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didn't. He tried to limit himself to doing one stupid thing at a time, and
what he was about to say was precisely as stupid as walking through a mine
field. Which is to say perhaps very stupid, perhaps not stupid at all. But not
safe, regardless.
"It makes sense."
"Ian." Hosea leaned forward. "She is telling the truth. She does not want you
to go."
Yeah, sure. And I'm the fucking Queen of the May.
"No. Please listen to me, Ian. Please don't go. Not now. Not with Thorian
away. He'll " she caught herself and closed her eyes tightly for a moment. "He
won't believe me," she said. "He'll think I talked you into it."
"Why would he think that?" Ian asked. "Just because you did just that not six
months ago?" The trouble was, still, that her arguments had made sense. And
they made more sense this time. "But never mind that. I can explain things to
Thorian. He can't come with me, not where I'm going."
Hosea nodded sagely. "The Dominions, of course."
"The Fire Duke." Ian folded his hands in his lap. "I think I can call on him
for the return of a favor," he said.
He fondled the heavy ring on his finger. It would not disturb Ian's sense of
morality to use the ring to persuade His Warmth to help him out. Not one whit,
considering that the present Fire Duke owed his position to Ian's having
killed the imposter who had replaced and impersonated His Warmth's father. And
the dukes of the Dominions were known to have solid working relationships with
at least some of the Sons of Fenris.
It was hardly a detailed strategy, but it was, at least, the beginning of a
plan.
Hosea nodded again. "You seem to have thought this through," he said, placing
his palms on the table and making as though to rise.
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Hidden Ways 3.htm
"I'll manage."
"I suppose I had best get to packing."
"No." Ian gestured him back into his seat. "I can't take you for the same
reason that I can't take Thorian. You've got too much history over there, the
both of you."
In the Dominions, Thorian Thorsen was known as Thorian the Traitor. Yes, Ian
might might be able to trade some official gratitude for unofficial pardon.
But he wouldn't be able to trade away the anger and the resentment of the
Duelist's Guild, the
House of Steel, as they called it. And he most certainly couldn't count on the
support of Thorian del Orvald, the Duelmaster, because Thorian del Orvald was
Thorian Thorsen's father, and he could no more let familial affection stand in
his way than any other ruler could, even though the territory the Duelmaster
ruled was a corner of his society, not real estate.
But Ian wasn't arrogant enough to think he was ready to take on Tir Na Nog
alone. He would have liked to have had Arnie Selmo with him, but Arnie Selmo
wasn't available. Torrie would have been fine, but he wasn't available,
either. He might even have settled for Maggie she really wasn't all that good
with a sword, not by Ian's standards but people didn't expect a girl to be
even as adequate as Maggie was.
But she wasn't available either.
For a moment, he played with the idea of seeing if he could enlist Malta's
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brother, but he realized that would only be an excuse to travel to Vandescard
and see Marta. It wasn't just the hunger for the taste of her lips on his, for
the warmth and supple strength of her body at night, but that was part of it.
And while the Thorsen men could afford to think with their dicks, that was a
luxury that Ian had never been permitted.
There was only one more candidate... "So I'll take Valin," he said.
Karin Thorsen's eyes went wide. "Valin? He's just this side of death."
"No, not really." Hosea pursed his lips together thoughtfully. "He was," he
said, "but dwarves heal rapidly. That which doesn't kill them won't keep them
down for long." His right hand, as usual, lay limp in his lap, but somehow or
other he managed to eat the coffee cake without dropping so much as a crumb on
his lap or the table. Ian wished he knew how Hosea did that.
Hosea turned to him. "You'll take the Hidden Way from the clearing," he said.
"If you don't look for hidden turns, you'll likely emerge at the place where
the Sons brought Thorian and his family, only a few days from the Southern
Pass, even at a fairly slow pace."
Ian frowned. "I was hoping you knew a way that could bring us directly back to
Falias." The Hidden Way from Falias emerged in the clearing; there should be
some way to take it back to Falias.
"I'm sorry." Hosea shook his head, sadly. "I'm sure there is a way," he said,
tapping a long forefinger against his temple. "But I
couldn't tell you what it is." His jaw clenched for just a moment, and his
cheek muscles stood out in sharp relief. "There was a time..." he shook his
head slowly, sadly, in resignation. "Regrets," he said, "are not the most [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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