'Precisely,' the High Fist growled. 'The risk. You never seem to realize, but you're more important to this army than I am. You always have been. To the soldiers, I'm just a one-armed ogre in a fancy uniform — they damned well see me as a pet.'
Whiskeyjack studied Dujek's battered, unadorned armour and grinned sourly.
'A figure of speech,' the High Fist said. 'Besides, it's as the Empress has commanded.'
'So you keep saying.'
'Whiskeyjack, Seven Cities is devouring itself. The Whirlwind has risen over blood-soaked sands. The Adjunct has a new army and it's on its way, but too late for the Malazan forces already there. I know you were talking retirement, but look at it from Laseen's point of view. She has two commanders left who know Seven Cities. And, before long, only one seasoned army — stuck here on Genabackis. If she has to risk one of us in the Pannion War, it has to be me.'
'She plans on sending the Host to Seven Cities? Hood take us, Dujek-'
'If the new Adjunct falls to Sha'ik, what choice does she have? More important, she wants you in command.'
Whiskeyjack slowly blinked. 'What about you?'
Dujek grimaced. 'I don't think she expects me to survive what's about to come. And if by some miracle I do, well, the campaign in Korel is a shambles. '
'You don't want Korel.'
'What I want doesn't matter, Whiskeyjack.'
'And Laseen would say the same of me, I gather. Dujek, as I said before, I intend to retire, to disappear if need be. I'm done. With all of this. Some log cabin in some frontier kingdom, a long way away from the Empire-'
'And a wife swinging a pot at your head. Marital, domestic bliss — you think Korlat will settle for that?'
Whiskeyjack smiled at High Fist's gentle mockery. 'It's her idea — not the pot-swinging — that's your particular nightmare, Dujek. But all the rest … all right, not a log cabin. More like a remote, wind-battered keep in some mountain fastness. A place with a forbidding view-'
'Well,' Dujek drawled, 'you can still plant a small vegetable garden in the courtyard. Wage war against weeds. All right, that's our secret, then. Too bad for Laseen. Should I survive Coral, I'll be the one taking the Host back to Seven Cities. And should I not survive, well, I won't be in a position to care one whit about the Malazan Empire.'
'You'll scrape through, Dujek. You always do.'
'A weak effort, but I'll take it. So, share one last meal with me? The Moranth won't be here till after the midnight bell.'
It was an odd choice of words, and they hung heavy between the two old friends for a long moment.
'One last meal before I leave, I meant,' Dujek said with a faint smile. 'Until Coral.'
'I'd be delighted,' Whiskeyjack replied.
The wastes southwest of River Eryn stretched out beneath the stars, the sands rippled by inland winds born on the Dwelling Plain in the heart of the continent. Ahead, on the horizon's very edge, the Godswalk Mountains were visible, young and jagged, forming a barrier to the south that stretched sixty leagues. Its easternmost edge was swallowed by forests that continued unbroken all the way to Ortnal's Cut and Coral Bay, resuming on the other side of the water to surround the city of Coral itself.
The River Eryn became Ortnal's Cut twenty or more leagues from Coral Bay, the river's red water plunging into a deep chasm and reputedly turning oddly black and impenetrable. Coral Bay seemed to be but a continuation of that chasm.
The Cut was not yet visible to Paran, even from this height, yet he knew it was there. Scouts from the flight of Black Moranth now winging him and his Bridgeburners down the river's path had confirmed its nearness — sometimes the maps were wrong, after all. Fortunately, most of the Black Moranth had been positioned in the Vision Mountains for months, making nightly sorties to study the lie of the land, to formulate the best approach to Coral in anticipation of this moment.
They would likely reach Eryn's mouth before dawn, assuming the stiff, steady winds rushing towards the Godswalk Mountains continued unabated, and the following night would see them skimming over the Cut's black waters, towards Coral itself.
And once there, we work out what the Seer's planned for us. Work it out and, if possible, dismantle it. And once that's done, it'll be time for me and Quick Ben -
Some unseen signal had the quorls plunging earthward, angling towards the river's western bank. Paran gripped hard the bony projections on the Black Moranth rider's armour, the wind whistling through his helm's visor to shriek in his ears. Gritting his teeth, Paran ducked his head low behind the warrior as the dark ground swiftly rose to meet them.