The Blood Debt Part 27

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!'

*Yeah, but it can't hurt us, can it?'

*We don't know that yet. We don't know what it'll do when it's not taken by surprise. Who knows what it's thought of for you poor fools!'

Skender heard a general shuffling of feet as people backed away from whatever was making the commotion.

*Put him in the cage next to it,' Pirelius ordered. *Unlock the door between them. Maybe that way we'll find out what else it can do.'

Skender kicked out as a shadow fell across him. Strong hands gripped his arms and legs, hauled him out of the cage and across the room. The bruises on his back and shoulders burned like fire. The world spun dizzily around him.

He fell to the ground again and a door clanged to behind him.

*Throw him the stick.' Pirelius laughed. *Fat lot of good it'll do him. Maybe he'll change his mind about talking when he sees what sort of company he'll have to keep in here.'

Pirelius's mocking laugh echoed as he left the dungeon, followed by his cronies. Kemp called Skender's name over and over, but Skender didn't know how to answer. The banging gradually subsided. He heard the shuffling of feet nearby, the grate of metal against metal.

He clutched at the ground beside him and found his half of the stick. He pulled it to his chest.

*Who is wrong here, Galeus?' asked a very strange voice. *Have you done something to deserve this?'

Skender's eyes opened and focused with difficulty on the Homunculus's face, just centimetres from his own.

*I'll never tell you anything,' spat the wriggling, whippet-thin lookout in Kail's arms. *You're wasting your time!'

Kail didn't say anything. He just s.h.i.+fted his grip on his captive's wrist and eased his weight forward to apply leverage to an already overstretched joint.

The lookout gasped with pain and shook his head in defiance.

Sal watched from the sidelines, unsure what to do. Kail had led him unerringly to where the scruffy lookout had been searching through a series of stable-like structures in a distant sector of the ruins. How the tracker had known he was there, Sal didn't know, and there hadn't been time to ask questions. The lookout didn't stand a chance; on top of possessing the advantage of surprise, Kail was his superior in every respect - height, weight, reach, and skill. The lookout had gone down without a sound.

*Which way?' Kail repeated into the man's ear. The man's skull-hugging cap fell away, exposing a scalp covered in ugly scars. *Tell me or I'll wrench your arm off at the elbow.'

The look of pain on the lookout's face was unbearable. Kail sounded absolutely willing to make good his threat, and there was no doubting his capability.

*No - let go!' the lookout gasped. *I'll tell you!'

*Smart fellow.' Kail eased off the pressure, but only barely. *Be quick about it.'

The lookout sketched a route through the outer edges of the ruins to a natural crack in the stone wall of the Divide. At the bottom of the crack, four metres down, was a concealed entrance that led into the tunnel system belonging to the ancient city. There the inhabitants of the Aad lived, if the one Kail had captured was to be believed.

*Who do you work for?' Kail pressed him.

*Pirelius.'

*Who does he work for?'

*No one. Ah!' The lookout squirmed helplessly as Kail reapplied the pressure. *We trade!'

*And rob as well, I presume.' The lookout winced, but nodded. *Some people came through here not long ago. Friends of ours. What happened to them? If they're dead, you're going to wish you were, too.' A frantic headshake. *Where are they? Be precise.'

More instructions followed. Sal wished Skender was with them to remember the details. Their route would take them to a dungeon along various natural corridors and through a chamber the lookout called *the sink room'.

*What's that?'

But the lookout seemed to have crossed some sort of threshold where the fear of getting into trouble with Pirelius was worse than any threat Kail could make. He shook his head and wouldn't elaborate.

*Doesn't matter,' said Kail. *We've got all we need to know.' He changed his grip to apply pressure to the lookout's throat, and squeezed.

*Wait,' said Sal.

Kail's hard violet eyes looked up at him. So did the lookout's, wide and desperate.

*We can't leave him here,' said the tracker, as though talking to a child. *He'll give us away at the first opportunity.'

*But we can't just kill him!'

*Why not? I'm sure the courtesy wouldn't be returned.'

*I don't care about that. We're not like him - at least we're not supposed to be.'

Kail squeezed tighter. His grin was feral. The lookout began to turn purple. Dirt-blackened fingers scrabbled for leverage, without success.

*I mean it,' said Sal.

*I know you do.' Kail winked. The lookout sagged, and he let go. *That'll slow him down for a while. And when he wakes up, he'll be glad to be alive. That's exactly how I want him to feel.'

The tracker produced a length of twine from his pack and proceeded to tie the lookout's wrists and legs together, and gagged him so he couldn't call out.

Sal watched impotently, feeling like the b.u.t.t of a joke he didn't want to understand.

Kail stood up and wiped his hands on his pants. *Now, I suggest we get going before he's missed. Any objections?'

Sal shook his head. After briefly checking to make certain that the lookout's nose was un.o.bstructed, he followed Kail into the first glimmer of dawn light.

Skender's eyes were crossing and uncrossing, or so they felt. The Homunculus's face was in a state of constant flux. Its skull shrank and expanded like a blacksmith's bellows. Two eyes became four became three. He didn't know where to look.

Who is wrong here, Galeus?

He scrabbled shakily backwards, away from the strange creature. Had it been an ordinary person, it would have been crouched on all fours, bending over him. As it was, it appeared to have four legs and three arms. One hand reached out to him, then retracted.

*What are you?' he asked it. *How - how do you know my heart-name?'

*That's not important. Why were they beating you? Who are these people? What is this place?'