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Voainst Kala the corpse to the ground Straddling the body, he released his grip, wiped his hand dry against the grey shirt, then moved on

Two hundred heartbeats later and there were but two left Their route had taken the, roundabout path, towards a district rand tee of a broad concourse, awaiting their comrades, no doubt

Kalam approached the attention, their gazes fixed on a building on the other side of the concourse At the last -knives and thrust therunts, and both stones The blow to the leader of the Talon’s hand was instantly fatal, but Kalahtly to one side, and he now crouched down beside the dying ,’ he murmured, ‘and they should be Coed the two knives free, cleaned the blades and sheathed theet was, he assu that had been the sole focus of their attention Well enough-Kalam had no friends in this dae of the concourse

At the irls The blood and knife-wounds indicated they had put up a fierce fight, and two spattered trails led away, in the direction of the temple

Kalah the half-ruined structure’s gaping doorway, then he halted

The bitter reek of sorcery wafted from the broad entrance Damn, this place has been newly sanctified

There was no sound froed forward until he came to one side of the doorway

A body lay just inside, grey-swathed, fixed in a contortion of liic Shadoere flowing in the darkness beyond

Kalah the doorway

The shadoraiths flinched back

The floor had collapsed long ago, leaving a vast pit Five paces ahead, at the base of a rubble-strewn rairl sat amidst the blood and entrails of three ore, her eyes darkly luminous as she looked up at Kalanoring her question, he stepped past at a safe distance ‘Make no move, lass, and you’ll survive looone, Claw No time, alas, to fully harden ht In any case, you should know that I am not your eneht is none other than the Malazan renegade, Korbolo Doive you directions to their abode?’

‘I’ll find it in due course,’ Kalam murmured

‘Do you think your otataral blade sufficient, Claw? Here, in ine you believe you do, but I auest soure squirmed wetly across the rubble fro sores and the led rot of leprosy With horrible absurdity, a silver tray had been strapped to the creature’s back, on which sat a squat, fired clay jug

‘He is rather slow, I’m afraid But I assure you, the wine is so exquisite that you will agree it is worth the wait Assassin, you are in the presence of Bidithal, archpriest of all that is sundered, broken, wounded and suffering My oakening proved both long and torturous, I admit I had fashioned, in my own mind, every detail of the cult I would lead All the while unaware that the shaping was being… guided

‘Blindness, wilful and, indeed, spiteful Even when the fated new House was laid out beforeof a desert goddess Nor of the Empress None of you shall have it, for it shall become the heart of the new House of Chains Tell your empress to stand aside, assassin We are indifferent to ould rule the land beyond the Holy Desert She can have it’

‘And Sha’ik?’

‘You can have her as well Marched back to Unta in chains-and that is far more poetic than you will ever know’

The shadoraiths-torn souls fro closer round Kala-knifeoffer,’ he ru tells me there are more lies than truths within it, Bidithal’