there will cringe, unmanned by the news of our coming.”
I did not believe that for an instant. Soulcatcher would be pleased to see us. A
good squabble would relieve the tedium of her daily grind. Being an all-powerful
ruler actually takes most of the fun out of life. In the heyday of her dark
empire, my wife had made that discovery, too. Management trivia consumes you.
Lady hated it enough to walk away. But misses it now.
Sleepy said, “We lack only the knowledge to repair our shadowgate, so that our
world isn’t overrun by the Host of the Unforgiven Dead.”
Our spokespeople never fail to harp on that point. It remains central to every
statement of our purpose. We would wear the Nine down. They would give in so
they would not have to hear about it anymore. They were, however, extremely
paranoid about the risk of another otherworld invasion.
If they were hard asses they could try to outstubborn us, hoping we would give
up, go home, and have our shadowgate fall apart behind us. That would end our
threat permanently.
The power of the File lies in the anonymity of its members. When warlords get
together to plot they are restrained by the possibility that among them is one
of the Nine. The File publishes any schemes it uncovers, thereby focusing the
wrath of warlords not included in the plan. It is a clumsy system but it has
kept conflict limited for generations by making it difficult to forge alliances.
Sleepy could expose the File. If they were betrayed, chaos would come baying
right behind. Few warlords like having their ambitions held in check—though
restraints had to be imposed on all those other villains.
The Unknowns did not like being bullied, either. Those whose names had been
betrayed soon grew so angry the elder monk placed himself between parties as a
reminder of where we were.
Being an old soldier, I began a swift inventory of resources available for a
fight if some warlord was dim enough to force one. I was not reassured. Our
greatest asset was missing.
Where did Shiki go? When did she go? Why?
I needed to keep a closer eye on my surroundings. An oversight this big could
turn fatal.
One masked warlord bounded out of his chair. He yipped and slapped his buttocks.
We gaped. Silence fell. The man began to gather his dignity. A trill of faint
high-pitched laughter sparkled in the silence. Something with humming diamond
wings darted about too fast to be made out clearly. It left the room before
anybody could react.
Sahra observed, “Most of the Hidden Realm will follow us when we leave. Possibly
so much of it that Hsien will no longer be the Land of Unknown Shadows.”
Master Santaraksita murmured in her ear. That irked the warlords and the old
referee elder, too. The monk was particularly unhappy because the ladies kept
spinning those implied threats. But he was cautious. The Company was up to
something new. This was frightening. Had the outsiders run out of patience? All
Hsien nurtures some fears of the sleeping tiger of the Abode of Ravens. And we
make a point of encouraging them.
When I looked around again there was Shikhandini. How? . . .
I studied her, expecting to see some deviltry suggested by her stance or
expression. There was nothing there. The kid was stone cold indifferent.
Sahra waved Santaraksita away. He scurried over to Sleepy, murmured some more.
Sleepy nodded but did not do anything else. That left the old scholar looking
like he was about to panic.
Shiki’s disappearance and reappearance made it more obvious than ever that there
was something going on. Obvious to the former Captain, anyway. And the former
Captain had been told nothing beforehand.
The ladies were into one of their schemes. And that would be the real reason
they wanted Shiki along. Shiki brought an awesome array of weapons into the
game.
And they had had me convinced that they just wanted the magic handy in case
somebody suffered an
I did not believe that for an instant. Soulcatcher would be pleased to see us. A
good squabble would relieve the tedium of her daily grind. Being an all-powerful
ruler actually takes most of the fun out of life. In the heyday of her dark
empire, my wife had made that discovery, too. Management trivia consumes you.
Lady hated it enough to walk away. But misses it now.
Sleepy said, “We lack only the knowledge to repair our shadowgate, so that our
world isn’t overrun by the Host of the Unforgiven Dead.”
Our spokespeople never fail to harp on that point. It remains central to every
statement of our purpose. We would wear the Nine down. They would give in so
they would not have to hear about it anymore. They were, however, extremely
paranoid about the risk of another otherworld invasion.
If they were hard asses they could try to outstubborn us, hoping we would give
up, go home, and have our shadowgate fall apart behind us. That would end our
threat permanently.
The power of the File lies in the anonymity of its members. When warlords get
together to plot they are restrained by the possibility that among them is one
of the Nine. The File publishes any schemes it uncovers, thereby focusing the
wrath of warlords not included in the plan. It is a clumsy system but it has
kept conflict limited for generations by making it difficult to forge alliances.
Sleepy could expose the File. If they were betrayed, chaos would come baying
right behind. Few warlords like having their ambitions held in check—though
restraints had to be imposed on all those other villains.
The Unknowns did not like being bullied, either. Those whose names had been
betrayed soon grew so angry the elder monk placed himself between parties as a
reminder of where we were.
Being an old soldier, I began a swift inventory of resources available for a
fight if some warlord was dim enough to force one. I was not reassured. Our
greatest asset was missing.
Where did Shiki go? When did she go? Why?
I needed to keep a closer eye on my surroundings. An oversight this big could
turn fatal.
One masked warlord bounded out of his chair. He yipped and slapped his buttocks.
We gaped. Silence fell. The man began to gather his dignity. A trill of faint
high-pitched laughter sparkled in the silence. Something with humming diamond
wings darted about too fast to be made out clearly. It left the room before
anybody could react.
Sahra observed, “Most of the Hidden Realm will follow us when we leave. Possibly
so much of it that Hsien will no longer be the Land of Unknown Shadows.”
Master Santaraksita murmured in her ear. That irked the warlords and the old
referee elder, too. The monk was particularly unhappy because the ladies kept
spinning those implied threats. But he was cautious. The Company was up to
something new. This was frightening. Had the outsiders run out of patience? All
Hsien nurtures some fears of the sleeping tiger of the Abode of Ravens. And we
make a point of encouraging them.
When I looked around again there was Shikhandini. How? . . .
I studied her, expecting to see some deviltry suggested by her stance or
expression. There was nothing there. The kid was stone cold indifferent.
Sahra waved Santaraksita away. He scurried over to Sleepy, murmured some more.
Sleepy nodded but did not do anything else. That left the old scholar looking
like he was about to panic.
Shiki’s disappearance and reappearance made it more obvious than ever that there
was something going on. Obvious to the former Captain, anyway. And the former
Captain had been told nothing beforehand.
The ladies were into one of their schemes. And that would be the real reason
they wanted Shiki along. Shiki brought an awesome array of weapons into the
game.
And they had had me convinced that they just wanted the magic handy in case
somebody suffered an
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