Last Argument of Kings (75 page)

Once you know what has to be done, it’s better to do it, than to live with the fear of it. That’s what Logen’s father would have said. So he turned towards the tall windows. The tall, open windows with the bright white sunlight and the cold wind pouring through, and he ran at them.

He heard men shouting behind, but he paid them no mind. He kept running, breath hissing, long strips of light wobbling closer. He was up the steps in a couple of bounds, flashed past Skarling’s Chair, faster and faster. His right foot clomped down on the hollow floorboards. His left foot slapped down on the stone window sill. He sprang out into empty space with all the strength he had left, and for a moment he was free.

Then he began to fall. Fast. The rough walls, then the steep cliff face flashed past—grey rock, green moss, patches of white snow, all tumbling around him.

Logen turned over slowly in the air, limbs flailing pointlessly, too scared to scream. The rushing wind whipped at his eyes, tugged at his clothes, plucked the breath out of his mouth. He’d chosen this? Didn’t seem like such a clever choice, right then, as he plunged down towards the river. But then say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say that—

The water came up to meet him. It hit him in the side like a charging bull, punched the air out of his lungs, knocked the sense out of his head, sucked him in and down into the cold darkness…

Acknowledgments

Four people without whom:

Bren Abercrombie, whose eyes are sore from reading it

Nick Abercrombie, whose ears are sore from hearing about it

Rob Abercrombie, whose fingers are sore from turning the pages

Lou Abercrombie, whose arms are sore from holding me up

Then, at the House of Questions, all those who assisted in this testing interrogation, but particularly:

Superior Spanton, Practical Weir, and, of course, Inquisitor Redfearn.

You can put away the instruments. I confess…

Copyright © Joe Abercrombie 2008
All rights reserved

The right of Joe Abercrombie to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Gollancz

An imprint of the Orion Publishing Group Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin’s Lane, London WC2H 9EA

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 57507 7 898 (cased) ISBN 978 0 57507 7 904 (trade paperback)

5 7 9 10 8 6 4

Typeset at The Spartan Press Ltd, Lymington, Hants

Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Mackays, Chatham ME5 8TD

The Orion Publishing Group’s policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

www.orionbooks.co.uk

Table of Contents

PART I

The Poison Trade

Being Chief

This Noble Business

The New Man

Feeding Time

So Much in Common

Honesty

Ghosts

Bad Debts

A Ragged Multitude

Beloved of the Moon

Flowers and Plaudits

Too Many Knives

Best of Enemies

Fortunes of War

The Kingmaker

The Trap

Horrible Old Men

Prepared for the Worst

The Habit of Command

The First Day

Such Sweet Sorrow

Picked Up A Shadow

Questions

The Fourth Day

The Perfect Couple

The Seventh Day

Too Many Masters

Sweet Victory

Rude Awakenings

PART II

The Number of the Dead

Leaves on the Water

Authority

The Circle

Greater Good

Skarlings Chair

Leadership

A Rock and a Hard Place

Charity

Better Left Buried

Tomorrow’s Hero

Nightfall

Questions

The Day of Judgement

Sacrifices

Open the Box

Dark Paths

Reckonings

After the Rains

Answers

The Wounded

Patriotic Duties

The First Law

Tea and Threats

Behind the Throne

Good Men, Evil Men

Not What You Wanted

Loose Ends

The Beginning

Acknowledgments