Page 46 of A Trade of Blood

Something tightened in my face. Despite his dreamy madness, it seemed this Commander Tauri was no fool.

“I wish to consult with you, sir,” I said, “and learn more. That is all.”

He slid off his mask and stepped down from the cart. “Let’s step away for a bit, chap,” he said, “and have some privacy.”

—

As I followedCommander Tauri out into the bean fields, I decided he was the most unusual senior officer I had ever met. His hair was tied up in a sloppy knot, he bore no heralds at all, and he wore no jerkin nor shirt beneath his Orbiis coat—indeed, he didn’t seem to notice at all when an errant breeze blew its flaps open, baring his skinny gray chest to the sun. He hummed idly as he strode, pausing only to remark, “A little farther, Iudex! My folk have keen ears. I’d like to put much wind between us and them…for I frankly dread what you’re about to say.”

I glanced back at the parade of people, who still stood in the field with dreamy looks on their faces. “What are they doing?”

“Ohh, busywork, mostly. The Orbiis is tasked with maintaining the environmental stability of the cantons. Lots of ways to do that, of course. A chapcouldgo about peering through spyglasses all day and measuring things. Depths of creeks. Widths of forests. Dreck like that. And wedodo that, true. But, really, a simpler thing is to—well, tobecomethe landscape, via one means or another.”

“Become…?”

“Yes.”

I expected him to explain. He continued humming aimlessly instead.

“How do you mean, sir?”

“Oh. All Orbiis officers are neurologically altered, you see. Specifically, we are altered so that we directly receive complexinformation from trace organic matter. You can learn all kinds of wonderful things just from, oh, pollens, molds, nutritional breakdowns. All the nature ofnatureis embedded in such tiny creations.”

“So…when I saw those officers churning grass and breathing it in, they were…”

“They werebecomingthat grass, yes. For a moment, at least. It reveals to them environmental shifts invisible to nearly every other form of human observation. Much faster, too, of course.”

“But how do youbecomepollen, or mold?”

“Well. Do you not consume rice, and lentils, and flesh? How do they becomeyou? For they surely do—that’s the point of eating, to make more of yourself. You’re just not aware of it. Our lungs and minds, however, are augmented to permit us to do so—to peer inward, while others peer out. The experiencedoesmake us rather…squiddly,so to speak. As I am sure you noticed. But with it, we can build maps, and charts, and plans—for most of us are spatiasts, you see.” He turned to me, smiling beatifically. “But we’re not here to discuss such bureaucratic fuss, are we? The guiding web. What is it you wish to know?”

“Mostly, sir, I would like to learn how it is administered to subjects. As well as any effects it might have on them, including unusual symptoms.”

He watched me for a long while. “Mm. That’s rather odd. The Iudex manageshumanjustice. It is most uninterested in the justice of animals, and plants, yes? They are voiceless to you.”

“Well, y—”

“And the guiding web was bred forlivestock.Some ninety percent of the fungal species ofqaytatin tuman—more popularly known as guiding web, or revenant’s mist—in all the Empire is used for the drokha-cats, who work the fields. For it to haveanyeffect on human specimens, you’d have to consume, oh, about a bucketful of the stuff. Which is quite a feat. Tastes like shit, you see.” He absently twirled a flaxen hair about a finger. “So I now ponder—why is the Iudex here, in this field, talking to me now about the guiding web? How might it be used in human criminality?”

“I did not claim it did, sir,” I said. “I am merely asking to learn more about it.”

“Yes, but that’s odd, too.” Commander Tauri sat down in the fields, plucked off a leaf from a bean plant, and began idly rolling it about in his fingers. “Why come tome,of all people? There are many cat herders and local Apoths and animal tenders who deal with the web. They can tell you all about it. So. Why not go to them?”

“I wanted to speak to someone from outside Lacanthim,” I said.

“Outside Lacanthim.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You mean, someone not in service to the Buravs or the Armentas.”

I found I did not enjoy speaking to someone who could read so much into me. “You could interpret it that way, sir.”

“Could I? How pleasant, Signum Kol, for you to grant me that permission.” He cocked his head. “Tell me. Has it shown up in a human?”

I hesitated. “Yes.”

“Hm. Has someone used the guiding web toconditiona human being’s behavior?”