Son of a bitch. Half of me was worried that Degan was playing me, trying to scare me off; the other half was just as worried he wasn’t.
“What’s your angle in all this?” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“The degans,” I said. “What’s your angle? How do you come out ahead making deals like this? You said yourself, some of you spend years fulfilling your Oaths. How does getting one service in return even begin to make up for all of that?”
Degan’s eyebrows crept up. “Why, we ask for the right service. From the right people.”
“The right service for what?”
“The right service for the Order.”
I felt my hands balling themselves into fists at my side. “Dammit, Degan!” I snapped. “No games!”
“I’m not playing any. All I can tell you is that the Order of the Degans is content with what it gets in exchange for its services, both when it comes to members hiring out for money or taking an Oath.” Degan paused, then added, “We don’t take Oaths from just anyone, after all.”
Which hinted at volumes, but said nothing.
“Would you take an Oath from me?” I said.
“I’d rather not.”
I didn’t know if I was flattered or frightened by the answer, let alone by what it implied.
Degan read my expression and nodded. “Now you understand why I don’t want you to take the Oath. Because of our friendship and what the Oath may mean to it. Better for us both if you step away and let things in Ten Ways-and with Iron-run themselves out.”
“Except it’s about more than just Ten Ways now,” I said. “There’s the whole question of Larrios and Athel and the book and my relic. Iron Degan and his boss didn’t storm Fedim’s shop because they liked crappy pottery-they wanted whatever Larrios had. And now I find out they’re trying to start a Kin war between Nicco and Kells in Ten Ways, too? That can’t just be coincidence!”
“You don’t know for certain that the two are connected,” said Degan. “Larrios and the book and your relic may have nothing to do with Ten Ways.”
“You mean like the scrap of paper we pulled off Athel?” I said.
Degan opened his mouth to speak, but I held up my hand.
“Look,” I said. “You’ve scared the shit out of me with all of this about the Oath, all right? The idea of taking the Oath, of being bound to perform a service I can’t refuse…” I shook my head. “I don’t even go that far as a Nose-not with anybody. And then you tell me I would have to keep the Oath with Iron Degan if you died and he got to me first? That alone’s enough to shy me away from taking it.”
“Good,” said Degan, his shoulders relaxing.“Because-”
“Except,” I said, “that I wouldn’t be taking the Oath with a degan-I’d be taking it with you. I trust you, not only to keep your end of the bargain, but to not take advantage of my end, either. Hell, you’ve covered my blinds so many times, if you wanted to screw me, you’d have done it by now.”
A pained expression crossed Degan’s face. “My covering your blinds is worlds different from calling in the Oath, Drothe.”
“You’ve made that painfully clear,” I said. “But, really, it all comes down to trust. I trust you. I trust your Oath. And if I thought there was any other way, I wouldn’t ask you to do this. But whether you take the Oath with me or not, I’m going to keep pressing, and that means I’ll likely come up against Iron Degan and his boss at some point. When that happens, I’d rather have you at my back than not.” I held out my hand, palm up. “I want to exchange the Oath with you, Degan.”
Degan stared at me so long, I thought he wasn’t going to answer.
“We’re both a couple of fools,” he finally said. “Fools of the first order.” His hand came down and clasped my forearm, even as mine closed on his. Then he let go. “Come on, then.”
“Where?”
“Where we won’t be interrupted when we exchange the damn Oath.”
I followed Degan through the streets of Ildrecca as the sun lightened the sky in the east. He didn’t seem to be searching for a specific location so much as walking off his frustration.
His disquiet almost made me want to stop, to say that we could forget the Oath, that I would manage on my own. Almost. But I didn’t think I could do this without him, especially if I was going to be facing Iron Degan. And what I had said was true-I trusted Degan. I had to believe that he wouldn’t let me take the Oath if it wasn’t worthwhile, that he wouldn’t betray me when it came time to pay. There was too much riding on it to believe otherwise.
We finally turned into a series of alleys called the Cloisters, running along the border between Stone Arch and Lady of the Roses cordons. The alleys were unique in that they had a series of peaked arches running across them at regular intervals, providing not only artistic support for the buildings on either side, but easy bridges for anyone running the roofs.
Degan led me down one alley, into another, then stopped. We stood beneath an ivy-covered arch. He turned around.
Degan drew his sword without preamble and held it by the blade, just below the guard, point down. He placed his other hand on the bronze-chased guard. I gathered I was supposed to do the same, and did so.
The metal was warmer than I expected. I wondered if it had picked up some heat from the sunlight and Degan’s body, or if there was another explanation. Then again, maybe my palms were just feeling chilled from the sweat gathering on them. Either way, it didn’t matter much at this point.
I looked up at Degan. He stood straight and formal, his eyes hooded in shadow. The look of near-amusement I was so used to seeing on his face was gone. Now he regarded me as he did everyone else on the street-without mercy or friendship. He was no longer my friend; he was Bronze Degan. For the first time in a long time, I remembered what that truly meant. I felt the fear he inspired in others, in those he did not call friend. I felt the weight of the Oath.
I swallowed and tried to clear my throat. It didn’t help. “So, how do we do this?” I asked.
“What is the service you wish me to perform?” he said.
Into it that quickly, then. I pulled my gaze away from his and stared at the sword while I ordered my thoughts.
Up close, I could see that the bronze inlays on the guard were immaculate. There was no hint of tarnish or greening there-even around the dents and scratches it had earned in hard service. Fine swirls and broad strokes intermixed in an almost-sylvan pattern against the steel of his guard, suggesting creeping vines, or maybe windtossed grasses. The blade itself had a milky quality to it, as if someone had just breathed on the steel and paused before wiping off the condensation. Below the seeming haze were tiny lines and arcs, slightly darker than the rest of the steel, running throughout the blade. Black Isle steel, forged at the monastery of the same name, renowned for its strength and near-legendary ability to hold an edge. It was the best steel that money-or anything else, for that matter-could buy.
I studied the sword and noticed for the first time that a faint teardrop had been etched into the blade, just between where Degan’s hand was holding it and where the steel met the guard. I looked back up at Degan.
“I need you to help me settle things in Ten Ways,” I said. “No matter who is involved or what the outcome, I need you to stand beside and protect me. And I need you to tell me what you know about what’s going on down there, and help me find out whatever we may not know.” I paused a moment, then added, “Basically, I need you to cover my blinds and keep my best interests at heart. Again.”
Degan clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times. “Is this all you require of me?” he said.
I thought about it. There was plenty more I could add, but I was afraid the more specific I got, the more limited my options might become. Better to keep things loose and mutable, rather than locking myself into something I couldn’t amend later. “Yes,” I said, “that’s all I require of you.”
Degan nodded. “Very well. I am willing to be so bound by my Oath as a degan to serve you, in faith as well as in deed. Are you willing to be bound likewise to my service, whenever I should request it and for whatever reason, unable to refuse or evade me? And will you honor this Oath with my brethren, should I perish before I am able to reclaim my payment?”