Free The Two of Swords: Part 12 by K. J. Parker

believe it. For a start, you’ve got all those teeth. I’ll be generous, twenty stuivers against each tooth. And after that we can play for fingers.”
    Musen thought about the window. He’d break his neck. “Corason told me you like hurting people,” he said.
    “Did he now.” Axeo frowned. “That’s a gross oversimplification, as he well knows. I like doing things – to people, for people – that sometimes involve pain. But pain isn’t the reason. It’s
involved
, but it’s not the reason.” He leaned back in his chair. “We don’t have to play cards,” he said. “I just thought it’d help pass the time, that’s all.” He gathered the pack and put it in his pocket, then did the same with the money. “Did Corason tell you about the time he was a junior captain commanding a half-squadron of light cavalry, and orders came down to intercept an enemy raiding party? Turned out when he got there he was outnumbered eight to one, he didn’t have a hope in hell. But the enemy took over this village, it was in the marshes somewhere, out back of Bresc; village was on an island, with a palisade all round it, and great big wooden gates, I think about five hundred people lived there. So Corason sent his men out to set fire to the reeds. The village burned down, there was no way off the island, the few that made it past the flames went down in the marshes, soldiers and villagers alike. And Corason didn’t see anything wrong with that. He’d been given a job to do, and the orders didn’t mention civilians at all, so he left them out of the equation. Of course, the purpose of the exercise was to stop the raiders hurting the local population, but he couldn’t see that.” He shrugged. “There’s doing things that might have certain side effects which aren’t pleasant, and there’s doing things that utterly defeat the object of the exercise. I’m sure you can see the difference, but I don’t think he can.” He closed his eyes and folded his hands on his chest. “What I’d really like to do is get a couple of hours’ sleep,” he said. “Will you promise me you won’t do anything annoying if I close my eyes for a bit? Bearing in mind your hands are all bunged up and I’m a light sleeper?”
    “I promise.”
    “Thanks,” Axeo said, and yawned. “You’re a pal.” He breathed in deeply and immediately went to sleep.
    Musen lifted his head. Light was streaming through the window, the door was open and Axeo was gone. He started to get up, pressed his hands to the floor to lever himself up, winced and remembered. He looked at his left hand and saw three black, swollen fingernails.
    He found Axeo outside, on his hands and knees in the gravel of the yard. “Bloody key,” Axeo explained. “That’s my window there, look. Got to find the key and hand it back in, or they won’t let me stay here again.”
    Musen took a step back and trod on something. “Here,” he said. “Sorry, I can’t pick it up for you.”
    Axeo crawled towards him like a dog, then stopped, just out of kicking range. “Thanks,” he said. “I obviously couldn’t see for looking.” Musen took two long steps back; Axeo retrieved the key, stood up and brushed gravel off the knees of his trousers. “I’ve seen Corason,” he said. “It all went off like a charm. One very pissed-off emperor, but Corason said there was never any doubt. He stood over him while he wrote out the orders for Senza, and our man the food taster confirmed they reached the courier.” He turned the key over in his hand. “Nothing can catch those boys once they get going,” he said, “but just to be on the safe side, Corason told him we’ve kept back one card.” He produced it from his sleeve, like a conjuror; it flashed dazzling white in the morning sun, and then Axeo put it away again. “He gets that the day after tomorrow, assuming no further couriers get sent to the Front. Not from us, though, thank God. We’re free to go, once I’ve made the