful?”

“Yes, very. So much so that the Empire is reluctant to use them. It often damages people considerably…”

“That is of no matter to me! I should like to have one, please. No—two. I think we might make great use of them.”

—

As night fell,we set about preparing our trap, rushing about the buildings surrounding the Green Drover.

“Are you sure this will all go as planned, ma’am?” I asked.

“Sure?” said Ana, idly reading in her corner. “No. I am sure our quarry shall come. After that, I am less certain. People do all manner of dumb shit when cornered.”

“And if I am forced to resort to lethal response?”

“Well. Do try not to make it lethal, Din.”

“To maintain the integrity of the investigation, of course.”

“Mm? Oh. No. I don’t particularly care if the fucker lives or dies. I just wish to maintain your psychological stability, Din. You get so very mopey when you have to kill someone. And I’ve much more trying things for you after this.”

“After? I…rather thought we’d be done once this was finished, ma’am.”

She laughed hollowly and opened a new book.

Chapter 32

Evening fell slowly over Lacanthim.I sat at Ana’s window, my blood thrumming in me as I peered at the tavern across the lane from us. “It all looks well, ma’am.”

“How well?” Ana demanded from her bed. “It must look as if all the taverns and homes about this place are perfectly normal, boy. He will not come if he senses a trap.”

“I can see nothing untoward in the dark, ma’am. But you’re sure he’d attempt such a mad thing?”

“Yes, certainly. You and I and all the rest of the tavern dwellers here are all surely conditioned. One need only play the proper song on that accursed pipe, and we would all be spellbound by the web’s mesmerism. A person could come and go as you please, take whatever they wish from this place, and we’d never even know it. He has heard by now that I have evidence. He will come.” She twitched. “Speaking of which, boy, you need to get to your own chambers. It won’t do to have you peering out my window. It’s well-known by now I always keep it shut. Just remember the signals.”

I smirked.

“Well, yes, I know you willremember,” said Ana. “Just do it properly.”

“I shall, ma’am. I’ll be ready.”

I left her chambers, returned to my own, dimmed the mai-lamp at my corner, and opened my window.

From here I could see a great deal of the lane leading west out oftown, along with many taverns and a few sotbars running all along it. Most of the windows were alight, with lanterns and lamps hanging from their ceilings or eaves, but my eye lingered on two inns specifically.

A window down there at the Tottering Hand, on the third floor. A small, pale blue lamp shone just on the windowsill. I could barely make out the form of a figure hunched behind it: a custodi officer, I knew, with a vantage point facing north.

My eye drifted to my left, toward another lamp in another window on another street, this one viewing the other side of our tavern. This officer was on the second floor of the Empress Forgotten, watching another set of lanes.

Enough eyes, I hope,I thought.Enough bodies watching. I just hope they all stay awake.

With that, I pulled a small bottle of clariphage from my pocket and took a sip. I cringed as the stimulant simmered in my stomach, shook myself, and watched the street, and the lamps, and the wet roofs of Lacanthim as night cameon.

—

The hours passed.Lacanthim surged and sang and sighed below me. How strange it was to see the field hands and the drovers and the flensing folk come to the town for their daily tasks, even though wild madness had swept over the fields and forests beyond. Their complacency struck a sour note with me—for of course they labored on. Beef was too valuable. It would surely overcome this string of deaths, eventually.

The late night dwindled, and full dark took the city. The lamps went out, one by one, until only a handful remained—including, of course, the two I watched so closely.