Read Last Days for Free Online

out the door and started to walk down the drive. "Things are done in a certain way here. We hope you'll try to respect that."
    "All right," said Kline.
    "The other thing," said Ramse. "The investigation."
    "He's taking you to Borchert," said Gous.
    "I'm taking you to Borchert," said Ramse. 'He'll tell you about the investigation."
    "Who's Borchert?"
    "It's not who's Borchert," said Ramse, "but what he is. And what he is is a twelve."
    "A twelve?"
    "That's right," said Gous, then rattled off in a schoolboy's voice, "Leg, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, left arm, finger, finger, ear, eye, ear."
    "A twelve," said Ramse. "Of course that includes a lot of digits, but when you add in two lopped limbs, it's impressive."
    "He's second in command," said Gous. "After Aline."
    "I see," said Kline. "What's the investigation about?"
    "We don't know," said Gous.
    "Borchert will tell you," said Ramse.
    "You don't know?" asked Kline.
    "I know a little. I should know more," said Ramse wistfully. "I'm an eight. There's no reason to keep me in the dark. Gous is another story."
    "I'm just a one," admitted Gous.
    "He's just a one," said Ramse, smiling. "At least for now."
    "I'm a one too," said Kline.
    "That's right," said Gous to Ramse. "He's a one but he's going to find out."
    "He's an exception," said Ramse. "He's the exception that proves the rule."
    "Why?" asked Kline. They came to a small path cutting away from the road, paved with crushed white shells. Ramse and Gous stepped onto it, Kline followed.
    "Yes, why?" asked Gous.
    "How the hell should I know," asked Ramse. "I'm an eight. They don't always tell me everything. Maybe because he's a self-cauterizer."
    "Listen," said Kline. "I'll see Borchert and talk to him, but that's it. I'm not interested in staying."
    "Borchert can be very persuasive," said Ramse.
    "Don't insult Borchert," said Gous. "Be polite to him, listen to him, don't talk back."
    "He's a twelve," said Ramse. "Plus his leg's amputated at the hip. That's commitment for you, eh?"
    "He stayed awake for the operation," said Gous.
    "But he had anesthetic," said Ramse.
    "Still," said Gous.
    "What about cauterization?" asked Kline.
    "The cauterization?" asked Gous. "Don't know. Ramse, was he anesthetized for that too?"
    "Don't know," said Ramse. "Probably. In any case, he didn't self-cauterize."
    "Almost nobody does," said Gous.
    "Really nobody but you," said Ramse.
    The path moved back into trees, descending into a sort of depression. Kline saw, affixed to an old oak, a security camera. Then the path took a sharp curve and started uphill again. It widened into a tree-lined avenue, at the end of which was what looked like an old manor house, or a boarding school, made of gray stone. Kline counted six sets of windows in rows three tall.
    They reached the gate, Kline listening to the shells crunching beneath his feet. A guard came out from behind a pillar of the house and stood on the opposite side of the gate, watching them with a single eye.
    "What is wanted?" he asked, his hands folded.
    "Cut it out," said Ramse. "This isn't ceremonial. We're here to see Borchert."
    "Borchert?" said the guard. "What is wanted?"
    "Cut it out," said Ramse. "This is Kline."
    "Kline?" said the guard, unfolding his arms to reveal hands shorn of all but a thumb, a forefinger, and a middle finger. He took hold of the key and fitted it to the lock. "Why didn't you say so?" the guard said. "Let him enter."
    "Are all the guards missing an eye?" asked Kline.
    "Yes," Gous said happily. "All of them."
    "They made a pact," said Ramse, knocking on the door. "It's a subsect. Whatever else they're missing they cut out the eye once they're initiated. Borchert started down that path," said Ramse. "He was a guard initiate, and then gave it up. What his connection to the guards is now isn't quite clear, is mysterious. That's why he's second in command, not first."
    "And the eye's not all," said Gous.
    "No?" said Kline.
    "Let's just say that a guard can hit all the high notes