Shadows Linger by Glen Cook Page B

he's tough. He'd as soon kill you as say
     hi. I don't mean no disrespect, but he acts like you're a big joke.”
    “The joke will be on him, Shed.” Krage dragged himself out of his chair,
    wincing. He grabbed his wound. “The joke will be on him.”
    “Maybe next time he won't let you get away, Krage.” Fear crossed Krage's
     features. “Shed, it's him or me. If I don't kill him, my business will fall
     apart.“ ”Where will it be if he kills you?“ Again that flicker of fear. ”I don't
     have any choice. Be ready when I need you, Shed. Soon now.”
    Shed bobbed his head and retreated. He ought to get out of the Buskin, he
     thought. He could afford it. But where would he go? Krage could find him
     anywhere in Juniper. Running didn't appeal, anyway. The Lily was home. He had to
     weather this. One or the other would die, and either way he would be off the
     hook.
    He was in the middle now. He hated Krage. Krage had humiliated him for years,
    keeping him in debt, stealing food from his mouth with ridiculous interest
     rates. On the other hand, Raven could connect him with the black castle and
     crimes in the Enclosure.
    The Custodians were on the hunt, looking for somebody spending a lot of old
     money. Little had been said publicly, but Bullock being on the case told Shed
     just how seriously they were taking the case up the hill. He'd nearly had a
     stroke when Bullock walked into the Lily.
    What had become of the passage money? Shed hadn't seen any of it. He supposed
     Raven still had it. He and Raven were partners now. . . .
    “What did Krage say?” Raven asked when Shed reached the Lily.
    “Wants me to help kill you.”
    "I thought so. Shed, it's late in the season. It's time to send Krage up the
     hill. Which way are you leaning, partner? Him or me?''
    “I. . . . Uh. . . .”
    “In the long run you're better off getting rid of Krage. He'd find a way to get
     the Lily eventually.”
    True, Shed reflected. “All right. What do we do?”
    “Tomorrow, go tell him you think I've been selling bodies. That you think Asa
     was my partner. That you think I did Asa in. Asa was your friend and you're
     upset. It'll all be just near enough reality to confuse him. . . . What's the
     matter?”
    Always a trap. Raven was right. Krage would believe the story. But Shed had
     hoped for a less direct role. If Raven screwed up, Marron Shed would be found in
     a gutter with his throat cut.
    “Nothing.”
    “All right. Night after tomorrow night, I'll go out. You run to tell Krage. I'll
     let his men track me. Krage will want to be in at the kill. I'll ambush him.”
    “You did that before, didn't you?”
    “He'll come anyway. He's stupid.”
    Shed swallowed. “That isn't a plan that does much for my nerves.”
    “Your nerves aren't my problem, Shed. They're yours. You lost them. Only you can
     find them again.”
    Krage bought Shed's story. He was ecstatic because Raven was such a villain. “If
     I didn't want him myself, I'd yell for the Custodians. You did good, Shed. I
     should have suspected Asa. He never brought no news worth hearing.”
    Shed whined, “Who would buy bodies, Krage?” Krage grinned. “Don't worry your
     ugly head. Let me know next time he goes on one of his jaunts. We'll rig up a
     little surprise.”
    Next night Shed reported according to plan. And suffered all the disappointment
     he expected of life. Krage insisted he join the hunt.
    “What good would I be, Krage? I'm not even armed. And he's one tough nut. You
     won't take him without a fight.”
    “I don't expect to. You're coming along just in case.” “In case?”
    “In case there's a trap in this and I want to lay hands on you fast.”
    Shed shuddered, whined, “I done right by you. Don't I always do right by you?”
    “You always do what a coward would. Which is why I don't trust you. Anybody can
     scare you. And you had all that money. It occurs to me you might be in the
     racket with Raven.”
    Shed went cold. Krage donned