City of Blades Read Online Free

herself.”
    Mulaghesh takes it, opens it, and reads the letter. Pitry can see pen strokes through the paper. Though he can’t read the writing, it looks to be no more than three words.
    Mulaghesh stares at this letter with large, hollow eyes, and her hand begins to shake. She crumples up the letter and stares into space.
    “Damn it,” she says softly. “How in the hells did she know.”
    Pitry watches her. A fly lands on her shoulder, a second on her neck. She doesn’t notice.
    “You wouldn’t have sent that if you hadn’t meant it, would you,” she murmurs. She sighs and shakes her head. “
Damn
.”
    “I take it,” Pitry says, “that you are considering the operation?”
    Mulaghesh glares at him.
    “Just asking,” he says.
    “Well. What
can
you tell me about this operation?”
    “Very little. I know it is on the Continent. I do know that it concerns a subject lots of people are paying attention to, including some very powerful people in Ghaladesh, some of whom are not wholly benign toward the prime minister’s agendas.”
    “Hence the cover story you’re giving me. I remember when we used to do this stuff to dupe
other
nations, not our
own
. Sign of the times, I suppose.”
    “Things do continue to worsen in Ghaladesh,” Pitry admits. “The press likes to describe Shara as ‘embattled.’ We’re still suffering from the last round of elections. Her efforts to reconstruct the Continent continue to be enormously unpopular in Saypur.”
    “Imagine that,” Mulaghesh says. “I still remember the parties when she got elected. They all thought we were about to start our Golden Age.”
    “The voting public remains quite fickle. And for some, it’s easy to forget that the Battle of Bulikov took place only five years ago.”
    Mulaghesh pulls her prosthetic arm in closer, as if it pains her. Pitry feels like the temperature in the room has just dropped ten degrees. Suddenly she looks a great deal more like the commander Pitry saw that day, when the god spoke from the sky and the buildings burned and Mulaghesh bellowed at her soldiers to man the fortifications.
    “
I
haven’t forgotten,” she says coldly.
    Pitry coughs. “Ah, no. I don’t suppose you would have.”
    Mulaghesh stares off into space for a few seconds more, lost in thought. “All right,” she says, her voice unnervingly calm. “I’ll do it.”
    “You will?”
    “Sure. Why not.” She places the balled-up note on the kitchen counter and smiles at him. His skin crawls: it is the not-quite-sane smile he’s seen before on the faces of soldiers who have seen a lot of combat. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
    “I…I’m sure the prime minister will be delighted,” says Pitry.
    “So what
is
the operation?”
    “Well, like I said, you won’t know until you’ve fully signed on….”
    “I just said
yes,
damn it all.”
    “And you won’t be considered fully signed on until you’re on the boat.”
    Mulaghesh shuts her eyes. “Oh, for the love of…”
    Pitry slides one file out of the satchel and hands it to her. “Here are your instructions for your transportation. Please make note of the date and time. I believe I will be rejoining you for at least part of your trip, so I expect I will see you again in three weeks.”
    “Hurrah.” Mulaghesh takes the file. Her shoulders slump a little. “If wisdom comes with age, why do I keep making so many bad decisions, Pitry?”
    “I…don’t think I feel qualified to answer that question.”
    “Well. At least you’re honest.”
    “Might I ask for a favor, ma’am? I need to return to Ghaladesh for some final preparations, but, considering today’s events, I…” He glances at her various armaments.
    “Would like something to defend yourself with on the road back to port?”
    “I mistakenly assumed Javrat would be civilized.”
    Mulaghesh snorts. “So did I. Let me dig you up something that’ll look scary but you can’t hurt yourself with.”
    “I did