[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
strong-arm tactics aren't going to work here. If I start shoving my axe in a Being's face, I'll probably end
up snapping at flies on a lily pad. Intimidation is very definitely out. That just leaves diplomacy."
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"I'll leave it to you," said Fisher. "I don't have the knack."
"I had noticed," said Hawk. "What do we have on the killer? He comes and goes at will, even when the
temples are heavily guarded by well-armed fanatics. Which means he's either invisible, which means a
sorcerer, or a master of disguise. Or it's someone they expect to see, someone they don't recognize as a
threat.
"Each Being died in a different way, and as far as we can tell, none of them had anything in common. So
how does the killer choose his victims? At random? Dammit, I don't even know where to start on this
case, Isobel."
"Don't give up so easily. Look at it this way. The killer has to be immensely strong, and able to pass
unseen. So how about a supernatural killer, like a vampire? He could get past .the guards by
shapeshifting into a bat or a mist, and he'd be more than strong enough to tear apart the Dread Lord. It
would even explain why all the killings took place in the early hours of the morning."
Hawk thought about it. "It's a possibility, lass, but I can't believe the Beings wouldn't have protective
wards specifically designed to keep out supernatural vermin like that. Everybody else does, that can
afford them. No, Isobel; I think magic is the key here."
"You mean a rogue sorcerer?"
"Maybe. An invisibility spell would get him past the wards and the guards, and then he could use magic
to blast apart the Dread Lord and age the Stalker to death."
"But then why use a knife on the Sundered Man?"
"To be misleading?"
"That makes my head hurt," said Fisher. She took a long drink from her glass, and frowned hard as she
concentrated. "Wait a minute, though& Turn it around. You can also see the killings as being linked by a
lack of magic. The wards couldn't keep the killer out. The magic keeping the Stalker alive failed. So did
the magic keeping the Sundered Man out of time. And maybe it was only magic that was holding the
Dread Lord together. He was hollow, remember? So maybe what we're looking for is a sorcerer, or a
man with an object of Power, that can dispel magic and leave the Beings vulnerable."
"An object of Power that dispels magic," said Hawk slowly. "The Exorcist Stone?"
"Oh, hell!" said Fisher. "One of the God Squad as a God killer? Come on. Hawk."
"They're the only ones that can use the Exorcist Stone."
"But the Council put a compulsion on them to prevent them from misusing it!"
Hawk smiled sourly. "If this was an easy case, they wouldn't need us to solve it. It has to be one of the
God Squad, Isobel; it's the only theory that fits all the facts. The killer must have found some way to
bypass the geas."
"We don't dare accuse any of them without a hell of a lot of proof," said Fisher. "These people have
friends in high places. Sometimes literally. Dammit, Hawk, we're supposed to be working with these
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people. How can we keep something like this from them?"
"Very carefully," said Hawk. "Whichever one of them is the killer has already destroyed three Beings. I
don't think they'd hesitate to kill a couple of Guards who were getting too close to the truth."
They sat in silence for a while. "So what are we going to do?" said Fisher.
"Take things one step at a time," said Hawk. "To start with, I think we'll have a word with Charles
Buchan, and see what he knows about the Hellfire Club. Whatever that is."
"He was the only one of the God Squad to be named during our investigation," said Fisher thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Hawk. "Interesting, that. But perhaps just a little too obvious. Unless we're supposed to
think that& "
Fisher groaned and shook her head, and reached for her glass again.
Hawk and Fisher left the temple of John Barleycorn, and found that night had fallen without warning.
Here and there, street lamps pushed back the night as best they could, but darkness pooled thickly
between them. Unfamiliar stars shone in the night sky, forming alien constellations that bore no
resemblance to those seen elsewhere in Haven. There was no moon, and the night air had a feverish,
unsettled quality. The Street of Gods was almost deserted. The street preachers had disappeared, and
only a few hooded figures still bustled back and forth on their eternal errands. Hawk frowned unhappily.
The Street wouldn't normally be this quiet just because it suddenly got dark. But with a God killer on the
loose, most people had clearly decided against taking unnecessary risks.
The two Guards headed back down the Street toward the God Squad's headquarters. For once,
Hawk's internal clock agreed with the Street's time, and he was quietly looking forward to a good
supper. He wondered what kind of cook the Squad had. He usually did the cooking at home. Fisher
hadn't the temperament for it.
They'd just passed the mouth of a narrow alleyway when they heard a muffled cry forhelp . As one, they
spun quickly to face the dark opening, weapons in hand, but didn't immediately rush in to see what was
happening. In the Northside, a cry forhelp in a dark place was bait for a trap as often as not. A single
lamppost glowed dully at the end of the alley, casting more shadows than light. There was no sign of
whoever had called out. Hawk looked at Fisher, and she shrugged briefly. It might just be genuine. Hawk
nodded, and stepped cautiously into the alleyway. Fisher moved quietly at his side, the amber lamplight
gleaming on her sword blade.
Hawk scowled unhappily as the two of them moved slowly down the alley, alert for any sign of
movement. The buildings on each side were dark and silent, with no lights showing at their windows. A
low scraping sound cut across the quiet somewhere up ahead, and the two Guards froze where they
were, eyes straining at the shadows. Nothing moved. The silence was so deep it was like a physical
presence. Fisher gently tapped Hawk's arm to get his attention, and nodded at the structure just ahead
and to their right. A window shutter was open just a crack. No light shone from inside. Fisher padded
silently forward, and set her back against the wall next to the shutter. She reached up with her sword and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
strong-arm tactics aren't going to work here. If I start shoving my axe in a Being's face, I'll probably end
up snapping at flies on a lily pad. Intimidation is very definitely out. That just leaves diplomacy."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"I'll leave it to you," said Fisher. "I don't have the knack."
