City of Hope and Despair Read Online Free PDF Page A

intending to go with you. Didn't anyone mention that?"
      "No… no they didn't."
      "Well, since you were going in search of the goddess Thaiss, the very heart of everything we teach and believe in, it seemed only natural that a Thaistess should accompany you. And as the youngest and, perhaps – how can I put this? – most flexibly-minded of my sisterhood, I was chosen."
      "Oh." Tom found himself smiling. He didn't really know Mildra well, but she had shown herself to be a warm and generous person and had helped him when he'd most needed help. At some instinctive level he both trusted and liked her, despite her being a Thaistess. All of a sudden, knowing that she was going to be there as well, the trip didn't seem nearly so daunting. And there was still the lure of going on a barge…
      "Mildra," he blurted out, before he could change his mind, "please don't say anything. Forget my moaning. If this journey really is that important, and if you're willing to go all that way, then I guess I am too."
      She stared at him for a silent second, before asking, "Are you sure about this?"
      He looked her unblinkingly in the eye. "Yes."
      "Right," said the prime master, coming over to join them, "are we all ready then?"
      "Ready," Tom replied, and was surprised to discover that he meant it.
     
    The prime master watched with troubled heart as the small party disappeared towards the Thair and the waiting barge. There was so much at stake here, and he had just gambled with four people's lives despite having no real idea of the dangers confronting them. He felt himself to be a man involved in a game of chance in which the other players could see his hand while he remained blind to theirs and didn't even fully grasp the rules.
      Evidently, he wasn't the only one with reservations. "Are you sure this is wise?" Thomas asked from beside him.
      He raised his eyebrows. "Ah, Thomas, now there's a question."
      "I suppose you're going to tell me that wisdom is grossly overrated."
      "No, far from it. Wisdom is deserving of the greatest respect and is something we're in the habit of dismissing far too readily. It's merely my capacity for wisdom that I would question. Is this wise? Sending an ill-matched quartet quietly off into the unknown, without fuss or fanfare, without military escort or any of the Blade to watch over them?" He shook his head. "I really don't know."
      "Then why are you doing this?" The young master's
    frustration, his desire to understand, was apparent in every syllable. The prime master could still remember when he'd been that eager, in those long ago days before the weight of responsibility had taught him the value of hesitancy.
      "To protect him, Thomas, to remove him from harm's way." Both knew he was referring to the younger master's namesake, the former street-nick Tom.
      Thomas shook his head, clearly exasperated. "With all due respect, that doesn't make any sense. By sending him outside the city aren't you doing exactly the opposite: placing the lad beyond our capacity to protect him?"
      "Perhaps," the prime master acknowledged.
      He hesitated, wondering how much he dared share with Thomas. When all was said and done this was his burden, yet it made sense for someone else to know of his suspicions. Well-established layers of bureaucracy ensured the day to day running of this vast metropolis, yet ultimately the responsibility for everything that went on in Thaiburley fell on the shoulders of just a dozen people – the Council of Masters. Inevitably, all twelve were forever short of time and overstretched; it seemed unfair to trouble any of his established colleagues with his concerns, but Thomas was still finding his way and was not yet inundated with the demands of government which would swamp his attention soon enough. If the prime master were going to talk to anyone, he could do a lot worse than trust this astute and keen young man.
      "You're right, of course," he