Free Dzur by Steven Brust

there chances you wouldn't have taken before?"
    "Funny, Sethra."
    She shrugged. "As for your weapon, well, there are stories and legends, but I don't actually know anything."
    "Leaving me pretty much where I was before."
    "I'm afraid so. Although-"
    "Yes?"
    "I've never heard anything that would account for the strange behavior you referred to."
    "Wonderful. Well, would you care to let me in on the stories and legends?"
    "Are you sure you want to know? The things I've heard all have to do with destiny."
    "Wonderful. Yeah, I guess I'd like to know anyway."
    "Very well. The weapon is supposed to destroy Verra." I nodded. What with one thing and another, that didn't surprise me.
    "Hmmm. Sethra, could the Jenoine know about that?"
    "Certainly, Vlad."
    "Okay, that would explain a couple of things. Anyway, what else?"
    "There is also something I heard years ago, all wrapped in metaphor, that implies Godslayer is designed to, uh, cut out the diseased flesh in the world."
    "Okay, well, that's clear enough. Any idea what it means?"
    "Not really."
    I sighed. "Okay, mind if I change the subject?"
    "Go ahead."
    "Do you know anything about the Left Hand of the Jhereg?"
    "I thought you wanted to change the subject."
    "Eh?"
    "Never mind; it was a joke." She considered. "I've had a few encounters with the Left Hand over the years."
    "What can you tell me?"
    "They're very secretive, as you probably know."
    "Yes."
    "They do have magic no one else has. I know that the Athyra in particular are always attempting to insinuate someone into their organization, just to discover how some of their spells operate."
    "Attempting?"
    "They haven't had much success, so far."
    "So far is a long time, Sethra."
    "Well, yes. From what I've picked up, those in the Jheregthat is, the Left Hand-rarely even tell each other how to per-form some of the more obscure and difficult magics."
    "I think I might have seen one of those."
    "Oh?"
    "You know how much I know of sorcery, so I could be wrong, but the one who attacked me, when she appeared, well, it didn't look like any teleport I've seen before."
    "Interesting. What was different about it?"
    I described what I'd seen, and what I hadn't seen, as best I could. Sethra looked thoughtful.
    "I don't know what that could be. I wish I did."
    "If you ask nicely, maybe she'll teach you."
    "I'll keep that in mind. Would you like to sleep here tonight?"
    "Please, and thank you. And, yeah, I'm pretty tired. It's been quite a day."
    She nodded. "Tukko will show you to your room." Tukko appeared and led me to a room where once I had awoken after death; he left a candle burning and shut the door. I laid myself down in a very soft bed-the kind that wraps you up like a blanket. Not my favorite sort of bed, but I appreciated the feeling just then.
    The only decoration in the room was a painting, which showed a battle between a jhereg and a dzur, in which they both looked pretty banged up. I'd never seen a jhereg like that in real life; it was smaller than the giant ones that hover near Deathgate Falls, but much larger than any of those that scavenge in the jungles and forests and even sometimes in Adrilankha. Maybe the nameless artist had never seen a real one. I couldn't say about the dzur, I'd never seen one close up. Nor was I in any special hurry to; they were larger than the tiassa, black, wingless, and, by all reports, very fast. And they had claws and teeth and were reputed to fear nothing.
    Things that fear nothing scare me.
    When I'd studied the painting before, I had been pulling for the jhereg to win. Now I wasn't sure. Now maybe I was for the dzur. I blew out the candle, and let a good night's sleep clear my mind the way a good shamy will clear the tongue.

    4

    MUSHROOM-BARLEY SOUP

    There were several different soups that could have appeared at this point, of which I passionately enjoyed all except the beet soup. Today was one of my favorites; I smelled the mushroom-barley before Mihi arrived with it. The bowls were