Cook, Glen - Dread Empire 08 - A Path to Coldness of Heart by Cook Glen

Author:Cook, Glen [Cook, Glen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9781597803298
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Published: 2011-10-25T13:00:00+00:00

...

“There is a shift underway,” Wen-chin observed.

“Uhm?” Shih-ka’i focused on the board. He was the superior player but was in a bad position this time around.

“Just years ago we were all playing games of empire. That ends tomorrow, when you execute the treaty with Matayanga. The whole world will be at peace.”

“You think?”

“Consider. In Kavelin one pretender’s ambition is to catch a criminal. The other waits like an ambush predator, showing no ambition whatsoever. Rather the same situation prevails in Hammad al Nakir.”

“True. As far as we know. The west is caught up in the doldrums of peace. North and south, they’re interested only in harvests and their burgeoning mercantile ventures.”

“Peace?”

That came from the Old Man, who drowsed in a western-style chair while disinterestedly watching the game. He began to shake. He made a brief whimpering sound, then slipped away to hide inside himself. Shih-ka’i said, “His fear could be justified. Old Meddler must be livid. But even he can’t chivy an exhausted world into another round of butchery. Generations have to pass.”

“Let that be true. Will you yield?”

...

Ragnarson was at his little desk when Mist arrived. He did not look up. “I can’t remember the color of my mother’s eyes.”

“Blue, I expect. They’re all blue up there, aren’t they?”

“You’d think. But my mother wasn’t Trolledyngjan. My father brought her back from a raid on Hellin Daimiel.”

“Then they were brown, or darker. Does it matter?”

“Not in the history of empires. I wanted to capture what I remember about the people I’ve lost. The memories have begun to get away. Those people shouldn’t be forgotten. So. To what do I owe the honor?”

“I visited Kavelin last night. When I came back I rested till people would be awake here.”

“Did something happen?”

“A lot of nothing. But Varthlokkur was there, helping Inger hunt somebody who tortured and raped a little girl. Kristen’s faction is sitting in Sedlmayr, waiting for Inger to eliminate herself. Nobody is talking politics anymore.”

“Same here. I don’t like being locked up but the lack of pressure is nice. They’ve stopped killing each other, haven’t they?”

“Yes. Do you want to spend the rest of your life here?”

“No. But I don’t want to be the man you locked up, either.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Once she was gone, he added, “I won’t be your tool, either.”

...

Mist found Shih-ka’i tearing his hair, figuratively. He and Wen-chin were involved in the same game. He would not yield.

Mist said, “Ragnarson seems indifferent to what’s going on in Kavelin, evidently because everything has collapsed into peace. He seems inclined to stay away.”

Shih-ka’i said, “Amazing, the impact a good harvest can have.” Mist nodded. The world was drifting into pacifist indifference. She would not complain. She was fond of peace herself. Something was happening, down below the level of consciousness.

The world and all its warlords were putting their swords aside. That contradicted human nature.

Mist left the Tervola to their game and the attention of the now unnaturally alert Old Man. She went to an empty apartment, told her lifeguard, “Wake me in three hours.

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