“New employer.”
“Hope she lives longer than the last one,” the woman grumbled. “Clod, put those down and go get the other bag.”
The Lifeless responded, setting down its bags then walking back out. Vivenna watched, by now having figured out that the short woman must be Jewels, the third member of Denth’s team. What was she doing with a Lifeless? And how had she found the new house? Denth must have sent her a message.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jewels said, glancing at Vivenna. “Some Awakener come by and steal your colors?”
Vivenna paused. “What?”
“She means,” Denth said, “why do you look so surprised?”
“That, and her hair is white,” Jewels said, walking over to the canvas bags.
Vivenna flushed, realizing that her shock had gotten the better of her. She returned her hair to its proper dark color. The Lifeless was returning, carrying another bag.
“Where did that creature come from?” Vivenna asked.
“What?” Jewels asked. “Clod? Made him from a dead body, obviously. I didn’t do it myself—I just paid money for someone else to.”
“Too much money,” Tonk Fah added.
The creature clomped back into the room. It wasn’t unnaturally tall—not like a Returned. It could have been a normal, if well-muscled, man. Only the skin coloring, mixed with the emotionless face, was different.
“She bought him?” Vivenna asked. “When? Just now?”
“Nah,” Tonk Fah said, “we’ve had Clod for months.”
“It’s useful to have a Lifeless around,” Denth said.
“And you didn’t tell me about this?” Vivenna asked, trying to keep the hysteria out of her voice. First she’d had to deal with the city and all of its colors and people. Then she was given a dose of unwanted Breath. Now she was confronted by the most unholy of abominations.
“The topic didn’t come up,” Denth said, shrugging. “They’re pretty common in T’Telir.”
“We were just talking about defeating these things,” Vivenna said. “Not embracing them!”
“We talked about defeating some of them,” Denth said. “Princess, Lifeless are like swords. They’re tools. We can’t destroy all of them in the city, nor would we want to. Just the ones being used by your enemies.”
Vivenna slid down, sitting on the wooden floor. The Lifeless set down its final bag, then Jewels pointed toward the corner. It walked over and stood there, patiently waiting for further orders.
“Here,” Jewels said to the other two, untying the final large bag. “You wanted these.” She turned it on its side, exposing glittering metal shining within.
Denth smiled, rising. He kicked Tonk Fah back awake—the large man had an uncanny ability to fall asleep at a moment’s notice—and walked over to the bag. He pulled out several swords, shiny and new-looking with long, thin blades. Denth made a few practice swings while Tonk Fah wandered over, pulling out wicked-looking daggers, some shorter swords, and then some leather jerkins.
Vivenna sat, back against the wall, using her breathing to calm herself. She tried not to feel threatened by the Lifeless in the corner. How could they just go about, ignoring it like that? It was so unnatural that it made her itch and squirm. Eventually, Denth noticed her. He told Tonk Fah to oil the blades, then walked over and sat down in front of Vivenna, leaning back with hands against the floor behind him.
“That Lifeless is going to be a problem, Princess?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said curtly.
“Then we’ll need to work it out,” he said, meeting her eyes. “My team can’t function if you tie our hands. Jewels has invested a lot of effort into learning the proper Commands to use a Lifeless, not to mention learning to maintain the thing.”
“We don’t need her.”
“Yes,” Denth said. “Yes we do. Princess, you’ve brought a lot of biases into this city. It’s not my place to tell you what to do with them. I’m just your employee. But I will tell you that you don’t know half the things you think you do.”
“It’s not about what I ‘think I know,’ Denth,” Vivenna said. “It’s what I believe. A person’s body shouldn’t be abused by making it come back to life and serve you.”
“Why not?” he asked. “Your own theology says a soul leaves when the body dies. The corpse is just recycled dirt. Why not use it?”
“It’s wrong,” Vivenna said.
“The family of the corpse was well paid for the body.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Vivenna said.
Denth leaned forward. “Well, fine then. But if you order Jewels away, you order us all away. I’ll give your money back, then we’ll go hire you another team of bodyguards. You can use them instead.”
“I thought you were my employee,” Vivenna snapped.
“I am,” Denth said. “But I can quit whenever I want.”
She sat quietly, stomach unsettled.
“Your father was willing to use means that he didn’t agree with,” Denth said. “Judge him if you must, but tell me this. If using a Lifeless could save your kingdom, who are you to ignore the opportunity?”
“Why do you care?” Vivenna asked.
“I just don’t like leaving things unfinished.”
Vivenna glanced away.
“Look at it this way, Princess,” he said. “You can work with us—which will give you chances to explain your views, maybe change our minds on things like Lifeless and BioChroma. Or you can send us away. But if you reject us because of our sins, aren’t you being ostentatious? Don’t the Five Visions say something about that?”
