"Oh? You really think I had to kill all those who built the halls under Hidden Island?" "What? You mean you didn't? How --?" The Flenser Fragment smiled the old,
复件 (76) air max, fanged smile. "Think on it, Steel. An exercise." Steel arranged his notes on the desk and pretended to study them. Then all of him looked back at the other pack. "Tyrathect. I honor you because of the Flenser in you. But remember: You survive on my sufferance. You are not the Flenser-in-Waiting." The news had come late last fall,
复件 (85) air max2, just before winter closed the last pass over the Icefangs: The packs bearing the rest of the Master hadn't made it out of Parliament Bowl. The fullness of Flenser was gone forever. That had been an indescribable relief to Steel, and for a time afterward the Fragment had been quite tractable. "Not one of my lieutenants would blink if I killed all of you -- even the Flenser members." And I'll do it, if you push me hard enough,
复件 (96) air max, I swear I will. "Of course, dear Steel. You command." For an instant the other's fear showed through. Remember, Steel thought to himself, always remember: This is just a fragment of the Master. Most of it is a little school teacher, not the Great Teacher with a Knife. True, its two Flenser members totally dominated the pack. The spirit of the Master was right here in this room, but gentled. Tyrathect could be managed,
复件 (19) air max1, and the power of the Master used for Steel's ends. "Good," Steel said smoothly. "As long as you understand this, you can be of great use to the Movement. In particular," he riffled through the papers, "I want to review the Visitor situation with you." I want some advice. "Yes." "We've convinced 'Ravna' that her precious Jefri is in imminent danger. Amdijefri has told her about all the Woodcarver attacks and how we fear an overwhelming assault." "And that may really happen." "Yes. Woodcarver really is planning an attack, and she has her own source of 'magical' help. We have something much better." He tapped the papers; the advice had been coming down since early winter. He remembered when Amdijefri had brought in the first pages, pages of numerical tables, of directions and diagrams, all drawn in neat but childish style. Steel and the Fragment had spent days trying to understand. Some of the references were obvious. The Visitor's recipes required silver and gold in quantities that would otherwise finance a war. But what was this "liquid silver"? Tyrathect had recognized it; the Master had used such a thing in his labs in the Republic. Eventually they acquired the amount specified. But many of the ingredients were given only as methods for creating them. Steel remembered the Fragment musing over those, scheming against nature as if it were just another foe. The recipes of mystics were full of "horn of squid" and "frozen moonlight". The directions from Ravna were sometimes even stranger. There were directions within directions, long detours spent in testing common materials to decide which really fit the greater plan. Building,
mbt staka, testing, building. It was like the Master's own method but without the dead ends. Some of it made sense early on. They would have the explosives and guns that Woodcarver thought were her secret weapons. But so much was still unintelligible -- and it never got easier. Steel and the Fragment worked through the afternoon, planning how to set up the latest tests, deciding where to search for the new ingredients that Ravna demanded. Tyrathect leaned back,
复件 (49) air max, hissing a wondering sigh. "Stage built upon stage. And soon we'll have our own radios. Old Woodcarver won't have a chance.... You are right, Steel.
mbt staka
Linear Mode
