Water Sleeps Read Online Free PDF Page B

say.
    “Rajadharma. The Duty of Kings. Know you: Kingship is a trust. The King is the
     most exalted and conscientious servant of the people.”
    Swan did not recognize the verse. It was so ancient that some scholars
     attributed it to one or another of the Lords of Light in the time when the gods
     still handed down laws to the fathers of men. But the Radisha Drah knew it. The
     Purohita knew it. Someone outside the Palace had leveled a chiding finger.
    Soulcatcher understood it, too. Its object, she said, “Only a Bhodi monk would
     presume to chastise this house. And they are very few.” That pacifistic,
    moralistic cult was young and still very small. And it had suffered during the
     war years almost as terribly as had the followers of Kina. The Bhodi refused to
     defend themselves. “I want the man who did this.” The voice she used was that of
     a quarrelsome old man.
    “Uh . . . ” Swan said. It was not wise to argue with the Protector but that was
     an assignment beyond the capacities of the Greys.
    Among Soulcatcher’s more frightening characteristics was her seeming ability to
     read minds. She could not, really, but never insisted that she could not. In
     this instance she found it convenient to let people believe what they wanted.
    She told Swan, “Being Bhodi, he will surrender himself. No search will be
     necessary.”
    “Hunh?”
    “There is a tree, sometimes called the Bhodi Tree, in the village of Semchi. It
     is a very old and highly honored tree. The Bhodi Enlightened One made his
     reputation loafing in the shade of this tree. The Bhodi consider it their most
     holy shrine. Tell them I will make kindling wood out of the Bhodi Tree unless
     the man who rigged that prayer wheel reports to me. Soon.” Soulcatcher employed
     the voice of a petty, vindictive old woman.
    Murgen made a mental note to send Sahra a suggestion that the guilty man be
     prevented from reaching the Protector. Destruction of a major holy place would
     create thousands of new enemies for Soulcatcher.
    Willow Swan started to speak but Soulcatcher interrupted. “I do not care if they
     hate me, Swan. I care that they do what I tell them to do when I tell them to do
     it. The Bhodi will not raise a fist against me, anyway. That would put a stain
     on their kharma.”
    A cynical woman, the Protector.
    “Get on with it, Swan.”
    Swan sighed. “Several more of those smoke shows appeared tonight. One was much
     bigger than any seen before. Once again the Black Company sigil was part of all
     of them.” He brought forward another Shadar witness, who told of being stoned by
     the mob but did not mention the demon Niassi.
    The news was no surprise. It was one of the reasons the Council had been
     convened. With no real passion, the Radisha demanded, “How could that happen?
    Why can’t you stop it? You have men on every street corner. Chansdra?” She
     appealed to the man who knew just how much it cost to put all those Greys out
     there.
    Gokhale inclined his head imperially.
    As long as the Radisha did the questioning, Swan’s nerve stood up. She could not
     hurt him in ways he had not been hurt before. Not the way the Protector could.
    He asked, “Have you been out there? You should disguise yourself and go. Like
     Saragoz in the fairy tale. Every street is clogged with people. Thousands sleep
     where others have to walk over them. Breezeways and alleyways are choked with
     human waste. Sometimes the press is so thick you could murder somebody ten feet
     from one of my men and never be noticed. The people playing these games aren’t
     stupid. If they’re really Company survivors, they’re especially not stupid.
    They’ve already survived everything ever thrown at them. They’re using the
     crowds for cover exactly the way they’d use the rocks and trees and bushes out
     in the countryside. They don’t wear uniforms. They don’t stand out. They’re not
     outlanders anymore. If you really want to nail them, put out a