Midnight Tides & The Bonehunters - By Steven Erikson Page 0,163

the door.

The manservant glanced back. 'You are far too rat-like, betraying your creator's obsession. Even so, the illusion is superb.'

'I haven't been found out in decades. Who in the Errant's name are you?'

'For that answer,' Bugg said as he turned away, 'you'll need a petition.'

'Wait! Who's your master?'

Bugg gave a final wave then shut the door. He descended the steps and swung right. A long walk to the quarries was before him, and, as Tehol had predicted, the day was hot, and growing hotter.

Summoned to join the Ceda in the Cedance, the chamber of the tiles, Brys descended the last few steps to the landing and made his way onto the raised walkway. Kuru Qan was circling the far platform in a distracted manner, muttering under his breath.

'Ceda,' Brys called as he approached. 'You wished to see me?'

'Unpleasant, Finadd, all very unpleasant. Defying comprehension. I need a clearer mind. In other words, not mine. Perhaps yours. Come here. Listen.'

Brys had never heard the Ceda speak with such fraught dismay. 'What has happened?'

'Every Hold, Finadd. Chaos. I have witnessed a transformation. Here, see for yourself. The tile of the Fulcra, the Dolmen. Do you see? A figure huddled at its base. Bound to the menhir with chains. All obscured by smoke, a smoke that numbs my mind. The Dolmen has been usurped..''

Brys stared down at the tile. The figure was ghostly, and his vision blurred the longer he stared at it. 'By whom?'

'A stranger. An outsider.'

'A god?'

Kuru Qan massaged his lined brow with his fingers as he continued pacing. 'Yes. No. We hold no value in the notion of gods. Upstarts who are as nothing compared to the Holds. Most of them aren't even real, simply projections of a people's desires, hopes. Fears. Of course,' he added, 'sometimes that's all that's needed.'

'What do you mean?'

Kuru Qan shook his head. 'And the Azath Hold, this troubles me greatly. The centre tile, the Heartstone, can you sense it? The Azath Heartstone, my friend, has died. The other tiles clustered together around it, at the end, drawing tight as blood gathers in a wounded body. The Tomb is breached. Portal stands unguarded. You must make a journey for me to the square tower, Finadd. And go armed.'

'What am I to look for?'

'Anything untoward. Broken ground. But be careful – the dwellers within those tombs are not dead.'

'Very well.' Brys scanned the nearest tiles. 'Is there more?'

Kuru Qan halted, brows lifting. 'More? Dragon Hold has awakened. Wyval. Blood-Drinker. Gate. Consort. Among the Fulcra, the Errant is now positioned in the centre of things. The Pack draws nearer, and Shapefinder has become a chimera. Ice Hold's Huntress walks frozen paths. Child and Seed stir to life. The Empty Hold – you can well see – has become obscured. Every tile. A shadow stands behind the Empty Throne. And look, Saviour and Betrayer, they have coalesced. They are one and the same. How is this possible? Wanderer, Mistress, Watcher and Walker, all hidden, blurred by mysterious motion. I am frightened, Finadd.'

'Ceda, have you heard from the delegation?' 'The delegation? No. From the moment of their arrival in the Warlock King's village, all contact with them has been lost. Blocked by Edur sorcery, of a sort we've not experienced before. There is much that is troubling. Much.' 'I should leave now, Ceda, while there's still daylight.' 'Agreed. Then return here with what you have discovered.'

'Very well.'

The track leading to the quarries climbed in zigzag fashion to a notch in the hillside. The stands of coppiced trees on the flanks were sheathed in white dust. Goats coughed in the shade.

Bugg paused to wipe sweaty grit from his forehead, then went on.

Two wagons filled with stonecutters had passed him a short while earlier, and from the frustrated foreman came the unwelcome news that the crew had refused to work the quarry any longer, at least until the situation was resolved.

A cavity had been inadvertently breached, within which a creature of some sort had been imprisoned for what must have been a long, long time. Three 'cutters had been dragged inside, their shrieks short-lived. The hired necromancer hadn't fared any better.

Bugg reached the notch and stood looking down at the quarry pit with its geometric limestone sides cut deep into the surrounding land. The mouth of the cavity was barely visible near an area that had seen recent work.

He made his way down, coming to within twenty paces of the cave before he stopped.

The air was suddenly bitter cold. Frowning, Bugg