"I had noticed," said Hawk. "What do we have on the killer? He comes and goes at will, even when the
temples are heavily guarded by well-armed fanatics. Which means he's either invisible, which means a
sorcerer, or a master of disguise. Or it's someone they expect to see, someone they don't recognize as a
threat.
"Each Being died in a different way, and as far as we can tell, none of them had anything in common. So
how does the killer choose his victims? At random? Dammit, I don't even know where to start on this
case, Isobel."
"Don't give up so easily. Look at it this way. The killer has to be immensely strong, and able to pass
unseen. So how about a supernatural killer, like a vampire? He could get past .the guards by
shapeshifting into a bat or a mist, and he'd be more than strong enough to tear apart the Dread Lord. It
would even explain why all the killings took place in the early hours of the morning."
Hawk thought about it. "It's a possibility, lass, but I can't believe the Beings wouldn't have protective
wards specifically designed to keep out supernatural vermin like that. Everybody else does, that can
afford them. No, Isobel; I think magic is the key here."
"You mean a rogue sorcerer?"
"Maybe. An invisibility spell would get him past the wards and the guards, and then he could use magic
to blast apart the Dread Lord and age the Stalker to death."
"But then why use a knife on the Sundered Man?"
"To be misleading?"
"That makes my head hurt," said Fisher. She took a long drink from her glass, and frowned hard as she
concentrated. "Wait a minute, though& Turn it around. You can also see the killings as being linked by a
lack of magic. The wards couldn't keep the killer out. The magic keeping the Stalker alive failed. So did
the magic keeping the Sundered Man out of time. And maybe it was only magic that was holding the
Dread Lord together. He was hollow, remember? So maybe what we're looking for is a sorcerer, or a
man with an object of Power, that can dispel magic and leave the Beings vulnerable."
"An object of Power that dispels magic," said Hawk slowly. "The Exorcist Stone?"
"Oh, hell!" said Fisher. "One of the God Squad as a God killer? Come on. Hawk."
"They're the only ones that can use the Exorcist Stone."
"But the Council put a compulsion on them to prevent them from misusing it!"
Hawk smiled sourly. "If this was an easy case, they wouldn't need us to solve it. It has to be one of the
God Squad, Isobel; it's the only theory that fits all the facts. The killer must have found some way to
bypass the geas."
"We don't dare accuse any of them without a hell of a lot of proof," said Fisher. "These people have
friends in high places. Sometimes literally. Dammit, Hawk, we're supposed to be working with these
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
people. How can we keep something like this from them?"
"Very carefully," said Hawk. "Whichever one of them is the killer has already destroyed three Beings. I
don't think they'd hesitate to kill a couple of Guards who were getting too close to the truth."
They sat in silence for a while. "So what are we going to do?" said Fisher.
"Take things one step at a time," said Hawk. "To start with, I think we'll have a word with Charles
Buchan, and see what he knows about the Hellfire Club. Whatever that is."
"He was the only one of the God Squad to be named during our investigation," said Fisher thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Hawk. "Interesting, that. But perhaps just a little too obvious. Unless we're supposed to
think that& "
Fisher groaned and shook her head, and reached for her glass again.
Hawk and Fisher left the temple of John Barleycorn, and found that night had fallen without warning.
Here and there, street lamps pushed back the night as best they could, but darkness pooled thickly
between them. Unfamiliar stars shone in the night sky, forming alien constellations that bore no
resemblance to those seen elsewhere in Haven. There was no moon, and the night air had a feverish,
unsettled quality. The Street of Gods was almost deserted. The street preachers had disappeared, and
only a few hooded figures still bustled back and forth on their eternal errands. Hawk frowned unhappily.
The Street wouldn't normally be this quiet just because it suddenly got dark. But with a God killer on the
loose, most people had clearly decided against taking unnecessary risks.
The two Guards headed back down the Street toward the God Squad's headquarters. For once,
Hawk's internal clock agreed with the Street's time, and he was quietly looking forward to a good
supper. He wondered what kind of cook the Squad had. He usually did the cooking at home. Fisher
hadn't the temperament for it.
They'd just passed the mouth of a narrow alleyway when they heard a muffled cry forhelp . As one, they
spun quickly to face the dark opening, weapons in hand, but didn't immediately rush in to see what was
happening. In the Northside, a cry forhelp in a dark place was bait for a trap as often as not. A single
lamppost glowed dully at the end of the alley, casting more shadows than light. There was no sign of
whoever had called out. Hawk looked at Fisher, and she shrugged briefly. It might just be genuine. Hawk
nodded, and stepped cautiously into the alleyway. Fisher moved quietly at his side, the amber lamplight
gleaming on her sword blade.
Hawk scowled unhappily as the two of them moved slowly down the alley, alert for any sign of
movement. The buildings on each side were dark and silent, with no lights showing at their windows. A
low scraping sound cut across the quiet somewhere up ahead, and the two Guards froze where they
were, eyes straining at the shadows. Nothing moved. The silence was so deep it was like a physical
presence. Fisher gently tapped Hawk's arm to get his attention, and nodded at the structure just ahead
and to their right. A window shutter was open just a crack. No light shone from inside. Fisher padded
silently forward, and set her back against the wall next to the shutter. She reached up with her sword and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]