Page 110 of A Drop of Corruption

“We know, of course, of the tragedy that occurred on the Shroud in 1127,” Ana began. “The one that supposedly killed Pyktis to begin with. Your augurs were to enter and explore the carcass of a leviathan, and though their warding suits had been cleaned and prepared most thoroughly, somehow a dusting of pollen came to be on one of them. The pollen met thekani,the titan’s blood, and reacted. Thekanithen found the flesh of the augur within. And thus, all was lost.”

“The greatest catastrophe in the history of the Shroud,” said Thelenai softly. “It might have consumed the structure itself, had not the envelope of the Shroud itself sensed the contagion and contained it.”

“Yes,” said Ana. “How Pyktis survived this, we do not know—but I now believe I know where he went immediately after his survival. I believe he went to the High City of Yarrow.”

“You have evidence for this?” asked Thelenai.

“I have testimony,” said Ana. “And guesswork. One of the smugglers told us that during their first meetings, Pyktis brought a great deal of money to his clan, seeking to buy their favor. But how could he get such a thing, unless he’d fetched it from the High City first? Which meant he’d met with his agent there before ever becoming the pale king of the swamps, as he later became known. But it is quite a leap from catastrophe to castle, is it not? In fact, it brings up all manner ofpracticalquestions—namely, how in hell did Pyktis even manage such a maneuvering? Imagine this figure, staggering ashore after his escape from the Shroud. How could he—stranded, with no resources—get to the High City? Most imperials do not even know such a place exists! And even if hecouldget to the High City, how could he secure an audience with a court official who had access to such funds, and convince this person to lend them to him? I mean, this man is a Rathras axiom! Could he evenspeakthe Pithian tongue? Perhaps with his augmented mind, Pyktis could do such a thing. But it still leaves much unanswered.”

Thelenai blinked her large, dark eyes. “I agree,” she said softly. “But I have no answers to give you here.”

“Unfortunate!” said Ana. “But expected. Yet a deeper question awaits—why doany of it?”

“Why?” echoed Thelenai.

“Yes. Why leap to consort with smugglers and Yarrow nobles? Why become the murderer among the canals? Why did he so steadfastly set himself against us?”

“I…I assumed he hated us,” said Thelenai. “For what I had put him through. His brush with death, and the many burdens of his duty.”

Ana grinned madly. “I think otherwise, ma’am. He has moved too quickly for that. Indeed, I do not think the disaster upon the Shroud in 1127 was an accident. Nor was it solely intended to fabricate Pyktis’s death—rather, I believe it was an attempt to destroythe entire Shroud—yet he failed in doing so. And when he washed ashore in the realm of Yarrow, I believe he immediately began plotting how to attempt thisagain.To complete this attack, he neededkani,the titan’s blood. To attain that, he needed reagents. To get those, he needed smugglers. To secure their allegiance, he needed money and allies—one agent in the High City, and another in Yarrowdale.” She waved a hand. “A simple enough chain. And it has worked perfectly thus far, I must admit! But now, he is executing his final stages…and to ensure that all goes as he plans, I think he is eliminating all his allies, one by one, so they cannot betray him.”

“You mean…the smugglers in the jungle,” said Thelenai. “And…and the king of Yarrow…?”

“The smugglers I am sure of,” said Ana. “The king, less so, for I have many questions there. I do not even know how he managed it, to be frank!” She sighed. “I think most on what Malo once told us…Din, kindly recount her words regarding how Pyktis may fashion a new face for himself!”

My eyes shimmered, and I spoke: “He has some tools, yes, but not enough to grant him an entirelynewface. He cannot change his bones, forexample—so he will be mostly the same size and shape. He could alter his skin color, but it would only last a few weeks, for, being a Sublime, it would eventually revert to gray. But he could thicken himself somewhat or purge himself of fats. Or he could add hair to his flesh or remove it. Small changes, really.”

Malo scowled at me. “How I dislike your impression of my words.”

“Thus, we come to it,” said Ana. “We know much of Pyktis and his movements. And yet we still know nothing! We do not know what form he has woven about himself. We do not even knowwhyhe so wishes to destroy the Shroud.” Her head twitched toward Thelenai. “Thus…we must speak to those who knowmore.Do you understand, ma’am?”

A cold needle stabbed into my heart at that. I suddenly felt my flesh crawling with sweat. “Pardon?” I asked, softly.

“Yes,” said Thelenai. “You wish for your signum here to go to the Shroud now and consult with the augurs.”

“Indeed,” said Ana.

“Oh, shit,” said Malo.

—

“Ahh—pardon?”I said again.

“It is the only way, Din,” said Ana gently. “We know now that Pyktis has been planning all this for years. He has controlled his own story at every step, with lie after lie. A masterful performance, truly! But the truth comes out in moments of extreme stress—and the Shroud is aterriblystressful place, is it not?”

“True,” said Thelenai heavily. “And we do have many ships breaking the containment there now, for we must bring many resources there to prepare the marrow for its journey. One of them could ferry the boy across the bay.”

“As I hoped,” said Ana. “But I wish for Din to do more than simply speak to the augurs—I wish him to inspect the marrow itself, and all you prepare for it.”

“I’m sorry—pardon?” I said, my voice now hardly more than a whisper.

“That is a heavy ask, Dolabra,” said Thelenai. “The marrow is our greatest prize. The odds of us securing one again are so small it plagues my dreams.”

“I sympathize,” said Ana. “But I am plagued as well—namely by a question…Why hasn’t Pyktis attackedyet? He has possessed these poisonous reagents and known of the marrow’s location for some time now. Why delay so long that we become aware of him? Unless his attack hasalready been made,and we do not know it.”

“That is not possible,” said Thelenai lowly. “We inspect all we receive.”

“But this is Pyktis,” said Ana. “And thus, I worry.”