Enough of that.
Kallor had no time for such games. A nose in the air just made it easier to cut the throat beneath it. And when it came to that choice, why, he never hesitated. As sure as any force of Nature, was Kallor.
He walked, shins tearing and uprooting tangled grasses. Above him, a strange, moonless night with the western horizon-where the sun had gone down long ago-convulsing with carmine flashes.
Reaching a raised road of packed gravel, he set out, hastening his pace towards the waiting city. The track dipped and then began a long, stretched-out climb. Upon reaching the summit, he paused.
A hundred paces ahead someone had set four torches on high poles where four paths met, creating a square with the flaring firelight centred on the crossroads. There were no buildings in sight, nothing to give reason for such a construction. Frowning, he resumed walking.
As he drew closer, he saw someone sitting on a marker stone, just beneath one of the torches. Hooded, motionless, forearms resting on thighs, gauntleted hands draped down over the knees.
Kallor felt a moment of unease. He scraped through gravel with one boot and saw the hood slowly lift, the figure straightening and then rising to its feet.
Shit.
The stranger reached up and tugged back the hood, then walked to position himself in the centre of the crossroads.
In the wake of recognition, dismay flooded through Kallor. ‘No, Spinnock Durav, not this.’
The Tiste Andii unsheathed his sword. ‘High King, I cannot let you pass.’
‘Let him fight his own battles!’
‘This need not be a battle,’ Spinnock replied. ‘I am camped just off this road. We can go there now, sit at a fire and drink mulled wine. And, come the morning, you can turn round, go back the other way. Darujhistan, High King, is not for you.’
‘You damned fool. You know you cannot best me.’ He glared at the warrior, struggling. A part of him wanted to… gods … a part of him wanted to weep. ‘How many of his loyal, brave followers will he see die? And for what? Listen to me, Spinnock. I have no real enmity against you. Nor Rake.’ He waved one chain-clad hand in the air behind him. ‘Not even those who pursue me. Heed me, please. I have always respected you, Spinnock-by the Abyss, I railed at how Rake used you-’
‘You do not understand,’ the Tiste Andii said. ‘You never did, Kallor.’
‘You’re wrong. I have nothing against any of you!’