Part 25 (1/2)

Kail described what had happened after Sal and Skender disappeared: the group of wardens had been buzzed by three busloads of strangers who hadn't stopped to introduce themselves. s.h.i.+lly had reasoned that there was a connection between these strangers and the Homunculus, and Kail was convinced, now, that she was right.

*The Homunculus missed them at the rendezvous,' he said, *and it came here instead. How could that be a coincidence?'

*So if we find them, we find the Homunculus?' said Sal. *And maybe Skender, too?'

*Correct.'

*Then that's what we'll do. They're all over the Aad, you said. They've found Skender, so they'll be checking to make sure there's no one else here with him. They might search all night. All we have to do is follow one of them back to their lair and we've got them.'

*In a manner of speaking.'

*Well, we'll know where they are, anyway. Once we know that, we can get away, call for Marmion and the others, and it's all over.'

*You make it sound simple,' rumbled Kail. *I can think of a number of things that might go wrong.'

*Sure, but do you have a better plan in mind?'

*No. I just wanted to make certain that you're going into this with your eyes open. A single slip could give us away.'

*I know. Don't worry. I'm very good at keeping my head down. I've had to be, to keep out of the Syndic's hands all these years.'

*Indeed.' Kail emitted a single exhalation that might have been a laugh. *As one of the people who tried to find you and your parents all those years ago, I can fully attest to that.'

Sal wished he could see the tracker's face. Kail's words could be taken many ways. Knowing how they were intended might make a great deal of difference one day - when their quest was over and they returned to their normal lives. Sal had no intention of being taken into custody again, even by people who had, for a time, been his allies.

He moved across the room to tuck Chu's wing behind the door, so that a casual glance during the day wouldn't see it. If he'd managed to sleep half the night without disturbance, he felt confident that it would be safe for the time being.

*Let's just do it,' he said. *Let's find Skender and the Homunculus and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.'

*I think,' said Kail, coming to stand beside him, *that's the point.'

Skender sat in a cage and stared at his mother. She lay on her side in another cage on the far side of the room. Her braids had been cut off, exposing grey roots; one eye was blackened and swollen; bruises ran up her jawline to her left ear, where a trickle of blood had left splatters down her neck. The arms of her rust-red travelling robe had been torn away, exposing thick lines of tattooed symbols and more bruises. Skender couldn't see her hands; they had been tied behind her back. Her knees and feet were drawn up, like a child sleeping. She looked very thin and frail.

*She's going to be p.i.s.sed when she sees you,' said the large albino occupying the next cage along. *You idiot.'

*It's good to see you too, Kemp.'

*What are you doing here? Haven't you ever heard of the Surveyor's Code?'

*Are you saying you don't want to be rescued?'

*I'm not saying that at all.' Kemp thrust an arm through the metal grid separating them. *I just don't think you're in much of a position to make it happen.'

Skender rose unsteadily to return Kemp's clasp. Kemp's hand was broad and very strong. Skender could see sc.r.a.pes and cuts where he must have tried to free himself, to no avail. No amount of rough bl.u.s.ter could hide the intense worry in the albino's pale-as-gla.s.s eyes.

After dumping him, dazed, in the dungeon with their other prisoners, Skender's captors had left him alone. It was easy to see why they wouldn't worry about him escaping. The dungeon had only one exit and no vents, the latter explaining its powerful smell. Two flickering gas lamps cast shadows that danced and writhed across the walls. There were ten cages, each secure enough to hold a full-sized man'kin, but only five were definitely occupied. The metal bars surrounding Skender on three sides were crosshatched and thick. The fourth side was a wall of solid stone, as were the floor and ceiling. The other cages currently contained Skender's mother, Kemp and one other of her companions - the disgraced Sky Warden Shorn Behenna, also unconscious. A stone bust that might have been Mawson leaned against the bars next to his mother, but the Change-sink enfolding the town had turned him back into dead stone. The rear of one of the corner cages was shrouded in darkness. Skender couldn't tell if it was empty or not.

His mother hadn't moved since his arrival.

*Is she all right?'

Kemp's worried look deepened. *At first they thought Behenna was in charge, but she owned up after the first beating they gave him. The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They're going easier on her, but it's all relative. I don't know how much more of this she can take.'

Skender couldn't believe what he was hearing. Beatings?

*Do you mean she might...?' He couldn't finish the sentence.

*Either that,' Kemp said, *or she'll just tell them what they want to hear and take what comes next. They won't believe we're ordinary Surveyors. They think we're here to steal something from them.'

Skender thought of his mother's mysterious mission. *Are you?'

*Of course not. We didn't even know they existed until they ambushed us a week ago.' Kemp looked defeated and haggard. His pale skin was dirty and his colourless hair lank. He slumped heavily against the stone wall of the cell and sank down into a sitting position. *The leader is a p.r.i.c.k called Pirelius. You don't want to get on his bad side. When Behenna tried to stand up for your mother, four days ago, they stopped feeding him. They smack him around occasionally, for the fun of it.'

Skender looked at where the ex-Warden lay in his cage, two along from his. Shorn Behenna had shaved his head and begun tattooing it in the style of a Surveyor. He too wasn't moving.

*I do what I can to distract them,' said Kemp, *but they're not falling for it. They know that making me watch is just as bad as an actual beating. Worse, even. They probably know your mum won't talk but are hoping I might. If that doesn't work, they might try the other way around, with someone else. They're certain to, once they work out who you are.'

A river of ice-cold water flooded through Skender's gut at the thought that he might be tortured to make his mother confess to something she wasn't guilty of.

*We have to get out of here,' he hissed.

*Tell me something I don't know.' Kemp rolled his eyes and nodded at the cage in shadow. *If the thing in there can't escape, I don't know how we can.'

Skender turned to stare at the corner cage. The chill in his veins only intensified as he realised what it contained.

*They brought it in a few hours before you,' Kemp explained. *Strangest thing I've ever seen.'

*Was it awake?'

*If it was, it wasn't moving. Not at first. It crawled into the shadows an hour or so ago.'

*Have you tried talking to it?'

*I don't know if it can talk.'

Skender thought of Tom's warning. Find the Homunculus, and you'll find your mother. If you don't, you'll never see her again. Tom had been right on that score. Unfortunately, he hadn't said anything about being unable to escape afterwards.

*It was talking just fine the last time I saw it.'

He stuck one arm through the bars toward the corner cage, and waved it.

*Hey,' he called. *Hey, you! You said you've met me before. Come out and talk to me, since we're such good buddies. We've got to get out of here!'

Kemp shushed him. *Keep it down. They don't like it if we make too much noise.'

*Don't they? Well, let's see them do something about it. Hey!' He whistled piercingly through two fingers. *Come out where I can see you and tell me who you are!'