The Incorruptibles Read Free Page A

it, and it was doubtful he’d lose the leg. For a man doomed to perdition’s flames, he had been granted luck by Ia, that’s for damned sure.
    A good amount of whiskey went into Fisk, and Cimbri and I both took long pulls from the bottle before I drenched his wound in liquor and pulled free the arrow shaft. He didn’t yelp or make a sound, but his eyes were open, looking straight into my face. It wasn’t an empty stare, but it wasn’t altogether with us, either. His body jumped some when the shaft cleared flesh. I followed the removal with another dousing of liquor, and wrapped his thigh in clean linens.
    ‘Those’ll have to be changed in the morning,’ Cimbri said. ‘You want to bring him to the Cornelian ? We can have Miss Livia look after him. She’s schooled in bloodwork.’
    ‘Let’s just let him settle here before we get a highborn woman involved. Leave us a lascar and Banty.’
    Cimbri nodded. ‘I’ll send back the lascar. Report?’
    ‘Stretchers.’
    ‘I figured that.’
    ‘Murdered a group of settlers just about an hour distant. Took one of them to Ia knows where.’
    Cimbri glanced at Banty. ‘Take care of their mounts. Groom them, then half nosebags, each.’
    Banty scowled, stood up, saluted. ‘Sir, yes, sir.’
    He waited until Banty had reached the horses before saying, ‘That boy is a nuisance, and I’m sorry I saddled you with him. But he’s the youngest son of a rich equite out of Harbor Town. It’s my job to keep him out of trouble, and alive.’
    ‘Might want to keep him on the boat, then, rather than riding scout in stretcher territory.’
    ‘Hell, if he stayed on the boat, one of my legionaries would split him wide open in a matter of days.’ He laughed and tilted his head toward the whiskey bottle. ‘And the only thing he knows how to do is ride. And sulk.’
    I gave him the bottle and dug around in Fisk’s vest pockets until I located the tin of Medieran cigarettes. Cimbri and I shared them sitting by the fire.
    ‘There’s more.’
    ‘What? The vaettir ?’
    ‘They left a dead boy alone, but they took a man’s liver and tongue, and the backstraps of another settler.’
    ‘Ia be. That’s some gruesome shit. Why?’
    ‘Can’t be ’cause they give two damns about the shoal aurochs, I know that much. I’ve seen where they slaughtered thousands of the beasts, back when we were pushing west out of Fort Brust, nigh on a century past.’
    Cimbri raised his eyebrows at that and looked me over. He knew my dvergar blood, but it was rare we talked about the differences between us.
    He considered me for a while, smoking his cigarette. ‘So, why now?’
    ‘No idea. Fisk might know – he’s so damned wrapped up with them. Think they killed his family. Whatever the case, they’re getting more active. On the warpath.’
    There was a groan. A cough. ‘Bullshit.’
    We looked back at Fisk, who was struggling upright. I clasped his hand and pulled him up.
    He grabbed the whiskey, took a long pull, and then patted his vest.
    ‘Ia-dammit, Shoestring. Gimme my smokes.’
    I handed them over. He took out one and tamped down the loose tobacco on his wrist, very slow and deliberate, like he was drawing out his audience. Or it might have been that I’d dumped half a bottle of whiskey into him. And the cacique.
    ‘Was a message.’
    Cimbri snorted. ‘They smart enough to deliver messages?’
    Fisk nodded. ‘Hell, yeah, they are. Smart as you. Or me.’
    ‘That ain’t saying much,’ Cimbri replied.
    Banty joined in. ‘I hear tell they’ve got a vaettir whore at Pauline’s in New Damnation.’ We hadn’t seen him come back, and now the pup’s voice was loud and eager. ‘Heard she’s got the sweetest pussy known to man, but they gotta keep her bound.’
    Cimbri snorted. But he didn’t send the boy away.
    Fisk lit his smoke from the fire and drank more whiskey. I hated it when the man went dissolute, but I imagine his leg hurt something fierce. ‘Just what I heard,’