Vivenna frowned. How does he know so much about Austrism? “I’ll think about it,” she said. “Why did Jewels bring all those swords?”
“We’ll need weapons,” Denth said. “You know, has to do with that violence thing we mentioned earlier.”
“You don’t have any already?”
Denth shrugged. “Tonk usually has a cudgel or knife on him, but a full sword draws attention in T’Telir. It’s best not to stand out, sometimes. Your people have some interesting wisdom in that area.”
“But now . . .”
“Now we don’t really have a choice,” he said. “If we keep moving forward with Lemex’s plans, things are going to get dangerous.” He eyed her. “Which reminds me. I have something else for you to think about.”
“What?”
“Those Breaths you hold,” Denth said. “They’re a tool. Just like the Lifeless. Now, I know you don’t agree with how they were obtained. But the fact is, you have them. If a dozen slaves die to forge a sword, does it do any good to melt down the sword and refuse to use it? Or is it better to use that sword and try to stop the men who did such evil in the first place?”
“What are you saying?” Vivenna said, feeling that she probably already knew.
“You should learn to use the Breaths,” Denth said. “Tonks and I could sure use an Awakener backing us up.”
Vivenna closed her eyes. Did he have to hit her with that now, right after twisting around her concerns about the Lifeless? She had expected to find uncertainties and obstacles in T’Telir. She just hadn’t expected so many difficult decisions. And she hadn’t expected them to endanger her soul.
“I’m not going to become an Awakener, Denth,” Vivenna said quietly. “I might turn a blind eye toward that Lifeless, for now. But I will not Awaken. I expect to take these Breaths to my death so that nobody else can benefit from harvesting them. No matter what you say, if you buy that sword forged by overworked slaves, then you’ll just encourage the evil merchants.”
Denth fell silent. Then he nodded, standing. “You’re the boss, and it’s your kingdom. If we fail, the only thing I lose is an employer.”
“Denth,” Jewels said, approaching. She barely gave Vivenna a glance. “I don’t like this. I don’t like the fact that he got here first. He has Breath—reports say he looked to have reached at least the Fourth Heightening. Maybe the Fifth. I’ll bet he got it from that rebel, Vahr.”
“How do you even know it’s him?” Denth asked.
Jewels snorted. “Word’s all over. People being found slaughtered in alleyways, the wounds corrupt and black. Sightings of a new, powerful Awakener roaming the city carrying a black-handled sword in a silver sheath. It’s Tax, all right. Goes by a different name now.”
Denth nodded. “Vasher. He’s used it for a while. It’s a joke on his part.”
Vivenna frowned. Black-handled sword. Silver sheath. The man at the arena? “Who are we talking about?”
Jewels shot her an annoyed look, but Denth just shrugged. “Old . . . friend of ours.”
“He’s bad trouble,” Tonk Fah said, walking up. “Tax tends to leave a lot of bodies in his wake. Has strange motivations—doesn’t think like other people.”
“He’s interested in the war for some reason, Denth,” Jewels said.
“Let him be,” Denth snapped. “That will just bring him across my path all the sooner.” He turned away, waving a hand indifferently. Vivenna watched him go, noting the frustration in his step, the curtness of his motions.
“What is wrong with him?” she asked Tonk Fah.
“Tax—or, I guess, Vasher—” Tonk Fah said. “He killed a good friend of ours over in Yarn Dred a couple months back. Denth used to have four people in this team.”
“It shouldn’t have happened,” Jewels said. “Arsteel was a brilliant duelist—almost as good as Denth. Vasher’s never been able to beat either of them.”
“He used that . . . sword of his,” Tonk Fah grumbled.
“There was no blackness around the wound,” Jewels said.
“Then he cut the blackness out,” Tonk Fah snapped, watching Denth belt a sword to his waist. “There’s no way Vasher beat Arsteel in a fair duel. No way.”
“This Vasher,” Vivenna found herself saying. “I saw him.”
Jewels and Tonk Fah turned sharply.
“He was at the court yesterday,” Vivenna said. “Tall man, carrying a sword when nobody else did. It had a black hilt and a silver sheath. He looked ragged. Hair unkempt, beard scraggly, clothing ripped in places. Only a rope for a belt. He was watching me from behind. He looked . . . dangerous.”
Tonk Fah cursed quietly.
“That’s him,” Jewels said. “Denth!”
“What?” Denth asked.
Jewels gestured at Vivenna. “He’s a step ahead of us. Been tailing your princess here. She saw him watching her at the court.”
“Colors!” Denth swore, snapping a dueling blade into the sheath at his waist. “Colors, Colors, Colors!”
“What?” Vivenna asked, paling. “Maybe it was just a coincidence. He could have just come to watch the court.”