Part 27 (1/2)

He nodded as she left the room.

Instead of trading places with her, Marmion closed the door behind both of them and took her arm before she could move away.

*Keep this to yourself,' he whispered into her ear. *Until we know exactly what we're dealing with, I don't want any unhelpful or unnecessary speculation.'

Unnecessary speculation? She almost laughed out loud. Minds surviving in the Void Beneath, Sal's mother one of them; an ancient being claiming responsibility for the Cataclysm, possibly abroad in the body that should have been Seirian's; the Homunculus' mysterious journey, stopping to save Highson Sparre twice along the way.

A wry waspishness nearly overwhelmed her. *I think it's a little late for that, don't you?'

She pulled free and walked back to her room, feeling Marmion's stare between her shoulder blades all the way. Only when she heard Highson's door open then close did she breathe normally again.

The mysteries were multiplying, not shrinking. She lay in bed, thinking about everything she'd learned, as the early hours of the morning lay heavy as mortuary slabs. She came no closer to an explanation.

The Caduceus.

*and in the ruin a wondrous relic bone-thing broken ancient old-thing dug up deep from times forgotten hungry mindless Change-dead lost'

THE BOOK OF TOWERS, FRAGMENT 49.

S.

al watched as the last of the men and women vanished into the old house. *Do we follow them now?' he asked Kail in a soft voice.

The tracker shook his head. They had been peering through a c.h.i.n.k in an upper-storey wall two streets along for almost an hour. Sal was getting bored, but he saw the need to be cautious. The search party was returning empty-handed from their combing of the ruins. People were going into the house and not coming out.

But they weren't inside the house itself. That he could tell. The windows were dark and the stone walls silent. The house was obviously an entrance to somewhere else. The tunnels under the ruins, he a.s.sumed.

*We need to find another way in,' Kail breathed back. *There will be lookouts or traps this way, for certain. We'd never make it, not without the Change on our side.'

*How else are we going to get in, then?'

*These people are obviously concerned about security. They wouldn't let themselves be cornered if someone found them. There has to be another entrance.'

*It could be anywhere.'

*I know. That's why we're going to ask for directions.' Kail looked sideways at Sal. *I've been counting heads as they come back in. There are only a couple left out here now. We're going to introduce ourselves to one of them.'

Sal s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably, remembering darker, more desperate times. *I'm not fond of violence.'

*Who said anything about violence? I just intend to apply a little pressure.' Kail looked up at the sky. *It'll be dawn soon. If we're going to do it, we do it now. Coming?'

He moved away from their viewpoint in a crouch. Sal hesitated, then followed, fervently wis.h.i.+ng he knew what he was getting himself into.

*Another visitor? How interesting.'

Skender stood at the back of the cage as the man Rattails and Kemp called Pirelius approached the bars between them. He was broad-shouldered and filthy, with a shaved head and dense beard. Thick notches had been cut into his ears, leaving them ragged and scarred. He wore layers of leather and cotton that hadn't been removed for years. They certainly smelled that way to Skender in the still, lifeless air.

*Got a name, boy?

*Of course I have,' he replied.

*And a stick, too. A fancy lad, you are.' Thick fingers of one hand laced themselves around the bars of his cage while the other hand produced an iron key. It worked inside a lock set in the wall above the cage until it clicked. Bolts retracted into deep holes in the ceiling and floor. The door swung open until there was nothing between Skender and Pirelius but air.

*How safe are you feeling now?'

Skender gripped the stick in both hands and tried not to look as worried as he felt. Pirelius's eyes were empty and cold. Behind Pirelius were seven equally hideous men and one woman. Rattails watched with gloating from the dungeon's doorway. Pirelius grinned hungrily, revealing gaps where two lower teeth should have been.

Skender hadn't been afraid until Rattails poked him with the stick. He was terrified now, more so than he had been when stuck in the caves under Laure. If he had any doubts about what Pirelius was capable of, all he had to do was look at his mother, battered and bruised on the other side of the room.

*It wasn't him,' said Kemp from the cage next door. *It's not his fault. It was me.'

*Shut up, whiteskin. I'm not talking to you.' Pirelius didn't even glance at the albino.

*Hop on out, little rabbit,' jeered Rattails. *Don't make him come in after you.'

*What do you want?' Skender asked. *Why are you doing this to us?'

*Why? Because we can.' Pirelius stepped into the cage entrance. *We're a law unto ourselves, here. Locals don't come to the Aad because they think it's haunted - and I suppose it is, in a manner of speaking. Haunted by us. The flyers say the air is bad, so even they stay away. What do you think, boy?' He sniffed. *Fresh enough for you in here?'

*We're not doing anything to hurt you.'

*Oh, no? Just by being here you hurt us. You'll betray our little secret - if it hasn't already been given away. That's what I want you to tell me, boy. Who sent you here, and why? Tell me, and I might forgive you for breaking Izzi's stick.'

Pirelius took another step towards him and unwound a leather cord from his waist. Skender looked at Kemp, but there was nothing his old friend could do. Pirelius made sure to stay well out of range of the albino and his half of the stick.

*I'm not bluffing, boy.' Pirelius's voice was low and dangerous. *Don't think I am. Your whiteskin neighbour is untouched only because I don't trust him. He's the biggest, and I don't intend to give him an opportunity to turn the tables. He's made it pretty clear what he'll do if he ever gets the chance. So he's going to stay nice and tight in that little box until someone else breaks and tells me the truth. It might as well be you, don't you think? Because if it's not, tonight's not going to end very well for you.'

*I don't know what you're talking about,' Skender said. *There's no secret. There's nothing to tell.'

*No?'

The leather thong lashed out and caught Skender across the face. It happened almost too quickly for him to see it, much too fast for him to raise the stick in self-defence. The pain was so startling and so sudden that his hands flew to the spot and the stick dropped to the ground, forgotten.

*You -' Skender flinched, and turned away to hide the tears. Pirelius didn't laugh, but the others did. Kemp was calling him, but all he could hear were the jeers and the cries to hit him again.

Pirelius did, and this time the blow fell across his shoulders. It stung like acid and pushed him forward, into the bars separating him from the empty cage next door. He clutched at it and wished with all his heart that Tom had warned him not to go wandering off in the dark on his own. If he'd just stayed with Sal and waited for daylight - *What's it going to take?' Pirelius bent over him, his voice an outraged roar. *A broken arm? An eye poked out? I'll make sure you get it. And I will get what I want. I'm not an idiot, you know - although she might treat me like one. You're muscling in on my territory. Maybe you think my cut is too high. Maybe you think I'm greedy, getting fat down here on the front line. Well, look at me. Do I look fat to you? There are other ways to pay. You can tell her I said so - and if I have to kill a couple of you to deliver the message, I'll do it!'

The lash struck in time with his words, beating the point home. Skender didn't try to defend himself, physically or verbally. It was clear that Pirelius had pa.s.sed the point beyond which he could be turned back. There was nothing Skender could do but ride it out.

While his body fell under the blows and curled into a ball in the corner of the cage, his mind did the same, in its own way. He huddled around himself and let the pain grow distant. Someone was crying; it might have been him, but he couldn't tell. The voices were as faint as starlight. He faded out completely for a moment.

When he came to, the blows had stopped falling. He heard a banging of bars, a strange voice calling, and much milling about and confusion.

*Keep away from it!' Pirelius cried to his underlings. *It's dangerous. You saw what it did to the man'kin!'