Nightside the Long Sun

“I had one of Musk’s helpers do it,” Blood explained, “so he wouldn’t fly off. He wouldn’t hunt anyhow.”

Silk nodded, mostly to himself. “But he attacked me, I suppose because I picked up that scrap of hide. We were next to the battlement, and in the excitement of the moment he—I will not call him Hierax, Hierax is a sacred name—forgot that he could no longer fly.”

Blood reached for the needler. “You’re saying I killed him. That’s a shaggy lie! You did it.”

Silk nodded. “He died by misadventure while fighting with me; but you may say that I killed him if you like. I was certainly trying to.”

“And you stole this needler from Hyacinth before she drove you through the window with her azoth—must be about a thirty-cubit drop. Why didn’t you shoot her?”

“Would you have,” Silk inquired, “if you had been in my place?”

Blood chuckled. “And fed her to Musk’s birds.”

“What I have done to you already is surely much worse than anything that Hyacinth did to me; I say nothing of what I intended to do to you. Are you going to shoot me?” If he lunged, Silk decided, he might be able to wrestle the little needler from Blood in spite of his injured leg; and with the muzzle to Blood’s head, he might be able to force them to let him go. He readied himself, calculating the distance as he edged forward in his chair.

“I might. I might at that, Patera.” Blood toyed with the needler, palming it, flipping it over, and weighing it in his hand; he seemed nearly sober now. “You understand—or I hope you do, anyway—that we haven’t committed any kind of a crime, not a one of us. Not me, not Musk here, not any of my people.”

Silk started to speak, then decided against it.

“You think you know about something? All right, I’ll guess. Tell me if I’m wrong. You’ve been talking with Hy, and so you think she’s a whore. One of our guests tonight gave her that azoth. Quite a little present, plenty good enough for a councillor. Maybe she bragged on some of her other presents, too. Have I hit the target?”

Silk nodded guardedly, his eyes on the needler. “She’d had several … Visitors.”

Blood chuckled. “He’s blushing, Musk. Take a look at him Yes, Patera, I know. Only they didn’t pay, and that’s what matters to the law. They were my guests, and Hy’s one of my houseguests. So if she wants to show somebody a good time, that’s her business and mine, but none of yours. You came out here to get back your manteion, you tell me. Well, we didn’t take it away from you.” Blood emphasized his point with the needler, jabbing at Silk’s face. “If we’re going to talk about what’s not legal, we’ve got to talk about what’s legal, too. And legally you never did own it. It belonged to the Chapter, according to the deed I’ve got. Isn’t that right?”

Silk nodded.

“And the city took it from the Chapter for taxes owed. Not from you, because you never had it. Back last week that was, I think. Everything was done properly, I’m sure. The Chapter was notified and so on. They didn’t tell you?

“No.” Silk sighed, and forced himself to relax. “I knew that it might happen, and in fact I warned the Chapter about it. I was never informed that it had happened.”

“Then they ought to tell you they’re sorry, Patera, and I hope they will. But that’s got nothing to do with Musk and me. Musk bought your manteion from the city, and there was nothing irregular about it. He was acting for me, with my money, but there’s nothing illegal about that either, it’s just a business matter between him and me. Thirteen thousand cards we paid, plus the fees. We didn’t steal anything, did we? And we haven’t hurt you—or anybody—have we?”

“It will hurt the entire quarter, several thousand poor families, if you close the manteion.”

“They can go somewhere else if they want to, and that’s up to the Chapter anyhow, I’d say.” Blood gestured toward the welts on Silk’s chest with the needler. “You got hurt some, and nobody’s arguing about that. But you got banged up fighting my pet bird and jumping out a window. Hy was just defending herself with that azoth, something she’s got every right in the whorl to do. You aren’t planning to peep about her, are you?”

“Peep?”

“Go crying to the froggies.”

“I see. No, of course not.”

“That’s good. I’m happy to hear you being reasonable. Just look at it. You broke into my house hoping to take my property—it’s Musk’s, but you didn’t know that. You’ve admitted that to Musk and me, and we’re ready to swear to it in front of a judge if we have to.”

Silk smiled; it seemed to him a very long time since he had last smiled. “You aren’t really going to have me killed, are you, Blood? You’re not willing to take the risk.”

Blood’s finger found the trigger of the needler. “Keep on talking like that and I might, Patera.”

“I don’t believe so. You’d have someone else do it, probably Musk. You’re not even going to do that, however. You’re trying to frighten me before you let me go.”

Blood glanced at Musk, who nodded and circled behind Silk’s chair. Silk felt the tips of Musk’s fingers brush his ears.