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.Expensive, not really worth the hassle." He frowned, mind beginning to race."Not many people use them, pretty much mercs and a few hunters.The occasional noble who fancies hefile:///H|/NOVEL/New%20novel/2.htm[9/25/2009 10:21:36 AM]AmaSour Fictionknows how to use one.If we had time it wouldn't be hard to track down who has them.A small group with at least twoflintlocks? Quiet enough I don't already know who they are?""Foreign," Gleb said faintly."I don't think they were native.We'd have heard of them.Only groups we know with flints are Matvei and Stas.Word is Taras picked up a couple, but this attack doesn't fit their style.Moving through a dark forest like it's midday? Foreign." His voice trailed off as he spoke, final words barely audible before sleep took him away from the pain."Fire and ash!" Raz swore."Stop trying to kill me."Shio didn't sound worried."If I wanted to kill you, Raz, you'd be dead.Now sit still."Obediently Raz subsided."I can't believe I let them get away.""You're lucky you're not dead," Shinju said tartly, wiping away the blood that had dried on his face."Taking off like that was stupid, and doing stupid things won't save Pechal.Tomorrow we'll start tracking them down."Ivan looked up from where'd been looking at the man half-asleep against him as a thought occurred to him."Why didn't they kill him?""What?" Raz asked."I mean - when the Earl offered us the job, he said explicitly that we were supposed to find and kill the Candidate."Luka chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound."That's easy, boss.If his lordship was willing to pay a hefty fee to have us kill the Candidate, what do you think the High Priest might pay for a merc not to kill him."Ivan swore."This is why we don't get tangled up in lordly politics.""Looks like we're tangled up and thoroughly knotted," Raz said sourly."Ouch!""Stop squirming and it wouldn't hurt as much," Shio said tartly."You are the biggest guppy I have ever met.""What's a guppy? You two make no scorching sense, sometimes.""A baby fish," Shinju replied."There, you're all set.Now let's all get some sleep.""What does that make you?" Raz grumbled, some of his humor returning."Sharks?"Shio and Shinju laughed."Sharks are scared of us.""Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Ivan interjected, amused.Beside him Ailill chuckled."Are you certain you're all right?"he asked more quietly as the camp fell silent around them, everyone either asleep or well on their way."Just tired.And extremely disappointed." Ailill sat up just enough to give him a brief kiss.Startled, Ivan nevertheless kissed him back."Go to sleep," he said quietly."We'll renegotiate the arrangement later." With an effort, he moved Ailill to an unused bedroll, protesting only briefly when Ailill insisted he stay."Boss looks pretty cozy.Who gets to wake him?""You," Maksim said, voice full of laughter."But first give me the fifty silver you owe."Isidor snorted."No deal.Bet wasn't for sleeping.""And of course they spent all that time in the field talking.""No silver."Ivan sat up with a growl."No heads on your scorching shoulders either if you don't knock it off." He rubbed his face and grimaced, feeling in desperate need of a bath and at least three more days of sleep."I know I didn't hear you two talking about some bet.""Must be hearing things, boss." Isidor shrugged as if horribly confused."We were just talking about what to do for breakfast.""Go figure it out elsewhere - and be quick about it."file:///H|/NOVEL/New%20novel/2.htm[9/25/2009 10:21:36 AM]AmaSour Fiction"Yes, boss." Isidor and Maksim obediently went to see about breakfast.Groaning, Ivan fought the urge to curl back up against Ailill and go back to sleep."What time is it?""Barely past sunrise," Luka said from where he was stoking the fire."Raz and his terrors are already gone."Ivan swore and stood up."Those idiots.They're going to get themselves killed.""If it was one of your men, you'd be doing the same thing," Ailill pointed out, reluctantly standing to join the rest of the waking."That's beside the point," Ivan snapped."My men aren't Candidates.Raz is getting deep into stuff he shouldn't be messing with."Luka shrugged."His call, boss.What do you care anyway?""Maybe I'm going senile," Ivan groused."Doubtful," Ailill murmured so only he could hear.Ivan shot him a look but didn't otherwise respond."All right - most of you are in no condition to travel hard." He let them all complain for a couple of minutes."No arguing.You lot are staying here - we have to travel fast and at least half of you can't do that.The rest of you are staying to look after the injured lot." That aside, if hunting down Raz took a turn for the nasty, he didn't want his men to take the fall with him.Which forced him to think of something else.He looked at Ailill, making his hands stay where they were at his side."You should be getting out of the country," he said."I know Raz must have finished his job for you, which means you should be going before you get tangled up in all this.""I'm already tangled up in it," Ailill said, the words said casually but the heat in his eyes decidedly not."That aside, I already accepted the down payment for helping you with that curse." He reached out and yanked Ivan close, leaving not much more than a breath of space between them."You're not allowed to take it back."Around the campsite, Ivan's men howled and laughed."Now you owe me fifty silver," Maksim declared, laughing all the harder when Isidor threw a small sack of coins at his head.Ivan eyed them until both men found something else to do.He pulled away from Ailill before his men found more ways toharass him."I think the discipline is severely lacking around here.""Not with Ailill to finally administer it to you," Luka said, ducking behind the injured Gleb as he said it."Your head is coming off when I get back," Ivan said, and continued more seriously."Stay low and out of sight.Shouldn't be anymore trouble, as we're running right towards it.Don't move until you hear from me - and any message will come with thecode.""Right, boss." Luka said, joking manner falling away."We'll head toward Green Falls, hole up there.A bit out of the way, but that's all to the good."Ivan nodded."Move slowly, go easy on poor Gleb - though not too easy.Gleb, don't do something stupid.I mean it.Everyone take care.""You too boss," the men chorused."Hey, Ai," Karp added as they reached the edge of the clearing."Take care of the boss.Good ones are hard to find."Ailill smiled, and covered Ivan's mouth to shut him up."I will." Then he blurred, shimmered, and was a large white cat.Nipping playfully at Ivan's leg, he then turned and bounded into the forest [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]