Yendi by Steven Brust Page A

a year and a half ago, didn't you?"
    "How the hell did you hear about that?"
    He gave me an inscrutable smile. "There's something else," he said.
    "Yeah?"
    "The owner is into us for a hundred and fifty. I'll bet he's going to be real cooperative, if we approach him right."
    "I wonder if Kiera knew that?"
    "Could be, boss. She, as they say, gets around."
    "Yeah. Okay. We've got about fifty minutes. Get to work." He left. I chewed on my thumb for a moment.
    " Well, Loiosh, what do you think? "
    " I think it's straight, boss. "
    " Why? "
    " Just a feeling. "
    " Hmmm. Well, since it's your job to have feelings, I guess I'll go with it. But if you're wrong, and they kill me, I'm going to be very disappointed in you. "
    " I'll bear that in mind. "
    Miraf'n stepped outside first, followed by Loiosh, then by Wyrn. I came next, with Varg and Glowbug after me. Loiosh flew in high circles, gradually moving ahead of us.
    " All clear, boss. "
    " Good. "
    All of this to walk one short block.
    When we reached the Blue Flame, which was stuck between a pair of warehouses as if it were trying to hide, Glowbug went in first. He came back, nodded, and Loiosh and Varg went in, with me following. The lighting in the Flame was too dim for my taste, but I could still see well enough. There were four booths against the walls on either side, two tables of four in the middle, and three deuces in between. At a far booth, facing me, was a Jhereg named Shoen, whom Kragar had hired.
    Shoen was one of those free-lance types who can do just about anything, and do it well. He was small, maybe six feet six inches, and compact. His hair was slicked back, like Varg's. He ran muscle, hustled a little loan business, did some "cleaning," sometimes ran shareba games--at one time or another he'd done damn near everything. For a while, he even worked as an organization contact in the Imperial Palace. He certainly did "work"--in fact, he was one of the more dependable assassins I knew of. If he weren't so addicted to gambling, or if he were a better gambler, he'd have made enough to retire on years ago. I was very pleased that we had him on our side. Sitting alone at a deuce on the other side was a young kid (maybe three hundred) named Chimov. He had been in the organization for less than ten years, but had already "worked" at least twice. This is considered good. (I did better, but I'm an Easterner.) His hair was black, straight, and cut neatly at ear level. His face had a sharpness reminiscent of the House of the Hawk. He didn't talk much, which the Jhereg considers very good for someone his age.
    All in all, I felt quite well protected as I sauntered into the back room. Wyrn, Miraf'n, and Loiosh checked it out in front of me. The room had one large, long table, ten chairs, and was empty.
    I said, "Okay, you two, take off."
    Wyrn nodded.
    Miraf'n looked doubtful. "You sure, boss?"
    "Yes."
    They left. I sat down in one of the chairs and waited. The only door into the room was closed, there were no windows, and there was a teleport block around the building. I wondered how Kiera would get in.
    Two minutes later I was still wondering, but it was academic.
    "Good morning, Vlad."
    "Damn," I said. "I would have seen you coming in, but I blinked." She chuckled, gave me a courtesy, and kissed me warmly. She sat down at my right. Loiosh landed on her shoulder and licked her ear. Kiera scratched under his chin.
    "So, what did you want to see me about?"
    She reached into her cloak and removed a small pouch. She deftly opened it and gestured. I held out my hand, and a single blue-white crystal fell into it. It was perhaps a third of an inch in diameter. I turned and held it up to a lamp.
    "Very nice," I said. "Topaz?"
    "Diamond," she said.
    I spun back to see if she were joking. She wasn't. I studied it again.
    "Natural?"
    "Yes."
    "Including the color?"
    "Yes."
    "And the size?"
    "Yes."
    "Guaranteed?"
    "Yes."
    "I see." I spent another five minutes or so studying the thing. I'm not