The Gentleman Bastard Series 3-Book Bundle: The Lies of Locke Lamora, Red Seas Under Red Skies, The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
Authors: Scott Lynch
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their throats in unison.
“Well,” Bug said finally, “I did it and I got away with it. Can we go home now?”
“Home,” Calo mused. “Sure. Locke and Jean are going to sob over you like grandmothers
when they find out you’re alive, so let’s not keep them waiting.”
“No need to get out; your legs are probably cramped up,” said Galdo.
“They are!” Bug squeaked. “But you two really don’t need to carry me all that way.…”
“You’ve never been more right about anything in your entire life, Bug!” Galdo took
up position at one side of the cask and nodded at Calo. Whistling in unison, the two
brothers began rolling the cask along the cobbles, steering for the Temple District,
not necessarily by the fastest or smoothest route available.
INTERLUDE
Locke Explains
“It was an accident,” Locke said at last. “They were both accidents.”
“Excuse me? I must not have heard you.” Father Chains’ eyes narrowed in the faint
red glow of Locke’s tiny ceramic lamp. “I could have sworn you just said, ‘Toss me
over the parapet. I’m a useless little cuss and I’m ready to die at this very moment.’ ”
Chains had moved their conversation up to the roof of the temple, where they sat comfortably
beneath high parapets meant to be threaded with decorative plants. The long-lost hanging
gardens of the House of Perelandro were a small but important aspect of the sacrificial
tragedy of the Eyeless Priest; one more bit of stage-setting to draw sympathy, measured
in coins.
The clouds had roiled in overhead, palely reflecting the particolored glimmers of
night-lit Camorr, obscuring the moons and the stars. The Hangman’s Wind was little
more than a damp pressure that nudged the sluggish air around Chains and Locke as
the boy struggled to clarify himself.
“No! I meant to hurt them, but that’s all. I didn’t know … I didn’t know those things
would happen.”
“Well, that I can
almost
believe.” Chains tapped the index finger of his right hand against his left palm,
the Camorri marketplace gesture for
get
on with it
. “So take me all the way. That ‘almost’ is a major problem for you. Make me understand,
starting with the first boy.”
“Veslin,” Locke whispered. “And Gregor, but Veslin first.”
“Veslin indeed,” Chains said. “Poor soul, got a superfluous orifice carved into his
neck by none other than your old master. He had to go buy one of those lovely shark’s
teeth from the Capa, and that one got
used
. So … why?”
“In the hill, some of the older boys and girls stopped going out to work.” Locke wove
his fingers tightly together and stared down at them as though they might sprout answers.
“They would just take things when we came back each day. Shake us down. Make our reports
to the master for us, leave things out sometimes.”
Chains nodded. “Privileges of age, size, and ass-kissing. If you survive this conversation,
you’ll find that it’s just the same in most of the big gangs.
Most
.”
“And there was one boy. Veslin. He’d do more. He’d kick us, punch us, take our clothes.
Make us do things. Lots of times he’d
lie
to the master about what we’d brought in. He’d give some of our things to the older
girls in Windows, and all of us in Streets would get less food—especially the teasers.”
Locke’s small hands pulled apart and curled slowly into fists as he spoke. “And if
we tried to tell the master, he just laughed, like he knew about it and thought it
was funny! And after we told, Veslin would … Veslin would just get worse.”
Chains nodded, then tapped his index finger against his palm once more.
“I thought about it. I thought about it a
lot
. None of us could fight him. He was too big. None of us had any big friends in the
hill. And if we ganged up on Veslin, his big friends would all come after us.
“Veslin went out each day with some of his friends. We saw them
“Well,” Bug said finally, “I did it and I got away with it. Can we go home now?”
“Home,” Calo mused. “Sure. Locke and Jean are going to sob over you like grandmothers
when they find out you’re alive, so let’s not keep them waiting.”
“No need to get out; your legs are probably cramped up,” said Galdo.
“They are!” Bug squeaked. “But you two really don’t need to carry me all that way.…”
“You’ve never been more right about anything in your entire life, Bug!” Galdo took
up position at one side of the cask and nodded at Calo. Whistling in unison, the two
brothers began rolling the cask along the cobbles, steering for the Temple District,
not necessarily by the fastest or smoothest route available.
INTERLUDE
Locke Explains
“It was an accident,” Locke said at last. “They were both accidents.”
“Excuse me? I must not have heard you.” Father Chains’ eyes narrowed in the faint
red glow of Locke’s tiny ceramic lamp. “I could have sworn you just said, ‘Toss me
over the parapet. I’m a useless little cuss and I’m ready to die at this very moment.’ ”
Chains had moved their conversation up to the roof of the temple, where they sat comfortably
beneath high parapets meant to be threaded with decorative plants. The long-lost hanging
gardens of the House of Perelandro were a small but important aspect of the sacrificial
tragedy of the Eyeless Priest; one more bit of stage-setting to draw sympathy, measured
in coins.
The clouds had roiled in overhead, palely reflecting the particolored glimmers of
night-lit Camorr, obscuring the moons and the stars. The Hangman’s Wind was little
more than a damp pressure that nudged the sluggish air around Chains and Locke as
the boy struggled to clarify himself.
“No! I meant to hurt them, but that’s all. I didn’t know … I didn’t know those things
would happen.”
“Well, that I can
almost
believe.” Chains tapped the index finger of his right hand against his left palm,
the Camorri marketplace gesture for
get
on with it
. “So take me all the way. That ‘almost’ is a major problem for you. Make me understand,
starting with the first boy.”
“Veslin,” Locke whispered. “And Gregor, but Veslin first.”
“Veslin indeed,” Chains said. “Poor soul, got a superfluous orifice carved into his
neck by none other than your old master. He had to go buy one of those lovely shark’s
teeth from the Capa, and that one got
used
. So … why?”
“In the hill, some of the older boys and girls stopped going out to work.” Locke wove
his fingers tightly together and stared down at them as though they might sprout answers.
“They would just take things when we came back each day. Shake us down. Make our reports
to the master for us, leave things out sometimes.”
Chains nodded. “Privileges of age, size, and ass-kissing. If you survive this conversation,
you’ll find that it’s just the same in most of the big gangs.
Most
.”
“And there was one boy. Veslin. He’d do more. He’d kick us, punch us, take our clothes.
Make us do things. Lots of times he’d
lie
to the master about what we’d brought in. He’d give some of our things to the older
girls in Windows, and all of us in Streets would get less food—especially the teasers.”
Locke’s small hands pulled apart and curled slowly into fists as he spoke. “And if
we tried to tell the master, he just laughed, like he knew about it and thought it
was funny! And after we told, Veslin would … Veslin would just get worse.”
Chains nodded, then tapped his index finger against his palm once more.
“I thought about it. I thought about it a
lot
. None of us could fight him. He was too big. None of us had any big friends in the
hill. And if we ganged up on Veslin, his big friends would all come after us.
“Veslin went out each day with some of his friends. We saw them
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