The four Spider guards were back in their semicircle around my door when we reached my room. Spot set me down, one of the guards unlocked my door, and I went inside.
Tas Yelfro had managed to pull himself off the floor and drag himself up onto the couch in my absence. "Human fool," he rasped as I closed the door behind me. "Did you genuinely hope to accomplish anything useful?"
The voice was raspy, but the face and tone were still those of the Modhri. "You never know until you try," I said, pulling over a chair to face him and sitting down. "I have a deal to propose."
"What sort of deal?"
"One that'll benefit both of us," I said. "But first we need to clear the air a little. Specifically, I didn't kill your walkers aboard the Quadrail. The baggage car decompressed, and they simply asphyxiated."
He cocked his head to one side, the motion making him look more bird-like than ever. "Yes, I know," he said. "How did you decompress the car?"
"I didn't," I told him. "It was probably some malfunction of the seals—the Spiders are looking into it. The point is that there's no reason to blame me for any of that, or to try to take revenge."
"I never take revenge," he said. "Speak your proposal."
"I want Bayta back," I said.
"I want the Abomination," he countered. "Deliver it, and you may have the Human female."
"Actually, you don't want the Abomination," I said. "You want something far more valuable than that."
"There is nothing more valuable than the Abomination."
"You're confusing means with ends," I told him. "Tell me, if you had the Abomination coral right now, what would you do with him?"
"I would take it through the transfer station to Jurskala," he said. "I have many outposts on that world."
"And then?"
Something cold settled into the Modhri's eyes. "It would reveal to me the location of the others."
"No it wouldn't," I said. "You'll never get that information. Not from the coral."
"Once I surround the Abomination, it will have no choice."
"It'll never happen," I insisted. "The coral will suicide long before he lets you get him to your interrogation chamber. Or hadn't you heard about Lorelei Beach and what her symbiont colony did to itself on Earth?"
The Modhri's eyes might have flashed a little on the word symbiont. "The Abomination will not have access to any such convenient means of self-destruction."
"Who says he'll need it?" I countered. "You have your polyp colonies kill their hosts and themselves all the time. Who says the Melding's outpost can't pull the same stunt inside his coral?"
The Modhri clacked his beak. "For a Human who claims cleverness, you quickly argue yourself into your own trap," he said. "If the Abomination will not tell me where the others are hiding, then the only other source of that information is the young female. Do you wish for me to demand her instead in exchange for the Human Bayta?"
"Not at all," I said. "I wish for you to take a wider view of all this. I mean, really, what is the Abomination? A couple hundred symbionts and a few chunks of coral. What kind of threat can they possibly be to you?"
He gave a loud, derisive snort. It was followed immediately by a wince of pain from his still-tender abdomen and lung sacs. "Of course the Abomination is not a threat," he said. "This is not about threats."
"No, it's about principle, and cleansing the universe of a crime against nature," I acknowledged. "Believe it or not, I understand the concept. But the Abomination has something far more valuable to you than simple revenge."
"Explain."
"Think about it a minute," I urged. "The Abomination was hidden on New Tigris for close to ten years. In the past few months, he and his symbionts have been moving to some other location. You've probably been hunting him for a lot of that time, with every outpost and walker and soldier you've got." I raised my eyebrows. "And yet, with all those resources, you still haven't got a clue as to where they've all gone."
The Modhri snorted again, more gently and carefully this time. "If you have a point, make it."
"It's very simple," I said. "The Abomination has found a hiding place for his new homeland that no one has been able to find. Which is exactly what you want for your own homeland."
The Modhri made as if to say something, then stopped. "You suggest I destroy the Abomination and use its same location?" he asked at last. "A location which you already know?"
"Actually, I don't already know it," I corrected him, fudging the truth only a little. "And of course that would be silly. What I'm suggesting is that you figure out his method or technique and adapt that for your own purposes. Whether it's a matter of the location itself, or some kind of camouflage, if it works for Abomination coral it should work equally well for you."
"And what then of the Abomination?"
"What of it?" I asked. "We both agree it's no threat to you. Find out how they're doing this, then leave the Abomination to itself and go find a place where you can do the same thing. Live and let live, I always say."
His beak opened in a mocking gesture. "As you and I already do?"
"I offered that option to you once," I said. "I was nearly killed for my trouble." I gave him a tight, slightly mocking smile. "But you probably never knew about that."
"On the contrary, I know about everything," he said coldly. "And your subsequent actions show clearly that your offer was not sincere."
"Actually, it was," I said, feeling a shiver run through me. Bayta, I knew, still thought our brief side trip to the Yandro transfer station on our way to New Tigris had been a complete waste of time. Up to now, I had suspected differently.
Now it was no longer merely a suspicion. "But that's water under the bridge," I went on. "Do we have the making of a deal here?"
For a few seconds he eyed me in silence. "I will keep the Human Bayta," he said at last. "You will lead my Eyes to this place. When I have seen it and learned its secrets, I will release her."
"You'll release her into my direct custody," I said. "And you'll do it immediately after I've led your Eyes to the Abomination's hideout. If you want to stick around and root out its secrets, you can do it on your own time."
Again, he took a moment to study me. "Agreed," he said. "Which train do we need to take?"
"Whichever the next train is on the Kalalee Branch," I said. There was a fair chance that he'd seen the label on our crate, and I might as well keep my lies consistent and easy to remember. "We're heading to Benedais."
"Benedais," he repeated, his eyes boring into mine. "Be certain you speak truthfully to me."
"You be certain you have Bayta ready to hand over to me by the time we reach Benedais," I said. "And in mint condition. I presume you'll want to make the travel arrangements yourself. Rebekah and I will need a double adjoining compartment."
"No," he said flatly. "You will stay in a first-class coach car where I can watch you."
"Do you want Rebekah to take us to the Abomination's hideout, or don't you?" I asked patiently "Because if you do, she has to think that things are back to normal, and normal means a double compartment."
He considered. "And the Abomination?"
"It'll be in the compartment with us," I told him. "Just in case you get the urge to go poking around in baggage cars again."
He took a careful breath. "As you wish. What will you tell the young Human female?"
"I'll think of something," I said. "You just get the tickets for our train. While you're at it, you might want to expedite my getting out of here."
"It will be done." Tas Yelfro stood up. "I will take the weapon now," he added, holding out his hand.
I looked at the kwi still wrapped around my knuckles, "It's of no use to you," I said.
His beak clacked sarcastically. "While I have it, it's of no use to you, either."
There was no way around it. Slipping the kwi off my hand, I tossed it to him. "I'll want it back when this is all over," I warned.