Free Iorich by Steven Brust Page A

them.”
    “It’d be interesting to try.”
    He waved it aside. “The point is, this will create lots of bad feelings among those who matter. And bad feelings are bad statesmanship, and the Empress isn’t known for bad statesmanship.”
    “Um. Okay, I think I get the idea. What’s your conclusion?”
    “My conclusion is that I want to know what’s going on. I’ll look at it from my end, you look at it from yours.”
    “All right.”
    “Do you know how you’re going to start?”
    “Of course not.”
    He nodded like he’d have been surprised to get any other answer. “Are you open to suggestions?”
    “Sure.”
    “Stay away from the Empress.”
    “That part is easy. I don’t have that much call to see her, you know. But that only tells me what not to do.”
    “I’m sure we can find more things for you not to do if we put our minds to it.”
    “See, Boss? He
does
have a sense of humor.”
    “Such as it is.”
Aloud, I said, “You need something that will provide a legal angle for Aliera.”
    He nodded.
    “Yeah, well, I know about as much about the law as you know about—that is, I don’t know much about the law.”
    “You don’t need to. Find out why they’re prosecuting Aliera, and be able to prove it.”
    “Prove it. What does that mean, exactly?”
    “Find people who saw or heard things, and will swear to it beneath the Orb.”
    “Oh, and where would I—oh.”
    “Right. But stay away from the Empress.”
    “Great. And what will you be doing?”
    “Same as you, only to different people. And I’ll be reviewing the laws, and looking through decisions and case histories. You aren’t going to be too useful for that part.”
    “I imagine not.” I stood and headed out.
    Let me explain again something I’ve already mentioned: The way an assassin operates involves picking a time and a place, setting up whatever is necessary (which usually means making sure you have a good edge on your knife), and striking. If for some reason things go wrong—like, say, the guy gets suspicious about the handwriting of a note—then you go back and start over. All of which means that no one was going to be making a move on me for a day at least. Which means I should have been able to relax as I left the waiting room and headed toward the Palace.
    Yeah, well, you try it sometime and see how relaxed you are.
    Loiosh was pretty tense too, either because he sensed thatI was, or because he knew what was going on. It’s pretty crazy, that feeling of walking through a big, wide corridor, your boots echoing, almost no one in sight, thinking you’re safe, but feeling anything but. I stopped just inside the door to cross the wide pavement to the Iorich Wing, and let Loiosh and Rocza explore carefully. The trees that dotted the pavement were too thin for anyone to hide behind, but I studied them anyway.
    I kept an even walking pace across the long, long, long paved promenade between the House of the Iorich and the Palace.
    “Boss, no one is going to make a move in the middle of the day, out in the open, in front of the Imperial Palace.”
    “Who are you trying to convince?”
    “Me, of course.”
    “Just checking.”
    “But you have to figure you’re being watched.”
    “I know.”
    I got inside, and started toward the Imperial Wing. I had the idea that it would be fun to count the number of disdainful looks I got on the way, but I forgot to actually do it. I’m still not sure how I got lost; I thought I had the route memorized. I wasn’t even aware of having gone wrong until I stepped into a large open area I hadn’t realized existed, and heard the drone of voices and saw strange and wondrous things: a shoemaker’s shop, a tailor’s, a wine seller’s, a sorcerer’s supply, a silversmith. The ceiling, if you can call it that, was high and domed, and somehow the dome’s silvery white color made it seem even higher.
    “Boss, there’s a whole town here.”
    “I think I should have gone up that flight of