Tivi's Dagger Read Online Free PDF

long as I took a few rudimentary precautions, none of Lis’s
harsh Immorality laws would ever apply to me. If I’d been a
believer, I would have kissed the feet of all thirteen Gods in
gratitude for my privilege. The Protectors were powerful, but they
did not have enough men to prevent all the land’s sins. To
compensate, they employed private citizens as their eyes and ears,
and a coin purse slipped into a pocket could render them blind and
deaf in no time.
    I was so deep in my memories of those
wonderful nights at the Duck and Swan that I had not noticed that
Kari had fallen into step beside me until he spoke.
    “ You seem troubled, tiyal . Are you not looking forward
to visiting the shrine?”
    I shrugged. “You are not the only one forced
along on this little trip, Kari.”
    He smiled. “I was not forced, exactly. It
will be a good experience for me, to be out in the world without my
grandmother. She’s of the opinion that it’s not possible for one
who has never experienced love in all its forms to serve Matativi
fully. In that, I suppose she’s correct.”
    “ So your grandmother has sent you
forth in order to get laid?” I glanced at him, amused. “I wish I’d
had such grandparents.”
    As my locket swung against my chest, I
contemplated my maternal grandmother for a second; her glaring
likeness was still fresh in my mind. A witch, once, who had used
her powerful magic for healing. I recalled my visits to her home as
a small boy, when her living room smelt of herbs both sweet and
pungent, and incense burned constantly in an earthenware bowl. Then
one day the Protectors had broken into her home and taken her away.
When she came back, she was as devout as Brin had ever been. She
had renounced her former life and spent most of her time in the
Temple until the day she died. The thought of her encouraging me
toward earthly love was…well, unthinkable.
    “ Perhaps she has,” Kari replied, his
cheeks pinking slightly. “In any case, love touches us in a
multitude of ways. Our language has many words for it. Perhaps we
will both come to know them better, Ned.”
    Bound by Brin’s Rite to remain silent on
almost every topic, I said nothing to Kari of my grandmother and
contented myself with a sideways glance at our comely guide. He had
cheered up a lot and was looking around the world with curious,
wide eyes. There was a comfortable silence as we followed the path
further down into the ravine, where the foliage of the trees became
more lush and soaked with the night’s rains.
    “ So tell me of Lis,” he said
eventually. “I have read what I could of its history, but the
archives at the monastery pre-date the Second Splintering, and have
not been updated this hundred-year.”
    My boots nipped uncomfortably across the
tops of my feet. I thought of my soft slippers lying where I’d left
them beside the bed, and let out a heartfelt sigh as I considered
Kari’s words. “Lis is a country of factions, bound by trade and
currency, while ruled and policed by those who believe their laws
are Divine. It bubbles like a careless alchemist’s potion,
threatening to boil over at any time. But at the same time, it can
be a wonderful place to live if you are born into the right
circumstances, such as I have been.”
    “ And yet, here you are.”
    I stared at my boots glumly. “And yet, here
I am indeed.”
    “ Why?”
    “ I am bound not to speak of these
things, Kari. I am sorry. In any case I would not tire you with my
complaints.” I looked around, determined to change the topic. “Your
land is stunningly beautiful.”
    “ Thank you. Perhaps this journey will
give me a taste for further travel. The world is so big, and full
of surprises.” He smiled again and I was struck once more by how
stunningly beautiful he was.
He patted me on the shoulder and trotted to the front of our party
to rejoin Brin and Lana, who were about to reach a fork in the
path.
    If he’d been a woman…Then a thought struck
me and I