‘Skillen,’ said the old man, ‘concurs with your assessment. The surviving wolf is indeed appallingly stupid. He will chase it off. Failing that, he will rip it to pieces.’

‘Oh, I plead some mercy in that regard,’ Scabandari replied, even as the reptile rose higher into the air above them. ‘The herds are gone, after all. All hunters must hunt, all eaters of meat must eat meat.’

‘Generous of you,’ the old man said, with an expression filled with approval. ‘Skillen hears you and will consider your plea. It is sufficient, you will be relieved to know, to offset that insult about his being my pet.’

‘My apologies for misapprehending, sir.’

‘I am K’rul. My companion and I are Azathanai. And you, Tiste?’

He bowed. ‘Scabandari, once of Urusander’s Legion, but now I suppose I must be considered a deserter.’

‘Yes, that explains your abandonment of Light’s blessing. It seems, Scabandari, that you march to the Grey Shore.’

He was unsure of the meaning of that. ‘I seek to retrieve Urusander’s son, Osserc.’

K’rul shrugged. ‘That may be as it may be, Scabandari, but your soul finds its own path.’

‘I know nothing of this Grey Shore.’

‘Nor should you, since it is yet to arrive.’

Scabandari frowned, and then smiled. ‘I think I shall enjoy our conversations, K’rul.’

‘Then we shall be as two men dying of thirst finding the same wellspring bubbling up from the rock. Too long have I battled my companion’s infernal obduracy.’

‘He speaks, then?’

‘Somewhat.’

Scabandari tilted his head in silent query.

‘With the empathy of a serpent and the largesse of a calculating bird of prey, Skillen Droe strains the value of converse.’

Scabandari nodded. ‘I have heard that Azathanai prefer solitude, by and large, but I shall not enquire as to the exigency that has brought two together, for such an arduous journey.’

K’rul’s smile faded. ‘No,’ he said, ‘best not. Ah, here returns my winged companion, with only a modest tuft of black hide in his talons.’

Scabandari nodded again. ‘I thought I heard a distant yelp.’

‘That Jheleck brave will dine well on his story.’

‘He was a she,’ the Tiste replied. ‘But, as you say, K’rul. Tell me if you will, what lies ahead?’

‘Well, if this Osserc survived the walk, we shall no doubt find him. Beyond that, it is hard to know for certain. Excepting one thing.’

‘And that is?’

‘We will have a conversation or two with a dragon, and if you can imagine my frustration with Skillen Droe, it is nothing compared to what I anticipate. Now, we are three again,’ he added as Skillen Droe landed nearby with a heavy thump. ‘And the place we all seek is not far now.’

* * *

‘My apologies, Ardata,’ said Kanyn Thrall. The agony from his shattered leg rose in waves, and the puncture wounds in his chest ached with every strained breath he managed. ‘I failed you.’