‘So the throne was moved.’
‘Yes, to a continent south of Seven Cities. Where it was found by a mage-Kellanved, the Emperor of the Malazan Empire.’
‘Who now commands all the T’lan Imass? No wonder the Malazan Empire is as powerful as it seems to be-then again, by now, it should have conquered the whole world, since he could have called upon all the T’lan Imass to fight his wars.’
‘The Emperor’s exploitation of our abilities was… modest. Surprisingly constrained. He was then assassinated. The new Empress does not command us.’
‘Why didn’t she just sit on the First Throne herself?’
‘She would, could she find it.’
‘Ah, so you are free once more.’
‘So it seems,’ Onrack replied after a moment. ‘There are other… concerns, Trull Sengar. Kellanved was resident in a House of the Azath for a time…’
They reached the slope beyond the salt flat, began making their way upward. ‘These are matters of which I know very little,’ the Tiste Edur said. ‘You fear that the Emperor was either one of these Nameless Ones, or had contact with them. If so, then why didn’t he issue that one command you so dreaded?’
‘We do not know.’
‘How did he manage to find the First Throne in the first place?’
‘We do not know.’
‘All right. Now, what has all this to do with what we are up to right now?’
‘A suspicion, Trull Sengar, regarding where these six renegade T’lan Imass are heading.’
‘Well, southward, it seems. Oh, I see.’
‘If there are among them kin of Logros, then they know where the First Throne will be found.’
‘Well, is there any reason to believe that you are unique among the T’lan Imass? Do you not think others of your kind may have arrived at the same suspicion?’
‘I am not sure of that. I share something with the renegades that they do not, Trull Sengar. Like them, I am unburdened. Freed from the Ritual’s Vow. This has resulted in a certain… liberation of thought. Monok Ochem and Ibra Gholan pursue a quarry, and the mind of a hunter is ever consumed by that quarry.’
They reached the first rise and halted. Onrack drew out his sword and jammed it point first into the ground, so deep that it remained standing upright when he walked away from it. He took ten paces before stopping once more.
‘What are you doing?’
‘If you do not object, Trull Sengar, I would await Monok Ochem and Ibra Gholan. They, and Logros in turn, must be informed of my suspicion.’
‘And you assume that Monok will spare us the time to talk? Our last moments together were less than pleasant, as I recall. I’d feel better if you weren’t standing so far away from your sword.’ The Tiste Edur found a nearby boulder to sit on, and regarded Onrack for a long moment before continuing, ‘And what about what you did in the cave, where that Tellann Ritual was active?’ He gestured at Onrack’s new left arm and the melded additions to the other places where damage had occurred. ‘It’s… obvious. That arm’s shorter than your own, you know. Noticeably. Something tells me you weren’t supposed to do… what you did.’
‘You are right… or would be, were I still bound by the Vow.’
‘I see. And will Monok Ochem display similar equanimity when he sees what you have done?’
‘I do not expect so.’
‘Didn’t you proclaim a vow to serve me, Onrack?’
The T’lan Imass lifted its head. ‘I did.’
‘And what if I don’t want to see you put yourself-and me, I might add-at such risk?’
‘You make a valid point, Trull Sengar, which I had not considered. However, let me ask you this. These renegades serve the same master as do your kin. Should they lead one of your mortal kin to take the First Throne, thus acquiring mastery over all the T’lan Imass, do you imagine they will be as circumspect in using those armies as was Emperor Kellanved?’
The Tiste Edur said nothing for a time, then he sighed. ‘All right. But you lead me to wonder, if the First Throne is so vulnerable, why have you not set someone of your own choosing upon it?’
‘To command the First Throne, one must be mortal. Which mortal can we trust to such a responsibility? We did not even choose Kellanved-his exploitation was opportunistic. Furthermore, the issue may soon become irrelevant. The T’lan Imass have been summoned-and all hear it, whether bound to the Vow or freed from it. A new, mortal bonecaster has arisen in a distant land.’
‘And you want that bonecaster to take the First Throne.’
‘No. We want the summoner to free us all.’
‘From the Vow?’
‘No. From existence, Trull Sengar.’ Onrack shrugged heavily. ‘Or so, I expect, the Bound will ask, or, perhaps, have already asked. Oddly enough, I find that I do not share that sentiment any more.’
‘Nor would any others who’d escaped the Vow. I would think, then, that this new mortal bonecaster is in grave danger.’
‘And so protected accordingly.’
‘Are you able to resist that bonecaster’s summons?’
‘I am… free to choose.’
The Tiste Edur cocked his head. ‘It would seem, Onrack, that you are already free. Maybe not in the way that this bonecaster might offer you, but even so…’
‘Yes. But the alternative I represent is not available to those still bound by the Vow.’
‘Let’s hope Monok Ochem is not too resentful.’
Onrack slowly turned. ‘We shall see.’
Dust swirled upward from the grasses at the edge of the crest, twin columns that resolved into the bonecaster Monok Ochem and the clan leader, Ibra Gholan. The latter lifted its sword and strode directly towards Onrack.
Trull Sengar stepped into the warrior’s path. ‘Hold, Ibra Gholan. Onrack has information you will want to hear. Bonecaster Monok Ochem-you especially, so call off the clan leader. Listen first, then decide whether Onrack has earned a reprieve.’
Ibra Gholan halted, then took a single step back, lowering its sword.
Onrack studied Monok Ochem. Though the spiritual chains that had once linked them had since snapped, the bonecaster’s enmity-Monok’s fury-was palpable. Onrack knew his list of crimes, of outrages, had grown long, and this last theft of the body parts of another T’lan Imass was the greatest abomination, the most dire twisting of the powers of Tellann thus far. ‘Monok Ochem. The renegades would lead their new master to the First Throne. They travel the paths of chaos. It is their intent, I believe, to place a mortal Tiste Edur upon that throne. Such a new ruler of the T’lan Imass would, in turn, command the new mortal bonecaster-the one who has voiced the summons.’
Ibra Gholan slowly turned to face Monok Ochem, and Onrack could sense their consternation.
Onrack then continued, ‘Inform Logros that I, Onrack, and the one to whom I am now bound-the Tiste Edur Trull Sengar-share your dismay. We would work in concert with you.’
‘Logros hears you,’ Monok Ochem rasped, ‘and accepts.’
The swiftness of that surprised Onrack and he cocked his head. A moment’s thought, then, ‘How many guardians protect the First Throne?’
‘None.’
Trull Sengar straightened. ‘None?’
‘Do any T’lan Imass remain on the continent of Quon Tali?’ Onrack asked.
‘No, Onrack the Broken,’ Monok Ochem replied. ‘This intention you describe was… unanticipated. Logros’s army is massed here in Seven Cities.’
Onrack had never before experienced such agitation, rattling through him, and he identified the emotion, belatedly, as shock. ‘Monok Ochem, why has Logros not marched in answer to the summons?’
‘Representatives were sent,’ the bonecaster replied. ‘Logros holds his army here in anticipation of imminent need.’
Need? ‘And none can be spared?’
‘No, Onrack the Broken. None can be spared. In any case, we are closest to the renegades.’
‘There are, I believe, six renegades,’ Onrack said. ‘And one among them is a bonecaster. Monok Ochem, while we may well succeed in intercepting them, we are too few…’