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and I have no doubts that you would have no compunctions about pad-
ding a deal or slitting a throat if you set your mind to it, but in your
current position you've had many opportunities to betray the Beysa for
spite or personal gain, yet to my knowledge you have not taken advan-
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r r
tage of any of them. To my mind, that makes you trustworthy . . .
notably more so than many of the advisors I've had assigned to me or
appointed myself-
"Even more important, however, is the unmistakable fact that you love
this town. While your feelings for Shupansea or myself might wax and
wan, I cannot imagine your knowingly doing anything or agreeing to
anything that would not be in Sanctuary's best interest.
"It may seem ironic or contradictory, but I firmly believe that you can
best serve the interests of this town by leaving it ... by being our eyes
and ears, our watchdog, if you will, in the Beysib court during this cru-
cial period. Will you do that for me ... or better yet, for Sanctuary,
storyteller?"
TO BEGIN AGAIN
587
.iakiem grimaced into his wine at the memory.
Do it for Sanctuary.
If the prince ever decided to abandon his royal calling, there was a real
future for him as a swindler or confidence man. While the request may
have had the appearance of free will, there was really only one answer
that could be given. Hakiem had had no more choice than a member of
an audience having a conjuror "force" a specific card on him for the
purposes of a trick or illusion.
Of course, the prince could have simply ordered him into service. In
that case, Hakiem would have had the choice of leaving Sanctuary as an
honored ambassador, or leaving it as a fugitive of the prince's wrath. It
would seem, however, that Kadakithis had learned the value of a willing
volunteer . . . however unwilling that volunteer might be in reality.
Absently, Hakiem noted the contradictory, circular nature of that ob-
servation as a gauge of the effects the wine was having on him, and was
not displeased at his progress.
"May I join you, old man? ... Or are you too busy with the 'prepa-
rations' for your voyage to spare me a few of the miTlions of words you
spend so freely on others?"
Hakiem gaped with astonishment, uncharacteristically at a loss for
words. None seemed required, however, as his visitor pulled up a chair
and settled at the table like some huge black bird coming to roost.
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r r
"Jubal?" the storyteller managed at last, blurting out the question as if
requiring confirmation for what his eyes already told him. "Are you . . .
I mean, is this wise?"
He tore his gaze free to glance nervously about the tavern's dim inte-
rior, but no one seemed to be taking notice of the figure in their midst.
"I've found that I've been out of view long enough that no one remem-
bers what I look like." Sanctuary's crime lord smiled without humor.
"Especially with the 'changes' I've undergone since I was a 'public fig-
ure.* If anything, a disguise would draw attention to me rather than avert
it ... especially in the Vulgar Unicorn. Like this, I'm just another old
man . . . like yourself."
While it appeared Jubal was correct in his analysis, Hakiem nonethe-
less felt distinctly uncomfortable . . . enough so to banish any effects of
his earlier drinking. As long as they had known each other . . . actu-
ally, as long as Hakiem had been in Sanctuary . . . Jubal had main-
tained an air of secrecy about himself. Originally, he would not have left
his mansion without a cloak and one of the blue hawk masks to disguise
his features, and after the aging caused by the spell hired to help him heal
from the wounds suffered during the Stepsons' raid on his holdings, he
had not appeared in public at all. Ergo, sitting next to an ex-slaver in the
588 STEALERS' SKY
Vulgar Unicorn, bereft of any effort to mask his identity, had Hakiem
feeling that he was in close proximity to a target on one of the military's
firing ranges.
"What are you doing here?"
"I've heard about your new assignment," Jubal said, his dark lips
tightening into a flat smile. "Good news travels slower than bad in this
town, but it still travels."
"I already gathered that from your first comments. What I want to
know is why it drew you into the open. Forgive me if I find it hard to
believe that you're here solely to wish me safe voyage, but in the past the
only times you've sought me out is when it somehow benefited you or
your operations. Of what import is my appointment to you?"
The crime lord gave a short bark of laughter and shook his head.
"Your time in court has certainly sharpened your tongue, old man, but
then I guess neither of us has ever had much tolerance for small talk
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r r
when it came to business. Very well, I'll come straight to the point."
He shot a quick glance around the room, then leaned forward, lower-
ing his voice-
"I have a proposition for you. Simply put, I want to accompany you on
your new assignment." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]