The Death of Nnanji Read Online Free PDF

hadn’t thought about the boy for years.
    After a moment, Katanji said, “What’re you staring at?”
    “Oh, just memories…” Why did those memories suddenly seem so pertinent? Because Wallie had seen the hand of the Goddess in that long-forgotten encounter, and he was starting to think Her hand was at work again now. “Arganari was a young prince from Plo who came aboard Sapphire briefly, at Tau. His mentor wouldn’t let him stay on board, and later they were both murdered by pirates. Remember now? On Nnanji’s wedding night? Arganari was just a novice swordsman, but he owned the fourth sword of Chioxin, the topaz. Fragments of others are around, but the topaz is apparently the only other one still usable. He owned it, but didn’t wear it.”
    And the demigod had made some sort of prophecy about the dead Arganari, which Wallie couldn’t recall offhand, which might mean that he wasn’t supposed to.
    Katanji drained his goblet. “Shonsu, when you gave Nnanji the seventh sword, you made it the emblem of the Tryst. Any other swordsman who manages to win it will claim to be liege lord and order all the rest to swear allegiance. But the Tryst isn’t a kingdom; it will never accept orders from a priest.”
    “That’s true.”
    “Addis should be a trader, which is what I am, despite my facemarks. The boy can talk fish out of a pond.”
    “He does have a way with words.”
    “Like me, you mean. He looks more like me than I do.”
    “I wouldn’t mention that too loudly if I were you.”
    Katanji grinned. “It’s funny, isn’t it? Back in those days, when we were all shipmates on Sapphire , I was about the same age Addis is now, but I got it off with every nubile girl in the ship, often two a night. I even talked my way in with a couple of the wives. But not Thana! She was Nanj’s. I stayed well away from her. Yet Addis looks more like me than Nanj.”
    “He’s your nephew, not you reborn. He could be a swordsman. Not a great one, but a competent Third.”
    “A common, journeyman sword banger, whereas he’d be a fantastic trader. Vixini’s good, I’m told. You don’t have to worry about him not being yours, anyway.”
    Everyone except Jja and Wallie had forgotten that Vixi wasn’t Shonsu’s son. Handy things, miracles.
    “And it’s not an abstract problem,” Katanji mused. “Nanj spends about two thirds of his time in the field, campaigning. When he meets a Seventh he doesn’t approve of, he challenges him. One of these days his luck will fail him and he’ll run into some wunderkind he can’t handle. Pardon my plain speech, but you’re not getting any younger either. We need a viable plan to hold the Tryst together if anything ever happens to Nnanji. Addis at thirty still in a brown kilt struggling to get promoted to orange just won’t do.”
    Wallie nodded. He knew much more about war and insurrection than any native of the World did. Even Rome had been sacked, and Nnanji’s empire was only fifteen years old, not yet armored in tradition and respect. Casr might burn for days if law and order once broke down. No one had more to lose than Swordsman Katanji.
    “Have you considered prayer and an offering to the Goddess?”
    Katanji gave him a sour look. “Thana came from a trader family. She should see that her son’s talents lie more in trading than anything.”
    “Thana isn’t a water rat anymore. She has grandeur now. She’s wife of the liege.” That was as close as the language could come to the word Wallie was thinking, which was empress. “Addis as a priest makes sense. No one kills priests.”
    “Oh, well. If you won’t, you won’t. Anything you need?” Katanji was a great believer in mutual favors.
    “Can you get me something to hide parentmarks?”
    “Huh?” It was rare to see Katanji at a loss. “You know the penalty for doing that?”
    “I asked first.” Wallie smiled. Mention of Sapphire had reminded him of a certain novice swordsman who had hidden his facemark