Free A Malazan Book of the Fallen Collection 3 by Steven Erikson

suspected, the Royal Household itself. And whatever those instructions entailed, their content was killing the man. He'd always liked his wine, but not with the seductive destroyer, white nectar, mixed in. That was this journey's new fuel for the ebbing fires of Buruk's soul, and it would drown him as surely as would the deep waters of Reach Inlet.
    Four more years. Maybe.
    The Nerek were mobbing their visitor, scores of voices blending into an eerie murmur, like worshippers beseeching a particularly bemusing god, and though the event was hidden in the darkness beyond the fire, Seren Pedac could see it well enough in her imagination. He was trying, only his eyes revealing his unease at the endless embraces, seeking to answer each one with something – anything – that could not be mistaken for benediction. He was, he would want to say, not a man worthy of such reverence. He was, he would want to say, a sordid culmination of failures – just as they were. All of them lost, here in this cold-hearted world. He would want to say – but no, Hull Beddict never said anything. Not, in any case, things so boldly ... vulnerable.
    Buruk the Pale had lifted his head at the commotion, blinking blearily. 'Who comes?'
    'Hull Beddict,' Seren Pedac answered.
    The merchant licked his lips. 'The old Sentinel?'
    'Yes. Although I advise you not to call him by that title. He returned the King's Reed long ago.'
    'And so betrayed the Letherii, aye.' Buruk laughed. 'Poor, honourable fool. Honour demands dishonour, now that is amusing, isn't it? Ever seen a mountain of ice in the sea? Calving again and again beneath the endless gnawing teeth of salt water. Just so.' He tilted his bottle back, and Seren watched his throat bob.
    'Dishonour makes you thirsty, Buruk?'
    He pulled the bottle down, glaring. Then a loose smile. 'Parched, Acquitor. Like a drowning man who swallows air.'
    'Only it's not air, it's water.'
    He shrugged. 'A momentary surprise.'
    'Then you get over it.'
    'Aye. And in those last moments, the stars swim unseen currents.'
    Hull Beddict had done as much as he could with the Nerek, and he stepped into the firelight. Almost as tall as an Edur. Swathed in the white fur of the north wolf, his long braided hair nearly as pale. The sun and high winds had darkened his visage to the hue of tanned hide. His eyes were bleached grey, and it seemed the man behind them was ever elsewhere. And, Seren Pedac well knew, that place was not home.
    No, as lost as his flesh and bones, this body standing before us. 'Take some warmth, Hull Beddict,' she said.
    He studied her in his distracted way – a seeming contradiction that only he could achieve.
    Buruk the Pale laughed. 'What's the point? It'll never reach him through those furs. Hungry, Beddict? Thirsty? I didn't think so. How about a woman? I could spare you one of my Nerek half-bloods – the darlings wait in my wagon.' He drank noisily from his bottle and held it out. 'Some of this? Oh dear, he hides poorly his disgust.'
    Eyes on the old Sentinel, Seren asked, 'Have you come down the pass? Are the snows gone?'
    Hull Beddict glanced over at the wagons. When he replied, the words came awkwardly, as if it had been some time since he last spoke. 'Should do.'
    'Where are you going?'
    He glanced at her once more. 'With you.'
    Seren's brows rose.
    Laughing, Buruk the Pale waved expansively with his bottle – which was empty save for a last few scattering drops that hit the fire with a hiss. 'Oh, welcome company indeed! By all means! The Nerek will be delighted.' He tottered upright, weaving perilously close to the fire, then, with a final wave, he stumbled towards his wagon.
    Seren and Hull watched him leave, and Seren saw that the Nerek had returned to their sleeping places, but all sat awake, their eyes glittering with reflected flames as they watched the old Sentinel, who now stepped closer to the fire and slowly sat down. He held out battered hands to the heat.
    They could be softer than they