"We still have need of him," the lord mayor cautioned.
"Oh, most excellent!" shouted Chaney. He could hardly believe what had just happened. The ghost raised his foot and stamped hard on Escevar's thigh. "Take that, you rat!"
With a grunt, Escevar fell to the floor, clutching his leg.
"The razor," Andeth chided Drakkar. "Not the club. How many times must I tell you?"
"It was only a cantrip…" murmured Drakkar, seemingly mystified by the potency of his own spell.
Chaney could tell by the angle of Radu's head that he suspected the ghost was responsible for Escevar's discomfort. If nothing else, he must have wondered at Chaney's exclamation, but he dared not speak to him in front of the others. Instead, he remained silent, as usual-and, as usual, his silence began to make the other men fidget uncomfortably until they returned to the matter at hand.
"This man will lead you to Stormweather Towers and let you in," said Drakkar. "There, find Tamlin Uskevren and put an end to him."
"The Uskevren are exceptional targets," said Radu.
"You'd better believe it, Malveen," said Chaney. "You go in there, and I promise you won't be coming back out."
Drakkar looked to Andeth, who frowned but bobbed his head.
The Hulorn said, "Perhaps a fifty percent increase in your usual fee?"
"Triple it," said Radu, "and pay me now."
"Surely you jest," said Andeth. "For that sum, I could hire a small army."
Radu shrugged and turned to leave.
"Wait," said Andeth. "Double it is, then. Half now, half on compl-wait!"
Radu had one hand on the balcony rail.
"You drive a hard bargain," said the Hulorn. "Triple it is. Drakkar, fetch my butler."
Drakkar gaped at his master's offhanded dismissal, but he obeyed.
"Such a sum should do much to improve Laskar's circumstances," said Andeth. Chaney saw Radu stiffen, but only because he was watching for a reaction. So was the Hulorn, apparently. "Who knows how far the Malveen star could rise with your continued service to the city."
As the trio approached Stormweather Towers, Chaney continued to test his newfound power. It failed more often than it succeeded, but he learned that he could inflict at least an annoying injury on the frightened Escevar if he struck while angry.
The problem was that he was more fearful than angry. He knew Tal had little love for his older brother, but he was fairly certain he wouldn't take pleasure in Tamlin's death.
"Don't do anything foolish," said Radu, "lest I act beyond the purview of my employ."
Escevar bobbed his head in tepid agreement, but Chaney suspected the words were actually meant for him.
Chaney feared that Radu relished the thought of facing Tal. No other swordsman had come so close to Radu's skill, and Tal had done so largely by dint of his supernatural strength and resilience. Radu's new, unholy powers more than made up for the advantages of a werewolf.
Werewolf…
The thought gave Chaney an idea. Just as Tal's affliction had been both a curse and a blessing, being a ghost provided certain advantages. Chaney had devoted himself to tormenting his killer with nothing but words, but he had at least one other weapon at his disposal, providing he could learn how to use it in time.
Yet Chaney wondered what else he could do. If the stories were true, then perhaps he could do more than smite a living man with his rage.
Chaney reached into Radu's body. He clutched for his heart and squeezed.
Radu didn't even break his stride.
Dark, thought Chaney.
He tried again with both hands, to no better effect.
Despite the failure to hurt Radu, Chaney did feel something. It was like the physical sensation of slipping on a pair of gloves.
Hopeful, Chaney thrust his arms into Radu-one down each of the assassin's own arms-and he stepped into the living man's body.
Chaney felt like a child struggling with a shirt his nanny was trying to force over his head. He felt the weight of limbs and torso begin to form over his own ethereal body. Cold surged from the place his heart had been and ran through a network of veins he no longer had.
Radu stopped walking. He shook his head violently then he turned around to look behind him.
Ahead of him, Escevar stopped and looked back, puzzled.
"What is it?" he asked.
Chaney felt Radu's body shiver and his muscles grow taut.
"Stop it!" hissed the assassin.
Chaney could no longer stifle his laughter.
"Why didn't I try this months ago?"
He kept shrugging his arms and legs into Radu's body, trying for a comfortable fit. The cold he felt did not subside. Instead, it grew sharper.
Radu clenched his fists, and Chaney felt the unutterable pain as the hardened sinews of his right hand ground and popped. He felt the molten agony of the bone shards still embedded in his face, even as the rest of his skull felt as cold as ice.
"What?" repeated Escevar, his voice a whisper, as he backed away from Radu.
"Relax," said Chaney.
He heard the trembling in his voice, even as he tried to sound nonchalant. Stinging hot tears welled in his eyes, but the cold in the rest of his body continued to intensify. He wanted to laugh, to mock Radu, to shout out in triumph, but the words were frozen in his mouth. The pain continued to grow until at last all Chaney wanted to do was scream, but he couldn't even breathe.
Get out!
Chaney fell to the ground in a thousand shards of shattered ice. Above him, Radu Malveen staggered briefly, then he stepped briskly away from the spot where he'd been momentarily rooted.
"Try that again," said Radu, "and I will kill every living thing within those walls."
"But I did-"
"Silence," Radu cut off Escevar. "I was not talking to you."
Escevar led the rest of the way in silence. Radu followed from a safe distance, keeping to the shadows. Chaney limped along behind him, still shuddering from the pain of being ejected forcibly from his first attempt at possession. It felt like a combination of a severe beating, a heroic hangover, and an infernal case of frostbite.
"What in the Nine Hells is inside of him?" Chaney asked himself, then he realized he'd probably answered his own question.
At the gate to Stormweather Towers, Escevar balked at the sight of a doubled guard. They saluted when he came into the torchlight and they recognized the master's butler.
"What has happened?" said Escevar.
"My lord requests you attend him at once," said the guard.
As two of the guard's comrades flanked him, Escevar realized his peril. He said nothing, however, as the guards removed his sword and took him by the arms.
The moment they entered the herald's door, Radu struck.
To Chaney it appeared that Radu's blade had merely caressed the first guard's neck before thrusting forward to stab up into the second man's jaw. They fell forward simultaneously, as if stumbling over the same unseen obstacle.
One of the men holding Escevar released his captive and reached down to catch one of his companions. He saw the dark shape of Radu's coat flap toward him, but before he could open his mouth to shout an alarm, his eyes became the mouths of twin streams flowing down his cheeks.
The fourth guard had time to draw his blade, but he made the mistake of using Escevar as his shield.
Radu lunged forward, transfixing both men through the heart.
For a moment, all five bodies remained intact. Radu ran past them as steam rose from their open wounds into the chill night air, then, each within a second of the previous, the bodies crumbled to white ash and flowed after their killer.
The assassin was already running toward the house, so the pale essence of the dead men swirled behind him like the foamy wake of a black ship.
Guards shouted from the grand entrance to Stormweather Towers, "Who's there? Stand and unfold yourself!"