darkened blade_ A fallen blade novel - Kelly McCullough Page 0,82

an end to the rule of kings once and for all.”

15

Liars are exhausting.

Take your favorite goblet. Shatter it. Pick up the pieces. Use magic to fuse them back together. Even if the repair is seamless, you know that it was broken. It may hold water now, but can it ever be the same? I don’t believe that it can, but others may reach different conclusions.

Trust is like that. Break it once, and no matter what you do to mend it, it will have become a different thing. The greater the degree of trust and the more badly it is broken, the harder it is to make whole.

With Kelos we haven’t even reached the part where you put the pieces back together—might never—but much of what he said seemed to hold water. It felt true. But the nature of his betrayals meant that the simple fact that it was Kelos saying it made it feel false, too. Every single thing he said had to be weighed and judged on its own merits as much as possible and independently of the source. Dealing with that wears on the soul.

Take his statement about the intentions of the other gods about betraying Namara. It was a self-serving answer, but, I thought, an honest one, too. It fit with what I had learned from other sources, and it made Kelos seem to be less powerful than he might otherwise, not an easy choice for a proud man—and he was that. All things that made it feel true. On the other hand, while the story made him seem less powerful it also made his betrayal less extreme, and that might serve his interests better than the other way around. Feeling false again . . .

And so it went, back and forth with every single thing he said or did. As long as he lived he would always cost me in time and energy I could ill afford. I didn’t want to kill him myself, nor to have one of my fellows kill him for that matter, but my life would be much eased by his passing. . . .

I took a deep breath and nodded. “Put your swords back on, I believe you about the necromancy, and we have a thing that needs doing.” I turned my attention to Roric and Kumi. “I want you two to sit over there.” I pointed. “Don’t move or say a word if you don’t absolutely have to. This will be tricky enough without interruptions. Siri, I know that you and Kyrissa have been discussing how best to do this with Malthiss and Kelos for weeks now and have created a ritual structure for the thing. You’re in charge. Tell us what needs doing.”

“There are actually two main possibilities for how to go about the attunement,” said Siri. “One involves a lot of ritual fancywork on the part of the petitioner and the assembled Blades. It has a decent chance of success. The other is harder, darker, faster, and a lot more painful. It also increases the chance of success enormously. I crafted a ritual for each, but I’ve had extensive talks with Faran about the two methods, and she’s expressed a strong preference.” She turned her eyes on the younger woman. “Last chance to change your mind.”

Faran lifted her chin and spoke clearly. “I choose the way of pain.”

Siri nodded, her expression grim. “It’s what I would have done in her place, and it’s much surer, but it’s not a decision one person can make for another.”

“Siri, what do you need from the rest of us?” I asked, trying to conceal the concerns Siri’s speech had raised for me. This was Faran’s future at stake here, and the choices were hers to make.

“From most of you, I need little beyond following simple orders and a promise not to interfere when things get bloody. You’re going to have a rougher task, Aral, but I’d rather you don’t have too much time to dwell on it in advance.”

I don’t like the sound of that, sent Triss.

I don’t either, but Siri’s our magic expert and Faran knows her own mind. I won’t interfere . . . however much I might like to.

I know, it’s just . . . I worry.

I didn’t have an answer for that.

Siri turned to Kelos. “Can you fetch me the head of the goddess up from the deeps? It’s no more than stone now, but it will serve better than any other choice, and I think that Namara